Depleted companies will want to retain workers as resignations increase in many countries. Perhaps now is the time to negotiate a better role.
In September 2021, more than four million Americans will have left their jobs. That is 3% of the working population in the United States, a record-breaking proportion. The Great Resignation is happening all over the world, not just in the United States, as workers clear out their desks to pursue new opportunities. However, at the risk of sounding like your mother, just because everyone else is quitting doesn’t mean you should as well.
While there are numerous legitimate reasons to leave a job, a general sense of dissatisfaction and a desire for new opportunities aren’t always sufficient justifications. Instead, if you’re dissatisfied with your current job, experts say there are compelling reasons to collaborate with your current employer to build a better future. “People assume you have to go somewhere new to make your job wonderful, and that’s not true at all,” says Rebecca Fraser-Thill, a New York-based career coach and consultant.
Before the pandemic, it might have seemed unrealistic to have a direct conversation with your boss about the aspects of your job that you’d like to change. However, as businesses focus on retention, the dynamics have shifted. “It’s a conversation that you might have been afraid to have before, or didn’t feel powerful enough to have,” says Amii Barnard-Bahn, a California-based executive coach. “But you should now.”
According to experts, an honest conversation with a company that wants to keep you could lead to a broader role, more flexible working conditions, or even the kind of career development that propels you up the ladder. So, before you start looking for new jobs, consider the advantages of staying where you are – and how you can improve your role.
‘Real power’
Workers are leaving industries ranging from retail and hospitality to knowledge work and healthcare. Furthermore, research shows that more than 40% of employed people are considering quitting. Whether they follow through or not, the resignation chatter can be contagious.
People assume you have to go somewhere new to make your job wonderful, and that’s actually not true at all – Rebecca Fraser-Thill
“There is definitely a contagion effect,” says Christiane Spitzmueller, a University of Houston organisational psychologist. When you see someone you’ve known for years get a better-paying or more interesting job, it’s easy to imagine yourself doing the same. “Most people think, ‘That could be me,'” Spitzmueller says. People are excited by the prospect of trying something new rather than remembering the adjustment period that comes with any new job.
However, poorly planned moves rarely result in career advancement; instead, some experts advise people to take their time weighing their options. This is especially important in today’s job market; recruitment costs businesses time and money. As a result, they may be more willing to invest in existing employees rather than lose them to competitors.
“Right now, things are flipped on their heads, and you have some real power – power you should wield,” Fraser-Thill says. That doesn’t mean you should march into your boss’s office and demand a 25% raise, but you can bargain over your responsibilities. “So many people choose to leave before ever discussing what they’re unhappy about,” she says. However, having those discussions can be the first step in honing your job so that it works better for you.
Despite the current wave of resignations, employers are open to this approach, according to Alexander Alonso, chief knowledge officer at the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) in Virginia, US. “Employers still don’t want to get into a talent war,” he says. “At the end of the day, they’ll still need to make sure they do something to engage their employees.”
Lateral thinking
However, before entering into a negotiation with your boss, London-based career coach Mark Anderson advises having a clear idea of what you want. “The key thing is communication,” he says. “However, rather than simply saying, ‘I’m not happy, I want to quit,’ go to your boss with suggestions.” This entails assessing what you like about your current position and what you’d like to change. A negotiation, for example, could include discussing specific skills you want to develop or new projects you could take on that could potentially move you up the career ladder.
Rebecca Fraser-client, Thill’s who works for a large non-profit organisation in the United States, After a colleague resigned, they decided to speak with their manager. They explained that they wanted to take on a portion of the role overseen by their former colleague, as well as a portion of their current position. “As a result, they created a new role,” Fraser-Thill explains.
Not every boss will be open to this kind of job-creation suggestion, but you’re much more likely to get a positive response from someone who knows and trusts you than from a new boss. “You literally have capital to trade in for what you really want,” Fraser-Thill says.
[Staying put] can shorten the time to promotion, because like it or not, loyalty is valued – Amii Barnard-Bahn
If there are a lot of departures in an organisation, it’s possible that there will be more flexibility to move internally. So, if the reason you want to leave is due to an individual rather than the nature of your job, a lateral move could still be beneficial. “You don’t always get along with your line manager,” Carolyn Parry, a career coach in Wales and president-elect of The Career Development Institute, says.
Choosing to stay at a changing organisation can also help with upward mobility. “I’ve seen a lot of people get promoted pretty quickly,” Barnard-Bahn says, referring to previous big-quit events. “It can reduce the time it takes to advance because, like it or not, loyalty is valued.” Similarly, if you like your job but wish it offered more flexibility, such as regular work-from-home days or slightly different hours, companies may be more willing to accommodate employees than in the pre-pandemic era.
However, the requests must still fit into your employer’s budget and company strategy, so in addition to coming up with their own utopian plans, employees should also look for gaps to fill. Employers value people who create their own opportunities, according to Alonso. “If you build a business case for it,” he says, “they’ll invest.” Some employers he’s spoken with have built a schedule around an employee’s idea, established project goals, and increased their salary for the duration. “They’re going to use that opportunity to increase that person’s pay during that period in order to keep them there.”