Return to Author Return to Main PageTheir comes a point in time when a person no longer wishes to maintain their current employment position any longer, perhaps even totally change their career altogether. This article explores when this particular time does come, leaving ones job in a manner which does not alienate or offend management while at the same time preserving our own integrity is a methodology we should strive for if possible.
Granted sometimes the urgency to leave a job spontaneously outweighs the exiting of an organisation strategically. While we may experience an immediate sense of relief when leaving spontaneously, the negative repercussions which ensue afterwards i.e a poor reputation or even impact upon the quality of employment reference you receive should you handle the exiting procedure incorrectly. Granted the end of employment reference is not the end of life itself if your unable to acquire one, however transitioning out of an organisation in an orderly manner will prevent the organisation reporting anything negative about your character or work performance in the future. Otherwise you would be able to evoke recourse to clear your name defamation should the need arise.
I have seen persons in the past who had been long term employed 7 + years mishandle their transitioning out of an organisation because at the time they had exited during a moment of conflict. The organisation had responded with a several line reference just stating the position employed, the period of employment and that was it. This type of reference greatly undermined the importance of the role, and the functional capacity of the worker and the tasks performed during the employment period. The reference had absolutely avoided any recommendation for future employment or any comment regarding staff competency. This was quiet sad to see as it leaves the exiting employee in a position having to explain why their is no reference in the next job interview. All of this could have been avoided by choosing a different exit strategy. In some cases management may become resentful for no other reason than your leaving will cause them inconvenience. In these cases, one can not do much to acquire an adequate employment reference, especially if management are of the type of Authoritarian rule or those who exhibit features of personality disorders. The only option in this case would be to find a coworker willing to write a reference of some description for you.
Many of us from time to time continue to work and tend to stay in certain types of employment which may be very underwhelming or have little or no stimulation. Some people know they are not happy with their job, however don't actually know why they are unhappy. Below is a brief list of common reasons people become dissatisfied with their job:
dead end job
The list provided above is not an exhaustive list although does highlight early signs your satisfaction with your employment is declining. It is also important to specify by highlighting the above list, I am not referring to these feelings once a while, I am more so referring to noticing the gradual increase in frequency of these feelings. If the frequency increases it is defiantly time to take stock of the situation and start to ask your self the hard question. . .Why am I feeling this way
If all the answers are as a result of your employment dissatisfaction, you may consider these feelings is your body starting to tell you enough is enough and perhaps it is time to prepare to leave or at the very least time to re-evaluate your position, discuss with your manager, strive for promotion or other positions. That would make you happy.
Recognising the early signs of restlessness in your employment position is important because often the frequency of restlessness is an unconscious ideation which highlights the fact you're unhappy with your employment. By recognising these ill at ease symptoms we are in a position to start being proactive in resolving the issue of growing job dissatisfaction. Let us take a brief look what options are available:
Leaving on good terms is always the most preferred option as the old saying suggests Don't burn your bridges
because you never know you make need to go back. Additionally, Given the employment sphere is so diverse, we just never know perhaps the next employer knows the employer your leaving. In Addition to the fact you will be requesting a reference to demonstrate your reliability, efficiency, cohesiveness within the work place etc. Your simply just not going to get a decent reference if you leave on bad terms. Not getting a reference is never as bad as the world ending, however if you have stayed with the organisation your leaving for many years by not receiving a references makes it difficult to demonstrate to the new employer your longevity of employment, the tasks you had done as well as the other reasons noted above.
Another reason to leave on good terms is we never know what happens in the future. Perhaps the new job doesn't work out, perhaps you hate it and leave or your new employment is terminated and you require money. Thus sometimes people may need to bite the bullet and go back to the employer they left and ask if they can have their old jobs back again. If you have done well and managed to initially leave the workplace with integrity and professionalism, the chances are very high you will be afforded additional support into your new endeavors or reintegrating back into the same workplace.
Trying to resolve any conflicts which have occurred prior to leaving the workplace is also another step that should be attempted. If your leaving the workplace, I would advise just to bite the bullet, apologies and move on. By doing so you will maintain your professionalism and integrity. Who knows, you may even earn respect.
I guess sometimes it happens to the best of us, however one must always be mindful what is stated within the original employment agreement regarding termination of employment. Leaving instantly should be avoided so to enable the employer enough time to find a replacement. Not leaving instantly will also demonstrate integrity and may put you in a better light when it come for requesting a reference. One acceptable reason to leave a job instantly is if it is recognised the employment has proven to affect your health in a significant manner, or likely to destabilise a pre- existing health related manner.
Often is the case once we have crossed that bridge and have made the decision to provide our resignation, we just want to close the book on that chapter of employment and move on as soon as possible. In some case the desire to leave prior to the contract outweighs the case to stay and see it through. However leaving a contract prior to the end time is likely to have other ramifications because the action of failing to comply with the contractual agreement will open the pathway for breach of contractual agreement clauses to be evoked and in some cases enter into the legal sphere.
The best way to view contracts is if your not going to fulfill the agreement 100%, then don't sign it which is the premise of my earlier article I wrote Failure to read contracts. When your stupidity costs you more than you thought!
. I have always believed every decision we make has a consequence, and each consequence is determined to the underpinnings of our decisions. Thus the consequences of breaching any legal binding contractual agreement will vary depending upon the leniency of the other party connected to the contract you have chosen to breach. It is not uncommon for people to find themselves in court which may or may not apply financial penalties for breaching contracts especially if breaching a contract can be justified to have cause significant disadvantage. Talking of financial penalties, an employer may even decide to deduct certain payments if the staff member breaches the contract prematurely. Their is also the obvious fact should you breach the contract by leaving the job earlier than the mutually agreed notification period, it is likely to place additional pressure on the employer if they had not been able to find a suitable replacement employee in time. Thus impacting how the organisation and management may view you in a negative light i.e leaving with a tarnished reputation.
So the over all message here is firstly don't breach your contracts, secondly don't agree to any terms that you can not abide by, thirdly read and fully understand your contract and forth it is far better to strategically plan and leave the job than spontaneously leaving.
Some employees have grown to resent their employer during the course of their employment for various reasons and these reasons will likely encompass the real reason the employee had resigned in the first place. However sometimes people do let their emotions get the better of themselves by deleting files, sabotage computers, IT equipment, hard copy files etc. Sabotage payback really does you no favors for a number of reasons, 1) the most obvious here are a legal response, 2) it significantly destroys your integrity, provides the employer with reasonable grounds to provide poor reference and 3) if discovered you may be up for costs due to the impact upon the company or replacement off goods not to mention and 4) forget getting any character or professional referees for other employment opportunities you may wish to receive in the future.
When the choice to leave the job is due to resenting the manager or organisation, this resentment is often unresolved. Such unresolved emotional discontent and resentment may tend to be expressed outwardly to others. When I was in high school their used to be a saying don't be nasty to the geek, because one day they just may be your manager
, well I guess the same philosophy is congruent with speaking negatively about the organisation your leaving in future interviews. Because we will never know some day that person interviewing you may know your last manager or even have a working relationship with the organisation you had just left.
Additionally, during your interview for your next job, speaking negatively or placing the organisation in a negative light may just cost you the job. Especially if the employer makes the assumption if you speak negatively about the last organisation, then perhaps you will speak negatively about the next organisation sometime in the future when you leave.
At first approach, it is all too easy to write negatives on the resignation letter because of your disapproval or hurts while working, however the reality is if you were unhappy with the way things were running in the job and if you had spoken about your discontent and nothing had changed, it is very unlikely the organisation will change even if you put it in writing within your resignation letter. So whats the point if things are not going to change. You are far better off being polite, be respectful and if you have nothing positive to say keep the resignation letter short. Additionally, it is always better to leave a positive comment I.e thank you . . . I appreciate the experience. . . I have learn't much etc etc. Leave out the negative emotions, just be factual and too the point. After all you are leaving , so why agonize over the resignation letter and have it longer than it should. Besides, if the manager really would prefer you not to leave, there will be time for them to contact you to discuss if any issues can be ironed out so yo could stay.
Some management attempt to get that last drop of blood out of the stone before you leave. I say more fool them as they significantly increase the chances of having unresolved matters or unfinished tasks as the employee departs. It is usually helpful to discuss with the manager how to strategically exit the organisation to ensure all your workload is completed so a clean and efficient hand over of tasks occurs for the new starting employee. At times their might be a natural inclination to go into holiday mode and let the next person replacing you do all the catch up, however one could also assume by leaving a backlog of work for your other colleagues is likely to leave a bad taste in their mouth. The goal when leaving the job is to leave on good terms if possible with everyone, so by completing all of the work for a clean hand over gives no person a chance to muddy your name in the future.
Some people become resentful when they are asked to retrain the next employee, however the reality is you are still getting paid to work so it is just another task until the day you exit. The only thing usually blocking people is the resentful raw emotion which only serves to hurt the employer or organisation which does you no flavors in the end as it just leaves you with a poor reputation. By retraining we:
Once at the stage of breaking down at work or reaching the point of burn out, it tends to signify that it is past the time you should have left the job. Lower morale, loss of interest in job, arriving late to work all the time or even increased or frequent sick leave will eventually result in your lower work performance and eventually mean your likely to get performance managed. If you know your burnt out and no longer care, your either best to arrange time out via sick leave, holiday leave or just even leave. Especially if your dissatisfaction is impacting upon your work performance and staying at work is untenable or unable to be rectified. Taking steps to rectify issues early is likely to prevent the ongoing deterioration of your employment reputation.
O.k So you have kicked the can down the road long enough where you have now reached the decision to leave. What is the next step? The next step is to plan ahead and minimise the impact upon your own financial security. It was once said to me The organisation has a requirement to protect its financial interests
and the reality is you also have a requirement to protect your own financial interests regardless of what government support may be available at the time. So if possible, create and implement your exit strategy as early as possible and this will lessen the chance of a hastily and disorderly exit. A strategy for example may entail: do you find any other job to get out of your current job, perhaps you have decided to study or even change careers all together. Perhaps you have decided to have a short break after starting another position, if this is the case ensure you have ample money saved for that period and more if possible just incase their are difficulties securing additional employment. The importance in taking the time to define an appropriate exit strategy can not be over stated, so can also be said for researching the current employment market demands prior to leaving your job. Their is just no use leaving a job if you can't get another one or if their would be a very large gap between you being able to find employment elsewhere unless of course for medical and mental health reasons. When you give your self time to plan and implement your workplace exit strategy, you are much likely to leave on happier terms and with your integrity in check.
Options: We all have options, In the table below is an employment matrices:
| Same Job | Different Job | |
| Same Employer | ||
| Different Employer |
As we can see with the Matrices above, we have four choices to choose from. If your burnt out and not wanting to do the same work and want to get out of the organisation your in, that would mean you would be sitting in the coloured square i.e different job, different employer. Now the decision is set, start developing your exit strategy and implement it.
Your transitional options will greatly depend on your exit strategy you have decided upon. Perhaps the simplest action is to leave and get any job which is not terrible difficult as one can start applying for work prior to leaving your current position. Other options are to focus on your transferable skills and how your skills are able to relate to various alternative employment opportunities for example a psychologist may be able to work within Human resources, report writing or perhaps management. If you have decided to do the same type of job but different employer check your professional networks, professional organisations, related job seeking and organisation websites for positions being advertised. Another option to choose if the tactic for future study is to either study an entirely different employment path or to further develop your skills for what is known as skills currency
. One benefit with studying to further ones skill set for skills currency may open other employment opportunities which lead to promotions i.e from a supervisor to management of an organisation. The down side of study is it will take a longer period of time to achieve your goal, needless to say long term planing is generally required earlier on in the employment of your current role is required prior to your resigning from your position. A person who tends to identify early their job is not to be one for the long term are best in the position to make the plans to study for a smoother transition. Obviously this goes without saying, some people may option altogether to leave their current role if there is government support while study is undertaken. All things said and done, never be afraid to cold call for work, you will be surprised how many positions are opened up that were never even advertised.
If push comes to shove and things get messy trying to leave a job with integrity may be more complected but is nevertheless achievable by always aiming to maintain facts and trying not to argument emotional points. The facts are not disputable and if you stick to the facts as long as they tilt to your favour you are in a position to leave in a positive light.
Out of respect, the manager should be the first person you tell and definitely before co workers are informed. Often is the case, a co worker will before your able to get a change to inform management. After all gossip as they say is sweet to taste and people always crave more. So to save your self any awkward moments, try and talk with your manager first and if possible in person. Some organisation are spread out over multiple suburbs, therefore in this case it would be then acceptable to discuss your resignation with the manager over the phone. Once notified, the manager will likely discuss with you how to disclose to the organisation of your intention to leave. Some managers don't care if you tell other coworkers, while other managers want to try and contain any issues by delaying notification to other coworkers. Therefore by making the manager the first point of call when resigning will avoid any unnecessary stepping on any toes.
This article has explored the topic how to leave your job while maintaining your professionalism and integrity. While keeping to the forefront of your mind the best method to resign from any employment position is definitely extends with the preparation and exiting strategies your envoke. This methodology will reduce any disruption financially to your self and will enable you to feel more in control of your employment future without regrets. I had also discussed the importance of recognising the early symptoms when a person beings to be unhappy in their current role so they may plan ahead and avoid the breaking point where a person spontaneously quits. I further the discussion by introducing the concept of using employment matrices to assist you to better understanding where in the exiting cycle your are and what future employment paths are available for you to choose. Finally, I had also provided a link to a second article I had previously wrote regarding contractual agreements which emphasized the need to understand the contracts you sign and being aware of your contractual agreements when resigning from your employment position.
Until next time...
Darren Hamburger
Page Last update:27/10/2018
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