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New York, NY—Is there anything more frustrating to a manager than having a star protégé suddenly hand in his or her resignation? Is there anything you can do to prevent it?

There can be, if you recognize the signs before the memo is handed across your desk. According to this article in Bloomberg Businessweek, these five signs can indicate your star is about to seek another universe:

1. The complaints stop. If your star is a habitual griper about the small stuff and they’re suddenly silent, beware. People stop complaining when they realize their energy is better spent elsewhere—like a job search, says the article.
2. The networking starts. The employee who always wiggled out of going to lunch, cocktails, and dinner events suddenly turns social? Not social, searching.
3. A sudden interest in stats and figures that they didn’t typically study before means they’re polishing their resume to show value to outsiders who don’t know their performance history.
4. The inside guy (or gal) suddenly seeks outside assignments. An employee who never had any interest in going to trade shows or used to be perfectly content to hide in the back office but now wants customer interaction may be networking.
5. Lack of interest in raises and perks. Bloomberg says there’s probably nothing that spells “job search” more than a sudden lack of interest in bonuses, long-term compensation, and career advancement in the current position. An employee who’s already mentally left may assume they’ll have physically left by the time bonuses are paid, so they may not care if they earn one this time.

Even recognizing the signs, you ultimately may not be able to stop a star once they’ve decided to leave, but you can minimize the chances that they’ll want out if you talk to them regularly--like once a quarter--about their job satisfaction and long-term goals.

Read the entire Bloomberg article here.

Separately, a sudden and sustained increase in absences, such as a lot of doctor or dentist appointments when they’ve rarely taken sick time in the past, or constant trouble with a formerly reliable car, could mean they’re interviewing. While you must tread carefully when inquiring about an employee's health, you can address the increase in absences. If the issue really is health or car trouble, they'll likely welcome support and concern.

Top image: enasha.com