What can you do if work is not working for you?

Posted: 13/02/2023

There is an abundance of posts on social media about employees not being the ‘right fit’, and what employers can do to exit them from their business. However, little is written about what employees can do when they discover their employer is no longer the ‘right fit’ for them.

Fight or flight

Leaving your employment, particularly in challenging economic times, can be daunting, and many employees will choose to stick it out. Sooner or later, however, things come to a head; the situation becomes unbearable, and the employee is forced to raise a grievance or walk away.

The former results typically in the employee leaving anyway, and the latter seems a little unfair, especially if, as is often the case, the change in circumstances is down to the employer’s actions eg changing their management structure, working methods or even location.

Much has been written lately about the supposed phenomenon of ‘quiet quitting’, where employees work to rule and do the minimum required while still meeting their contractual obligations. This is not an ideal situation for either party and is ultimately likely to result in the employee leaving anyway due to a lack of job satisfaction and a deterioration, if not a total breakdown, in the relationship between them and their employer.

The latest term to emerge is so-called ‘quiet firing’ – in this case, the employer gradually pushes the employee out of the business using passive-aggressive management techniques such as micro-managing them or excluding them from meetings etc. In tough economic times, employers may increasingly use such methods to reduce headcount and cut costs while avoiding the need for expensive redundancy processes and severance payments.

Again, these are likely to lead to frustration and resentment on the part of the employee, and it may become the case that where you work is no longer working for you.

The ‘negotiated exit’

Is there another option? Well, yes, the ‘negotiated exit.’ At any stage of employment, and for any reason, an employee or employer may seek to negotiate a settlement in return for the employee leaving the employment. Employers regularly use this option, known as ‘a protected conversation’. However, while lesser known, it is also an option for an employee.

The advantages are clear; a clean break with everyone wishing each other well, workplace friction avoided, a long and often unsatisfying and unsatisfactory grievance procedure avoided and, therefore, time and money well spent. A negotiated exit, with an agreed reference, can also be helpful when looking for your next role.

Negotiating the terms of the exit and of a subsequent settlement agreement can be a daunting prospect for some people, especially where the relationship is more strained or has broken down completely. Where this is the case, an employment lawyer can deal directly with the employer or work in the background, whichever is preferable.

In addition to providing guidance and advice on how to approach the negotiation and what can realistically be achieved, they will be able to construct a bank of sound arguments to present to the employer.

Return to news headlines