Resignation as a Fact

One reason why most of us resign is because we feel we don’t really get what we deserve. We work long hours, we absorb the stress and we surmount expectations yet we feel we are underpaid, undervalued and the coffee maker’s broken that management cannot even bother to replace last Christmas. Working for a private company almost equally demands financial satisfaction for employees in their respective fields and positions. But what if this nagging feeling starts to lurk? What if the knowledge of a better paying job is out there, with better benefits, better work description and somehow better offices? What if we have had enough of stagnation and stress? Here are the top (personal) reasons on filing that resignation letter.

1. PAY

Salary, incentives, pay, moolah, rewards, raise, whatever you want to call it, this is the growth professionals have all been working for. But it’s not that simple. In a specific industry expect that they follow a certain industry salary bracket. If you’re working for financial services, don’t expect your salary to be at par with those who work for the IT industry. But if you belong to the same industry and the company that you work for is not competitive enough to give you at least the average salary that you deserve, based on the industry analysis, which any responsible and competent Human Resources Department should have, then consider that as the pushing factor to sniff around. If the Human Resources Department sucks, then that’s your cue.

Monetary fruits come in various forms and gravity. Guaranteed raise should be considered a primary consideration since products of goods and services tend to increase through time and your pay should go with the flow. Salary increase in promotions is a more important factor to determine when to make that shift. Allowances, performances bonuses and even per diem possibilities vary from one salary package to another. Sometimes these are the deciding factors. Other companies are generous in giving allowances and bonuses, others are not. Some companies have high basic pays but minimal allowances. Weighing monetary compensation is often tricky. Be sure you have someone experienced, preferably an accountant, to study the digits further.

2. BENEFITS and COMPENSATION

If the pay is not really on top of your list, I believe benefits and compensations are things to consider. Others work for a particular company because the benefits are friendlier and more generous, let’s say for mothers who have the option to work remotely. Others prefer to work on odd shifts because of the added allowances while others choose to work for a corporation that has stronger healthcare packages.

3. PROMOTION

This greatly applies if you have waited too long for a promotion in your current job, granted that you deserve it of course. To wait for a promotion in 3-5 years is too much. It’s either something’s wrong with you that your superiors aren’t sharing or management’s simply messed up. One of the fastest ways to move up the corporate ladder is to get pirated by a new organization. This move happens when seniority is favoured over meritocracy, which is not very appealing in this day and age. No matter how liberal a corporation has become, this still happens depending the organizational structure. And when people resign because of instant promotion expect that it comes with better pay and your market value goes up.

4. ENVIRONMENT

If every single day you unleash unpleasant words because you hate your boss or you have a hard time keeping up with colleagues in terms of clashing personalities and work ethics then you’ve signed up for a slow and agonizing professional death. The particular unhealthy environment may prompt you to search for something else because your work and outlook in life gets affected. A person could only take so much heat, slave driving and poor working conditions. Bad environment inevitably results to bad output.

5. CHANGE OF CAREER

Some of us wake up one day and realize that this is not something what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It happens. I have been a witness to people jump from one industry or work function to another even though they have to start at the very beginning of the ladder. Doctors becoming businessmen, businessmen studying to become doctors and high profile accountants devoting their time to the academic world. For these people, age and money aren’t main considerations.

Fact is, no matter how we sugar coat it, we attend interviews and entertain other job opportunities because of these factors. Subjecting everything to career growth has become lame. It’s always welcome to be specific and honest. A colleague of mine was interviewed by a top official recently and she was asked of the reasons behind her job hunting, she used the generic answer, which is career growth. The official smiled and asked her to be a little bit truthful. According to his belief, there are only three reasons why a person resigns from his/her job. It’s either because of the boss, the pay or the demands of the function. Once the move is complete the growth will come at its own pace. These are the resignation facts and there’s no reason why people should be scared about it. It happens and it’s normal.