¶ … fashionable to talk about, money is an obvious consideration when choosing a particular job: a job must cover one's basic living expenses and for many people, some jobs simply do not pay enough, based upon the employee's estimation of his or her own personal sense of worth (i.e. credentials and education). However, some people may take a job because it promises to give them good experience in a particular field, thus giving them a foothold into a company or profession they would like to enter. A job's potential interest value and creative opportunities offered by an occupation may outweigh pay considerations for a prospective job-seeker, at least in the short run.
One reason that people may leave a job is a failure to advance. If someone thinks he or she is in a 'dead end' job with poor career and salary prospects, it might make sense to switch, given that remaining in a stultifying job has the 'opportunity cost' of the benefits that could be gained from a good job. If the job is not intellectually challenging, this is also likely to motivate him or her to change jobs.
Discussion 2: Psychological Contract Part 2
When people apply for a job, they generally assume that the work conditions will be safe and according with industry standards. Even hazardous construction jobs demand that employers take certain precautions to protect worker safety. However, almost everything else, it could be argued, is 'on the table' regarding occupations today: many jobs require workers to take work home (even if they may be salaried and not receive extra pay for their pains) and do not provide what was once considered 'expected' benefits for workers such as health insurance or retirement funds, much less, assurance of regular promotions and pay raises if the worker is competent.
Discussion 3: Why We Hate HR
Of all the issues discussed by Hammond, the...
In other words, HR tends to focus on the fact that employees have a certain technical qualification or that a certain program has been designed to meet specific benchmarks, without really reflecting as to whether the policy actually 'works.' For example, I have been a part of companies where people with graduate degrees have been promoted more quickly than those who lack them, despite the fact that the person's performance with a degree was substandard. This was the 'policy' of the company and there was no fundamental questioning of why such a policy was valuable or necessary for the work at hand.
Debate topic: Is the concept of ROWE (a results-oriented work environment) really feasible in a global marketplace? Is it a threat to teamwork or is it the reality of a 24/7 world with fluid barriers between work and private life?
Respond to this student's post
I agree that one of the major reasons that people leave jobs is the simple fact that the work environment closed down. Unfortunately, given the fact that jobs are so scarce in the current economy, this is an inevitability -- people are holding onto jobs out of desperation longer than ever before. The reasons that people used to leave jobs, such as a desire to advance, are less common because focusing solely upon personal enrichment is seen as a luxury. Money and the need for security drives job choices. However, when someone is young they have greater flexibility in choosing to leave a job solely based upon their desire for more opportunities and fulfillment.
Respond to this student's post
I think the idea of projecting where you will be in the next 90 days is a great idea to discuss with a candidate: if the candidate does not have a clear idea of what the job expectations may be, he or she may not…
