We all quit at some point of our life. Some quit after pursuing that dream. Some, on the other hand quit after having it enough. In any of the case, we quit our jobs to move on with new ones. I have seen people dragging themselves in the same job without any interest. They all have their own reasons. One has a responsibility to take care of; it has become a habit for the other. The point is that they have entered into their comfort zones.
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Posted by Saurabh Chawla on Saturday, July 25, 2015
What happens at the end is you are well aware about. They live, but dominated by their seniors, their managers, their bosses. This gives a feeling of fake satisfaction. You think that's it's enough for you, your senior also thinks that it's great to have you to work for him. It's satisfying egoistically. After sometime, you get a better pay package or a brand name or both. You move on with that company. What you do with this cycle? You take a risk, every time you switch. The reason could be faulty management, or your own perspective of looking at things. In my case things were quite different. It was a mix and match of both.
1) Lack of Trust:
"Always treat your employees exactly the way you want them to treat your best customers."
- Stephen R. Covey
This is one thing which I feel a company is doing wrong. I am an MBA graduate and a student (as I am constantly learning and evolving). Trust is something which is built over time and if an employee is giving a portion of his life to the company, the company should show some respect to the employee as well.
If you can't treat your employees well, don't expect them to treat with your customers or with you the way you want to be treated. Money is not a problem with anybody till the time comes. If a company is offering you money, so does any other company as well. But what would hold an employee is the behavior and culture he/she is working in. A person may move out after he/she has had enough.
The time given by an employee is a portion of his/her life which is valuable. If a promise the management has made can't be fulfilled, be transparent about it and let the employee know about its progress. If on the other hand, employee is not working, let him know that as well. Provide solutions for the problems rather than demoralizing or deteriorating an employee. It will only create a sense of lack of trust which is not good for the employee as well as for the company.
A feedback is all that is needed for someone to perform. Leaving the feedback till the end or saying that you didn't do well or your performance is poor at the time of yearly appraisal meeting demonstrates a sign of a poor management. The worse is that no appraisal is awarded to the employee. Hah! God bless you and your company then. If I would have been on the advisory board of an audit committee, I would straightaway propose a Turnaround Strategy.
2) No Credit for the work done:
"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary."
- Margaret Cousins
Appreciation is one thing which can make even the mightiest one to change decisions from negative to positive. Criticism, on the other hand has the exact opposite impact. Both are necessary. Appreciation without criticism can make one over-confident. Similarly, criticism without appreciation can be fatal. It will fill the other person with only one feeling, vengeance.
The management should learn to use both these weapons at the right time. If it fails to do so, it can turn the tables against them. If an employee gives his/her suggestions which you feel are valuable, appreciate the employee. If the employee does some mistake, criticize to make him/her realize so that it's not repeated. Being overly appreciative or being overly criticizing can be dangerous.
If an employee is trying to put in extra effort or does some work for you when you were simply chatting while having tea, say thanks to the employee and give due credit. If you haven't said thanks to his/her help during the time of need, you have restricted your right to criticize him/her on the mistakes, because if you do this, the employee will finally give up and leave. Remember, if you want to feel important, so does the person who is junior to you.
3) Keep testing patience under check:
"I started this week with a big box of patience....... the box is now empty."If a feeling creeps in you to test the patience of the employee, hold it for some time. Make sure you don't push the employee to a limit which would turn against you. This I have experienced myself. The Manager wants you out but the management knows that the person is valuable, politics comes into play. The funny part is that the manager thinks that he is too clever and the employee laughs at his foolishness.
An employee is giving extra time on weekends and need a small input to close a deal with the client. What would be an ideal manager would do? Of course help him. But what if a manager tells you on coming Monday, "Weekends is off so it's not their responsibility, it was your responsibility and now the deal is not closed, it's your loss." I would like to know one thing here; I am giving business to the company, so it's company's loss. The point about me, weekends are off so why the hell I would do work for the company if the company is not willing to work?
On one hand you need projects, on the other hand, if the clients are left literally p****d off, then only god would help you to get the projects. The worse part around it, the employee would stop worrying about getting the projects for you. But if the company keeps checking the patience this way, that company is sure to have an extremely high attrition rate.
4) The worse: Blaming without any proof:
"Blame keeps wounds open."
This is one of the most pathetic things one can experience. The worse part, not once but twice. It gets even worse if there is no proof or any witnesses for the blame. Let me tell you an experience which would elaborate this point:
A year ago, on some petty issue, an employee (a personal experience of someone I know) and his manager had a heated argument. Manager claimed that he as spoiled the environment, he is spreading the negativity all around the office. The employee simply asked for the proof. At that time, manager who was having an upper hand gave a notice of seven days to him. The notice period was on condition that if the manager would be able to prove it, he will terminate the employee. Employee pleaded and worked his way out. The best part, the manager didn't have any proof or any reason to terminate his employment.
One year hence during the appraisal meeting, the manager, surprisingly, raises the same topic. This time, employee asks him of the proof for the same again. The manager, looking here and there, "I am not saying, management is saying this thing!" Employee continues to speak, "Okay then, call the management in. You are taking the meeting; you should have the proof with you. If you don't have the proof and the management has, call the management in. Let's discuss." Manager stays quiet. Employee continues, "If this has been the case, then why were you waiting for this moment? You could have terminated me earlier, right? Moreover, I gave my resignation earlier as well, why your so called management held me back?" No response.
Employee, getting frustrated, "Okay I want you to do one thing, bring all the employees in and let's take the anonymous feedback. Let's see how many say the same! I am in front of you, you are in front of me and the management is also present." What I don't understand is the fact that if you have the guts to blame someone, why don't you have the guts to prove it as well? If the manager is so sure of the blame, why is he hesitant to prove it? The story doesn't end here.
Finally, the employee says, "Last year you blamed me for the same reason, right? You gave me seven days time for proving the same. But you don't have the proof with you till now. Again, you are blaming me for the same. Now, I give you the same options. I am giving you seven days from today. Either you have to prove it to me and I will walk out without saying any word or if you are not able to prove it, I will resign on eighth day and you have to relieve me the same day." The manager stays quiet, still.
What according to you was the conclusion? On eighth day, employee resigns and leaves the organization. So the take home point is to get your facts first rather than feeling embarrassed later. One more important learning here, NEVER stay back in the same organization after resignation. If you do, be prepared to be harassed even more than ever before. The answer to this is that if the company didn't care till your resignation, it is very less likely that it will care after you stay back. It would be simply a waste of time for you and your career.
These were few reasons which I feel are responsible for someone to leave an organization and call it quits. That's my part of the story. What's yours? Do share in the comments section.