The years with the COVID pandemic were exhausting for everyone. Many employees moved out of the office, but at the same time, tried to keep as productive as they could, to keep the tempo and the results the companies insisted on. Many companies try to balance the workload, but at the end of the journey, more than sixty percent feel exhausted, burned out, and ready to change their workplace. Leadership teams everywhere try to find the best balance and create opportunities for employees to keep them in the companies. In June 2021, experts started discussing a phenomenon called “the great resignation.” Then after three months, the tone became more polite, and these same people called the phenomenon a “movement toward better conditions and a more engaging environment.” And theories came out, trying to answer the question, “Why do people quit?” Nothing new, but still annoying because the authors of all the research and articles came to the point of introducing solutions to the companies without helping the employees. Less was the people who tried to write that the process had two participants. If you “consult” companies and leadership teams how to react, you will need to get to the people and advise them on what they can consider before quitting.
The most potent tool of motivating people to stay or quit – the self-awareness – coupled with planning has not been exposed to the mass auditorium. And that caused more and more people to leave with no apparent reasons, using weak excuses and creating uncertainty in the teams and themselves. As a result, in the last four months of 2021, I have had to find people for a transforming organization and met with many of these lost employees who did not want to work for their current employer but, at the same time, could not formulate an apparent reason why they were leaving.
Meeting such types of people was quite an experience for me. Still, I asked colleagues who worked at different companies and recruitment agencies and got almost identical information from the one I collected during my meetings with potential new employees for the transforming company.
As a contributor to a two-way process, I have tried to summarize what I learned from this experience and formulated several criteria to evaluate if you have to quit or you will need a change inside the current company you work for.
Look at your role
Many people start with this one but cannot formulate what percentage of their role they have already fulfilled. So here you will have to answer for yourself:
Did you master everything that the part expects you to master?
Do you have the opportunity to implement what you have already got?
Are there any or many areas where you feel that you have nothing to learn more about?
Answering these questions will help you analyze where you are standing in your role. And be honest, at least with yourself. The deception that you know everything and have mastered all the skills for the position can be easily exposed in a job interview. Still, if you have already quit your job or deposited your resignation letter, it may cost you lost opportunities, time, nerves, and even money.
Look at your organization
Many people talk once with their line leader, and after they hear that there are no other opportunities for development, they directly move into a job searching mode. Unfortunately, your line or department t leader cannot know everything is happening in the company. To not make emotional or limited information decisions, you may need to explore further. Here is the time to look inside the company, at the organizational chart, talk to other leaders in the company, contact the HR person responsible for your department or team, and ask. Explaining what you can do and discussing what you seek as a change can work positively for you.
Over the last four months, I met with six people inside the company I am trying to transform who aimed to quit because they could not see the next role for themselves inside the company. Yes – I lost one, but the other five are happily working in their new roles and departments and are still part of the company they started to work for more than a decade ago. The one thing many people miss is to look inside the organization. They talk to their boss and, after the conversation, make a decision. People forget to collect enough information about internal processes and change how these will transform the company and opportunities for growth and advancement.
Look at the “opportunities” outside
I am not against looking outside the company for exciting opportunities, but many people try to find something instead of searching for the next real opportunity for growth. Some of the options in other companies may look tempting and interesting, the companies may look great from the outside, with trendy names or products on the market, but in reality, they may be a step back for your development. Look at the biggest companies in the different industries – great to write them in your resume as experience, but with an attrition rate of 15+ percent on an annual basis. When looking outside of your company for the next best opportunity to develop and grow, you will need to pay attention to the seen attributes like name and products and at the hidden signs if this company and opportunity are worth the efforts from your side. In 2021 I had to search for a new job. After four years in one company, my boss and I did not see each other participating in others’ development. That made me look at the market in my home country. Even though I have experience evaluating companies and opportunities potential for my personal development, I made mistakes. During the interviewing process, I have started conversations with five different companies to understand that three of them are not going to give me space and opportunities for growth, but will keep me on the same level if not drain me down. By eliminating those three companies, I have saved myself and the companies the embracement of not getting together with each other and the lost time in meeting that will eventually lead to no or negative decision. While focusing on the other two companies, I have received offers from both and chose the more exciting proposition. Just changing job for the sake of the change is never a good idea. Looking for the outside opportunities carefully can save you time, stress, and effort.
Consult your choice with people you trust
Many of us miss that last step.
“I have taken my decision.” “I am trusting only my guts and perception.”
Did you hear or even think of phrases like that? I was the same several years ago. These thoughts do not come from our deep understanding and beliefs but our Ego. Not listening to anyone is not a sign of maturity but insecurity and instability in your character. The other phase of the above phrases is
“It is my, and only my decision, and I will take the consequences on myself.”
But guess what, when the time for facing the consequences of our decision arises, often we search for someone else to take the guilt on them to protect that Ego of ours.
The wisest decision taken are those who have been consulted, and all the hidden consequences have been revealed.
I do not say that you will have to take someone else to make your decision, but when searching for the next opportunity for ourselves, we often fall into two traps – we urge too much to find it, or we act too slowly to get it.
Having a trusted person or group of people you may ask for details can only be more vital to your decision and save you from the situation of feeling uncomfortable for choosing or moving away from an opportunity.
IN CONCLUSION:
Searching for the next best opportunity to develop yourself is not a sin but a positive process for you and your company. Depending on the situation and where this new opportunity is presented, you may need to make your choices. Still, the best answer you can get for yourself is: “Is this the best opportunity to support my growth and development?”
The Human place 