Ursula Colman of Brand Recruitment writes:
Yet, however hard employers try to create an environment without these frustrations, they will inevitably occur from time to time. Think back over your career and remember the reasons why you left various companies and no doubt you will realise that often despite your employer’s best efforts, you decided it was time to move on – with your parting words the career equivalent of “It’s not you, it’s me”.
Yet, in thinking back over all of those past roles and the ups and downs of your time spent in them, it is more than likely that you have discovered a home truth: that these frustrations exist in any role. Perhaps you look back at one role or another and think, ‘What if?’; what if you had stayed put rather than succumbing to the lure of seemingly greener grass in pastures new. Over time, we all realise that there is no such thing as the ‘dream job’- a role with all of the plusses and none of the negatives.
With this in mind, anyone considering leaving their company should ask themselves whether the motivation behind leaving is the result of irreconcilable problems, or whether they are being just too passive about confronting any issues or gripes they may harbour. If the latter is the case, and they are considering leaving simply to avoid dealing with these issues then they are potentially jumping from the frying pan to the fire.
Before starting a job search, make sure that you are moving for the right reasons. Address any issues with the company. This may require nerve, yet in the grand scheme of things asking to sit down with your boss and run through a few issues for half an hour is less gruelling than the succession of surreptitious phone calls, cloak-and-dagger ‘doctor’s appointments’, panel interviews and presentations you will have to deal with in order to find a new role.
By spelling out any concerns in a positive, mature manner you are not only establishing an open dialogue which will help you decide whether to stay with your current business or not, but also showing yourself to be a confident and proactive individual who can deal with delicate situations. Addressing issues such as a lack of morale in the department, or disillusionment over unrealistic deadlines may open your boss’s eyes to situations they were not aware of. By addressing such issues, you may be helping everyone involved – you end up with what you want, your colleagues benefit from a more positive working environment and your boss has a more engaged team.
The question of ‘money’, ‘remuneration’, ‘package’ or whichever moniker we may use is often perceived as a taboo topic, a dirty little secret that should never be mentioned. This view is ridiculous; the fact that you are paid a salary in exchange for your skills, knowledge and experience means that if you feel you are not being rewarded sufficiently, bringing this to the attention of your boss is a perfectly reasonable and sensible course of action. Businesses succeed by maximising revenues whilst minimising costs – as long as your efforts are contributing to increased profitability, and your expectations are reasonable, there is no justification for an employer denying that you are possibly due a rise. As we all know, red tape and salary bands may render an immediate rise impossible, yet if you are a valued member of the team who has expressed the wish for more money, then any sensible boss if going to do what they can to precipitate that rise.
Maybe the issues you raise are belittled by an arrogant boss, or your suggestion about reviewing your pay rubbished. Perhaps any promised pay rises or changes to the working environment may take too long to be implemented, and you decide to move on. Yet if this is the case, at least you have done what you can, you have been proactive and positive, and can move on feeling that you are in control of your situation, rather than letting a negative situation dictate your actions. Furthermore, you can leave with your head held high in the knowledge that you have not burned any bridges and perhaps most importantly, you have ruled out any dreamily wistful ‘what if I had stayed?’ questions years down the line.
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