How do you know when it's time to look for a new job?

There are two main periods of labor migration in the labor market: late August – early September and February. The main one is, of course, February. Companies with or without optimism are looking into the new year, agreeing on strategies, making plans and hiring new staff.

This material is based on the book 'Break All the Rules First. What the best managers in the world do differently. ' I think it can be useful both for those who are considering a job change and for managers who want to better understand their team.

The American Institute of Public Opinion, more commonly known as the Gallup Institute, has spent a lot of time and effort interviewing employees of various businesses.

How do you know when it's time to look for a new job?

More than a million interviews have been done in 25 years. One of the goals of such a large-scale study was to try to answer the question of how to interest, captivate and retain staff. The question is very important. I think it's no secret that, according to statistics, a new employee begins to make a profit in full only after a few months, and before that he masters and learns. And if the staff turnover is large, then this is a direct loss for the company. Many companies invest significant resources to retain employees. For example, they offer VHI policies, discounts on sports and learning foreign languages. A colleague working for a company that embodies the national treasure pays interest on the mortgage as a bonus, that is, he only pays off the body of the loan. However, various corporate privileges are often ineffective and employees leave. And the HR department is unable to give an answer why this is happening. Although, frankly speaking, I saw HR's only once during my career, when I worked in Yota, in other companies, even in federal ones, it was the personnel department.

By structuring the information they collected, the Gallup researchers concluded that the quality of the workplace can be determined by asking 12 questions. And if the answers to these questions are positive, then, firstly, the employee will not leave, and secondly, he will work more efficiently.

The questions can be divided into 4 groups according to the logic of learning in the workplace. At the first stage, the employee will be concerned about some topics that can be called basic, then others will be added, but it is important to remember that if the basic needs are not satisfied, then the employee will not be able to get comfortable in the team and work with maximum efficiency.

I suggest you answer all the questions together. Perhaps this will help you better understand your place in the team, find the reasons for dissatisfaction and generally understand whether you work where you want. Also, these questions will help you be the best bosses for your subordinates. After all, it is a well-known fact that people come to work in a company and leave specific people.

At the initial stage, only two questions are decisive.

It is these two questions that are important for the new employee to feel comfortable in the workplace. However, when he gets comfortable a little, a new stage begins, and completely different thoughts appear in his head. Usually it is important for an employee to know how he is coping, whether it is beneficial, what colleagues and bosses think about his activities, etc. All these thoughts can be summarized in 4 questions:

The answers to these questions help to understand whether you are performing your duties well, how other employees evaluate your work, how they treat you as an individual and how valuable you are (whether the company is ready to invest in your professional development). To a greater extent, these issues affect self-esteem and self-esteem. If the answers to them are negative, then, as the study shows, the employee is unlikely to be able to become part of the team and work with increased dedication.

The next cycle also touches on self-esteem and community cohesion, but on a deeper level. Relatively speaking, if you love creativity and non-standard solutions, and colleagues prefer to work strictly according to instructions, then you will hardly be comfortable in such a team.

The next stage is the most advanced. On it, the employee begins to bring maximum benefit to the company. He got used to it, he understands his goals and objectives, his role in the team, he is ready not only to generate new ideas and be calm (after all, if the team appreciates him, then it is morally easier to propose an idea than if everyone does not care about your opinion), but also to engage their introduction into practice.

According to the Gallup Institute, this is the path that each employee goes through many times in his professional life. Of course, not all stages always occur sequentially. For example, someone can immediately go to the third stage, choosing a job for the opportunity to get professional development. But this does not negate the fact that in order to get comfortable, you will still need to go through the first stages.

I really liked the comparison in the study. These 12 questions are compared to climbing a mountain, and if you rush too much and skip stages, you can get altitude sickness.

How do you know when it's time to look for a new job?

Altitude sickness is a painful condition associated with oxygen starvation due to a decrease in the partial pressure of oxygen in the inhaled air, which occurs high in the mountains. Finding himself too high too quickly, the person begins to choke, the heart works to its limit, and the lungs can fill with fluid, and then death. Altitude sickness cannot be fooled, so climbers take the time to acclimatize before moving on.

These questions can also be useful for managers. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your subordinates and respond to them. As practice shows, despite the banality and obviousness of these issues, many companies prefer to focus immediately at higher levels, conduct trainings, hammer in higher goals and missions, which are absolutely useless if the employee does not feel like a part of the team or does not understand why his role is important. in the company and the team.

The study shows that the first six questions are most important for managers. They largely determine the productivity and attractiveness of the workplace.

  1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
  2. Do I have all the materials and equipment I need to do the job correctly?
  3. Do I have the opportunity at work to do what I do best every day?
  4. In the past week, have I received any appreciation or appreciation for a job well done?
  5. Do I feel like my line manager cares about me as a person?
  6. Do I have someone at work who encourages my growth?

If employees respond positively, it means they are comfortable in the workplace. In fact, it is not a trivial task to implement all 6 criteria. For example, bosses who are inclined to micromanagement, subordinates usually clearly know what is required of them, but at the same time points 5 and 6 often sag. What can be the growth, how does the boss control every step? It is also dangerous and overly extensive delegation of tasks. It usually sounds like this: go and do it! After which the employee remains at a loss, especially if the task is new and he does not know how to do it. Based on the logic of the questions, each employee should spend most of the working day (80%) doing what he does best, and new tasks should occupy 20%.

In general, all the questions are very simple and trivial, but I understand that practically at every place of work there were failures on them. For example, when some tasks were outlined at an interview, but in practice it turns out that these are only some secondary functions, but they want something else from you, and you figure it out yourself in the course of work.

In Russian realities, it is common practice when a new employee is thrown and watched whether he will come up or not. Sometimes frank frames also happen. A funny episode happened one day on the third working day, when my manager, feeling the heat, called for a meeting and demanded to justify the numbers in terms of sales from marketing, which he himself compiled alone, that is, I saw the plate for the first time on the slide. After he called it baptism of fire, but of course, I did not soon forget such a kick under the bus. For those who do not understand, I will explain: to say that I see numbers for the first time in my life is not an option, it's like signing your own professional incompetence, since no one ever takes into account that a new person needs time to immerse himself in the topic. Especially this should not be done after the phrase: 'Here is our analyst, now he will explain everything.'

Write in the comments whether you like your current place of work, whether you are going to change, whether your superiors treat you well, and most importantly, whether you see the meaning and whether you get satisfaction from your professional activity.

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