Kim Groshek
Nov 2 · 3 min read

Reasons Employees Give Up

1. Poor fit
2. Disengagement
3. Organizational politics
4. Personal circumstances

I was treated like dirt in my previous job, though I worked 5AM to 7PM. I was reminded that if they don’t see my value, it should be their problem, not mine. So, I quit and I went on.

No matter how talented someone might be, there is no guarantee that their talents will translate into top performance. Potential has generally illustrated that an individual’s overarching competence cannot be fully understood unless we also account for their emotional make-up, preferences, and dispositions. No matter how smart, knowledgeable, and experienced you are, there is generally a difference between what you can do and what you normally do.

Talent is mainly personality in the right place, which explains why most people will do better in some jobs, cultures, and contexts than in others. Organizational psychologists call this “Poor Fit,” and it is measured by quantifying the degree of alignment between a person’s “attitude, values, abilities and dispositions,” alongside the match of the “characteristics of the job, role, and organization.” The problem is the manager is not often good at evaluating the role, and particularly their own culture. This is why so many organizations see themselves as more inclusive, diverse, innovative, and prosocial than they actually are. They “wish” they are rather than accurately self-assessing. This obviously impacts the candidates’ perceptions of the role and organization and where it may take them, while they truly experience a culture that doesn’t understand the demand from them.

A common side-effect of poor fit is lack of enthusiasm and motivation and this causes disengagement. The most common driver of disengagement is poor leadership. Some call it “management malfunction,” particularly why star employees quit their jobs and traditional employment altogether.

Workplaces, however modernized, still have progress to be made around organizational politics. Even when they are able to draw star performers into their companies, those stars have to learn how to navigate the toxic and nepotistic side of their culture, even to some degree ‘organizational politics’. In general, the more contaminated and corrosive the culture of an organization the more parasitic individuals will rise, kind of like bacteria thrive in contaminated environments. You might see how an individuals’ career success and their actual perfromance and talents might be on separate ends of the spectrum. You can deal with this by being aware of the politics and partaking them, though there’s a fine line without ’selling your soul.’

This one might be a little obvious, today’s ever-more invasive 24/7 work demand forget that people have personal lives. No matter how talented or engaged they are, ‘personal circumstances and ideals’ may interfere with their career success. I suppose this is why there is so much out there about ‘work-life’ balance. Good managers will want to honor and support your circumstances and have a vested interest in helping you work things in balance with them so that you can deliver what is needed in the long run.

Your talents are necessary, but may not be sufficient to impress success. Making sure the job you pick matches your interests, beliefs and life activities. And finally, knowing the invisible social forces of the dynamic organization can help you navigate and perform to the best of your capabilities.

Kim Groshek

I write Popular Information about people, culture, power and politics. Ironman, 13.1 in 50 🇺🇸states. Traveler. Transformation Expert. Love simple things.

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