There are articles scattered across the internet about how employees are leaving their jobs because of management. Was this because of poor management or was it due to the younger generation that many employers complain about?

Many studies blame management for not creating a safe environment for employees to tell the truth or for not creating a culture that provides a winning situation. In talking with business owners, they always have a story to tell about the employee from hell or the ones they misread their intentions. Too many times, I think employers get the bad rap, and that’s weighed on my mind for some time. I guess I mulled on it long enough.

Employers are not evil people set out to take advantage of employees. There’s a myth that employers are not always truthful and have hidden agendas. Employers know the risks and benefits of running a company, and many times, employees can never really understand that.

Giving people responsibilities and opportunities to grow is a two-way street. Often employees are not truthful about their issues at work or at home in which both affect their career choices. They can hold the employer hostage by having specific skills or a relationship with a core customer or peers within the organization. This many times prevent peak performance from occurring.

Here are a few tips that employees should consider as they plan their departure:

Employee vs. Leaders Mindset

When an employee announces they are leaving and give two weeks notice, the employer gives them less than a day. Many times this is because the employer did not see the resignation coming. With integrity in both employer and employee, it doesn’t have to be like that.

Employee’s who have been entrusted in a leadership position create specific knowledge that a job description cannot provide. They earned the leadership role because the employer trusted them. They brought them into the inner circle of plans.

While it’s not always practical, a professional role in the organization should at least give two weeks notice. Someone in a leadership role should provide at least 30 days. Executives are a whole other matter.

Giving 30 days allows the organization time to plan and adjust to your departure. It helps to avoid negative feelings of abandonment or animosity upon your exit. While it’s a big world out there, many times how you have conducted yourself in previous employment can come back to haunt your future career. Be respectful of the employer’s earnest efforts. You both went into the relationship with high hopes, and for whatever reason it just didn’t work.

Leaving Colleagues in Tact

Many employees take parting shots on the way out the door even though they’ve had opportunities to express issues or concerns. Obviously, you are leaving for a reason.

How you comment to the other employees can damage their belief in the company. Your issues should remain yours. You hurt the livelihoods of many people by spreading negatives. Just because you are not happy or must leave, many other employees won’t agree with your perceptions. You never know if you will be working with these people again in the future. Leave on a positive note about the company, your role, and the people you work with. 

Be Positive and Honest

Meet with your manager about your resignation. Hopefully, you have had an honest relationship and have developed the integrity that comes from this type of communications. If you did, then your departure is something you both knew was going to happen.

When an employee says, “everything is ok,” every time a manager sets down to talk with them, they believe what the employee is saying. Suddenly the employee announces their resignation so doesn’t integrity become a question? And not from the employers end? This is where an employer gets a bad rap. If the job is not working out for you, just put the facts on the table. Employees leave companies all the time and there is an outstanding number of them that think the grass is greener on the other side to only find out that isn’t always true. Leave in good standing. Always.

Be appreciative of what you learned while employed, the positive impact it made on your life, family, and career. Every employer makes a sizable investment to get a new employee trained and up to speed. In many cases, the return on that investment comes in the second or third year of employment.

Closing the Relationship Professionally

In a Pollyanna view of life, every relationship we develop should be for life. In reality, people and circumstances change. Disagreements occur and sometimes even through the best of intentions, it just does not work out. Remember, the golden rule still applies. Treat others like you want to be treated. It really is a small world.