Why bosses turn hostile towards outgoing employees

Many a time when the employees put up their papers, the bosses take it personally and start behaving weird.

Picture this: You were always the blue-eyed employee of your boss, but when you decide to try greener pastures and put up your papers in the process, your boss starts behaving like a jilted lover – angry and furious at what he sees as your betrayal.

Many a time, when employees quit the company, the bosses fail to take it in their stride. The managers get all defensive when the subordinates resign, even when the reason is purely growth. The managers take the resignations to their heart, and instead of making the last days more memorable for the employees, they end up giving them hell.

Anil Misra, chief human resources officer, Magicbricks, is of the opinion that the first trigger for the managers to become defensive, after employees resign, is the realisation that they do not have a clear-cut talent pipeline. When the dependency is higher on one person, insecurity is bound to seep in. Also, the lack of confidence in the existing team triggers such behaviour. The problem arises when the managers have not focussed on developing a talent pipeline.

The first trigger for the managers to become defensive, after employees resign, is the realisation that they do not have a clear-cut talent pipeline. When the dependency is higher on one person, insecurity is bound to seep in.

“I (the manager) genuinely have to believe in the fact that no one is a bonded labour, and if I believe in them (the employees), I would allow them to grow in the corporate world. Let them spread their wings. That personal touch—of a mentor and mentee relationship—is needed for a manager to feel secure about the whole situation. There needs to be a certain level of professional maturity in tackling the situation,” adds Misra.

But the entire onus of a badly handled off-boarding does not lie with the manager alone. It takes two hands to clap. Opines Mangesh Bhide, HR head-technology, Reliance Jio Infocomm,“This is a two- way affair. When there is lack of expectations from both sides, this happens. Either the boss has taken the members for granted and led them to believe that this person is going to be here forever or the employee did not see the growth prospects in the company,” he explains.

This is a two- way affair. When there is lack of expectations from both sides, this happens. Either the boss has taken the members for granted and led them to believe that this person is going to be here forever or the employee did not see the growth prospects in the company.

There are times when employees quit irrespective of the growth and appreciation they receive. In such situations, the overwhelming feeling of ‘how can you leave me without informing me, or I was going to fire you but now the opportunity is gone’ overpowers the better sensibilities of the managers, leading to such situations. “It is exactly like marriage counselling, where either the couple is willing to work towards the betterment of the relationship or at times, they don’t want to work towards it at all,” shares Bhide.

The obligation of bettering the relationship does not lie only with the managers, but the employees as well. They (the employees) also have to give enough chance to the organisation to respond to their issues/ expectations. Everyone has to play their part, believes Bhide. According to him, the managers need to anticipate all possible situations and invest in options, rather than rely on one person. Business continuity plan is the need of the hour. “Basically, managers have become lazy. Many of them don’t want to invest time and energy in a contingency plan,” adds Bhide.