Notice of 1 month preferred over 3 months: Hush employee survey

May multinational and IT companies have a minimum notice period of two months, while some have three. However, 80 per cent of the employees surveyed by HR tech platform, Hush, prefer the notice period to last only a month instead of three months. The HR personnel also feel that the three-month notice period should be applied only in special cases or in case of senior positions, and is otherwise not required. Only the organisation stands to gain from long notice periods, as it uses the time to find a replacement and also ensures that work doesn’t stop abruptly.

Many senior HR executives are of the opinion that a long notice period adversely affects the morale of the employee and makes it difficult for the concerned employee to move to a new role or another organisation. Ninety-three per cent of the 2800 employees surveyed felt that a long notice period led to loss of good opportunities for the concerned employees. Of the survey sample group, 51 per cent were junior-level employees, 31 per cent belonged to mid-level and the remaining 11 per cent comprised senior executives.

Some employees (80 per cent) felt that the ‘favourite employees’ often managed to get themselves relieved after serving a very short notice period.

The newer generation of employees is not in favour of long notice periods and would prefer the same to be standard across the corporate world. Also, start-ups that require resources urgently may not want to wait for candidates who have to serve long notice periods.

What organisations probably do not realise is that even the poor performers tend to stay around due to the long notice period, which may have a negative impact on productivity. Also, after putting in their papers, the employees who have resigned become mentally detached from the organisation and their work/responsibilities. They are unable to add anything concrete to the productivity.