The people you laid off may not be the only people who leave.
In a 2023 Academy of Management Journal study of 1,620 retail stores, researchers found that a layoff was associated with an average of 2.2 additional voluntary quits afterward.
In other words, one round of departures can easily lead to another.
And that second wave can be especially painful. The people who stayed may already be carrying more work, questioning how secure their own jobs are, or wondering whether this is still somewhere they want to build a future.
At the same time, the usual retention tools – raises, bonuses, promotions – may not be available right after a layoff.
So what can you actually do?
A lot, as it turns out.
People stay for all kinds of reasons that have nothing to do with a bigger paycheck: the work itself, the freedom they have to do it, the people around them, whether they feel valued, whether they’re still learning.
The catch is that those reasons aren’t the same for everyone.
Below, we’re looking at what tends to make each of the 16 personality types want to stay – and what you can do to give your best people more reasons to stick around.
1. INTJ (Architect)
INTJs (Architects) tend to stay where they are trusted to work independently – and where the work is hard enough to be worth it.
INTJs are rarely satisfied by work that is too easy, and they usually prefer roles with real independence. The fastest way to lose an INTJ is a micromanaging boss – pointless meetings, rules that serve no one, performance judged on likability.
If you have an INTJ you want to keep, agree on the outcome and then let them decide how to get there – being trusted to run their own corner is deeply satisfying for this type.
2. INTP (Logician)
INTPs (Logicians) stay for the puzzle.
They tend to crave intellectual stimulation and the freedom to chase their own ideas, and they can lose motivation quickly in a role that limits their independence or hands them grunt work. In our “Boredom” survey of nearly 15,000 people, 54% of INTPs said they are more likely to feel bored at work than in their free time – the highest of any type.
An INTP will forgive a lot of things about a job, but boredom is rarely one of them. If there is a messy, unsolved problem sitting around that nobody wants, that may be the best thing you can offer them.
3. ENTJ (Commander)
ENTJs (Commanders) stay for a trajectory they can see.
Growth keeps them engaged, and stagnating in a role with nothing more on the horizon tends to leave them restless and unhappy. In our “Careers” survey of more than 22,000 people, 91% of ENTJs said they want to keep moving up – the highest of any type.
Find something on your team that needs an owner – a process nobody has fixed, a project that has been drifting – and give it to them as theirs to run. Then talk with them about where it could lead. An ENTJ who can see the road ahead will usually stay on it.
4. ENTP (Debater)
ENTPs (Debaters) want to be where their ideas can reach decision-makers.
They look for something close to a meritocracy – a place where a good idea gets a hearing regardless of who had it. Routine work is their least favorite thing, and strict rules and hierarchy tend to feel like hindrances.
They don’t need to win every argument, and most of them know they won’t. What they need is to see that the idea was taken seriously – that it made it to the right room and was considered, even if the answer was no.
5. INFJ (Advocate)
INFJs (Advocates) stay for purpose, and for a manager who listens.
For an INFJ, a job with no deeper sense of purpose is unlikely to feel satisfying, no matter how good the salary is. Red tape, meaningless rules, and office politics can sap their motivation, and feeling unheard tends to be a fast route out the door. In our “Careers” survey, 70% of INFJs said the job role motivates them more than money – the highest of any type.
Tell them who their work helped, and be specific about it. And when they bring you an idea or a concern, follow up later and let them know what happened to it. That follow-up can matter more than whether you agreed.
6. INFP (Mediator)
INFPs (Mediators) stay for a mission and a kind boss.
INFPs can put up with almost any challenge as long as they can see a sense of mission in their work. What they tend not to withstand is a highly negative boss. In our “Bosses” survey of nearly 8,000 people, 69% of INFPs said they worry about their boss’s mood – the highest of any type. A manager who is short with them on Monday may still be on their mind on Wednesday.
With an INFP, the way you run your one-on-ones matters as much as what gets decided in them. A few words of real, specific encouragement can carry them through a hard month in a way that is easy to underestimate.
7. ENFJ (Protagonist)
ENFJs (Protagonists) stay where they can see their effect on people.
They want to witness the good their work does and feel the gratitude of the people they have helped. Repetitive or isolated work tends to frustrate them – and so does being quietly taken advantage of for their work ethic, which they may tolerate for a long time to keep the peace.
Give them someone to help along – a newer teammate to show the ropes, a colleague who is stuck on something they happen to be good at. Watching another person get better because of them is often the part of the job an ENFJ would miss most.
8. ENFP (Campaigner)
ENFPs (Campaigners) stay for variety, and for belonging.
Few things demoralize an ENFP like a job where every day is the same, and it can be hard for them to stay motivated where they cannot help people or build some kind of community. In our “Boredom” survey, 55% of ENFPs said that boredom causes them anxiety – the highest of any type. For them, a stretch of sameness is not just dull. It is uncomfortable.
Look for ways to vary what they are working on before they have to come and ask. That might be rotating them onto a different project for a few weeks, letting them take the first pass at something new, or simply asking which part of their work has gone stale. Small changes go a long way with this type.
9. ISTJ (Logistician)
ISTJs (Logisticians) stay for dependability, and for responsibility they can own.
ISTJs want a workplace they can count on, and that need shapes what makes a job feel worth staying in. Responsibilities are not burdens to them – they tend to read them as trust that has been placed in them. Constant reshuffling and ambiguity over who owns what are what push them out.
After a layoff, the kindest thing you can do for an ISTJ is decide what the new structure is, tell them clearly, and then leave it alone for a while. Every time it shifts again, a little of their trust goes with it.
10. ISFJ (Defender)
ISFJs (Defenders) stay where they know what is expected of them.
ISFJs tend to do their best work in steady, cooperative environments rather than competitive or high-pressure ones. They like a clear picture of what good looks like, and they take real satisfaction in being the person others can count on. What pushes them out tends to be slow and quiet: a team that turns cutthroat, expectations that keep shifting, or reliability that gets treated as a given and rewarded with more work.
Two things go a long way here. Write down what a good job looks like in their role, so they are not left guessing. And when you catch yourself leaning on them because they never push back, move some of that work before they have to ask.
11. ESTJ (Executive)
ESTJs (Executives) stay for order, a visible path up, and a manager they can respect.
ESTJs are known for loyalty, but that loyalty tends to be contingent on respect. They want structure, clear rules, and real steps toward advancement. If they come to see a manager as illogical, dishonest, or cowardly, they will usually say so – in our “Bosses” survey, 89% of ESTJs said they are comfortable challenging their boss on direction when necessary, among the highest of any type.
Tell them the truth even when it’s unflattering, keep your process consistent, and be clear about what the next step up looks like. If you do those three things, an ESTJ will usually do the rest.
12. ESFJ (Consul)
ESFJs (Consuls) stay for being needed – by real people, on a real team.
To feel satisfied at work, ESFJs need regular chances to feel productive, useful, and appreciated. They tend to thrive with structure and clear guidelines, and they can struggle with work that is purely analytical and impersonal. In our “Responsibility” survey of more than 10,000 people, 84% of ESFJs said their responsibilities give them a sense of security – the highest of any type.
So if a layoff has pushed an ESFJ toward solo, heads-down tasks, look for even small ways to bring the people part back in. They’re most satisfied when they can see how their work connects to other people.
13. ISTP (Virtuoso)
ISTPs (Virtuosos) stay as long as nothing is locked down.
ISTPs tend to stick around with surprising loyalty, provided no one forces them into commitments they cannot easily walk back. Strict rules, guidelines, and formal agreements make them feel cramped, and being told to change their methods is a fast way to lose them.
Give an ISTP the problem and the room to solve it their own way, and resist the urge to lock them into a plan or a title. It is usually the commitment that sends them looking elsewhere, not the work.
14. ISFP (Adventurer)
ISFPs (Adventurers) stay for creative freedom and a supportive environment.
For ISFPs, wealth, structure, advancement, and security often come second to creative freedom. In our “Careers” survey, ISFPs were the type least likely to say they want to keep moving up in their career, tied with INFPs at 65%. They want clear goals paired with autonomy, and they are not afraid to change tracks if the current path stops feeling right.
Let them put their own mark on the work, even when it would be faster to hand them a template. And go gently when you have criticism – ISFPs tend to take it personally, and it lands harder coming from a manager than from a peer.
15. ESTP (Entrepreneur)
ESTPs (Entrepreneurs) stay for action and a reward they can see.
They want to act and improvise without checking in on every small thing, and they will usually pick an exciting job over a safe one. They also respond to visible recognition – a plaque and a bonus go a long way. In our “Careers” survey, 63% of ESTPs said money motivates their career advancement more than the job role – the highest of any type.
This is one type where a tangible reward really does move the needle. If a bonus isn’t in the budget right now, public recognition for a win is the next best thing – pair it with the freedom to run at something without checking in, and they will often stay longer than you expected.
16. ESFP (Entertainer)
ESFPs (Entertainers) stay for the people.
ESFPs need freedom, novelty, and above all, human contact. They tend to value freedom far more than safety, and if their conditions are not met, they will not hesitate to find a new opportunity. In our “Coworking Relationships” survey of more than 3,200 people, 96% of ESFPs said their coworkers are ‘very important’ or ‘important’ to their happiness at work – the highest of any type.
After a layoff, an ESFP hasn’t just lost coworkers. They may have lost the main reason they liked coming in. Bringing the team back together, socially and not just on paper, is retention work for this type.
The Bottom Line
If you made it through all 16 personality types, the bigger point is probably pretty clear: keeping good people isn’t only about pay, bonuses, or perks.
Those things matter, of course – but so do the everyday reasons people decide a job is still worth staying in: feeling listened to, having work that means something, getting some freedom in how they do it, and knowing their effort is noticed.
None of that requires a budget. And after a layoff, when the people left are quietly deciding whether they’ll stay, it may be the most useful thing you have.
What has kept you at a job longer than you expected? Let us know in the comments.
And if you’re not sure which personality types are on your team, our Team Assessments will give you a complete overview of your team’s personality makeup and help you understand what different people are likely to value most at work.