An estimated 50 million Americans quit their jobs last year, causing massive headaches and a tremendous amount of lost productivity and revenue for companies.

The reasons vary. A good salary is no longer enough. Work conditions and other factors are more important than ever. In addition to compensation, employees also want to have a sense of purpose, opportunities for career advancement, recognition, a culture of trust and flexibility to work from home when possible.

Every employee is different. That’s why companies need to start conducting “stay” interviews more than “exit” interviews to find out what matters most to employees.

When I started Mackay Envelope Company many years ago, I created a program we call “One-On-One,” where I spent 20 to 30 minutes yearly with every employee and asked them what was on their mind. They were free to share any thoughts or concerns with no repercussions.

It was much easier when I was building the company and we had fewer employees. When my partner, Scott Mitchell, came on board as president in the early 1990s, he kept the program going, even though we had grown to 400 employees. This program has been invaluable for our company in retaining employees at an extremely high rate. It’s important to get out from behind a desk and visit with every employee.

As author John le Carre said, “A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.”

We also have an open-door policy where employees can come in and talk with Scott, me or any manager about anything without ramifications. Remember, employees don’t leave companies; they leave managers.

I believe strongly in recognition and appreciation. Prompt, sincere and public recognition is incredibly important in retaining and attracting employees. It’s human nature for everyone to want to be appreciated for doing a good job. When people humbly say “I was just doing my job,” it’s fine to remind them they were doing their job well, and you are grateful for their effort.

I’ve always tried to give recognition in front of a group and single people out among their peers. Why not give others something to strive for and show them how you value good performance?

Recognition programs create a positive work environment by reinforcing desired behaviors, motivating high performance, increasing morale and supporting organizational mission and values.

I am convinced that T-R-U-S-T is the most important five-letter word in business -- not sales or money or any other replaceable commodities. Trust can be fragile, especially in the workplace.

At every level of every organization, workers need to understand the importance of keeping their word. Employees want to know they can depend on management. Trust between managers and employees is crucial to the long-term enthusiasm, loyalty and productivity of the company. For any successful working relationship, trust is a must.

Employees want to feel that they are part of a team on a mission and that they have a purpose in achieving company goals. I recently wrote a column about Alan Mulally, the former CEO of the Ford Motor Company, and his “Working Together” leadership and management system, which states employees must have a clear sense of purpose in any organization.

It’s important to know where you want to go; to have a purpose. Finding that purpose is among life’s biggest challenges. Discovering what is important to you, what you are passionate about and where you can make a difference -- those are the factors that drive your purpose.

Career advancement is another factor for many in retaining employees. Managers need to let employees know that there is room to grow, develop and progress in the organization. Managers must take a personal interest in an employee’s career goals and promote training and development. That could mean rotating employee roles or suggesting a mentor or adviser.

No one wants a dead-end job. A 2021 report by Monster states that 45% of employees surveyed would have stayed at their current jobs if they were offered more training.

Employees who participate in professional development are more productive. Employee development also boosts profitability. Research from the MIT Sloan School of Management showed that an employer’s year-long soft skills training program led to a roughly 250% return on investment within eight months.

Bottom line: It is infinitely more productive to retain good employees in whom you have invested and who are invested in you. Nurture that relationship carefully to keep your business thriving.

Mackay’s Moral: Take care of your employees if you want them to take care of you.

The road to success is a lot like a marathon. You have to train hard, plan a route and set a pace that will take you where you want to go.

For example, if you run as fast as you can for the first mile of a marathon, you may be in the lead, but you will soon be passed by runners going at a sustainable pace. You never want to run out of energy. For most people, the goal of a marathon is not to lead, but to finish the entire 26.2 miles.

Having completed 10 marathons, I know that success and life are similar to marathons. You need to find a pace that works for you and not a breakneck pace that will result in failure and burnout. Once you find a pace that works, you can carry your action plan to a successful conclusion.

Setting a healthy pace at work is important to prevent physical exhaustion and strain, mental fatigue, stress and workplace injuries.

I understand that working at a regular pace can’t always be achieved. There will be busy times and slow times, but, in general, if you aren’t working at a healthy pace, you need to examine why.

Knowing how much you can reasonably handle should be the driver for setting your plan in motion. That doesn’t translate to being lazy or afraid to say no. On the contrary, it demonstrates your commitment to long-term success.

Every long-term plan should have short-term steps, which is why there’s the old saying, “Yard by yard, life is hard, but inch by inch, it’s a cinch.”

Here are some tips to help you set a healthy pace for yourself and improve your productivity, morale and motivation:

-- Take regular breaks. I’m a firm believer in getting up and moving around, taking a quick respite from your thoughts to allow you to better focus on the task at hand. For longer breaks, if you can afford the time, go for a walk or hit a few golf balls to recharge your batteries. Be physically active. Sometimes you need both mental and physical breaks.

-- Change tasks often. I’ve found that if I jump to different tasks for a while, it refreshes me and allows me to refocus. Just be careful not to let the other tasks distract you from completing your original project.

-- Listen to your body. For example, if your neck or shoulders are getting sore from staring at a computer, get up and stretch. Do some exercises.

-- Maintain a work/life balance. Your free time should be just that. Use this time to relax and help you return to work feeling energized. Set boundaries for phone calls and email responses.

-- Plan your assignments. Divide your assignments into small, tangible steps. It’s hard to complete large assignments in one session. Again, set a reliable pace to prevent burnout.

-- Set reachable goals with deadlines. After all, if you don’t set goals to determine where you’re going, how will you know when you get there? You can’t hit the target if you don’t take aim.

-- Pump up the fun. So many companies today are adding fun things in the office: pool, pingpong, cornhole (bean bag toss), golf and so on. A change to bright colors might help too. One company I heard about added an espresso machine and has 3 p.m. latte chats.

If all this fails, talk to your supervisor or manager, who can offer suggestions on remaining productive, or consider getting a mentor to help you reach your short- and long-term goals. Often an objective assessment will uncover problem areas and potential pathways to improvement. It also demonstrates your willingness to take action.

We all remember Aesop’s fable “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Forward progress, even at a slower pace than you had hoped for, is still the goal. Take the time to do it right, so you don’t have to take the time to do it over.

Mackay’s Moral: You don’t have to go fast; you just have to go.

As I was looking through my new “ABCs of Business Success” book -- which includes 13 ABC lists on various subjects -- one letter kept standing out to me: F. Folks generally believe that F-words have no place in business, but there are many outstanding words beginning with F that drive success.

Consider the following -- some of my favorites:

Fight -- You not only need to fight for yourself but for each other if you want to have the best teamwork.

Focus -- Tune out distractions. I love to watch and study athletes as they are getting ready to compete. You can see them running through their races or routines in their minds. Nothing can distract them. It’s easy to maintain focus when everything is going well, but great athletes keep their focus when they are staring at defeat. A sure way to fail is to lose focus.

I’m convinced that one of the top things that keeps people from getting what they want is lack of focus. People who focus on what they want to achieve prosper. Those who don't focus struggle.

Failure -- As any successful person will honestly admit, I’ve had my share of failures. But from every failure I have learned equally valuable lessons. The first lesson is that there was at least one reason I failed. The second lesson is that I can rebound from that failure. If we don’t know how to lose, we’ll never know how to win. We can learn a lot from failure.

Fearless -- Every crisis we face is multiplied when we act out of fear. Fear is a self-fulfilling emotion. When we fear something, we empower it to become fearsome. If we refuse to concede to our fear, there is nothing to fear. Fear is a disease that rots our will to succeed.

President Franklin Roosevelt said it best: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

First -- My father told me repeatedly that second is last, so I have always strived to be first in whatever I attempted. It doesn’t always happen, but I always give it all I’ve got.

Feedback -- Listening to advice or criticism is not easy for most people. In fact, some people just can’t accept any criticism, even if it’s constructive. Learning how to accept feedback is a key skill for advancing. Rather than viewing feedback as judgment, consider looking at it as an opportunity to grow, learn and acquire a new skill. Be grateful for suggestions.

Flexibility -- I can’t stress enough the importance of flexibility in today’s ever-changing business environment. The more skills we learn, the more valuable we become.

Follow up and follow through -- The sale begins when the customer says yes; every salesperson knows that following through after the order is written is what earns customer loyalty. Checking in to see how the product is working, fixing problems, listening to ideas for improvement, calling to see if it’s time for another order -- it’s just Business 101.

In other areas of business, not just sales, the same principle should also hold true. Unreturned phone calls and emails, late deliveries, failures in completing paperwork or other snafus that cause delays are unprofessional and unacceptable. Follow-up requires another F word: fanatical attention to detail.

Faults -- Everyone has faults and weaknesses. The only way we get better is to work on them.

Faith -- Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t accomplish your goals. Who says you’re not tougher, better, harder-working, smarter and more able than your competition? It doesn’t matter if they say you can’t do it. The only thing that matters is if you say it. If you believe in yourself, there’s hardly anything you can’t accomplish.

Fun -- For years at our company, our motto has been “TGIM” -- Thank God It’s Monday. We want our employees to look forward to coming to work as much as I do. We will always take our work seriously and our customers’ needs seriously, but what we do isn’t brain surgery. Work should be fun, but fun shouldn’t be work.

Finish strong -- Finishing strong helps you to put your mind at rest knowing that you did your best. It also helps you more accurately assess situations in the future based on your effort.