Giving Notice: Why the Best and the Brightest Leave the Workplace and How You Can Help Them Stay

9.1. The Earliest Barriers: Housing, Health Care, and Instability

Miguel's mother struggled to keep their apartment serene and comfortable, but after the death of her husband she struggled to make ends meet and buy enough food, let alone help her children with homework. When Miguel was eight, he and his mother moved into his aunt's one-bedroom apartment with his maternal grandparents and a string of his aunt's boyfriends. The house was chaotic, so Miguel learned to focus on homework despite the ever-present noise. On days when he needed extra focus, he studied at the library.

Years later, when a massive deadline loomed over the office and people were shouting across the room at each other, Miguel smiled benignly at a stressed-out colleague who ...