Things you should not do once you put in your
papers
Coming to office as usual, I checked my email for anything that
might need my urgent action. My attention was caught by the words ‘Au Revoir‘,
and I was curious to know who was leaving. As I opened the mail, I was
surprised to know that it was from Raju, one of my dear colleagues, one who I
used to meet every day and in fact, had met the earlier day at breakfast. We
had exchanged niceties and then shared news about our families – he about his
extended family in God’s Own Country, Kerala, and me about my only daughter.
It struck me very sharply that Raju had not said anything about his
last day in office even when we had met in person. His mail was very nicely
worded and knowing his weakness in English, it was evident that Raju had
copy-pasted a lot of sentences from other farewell mails. Yet, he had been
careful to share his phone number and email ID, leaving an option for us to
keep in touch with him.
No matter how much - or from which angle - I reflect on this sort
of behaviour, I realise most people take pride in keeping their exit a secret
till the last minute and then send a farewell mail in a desperate bid to
make everyone feel that they wish to be kept in touch with.
I request not to be misunderstood. I am not asking for details of
the new job to be divulged, but there is nothing wrong in sharing that one is
leaving, atleast a day or two before, if not much earlier. Secrecy breeds
rumours which are avoidable. I am compelled to put down many more things that a
person should not do once he puts in his papers.
Needless to say, these are not exhaustive and are purely based on
my opinion.
1. Do not talk irrelevant
Open offices are quite common these days and working in cubicles in
an open office requires you to observe certain constraints, more so when you
have decided to leave your current employer. You should not waste others’ time
chatting loudly about irrelevant things, for you may have quit, but they still
have work to do. It is wrong to waste others’ time and distract them when they
are engrossed at work. Your relentless prattle is likely to disturb all around
you.
Remember – It can be hard for
them to correct you but should someone do it, it can be very embarrassing for
you. Also, this time, when workload is probably less, can be utilised
productively in catching up with people, something that you could not do
before, for want of time.
2. Do not compare
You have no business comparing circumstances at the current
employer with the supposedly good times you are expecting at the new workplace.
Be it remuneration, perks, job timing, benefits, or something else, all are
different for different roles and responsibilities, and discussing them loosely
is not a good thing to do.
Remember – There are good and
not-so-good aspects to every job and the new workplace is no exception to this.
Unhealthy comparison can end up injecting pessimism into the environment of the
current workplace and that’s simply not done. Also, this is the place where you
aspired to work in, before joining here.
3. Do not shirk work
Do not just let go once you put in your papers. You may have handed
over very well to your successor but it’s only fair that you work sincerely till
the last day of your term with the current employer as you will be paid fairly
anyway. It is your one last chance to show your integrity. Indulging in gossip,
taking too many leaves, spending too much time in the cafeteria or at the
coffee corner – all these smack of unprofessionalism.
Remember – People may or may
not remember you for your achievements or capabilities, but they will surely
not forget if you shirk your responsibilities in the last lap of your tenure
here. This ‘free time’ can be made use of to connect with someone – perhaps
your senior or manager – and learn from them something that can help in your
next job.
4. Do not avoid interactions
Do not avoid personal touch with your current colleagues,
especially those that have helped you even once. Meet up with all you know,
atleast from a few days to the last day. It’s not nice going away silently and
then sending a ‘Farewell to all of you’ note saying ‘let’s keep in touch’ when
you didn’t mean it anyway. I wonder how many will be willing to help Raju if he
calls them for something, for he didn’t take time to meet them before he left
his current workplace.
Remember – Contacts are just that – contacts. It doesn’t matter who it
is. Smile, shake hands if suitable, say some memorable words, have lunch
together, do whatever it takes to stay in the memory of the colleagues you are
leaving, for as long as possible. It doesn’t take much for out of sight to
become out of mind.
Published in LinkedIn on 31st December 2018
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