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Surveys conducted all over the world have concluded that there are at least 10 most popular reasons on why people would seriously consider quitting their jobs. Let’s take a closer look at the top 10 reasons today:

1. The company that they are working for is hit by financial woes, losing customers and there are rumours of ramping down, closure or bankruptcy.

2. Their professional and personal relationships with their bosses or superiors are damaged beyond repair.

3. Their life situations have gone through some awkward changes such as marriage and parenting. Marriage and having a new member in the family (a baby) usually brings additional financial commitments that current salaries and benefits could no longer support.

4. Their personal values are locking horns or at odds with their corporate culture. Bossy people would not feel comfortable in an office environment that practices openness and hierarchical decision making. Likewise, people who are comfortable with hierarchical decision makings would not be comfortable in a tight leashed ‘the boss is always right’ kind of office environment.

5. Their levels of boredom have reached the maximum and they no longer enjoy their work on daily basis. Going to work has become so dreadful and that is killing them inside. 

6. They are dissatisfied and losing patience with their company’s non-ethical wrongdoings. Maybe their companies are cheating customers on quality and they find that totally unacceptable.

7. They themselves have done too many wrongdoings such as missing too many days of work or taking too many time offs and that have considerably stain their reputations to the eyes of their superiors. Once seen as bad apples, it would be almost impossible to fix that.

8. They have totally burnt their bridges with their mates and colleagues. Assembling a team and getting cooperation from team members is getting impossible and that is affecting their leadership capabilities.

9. They are highly stressed dead walking zombies and could no longer concentrate on their jobs. Their relationships with loved ones at home are affected and people are avoiding them. This is a classic case of burning out.

10. They have so much potentials and talents that are yet to be explored and capitalized. They are underutilized and unchallenged and their offices could not provide them with the necessary excitement.

Malaysians would agree that reasons highlighted in 2 to 8 are common here in Malaysia. Despite all the hype and buzz created by the Malaysian government controlled mass media, Malaysians knew very well deep inside that the general Malaysian office or work culture is neither friendly nor healthy. Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Indians were brought up in highly tolerant ethnic communities. We can say that Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Indians were raised in believing that any problems could easily be solved through compromising, giving and taking. However, they would soon get the shock of their lives once they finish their school years or graduate from college. Here in Malaysia, the local economy is undoubtedly being monopolized by the Malaysian Chinese and it is not strange to see that almost every business here whether big and small are managed by them. Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Indians who are eager to work on their very first job in a company managed or monopolized by Malaysian Chinese would soon find out how different they are from the Malaysian Chinese community. The Malaysian Chinese community is highly disciplined, a bit impatient and have zero tolerance for nonsense. These traits are alien to the Malaysian Malays and Malaysian Indian communities. Many could not adjust in time and find themselves totally lost in limbo and quitting most of time would be their best option.

Some Malaysians thought that the solution to the previous highlighted problem would be to find employments in an office with majority of the staff are from their common ethnic group. Unfortunately as many have found out, it doesn’t really work well for them too. Even in a tight ethnic group, there are small groups that differentiate themselves and many have problems adapting to this ridiculous Malaysian office politics. For an example, Malaysian Malay Kelantanese would obviously ganged up and form their own Kelantanese group, thus alienating themselves from other Malaysian Malays. Those who are caught in this tight situation often could not adapt well enough and they took the easy way out by quitting. Many Malaysians and foreign expatriates have voiced their disappointment with this apparent lack of understanding and team work spirit among Malaysians. No wonder then some parties have labelled Malaysia as among the world’s worst place to earn a living and develop a good career!

The Malaysian government in their effort to diminish the gap between each Malaysian ethnic group introduced National Service a few years back and made it compulsory to all 18 year olds Malaysians. Local observers have long questioned the long term effectiveness of the National Service program. After all, can a short social training that is conducted for a couple of months could really change years of singular ethnic upbringing that has now become the norms of every young Malaysians?

If we look closely at all of the 10 reasons on why people would quit their jobs, they all have two things in common. People who are contemplating with such reasons may have poor control over their lives and lack the knowledge in handling their personal emotions. This problem is not actually new here and many local career counsellors have identified that Malaysians who are having problems coping with their careers and working environments must take the initiative in learning the following skills:

1. Stress management
   1. A lot of people may have a little problem in seeking this knowledge for many considered it as the solution applicable for those that have gone cuckoo or lost their marbles. But they have to accept the fact sooner or later that stress management is not something that we should dismiss entirely for records have shown that work and office politics are one of the top common stress factors. Learning to manage stress would give workers a chance to heal themselves from any psychological stress that can be caused by internal or external stimulus such as what we have discussed earlier.
2. Self improvement
   1. Once again, some people especially young graduates and professionals consider Self Improvement programs as rubbish. They may think that Self Improvement programs are only for losers and whiners but the hard truth is that everyone needs them for nobody is perfect. Those born with a history of singular ethnic upbringing should take the opportunity to master social skills, a very important module of any Self Improvement programs. Mastering the art of socializing could indeed help workers in adapting to any multi national or multi cultural companies every where in the world.

In the end, quitting jobs are not really the best way to solve problems. Wouldn’t it be better off if you would give your best to face the problems head on and find ways to go around them instead? Unfortunately, not that many people can do that unless of course they have gone through many Stress Management and Self Improvement programs. Globalization has made everyone go bonkers especially to those who are involves in corporate decision makings. Stress Management and Self Improvement programs or knowledge are no longer some options that people can put aside. They have become major necessities for those who really want to survive in any corporate jungle.

© 2007 Sahabatul Ventures