Every workplace has its unspoken rules and subtle guidelines that keep social order. These rules can be pretty obvious, like not stealing lunch from the shared fridge.
But the rules about the darker underside of office politics, especially when a disgruntled employee quits, are kept quiet for a reason.
A career coach reveals the sad reason why companies are happy when employees leave.
Job search expert and former recruiter Greg Lang offered some key insight into how managers can benefit from an employee’s departure.
He filmed a skit in which he played the roles of employee and boss to explain how a particularly sordid part of corporate society works.
In the fictional scenario, employee Greg delivers the bad news that marketing manager Gerald has quit, but to his surprise, his boss Greg exclaims, “That’s amazing!”
“We really relied on Gerald. Why is that a great thing?” asked employee Greg.
“Because we don’t have to pay him right now,” Gregg said.
“If I replace that role, won’t I have to pay someone else?” asked Greg. Greg’s boss replied, “No, you don’t have to replace that role.”
Employee Greg took this to mean the company would no longer do any marketing, but his boss Greg set him straight.
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“We’re going to continue to do the marketing,” he said. “We’re just going to let Brenda do it.”
“So, who’s going to do Brenda’s job?” employee Greg asked simply.
“And Brenda,” her boss, Greg, replied, imitating a cartoon villain’s toxic boss.
Greg, an employee, asked if Brenda would end up having two jobs, and her boss, Greg, reassured him that it would just be “the same job, just bigger and with more responsibility.”
Unfortunately, forcing employees to do more work without compensation is all too common, especially in the event of termination.
It’s a strategy that puts a strain on workers, and inevitably leads to workplace burnout and subtle backlash, such as quiet quitting.
Employee Greg gently advocated for fair wages and employee rights and wondered whether Supervisor Greg would increase Brenda’s pay for the additional work Brenda was expected to complete.
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Greg acknowledged the real reason why the workflow restructuring was such good news: he was getting a “huge bonus” for saving the company money.
“So Brenda gets to work twice as hard and you get a raise,” said employee Greg, in a terrifying revelation of the reality of office politics.
Greg’s bonus illustrates what’s wrong with American corporate culture: the prioritization of senior staff at the expense of lower-level employees.
In many cases, cutting corners negatively impacts the livelihood of lower-level employees.
Companies could ostensibly save money by implementing more equitable and balanced pay structures that don’t require executives to pay astronomical amounts just because one employee quits.
By allowing your employees to continue working remotely, you can save money on unnecessary office space and improve everyone’s work-life balance in really tangible ways.
The sad truth is that Greg the boss has done nothing to deserve the bonus, and Brenda, who deserves a higher salary, will end up struggling with the pressures of two jobs and she will quit, leaving Greg the employee with three jobs, and the cycle will continue.