The Right Day To Quit!

I resigned from my last 3 employers on November 22, May 15 & July 24 respectively. If you’re looking for a pattern to those days, don’t bother as there isn’t one. Yet, I have a feeling my next resignation date could be on the 1st day of any fateful month because that seems to be the trend.

I think you know the reason. Maybe we like to feel a touch heavy in our pockets before we resign! J Otherwise how else do you explain a spate of resignations on the first working day or week of every month? Well, if you haven’t heard of any yesterday, be ready to see some (and more) this week.

My initial thoughts while deciphering this syndrome were:

  1. It’s the latest generation trend. We never did this before (I sound old when I say that)
  2. It’s a more common occurrence in some industries over others;
  3. It affects mostly entry level jobs. As we advance in our career, the calendar fails to rule our decisions on when to resign!
I got in touch with 4 of my HR friends in different industries and they concurred that 75% of resignations are in either on the 1st day of a month or the first week – indicating the trend on resignations dates linked to the post-paid syndrome.
I took the liberty to list my thoughts on presumed explanations in the following order:

• Trust with the employer : This doesn’t need any explanation J
• Financial commitments– this month’s bills/EMIs are taken care off
• Long cycle of Full & Final – former colleagues of mine have told me how long it takes to settle F & F here
• None of the above: The younger workforce manages their work just like they do their life – in the “here and now” so all of the above does not apply
• Joining date with the next employer: Many organizations have first week joining/induction programs and most of us have a 1 month notice so it’s only logical to resign in the first month (oh really?)

In my opinion, trust with the employer takes the cake as all the remaining 4 can be discounted if ‘trust’ has been established between employer and employee. Some may argue that maybe it’s not just trust or monetary which cause an avalanche of resignations during the 1st day of a month or the 1st week.
So, let’s explore the possibility of an intellectual or emotional angle to this behavior especially if you have been “guilty” of a 1st week resignation and want to feel better about it!

• Is it a psychological release mechanism as most of us attach our association with an organisation with salary?
• Could it be that we feel happy (or not?) when the bank’s SMS hit our phone on the salary day?
• Does resigning after our salary credit somewhat completes our transactional engagement with the employer? If this is the case, I guess resignation is a trigger to complete the transactional/financial relationship we have with our employer!

My assumption that the younger or entry level workforce have a higher affinity to leave in the 1st week got busted too. I tracked resignations of many familiar people over the past year and discovered that 90% had resigned either on the 1st day or the 1st week of the month!
So for all who have resigned without looking at the calendar, I can only say “hats off”! 🙂

ATM is the right place and First week is the right time, what say?