Recruiting new employees is hard, but keeping employees can be even harder. After 6 months, a year, 2 years, the novelty of the new job has worn off right when they get into the rhythm of their jobs. It’s exactly when they become most valuable to your company and your team, and exactly when they start to get bored.

That is, unless your leadership team is proactive in making sure employees are engaged in their work and the company.

First, consider why your employees are in their jobs in the first place. Is the job itself a great opportunity? Do they enjoy the actual work they do, even if they feel ambivalent to the company they work for? Is the job and the company just fine, and they’re sticking around because they work with an amazing group of people? Or are they so invested in the company and its mission that they’re willing to find any opportunity to contribute, grow and learn with the company, no matter what is asked of them?

It’s often a subtle difference, but it’s big.

While each of those scenarios do keep people in their jobs in the short term, it’s the last one that makes the most meaningful impact, and the one that gets the most overlooked. Often, leaders want workers who excel at their job’s responsibilities, they want to know who they can rely on to come into the office every day and produce the work the company needs. But that fosters a commitment to the work, not the position, and that means the employee could be happy doing the same work pretty much anywhere.

What sets a good team, and a good leader, apart is the connection to the personal.

When a leader goes out of their way to create opportunities for employees to grow not just as workers, but as human beings too, that’s when employees start to develop a sincere and binding commitment to the company and its mission. In turn, they become better employees because they know that the work they do benefits their own personal growth and aims as well.

The company cares about employees as human beings, and everyone wants to be cared about.

So, when creating new policies or programs for employees, leaders should look to what benefits they can provide that makes someone life, not just their job, better. Sometimes, it’s something as simple as organizing employee happy hours so everyone can start creating meaningful connections with their coworkers outside of a business-transactional setting. Other times, it’s creating flexibility in the job hours or duties to accommodate busy personal lives – families, hobbies, interests, even pets.

But one of the most important services leaders can provide are corporate wellness programs that address an employee’s physical and mental wellbeing. Work-provided mindfulness and fitness classes like yoga take into account an employee’s personal health while also giving them the tools to naturally boost their productivity, put them in a better mood, keep them from getting sick or injured and increase the mental capacities needed to think creatively and problem-solve.

87% of employees said they consider health and wellness offerings when choosing an employer, and more than 68% of employers prioritize well-being in the workplace. So now, it’s up for employers to meet people where they are and provide the services employees are asking for.

Because if your company doesn’t, another will.

While each of those scenarios do keep people in their jobs in the short term, it’s the last one that makes the most meaningful impact, and the one that gets the most overlooked. Often, leaders want workers who excel at their job’s responsibilities, they want to know who they can rely on to come into the office every day and produce the work the company needs. But that fosters a commitment to the work, not the position, and that means the employee could be happy doing the same work pretty much anywhere.