QUESTION: The company listens only to those who threaten to leave.
FACT: There’s no guarantee that such threats work.
A few people use the quit’ threat as a negotiating tool. They think this might stare the manager into agreeing to their terms and conditions. Some are even smarter and use this when a project needs them the most. They do so as they have heard stories about someone benefiting from this approach. However, even if they have seen something similar happening in their own team, they are not really privy to the management’s way of thinking and the circumstances In which it was done. And the person who benefited, .might not disclose the real discussion, so it becomes a guessing game, leading to this perception.
One should be cautious when taking this route. No manager would like to have a gun pointed to his head, asking him to act in a certain way. It might be possible he’ll agree to a certain request provided it is a reasonable one. And certain demands of an employee made during a critical time may be accepted since that person’s exit might seriously impact the project. But if a manager has had a previous experience of having his ‘arm twisted’ or being ‘held to ransom’, he would be cautious the next time. He would do his best to avoid falling into a similar situation by taking certain actions— reducing dependency on one person, better planning and work distribution; and ramping up more people in various skills.
A frequent use of the threat to leave dilutes its seriousness. The manager might not pay any attention to it, but might get fed up with this continuous nagging and even demand resignation, In such cases, the employee who serves up the threat might feel surprised by the manager’s reaction; it leaves him with no other option than to leave, and even if he has an option, it rbight be something that he doesn’t like. Whenever an employee raises an issue with his manager, he has to choose the right words. if it is a genuine grievance, the manager should know of it as soon as possible and act on it to prevent things getting out of hand. If one is serious about quitting, then it is always better to have a good option outside the organization; otherwise, one has to take up, a new job quickly which might not be in line with one’s career plan.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE EMPLOYEE? You might be raising issues to no avail and this can be frustrating. But never threaten to quit merely because you want your managers attention. You should introspect to find a couple of solutions to your problem and provide them to the manager. If you have a specific demand which the manager cannot fulfill, then mention quitting but only if you have an alternative job offer.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? Why has the issue precipitated to, the level where an employee is waving a threat? This is the first question you should answer. It might be that while you are supportive of your employee’s requests, your superior is not convinced. In that case; you may not have provided enough evidence or data to convince your manager, Any issue raised by employees should be looked into within a specific timeline so that the do not have to wait indefinitely. If you know that the response is not what the employee expects and if you sense there is a possibility of his leaving, you should have a proper back-up plan in place to cover for attrition, But all said, you owe an answer to the employee.
