That day my wallet was left in the office, which I only found out at the tram stop. It was sad: a colleague with whom we worked side by side for 4 years quit, we were just seeing him off. We had to go back. In addition to the wallet, there was the same colleague in the office: a great system administrator in every sense, who had been scammed to St. Petersburg. He didn’t notice me right away: bent over, he was stroking the system unit with his huge palm and talking to the computer about something. It was unbearable. He turned and said: “I’m leaving my soul here, hang it on a hook.” A year later, I had to go through this too, and then again and again. Later, I had to sign the applications. And it became clear: any dismissal is painful and often ugly. This means it’s time to understand what to do to make the dismissal as comfortable, painless and correct as possible.
Leaving is almost always sad: even if you hated your job, boss and colleagues, you probably loved the computer, which was a faithful friend and silent assistant, the office itself, the road to work and home, you loved something.
At least your experience. Part 1. Job search: sources, resume, interview with HR Part 2. Set-up and adaptation: interviewing the boss, passing the probationary period with a breeze Part 3. Working as a newbie: growth in the company Part 4. Working as an experienced employee: how don’t burn out Part 5. Dismissal: I’m leaving gracefully
We know how Habr readers quit
A year ago, the author of Verovir published a wonderful, sincere article on Habré about layoffs. It has one drawback - it is too subjective and emotional, although the author does not hide this. With the permission of the author of the text, we use the survey results to analyze the reasons for dismissal among Habr readers and talk about behavior in each case.
▍So, what did the survey tell us? (serious sample - 2490 people)
48% of respondents changed 3-5 jobs, which is quite typical for the modern commercial sphere; there is a high percentage of those who changed jobs more than 6 times - 17%, about the same number of stable ones who changed jobs 1 time (the question was formulated a little incorrectly; most likely, this included those who did not change jobs at all.
Among the reasons for changing jobs, the most expected is bad attitude from management (and this is worth listening to), the second is insufficient wages. A fairly high proportion is occupied by socio-psychological factors: burnout and internal conflict. Surprisingly, the legacy stack encourages only 18% to change jobs.
38% of respondents consider their job ideal, but the remaining 62% are very unstable in relation to their current workplace. This is a reason to think about it and start working on retaining, rather than finding, personnel.
35% of respondents are ready to leave their job with an increase in income by 25%, the same number - by 50%, and 13% each want either a double salary increase or are not ready to leave (in fact, both of these categories are most likely satisfied with their work).
Among the reasons for dismissal, everything is quite standard: the most popular reason among dismissals is voluntary (among those who responded, 93% went through this), 12% - at the request of the manager and 14% due to layoffs; 17% according to the agreement of the parties, popular in the IT sphere, and only 4% did not pass the probationary period (I think there are many here who left the company at this stage).
Important Additions
- On the last day of work, you must pick up your work book if it is kept on paper. There is an option to send it by mail. For example, the head office and the actual place of work are located in different cities. The employee must give written consent to send the book by mail.
- We recommend that you independently or with the help of a third-party specialist check the correctness of the calculation of payment upon dismissal. It must be made for the actual days worked. The rate at which you worked is used for calculations. Among the deductions, only an advance payment is allowed if it was issued. No taxes or social contributions should be withheld.
- If severance payments are delayed, this must be compensated. According to the law, demand 1/150 of the Central Bank rate for each day of delay.
- Demand compensation for sick leave if you fall ill within 30 days after termination of the contract. Moreover, the need to pay sick leave does not depend on the reason for stopping work. Any former worker who is dismissed due to layoff, or in another way, and even those who were expelled for a disciplinary offense have the right to count on benefits.
- Sickness benefits are calculated at 60% of average earnings. An employer may not pay for sick leave if the employee requested benefits 6 months after the certificate of incapacity for work was closed.
resign profitably in any situation if you know your legal rights. Therefore, when the thought of terminating your employment arises, study the current legislation in advance or try asking a lawyer for help. Of all the existing options, the most profitable for the employee is layoff. Then comes the termination of the contract by mutual agreement, the least advantageous option is at one’s own request.
Why are we quitting?
When you have just graduated from university, started your full-time job, live alone or with your parents, it’s even somehow fun and exciting to quit: a change of team, new diverse tasks, experience is pumped up at a breakneck speed, you can choose a place of work, try companies of different levels and even different areas. But everything changes as soon as you become the sole breadwinner for elderly parents or start a family for which you are responsible. The time has come for the cautious saying “measure twice, cut once.” But in a commercial environment, layoffs are still inevitable, and there are a number of reasons for this, besides standard cuts and “at the request of the manager.”
▍New promising job
This is perhaps the most important reason to change jobs - when you are offered new cool tasks, an interesting company and a good salary increase, it is difficult to refuse. Because this is your life and only you are responsible for your well-being. If you are satisfied with everything and you are confident in the new employer, you firmly understand that this level of tasks and remuneration on the current project will not be achieved in the near future, you should think about changing jobs and make a difficult decision. The fact is that a professional must grow and develop, otherwise a point of stagnation will come and you will no longer be able to claim the place that awaits you with open arms today.
▍Conflict at work
This reason can easily compete with the first.
The conflict can be with the manager, with the team, with some individual colleague. Burning or smoldering, sooner or later it may not be resolved, but will exhaust and force one of the parties to simply leave. Leaving because of a conflict is not the best decision; it must be justified and balanced. If you leave because of a conflict, everyone should know exactly about this reason, without “hiding” the matter - this way you can warn other colleagues from the same trouble. However, it is necessary to leave not against the backdrop of a scandal, but in the fading phase or during a respite within the corporate feud.
An example from life. The boss and her deputy tried to re-educate the new girl to suit themselves. Measures like drinking beer, going to a movie together, or having dinner at a restaurant were not carried out due to the fact that the new girl preferred to work at work. It didn’t work out to fire her during the probationary period, and bullying began: she was given impossible tasks, KPIs were lowered, and rude letters were sent. The girl began to experience neurasthenia, which quickly progressed to neurosis and affected the gastrointestinal tract. She was forced to quit. However, the general, appreciating her work, transferred her to another unit. After three years of wonderful life, the company underwent reform and the old bosses returned with all the consequences. Survived. It was not possible to fully restore health.
▍Professional burnout
This reason can be called the most respectful, because it is complex: there are psychological reasons, and attitude towards one’s duties, and a decrease in the quality of work.
And yes, indeed, dismissal is one of the methods of combating burnout. In such a situation, you need to think about whether it’s really worth quitting: the burnout will pass, and you’ll find yourself in a new job, and it’s not a fact that a hasty decision will be successful. Before you quit due to burnout, evaluate the existing opportunities: vacation, short-term vacation, change of project or team, or even a whole gap year (this practice is rare, but it does occur).
If you realize that burnout is just a convenient excuse to make a long-overdue decision, feel free to change your job, but don’t forget to take at least a couple of weeks off. Any job requires a little bit of boredom.
▍Boring job
This syndrome is very similar to burnout, but has a fundamental difference: it is not your attitude towards work that changes, but the work itself and your place within the project.
As a rule, this happens when you perform some routine tasks (for example, conduct manual testing) or spend a long time working on the same project that you are simply tired of. When quitting in this case, you need to understand that you will get tired of another job and another. By the way, according to observation, this reason prevails among young professionals who already know how to see the glass ceiling, but do not yet know how to break through it. The advice is simple: think about how you can develop along with your current project, what skills you can improve to move to the next level. For example, a manual testing engineer might learn a new programming language and write scripts for automated testing or work with database management.
▍Relocation to another city/country
A clear and valid reason for dismissal.
The case when you have already decided everything and you just need to say goodbye well. There is one small nuance: quit only when you are one hundred percent sure of the offer and moving to another city or prospects in a new country, do not take risks in advance “in search of happiness.” It's unlikely, but you may have to return to your city and even to your company. An example from life. A commercial director from a large Russian city was invited to work in Moscow for a large international company. Everything was great until 2014, then the company closed its main Russian division and he could not find a job in the required time frame. I had to return to my hometown, where during three interviews something like “yeah, you weren’t useful in Moscow, now you’re trying here.” And they took him to his previous job, albeit in a different position, but at a salary higher than what it was before the dismissal.
▍Personal reasons
The most vague group of reasons for dismissal, including the most incredible: from an unsuccessful office romance to the uncomfortable arrangement of toilet stalls in the office.
Sometimes the reasons seem far-fetched, but they are quite real: if nothing keeps a person at work (interest in the project, relationships in the team, prospects), then any little thing can lead to a resignation letter. This is the most difficult class of workers to retain. The only way out: leave well, let go in peace. Of course, there may be other reasons, simple and completely incredible, but they are much less common.
Support from loved ones
It is difficult for a person to decide to make a change in his life. This applies to any event. Therefore, it is very important for relatives or friends to be in the allied camp and approve of the intentions.
Without support and under the pressure of fears, a person makes a weak decision
In order not to be left alone with possible problems from dismissal, it is advisable to enlist the support of like-minded people. To do this, you need to explain to your loved ones that the decision to quit is important to you. It is worth taking into the camp of like-minded people those people who think not in stereotypes, but based on the realities of life. When giving advice, they should be guided by the desire to help make the right decision and survive the consequences of its implementation.
This step before changing jobs is important even because people can help with advice and assess the situation from the outside. It may happen that you change your mind about quitting. But in most cases, support from relatives helps to overcome fears, making you more confident and stronger.
How to behave when you quit?
▍Talk to yourself
Before you announce your departure from the company, sit down with yourself and honestly say and write down why you are leaving, what motivates you, what bad things you will lose and good things you will gain.
Determine whether the formal reason is a stupid insult or your stubborn reluctance to solve the problem on the spot. On a blank sheet of paper, write by hand + and - current job and + and - future employer. This helps a lot to understand what is really happening and how objective you are. Be sure to compare material benefits, including salary levels, time to work, transport conditions and accessibility, infrastructure, additional bonuses, etc.
Only after a detailed analysis make a final decision, so that later you don’t blame yourself for anything and don’t beat yourself in the forehead, waiting on the outskirts of the city for the only bus or spending your “increase” in salary on random taxis, food and the forced purchase of a comfortable mouse, keyboard and chair. Or, on the contrary, do not be tempted by an A+ class office and go to the territory of a former factory with high windows, but to cool colleagues, interesting tasks and growing income.
▍Notify about leaving in advance
Firing at the last minute is a big setback for your employer. If you are leaving not because of a conflict or because of problematic reasons unfairly turned against you, and the decision to leave is yours, do the decent thing: communicate your plans to change jobs in advance. After all, you still have so much to do:
- put things in order and complete your tasks;
- complete tasks with your participation;
- train a successor;
- finally quit all work tasks.
However, take into account the specifics of dismissal in your company.
It happens (especially in large companies) that at the first notice of your upcoming dismissal, you are denied access to work projects, internal systems, and even your work email. This doesn't mean you're bad or untrustworthy - it's just that security people are doing their job. If you are aware of this practice, first complete matters that are personally significant to you, make sure that all necessary personal information is deleted and saved, and only then report your plans to quit. If you give notice about leaving a month in advance rather than 2 weeks in advance, your manager will be grateful and you may even receive additional bonuses. After all, you didn't work on a project just to quit overnight. By the way, the timing of notification of the upcoming dismissal also depends on the specialty: for example, if it is relatively easy to intercept a tester’s banner (test cases are described, environments are configured, the bug tracker is alive), then with development or commerce things are much more complicated, and the most acute situation is — with managers, starting from the level of project manager and team lead.
▍Don’t refuse to train your successor
Again, if you leave on good terms, do not burn bridges behind you, but train a successor from among the employees or help find a person to replace you.
This is important not only for the company, but also for saving your project, all the work you did day after day. In addition, training your successor will give you the opportunity to retrospectively and systematically go through your path in the company and once again analyze mistakes and achievements, and this will not be superfluous in a new place. If you leave “not very well” - I know from myself - you want to be mischievous, not teach anyone, and on the contrary, make sure that after you there will be a real flood. I hasten to remind you of two things: 1) if the company is normal, there will be no flood - colleagues will endure it; 2) don’t spit in the well, the IT industry is very dense and full of rumors. The only thing that can be done quite elegantly is to convey only basic knowledge without secrets of skill and personal tricks and leave as quickly as possible. There's no point in shitting, it's guaranteed to backfire. Even if you are a super pro.
▍The manager should be the first to know about the dismissal
This is the golden rule.
If you have a direct supervisor and the reason for leaving is not in conflict with him, he should be the first to know; if there is a conflict - the closest manager in the hierarchy; if the company is small and management is centralized, then go straight to the general manager. Do not share with work friends, colleagues, etc. under any circumstances. — news of the dismissal should not reach the manager in the form of rumors. The team should find out about your departure only after talking with the boss. By the way, sometimes the manager has motives to ask you not to announce your resignation right away - and this is worth listening to (for example, he is afraid of “fighting” for a position, bullying, pressure, etc.). He probably knows something more than you. An example from life. In one medium-sized IT company, a tester wrote his financial accounting application - mostly in the evenings at home, because he lived alone and was bored. I bragged to my colleagues. After some time, he was invited to a top company (hunted for his English + powerful Python) for incomparable money. He, being one of the favorites, went to the boss: so and so. And the boss says to him: “You, Vasya, let’s close the case, but don’t tell anyone in particular.” Why? “Yes, for the past six months they’ve been writing denunciations about you about your pet project, they’re jealous, everyone is happy about your departure and everyone will start pushing their own people into your place.” And he showed a dozen “anonymous” emails. Vasya left silently, shaking hands only with his boss.
You should inform your colleagues about your resignation with the utmost restraint and reasoning, without giving rise to complaints, gossip and rumors. Whatever happens, let there be no discrepancies. If possible, notify a day or two before dismissal. This will make it morally easier even for you - you won’t feel like you’ve been cut off by a piece.
▍Work until the end
Unless you are specifically removed from work, calmly carry out your duties to the end. Firstly, this way you will not create unnecessary fuss, and secondly, you yourself will be calmer: you will be distracted from the chaotic thoughts that are inevitable during a job change. There is one more point: if the new job falls through (and this is not so rare), you can simply continue working, having explained it to management. Although this will be a completely different job, it will give you some time.
▍Don’t complain or badmouth your former job
Simple psychology works: “If he says that about them now, what is the probability that tomorrow he won’t say that about us?”
If you begin to increase your worth by humiliating your previous place of work and work in contrast, saying that they are all terrible, but I am good and they survived me, you will arouse maximum suspicion. Do not do this, even if you are provoked into such behavior. The best position: as with everything, there were pros and cons, experience was gained, there was strength and skills to grow further. A story from life. The girl Masha was bullied in the development department, where she came as a junior. She tried her best, but she was poked at every mistake, providing comments with unflattering epithets like “weak, uneducated, where they only taught.” The star of the department, Irina, simply didn’t like her. Everything would be fine, but tears-stained Masha was seen more than once by colleagues from other departments and they finally reached the general manager, who recently conducted the interview - Masha then “took” 17 technical questions out of 20 and he personally invited her to join the staff. He talked with the head of the department and realized that Maria needed to be moved - he had already decided for himself that for testing, where her knowledge would be useful, and the team was extremely friendly. However, for the sake of order, he scolded Masha, intimidated her, and then asked: “What do you think happened?” He was ready for a barrel of dirt about Irina and Co., but Masha raised her eyes and, not without irony, but calmly said: “Probably, I just didn’t fit in with my terrible character in their sincere and wonderful team.” Isn't this a sign of adequacy? Masha worked excellently in testing for 4 years, left the company with great warmth, and for 7 years now she has been remembered as one of the best. Irina was laid off after a couple of years.
Well, the main advice is - regardless of the circumstances and reasons for dismissal, keep a good impression of yourself and, if possible, maintain friendship with the company. I have come across situations more than once when former colleagues changed jobs and invited their former comrades to work with them because they remembered them as calm and adequate professionals.
Nobody canceled sick leave
Russian legislation provides for payments for sick leave even if it was received a month (30 calendar days) after the official dismissal of the employee. You should not count on too large amounts; according to current legislation, sick leave is paid based on the insurance period: from 8 years - 100% payment, from 5 to 8 years - 80%, less than 5 years - 60%. If the employee’s insurance coverage is less than 6 months, sick leave is paid based on the minimum wage, which in 2022 is RUB 9,489.00.
“If the employee’s insurance coverage is less than 6 months, sick leave is paid based on the minimum wage, which in 2022 is 9,489.00 rubles”
Question answer
What should an employee do if he received less than the required vacation pay?
Important nuances
Dismissal can be spontaneous, emotional, thoughtful, prepared, but it is always a complex, morally challenging, stressful process. And your task is to make it a little easier - first of all for yourself. You should be comfortable, because it will be even more difficult in the future, you will have to adapt to a new place and you won’t need nerves now.
▍Choose the right time to quit
If the situation calls for a choice, it is better to follow some advice.
- Don't quit when there's a downturn or a problem - wait until your work is excellent and the company is experiencing an overall upturn. Yes, at such moments it seems that everything has worked out and it seems like there’s no point in quitting, but this is deceptive: if you have decided to leave with reason, use just such a positive moment.
- Don't leave at the end of the year or during the completion of a project - finish the job, don't quit in the middle.
- Don’t leave “like a rat” while the manager or general director is on vacation - be sure to wait for their return and discuss the issue face to face.
- Don't leave amid the rush.
▍Ask for a recommendation
If you are leaving voluntarily and there is no conflict, ask for an employer recommendation. In addition to the signed paper (which you will most likely draw up yourself), you need to ensure permission to indicate the name and position of the recommender, as well as his work and mobile phones, so that HR of the new company can call and check the authenticity of the recommendation and ask clarifying questions. Be sure to tell the recommender about the likelihood of calling; for some, this may be a complete surprise.
▍Update your resume
Even if you left your old job on Friday and started a new one on the following Monday, update your resume: add the end of the job, describe your functions and achievements, include acquired skills, etc. The goal is simple: by the time you start looking for a new job, you may have simply forgotten something important, but here all the steps are recorded.
Ideas about the ideal job
Psychologists advise sitting down at the table and writing a list that should consist of one hundred items. These are the main points that characterize the vision of ideal work.
Every morning the thought of work should make you smile.
The list can be either typed in any text editor or handwritten. The second option is preferable. In this case, the creation process slows down, but becomes more conscious and balanced.
When compiling such a list, you should use some rules:
- The list needs to be compiled at one time. You cannot be distracted by doing other things.
- You can't check what's written.
- All items must be unique.
- Everything needs to be listed. The list should include both global moments and little things.
Analyzing this list, in the first 30 items you can see a reflection of daily thoughts about the need to change jobs. The next 40 issues are moments of transition from everyday life to real ideas. The last 30 theses reflect the real goals and desires of the employee.
After carefully re-reading the list, mark the items that are present at the place of work. The ratio of what is available to what is absent will help you understand that it is time to quit.
How to recover?
Even if you leave a job you don’t like, even if you are attracted by the prospects of a cool position and a fat wad of salary awaits you, it is always difficult to leave. Moreover, it is difficult to close the door for the last time without your eyes warming up - well, at least shoot! Therefore, in addition to formalities, showdowns, farewells and employment, you have one important concern - to restore peace of mind, calm down, improve your mood and remove the stone from your soul.
▍It’s good to say goodbye to colleagues
This is the main thing.
Every single member of the team is not to blame, even if you leave badly - it just doesn’t happen that way. Leave yourself, to a good future, with a light soul - arrange a cheerful farewell, treat your colleagues to pizza or cake, chat, wish something good. Leave not very well - say goodbye, hug and shake hands, write a general letter or post on the corporate portal (without accusations or rudeness), in the end these people were nearby and everything was not so completely bad. I had personal experience of bad care, with a kind of defiantly sarcastic farewell to a good team (due to a not very good manager). A year later, the feeling of incompleteness and self-dislike for that clown farewell did not leave me, everything was decided by a meeting with colleagues in the old office and a super soulful tea party.
▍Relax
At the slightest opportunity, take a short break between jobs - not only your soul needs it, but also your brain, it will not be easy for it to readjust due to stress. Don’t burden yourself with a trip to warm countries - lie down, relax at the dacha or in your region, meet with friends, walk around the city, go to a cafe or to the cinema. At least play your favorite game!
▍Talk with loved ones, friends, family
If something is worrying you, panic about the future is growing, it seems that you are between heaven and earth, talk to your family. Sometimes, during an honest monologue and expressing your doubts in verbal form, you already receive ready-made answers to all your questions. And the look of people from the outside will allow you to dispel doubts and finally stop making mountains out of molehills. Don’t close yourself off with your problems - sometimes, if you voice them, it becomes clear that they are not worth a damn.
▍Plan tasks for a new job
Take a couple of days to plan your strategy for your new job:
- what will you do first
- what questions do you need to ask your mentor or manager?
- what tasks are ahead of you and what do you know about solving them?
- what policy of communication with colleagues will you choose?
- what you will refuse to tell new colleagues about, and what you will be open about.
When planning these points, be sure to take into account previous experience, especially painful and stupid mistakes in work and communication. Don't step on the same rake!
▍Purchase a new hobby
Sometimes you want to start your whole life over again. Well, add a new hobby to your new job: start reading books again, going to the gym, doing exercises, or learning a new technology or a new language. This way you will untie yourself from the past and step more boldly into the future. If you do everything right, you will really like the new you... in just a month (or even the classic 21 days).
Your office romance is over
The advice not to enter into such relationships makes sense. Both personal and work life are important parts of existence. An affair with a colleague mixes them together. But if a relationship comes to a sad end, it’s not so easy to separate the spheres of life back.
Indeed, seeing your ex-passion at work every day is not easy. If a partner begins to plot, it is doubly difficult. But the most appropriate solution for both would be to behave like adults. Discuss the situation, agree on neutrality. Being out of work and out of money is probably worse than being out of a relationship, so it's in both of your best interests.
Avoid!
Whatever happens, avoid these things when you quit.
- Threats - do not threaten the court, the labor inspectorate and the Hague. If there are objective reasons for a complaint, go to the labor inspectorate and resolve the issues as bureaucratically as possible. But first of all, try to come to an agreement and part ways with the world. Remember: even if you were illegally fired and the court orders you to be reinstated, you will no longer have a job in this company. Your days will be numbered.
- Bargaining and repurchasing - do not initiate dismissal just for the sake of increasing wages. Yes, it happens that an employer really needs you and, if it’s only about money, he is ready to “buy you out” from a new offer, and agreeing to stay is a normal situation. But if you decide to auction for yourself, your loved one and your smart one, this is fraught with the loss of both options.
- Tears. It's too late to cry when everything has already happened. If you don’t want to leave, try to correct the situation, explain yourself, and join the new “trial” period. If everything is decided, then there is nothing to cry about; there are worse things in life. But at the moment of leaving you can cry (not only for girls)
- Throwing a statement at every problem or mistake. A resignation letter is a document about a balanced decision, and not a way to resolve conflicts. Just remember this. Otherwise you’ll throw it once, throw it twice, and on the third – oops – and they’ll sign it, and that’s not at all what you need.
Skills and abilities
When you have decided on all the reasons for leaving and dealt with your fears, you need to decide what you want to do next. Make a list of your abilities and skills that can help you realize your favorite job.
Mentally prepare yourself for the fact that your new place of work will become a comfort zone. The assignments that you will have to carry out will be interesting. You will easily join the new team. The responsibilities assigned to you will not become a burden.
With these thoughts in mind, a list of your best skills will be easy to come up with. With it will come confidence and determination.
A list of abilities or skills will give you firmness in making a decision.
