Comments on: 7 big reasons people leave their jobs

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:17:00 +0000

As stated in the preview to the statistics, the numbers add up to over 100% because people leave for a combination of reasons, including their own insecurities over their job choices which are hidden behind the same p.c. reasons politicians give “to devote more time to family.” As human beings we all bring different skills to the job. Just because you lean toward social skills rather than technical skills doesn’t mean you cannot learn those skills given an encouraging environment. My experience is that human resource managers tend to lean toward the social skills spectrum, because that is why they are in human resources, and discount techical skills as cold. You can’t run a business like a daycare and many managers turn down the opportunity for supervision because they would rather work than spend the greater part of every day listening to personal problems and other reasons why work doesn’t get done. On the other hand, because of increased world competition, there is increased pressure (as if we don’t have enough already) to sacrifice a life outside of work. It is not an easy question and human resources needs to step up to the plate and treat managers as employees too.

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:55:39 +0000

Marilyn,

Why bring up Ray and Carrie on something you stated? I found that segment of your comments interesting and was curious as to why you concluded that managers couldn’t leave jobs. I thought the answer would be a lot simpler than what you provided.

By: Marilyn Hunter

Marilyn Hunter — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 19:49:49 +0000

Lorraine,

I stated most. Carrie can better answer, but how many people do you know who have gotten their position because of seniority and have stayed until retirement. Some managers leave for better or worse. Even Ray stated that people are placed in management positons that don’t know what they are doing. Carrie stated that she is a facilitator of development programs and Ray stated that managers need training to assist them and I do agree. How many get the training, are offered the training or are required to do professional development? So Lorraine, why should some managers who aren’t required to do any professional development or don’t seek it out themselves leave? And if they do, are they more or less likely to acquire the same position? Carrie, it’s your expertise with this answer.

By: Lorraine

Lorraine — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:25:41 +0000

Marilyn, why can’t managers leave jobs?

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:54:06 +0000

I find it interesting that you think I’m “locked” on management based on my comments; I was only responding to your comments about the 22% and 25% of employees surveyed who said they left their employers for reasons related to their manager ….. I am both a manager AND a facilitator of development programs for managers, and a human resources professional, so I’ve seen it all.

By: Marilyn Hunter

Marilyn Hunter — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:42:42 +0000

Ray and Carrie, I didn’t write my comments to debate good leadership versus bad leadership. Let’s not forget what the article is about, people who leave their jobs. There were seven reasons why and the two of you are locked on management. I agree that people are promoted by reasons other than qualifications. Managing people is probably as difficult as raising children. You are asking one personality to manage several personalities and get the job done. It has never been easy to work with someone who is your manager and doesn’t know what they are doing. You wind up doing most of the work and they get the accolades and pay. So what do you do, you grin and bear it or leave. Remember, the company put that person in that positon for reasons you or I will never know or fully understand, but that’s life in this big, big world. The best part is employees can leave, most managers can’t, won’t and don’t.. But onthe flip side, there are some fantastic managers out there and I have had the fortune of having both. I can truly state that I have learned from all my past managers, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

By: Ray

Ray — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:06:05 +0000

Absolutely! I agree with Carrie. I can argue this point all day. It’s nice to hear another perspective on this topic. Fortunately, where I work, our President has an open door policy. He appreciates this
kind of feedback. My arguement is the same as what Carrie is saying. They put people in these mangement roles and they have no idea how to manage people. This is where Professional Development comes in. It should be required for them to get training and attend workshops. The has to be some accountability. Managing people is a whole new skill level.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:33:23 +0000

The Gallup Organization has conducted an enormous amount of research through employee surveys which measure engagement. The results of this research is reflected in a book called “First, Break All the Rules,” which identifies that employees do not leave companies, but rather, they leave their managers. While Ms. Hunter is most certainly accurate in her assessment that employees may not always “like” their managers, the book indicates (as does my experience as a human resources professional) that managers very often don’t know how to manage their subordinates effectively. Most of the time companies promote top individual contributors who have strong technical skills into management positions and they do not know how to coach their employees for success, let alone coach them for improvement or, heaven forbid, manage a performance problem.

I believe the information in this article represents this problem.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 18:28:53 +0000

I respect Ms. Hunter’s opinion very much. However, I can honestly agree with the “ineffective leadership”. We have a problem with this where I work. Too much arrogance and personal feelings gets in the way of professional judgement. We do not have good leaders. They are very threatened and extremely insecure. Most of them have been around a very long time and became complacent. When you get too comfortable, you can’t grow. It can get very frustrating at times because it gets in
the way of others ideas and growth. However, I try to look at them as examples, as what not to do when I become a leader. Ms. Hunter’s point is very well taken. Sometimes, you need to hear both sides.

By: Marilyn Hunter

Marilyn Hunter — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:30:51 +0000

How many in the survey were in management? How many were executive level? How many of the individuals surveyed were terminated but given the option to resign? Having worked for over 30 years in administration, people leave jobs because they want to, are terminated or have life changes (company moves out of state, etc.). Is ineffective leadership a sly way of saying “I didn’t like my boss or the boss didn’t like me?” There are a host of reasons why a person would use the term “ineffective leadership” or “poor relationship with manager” and one reason could be that they just didn’t like the person and probably had nothing to do with their leadership or management style. However, your weekly newsletters are great and informative.