EMPLOYEES who come across a glass ceiling in their workplace are more likely to search for another job rather than discuss the issue with their immediate manager or their HR department, according to recent research
EMPLOYEES who encounter a glass ceiling in their workplace are more likely to search for another job rather than discuss the issue with their immediate manager or their HR department, according to recent research.
In Australia, three-quarters of employees would immediately initiate a job search, of which more than a third would also raise the issue with their immediate manager.
The survey, which took in almost 5,000 people globally, found that a quarter wouldn’t look for another job, preferring in the first instance to speak to their immediate manager or the HR department.
Companies with a strong HR function, where talent management and succession planning are the norm, were more likely to try and assist employees in working through such problems, according to Robert Walters, which conducted the survey.
“Talking to your human resources department or individual line manager about potential issues in the workplace can be seen as confrontational and many people would rather avoid an argument and look for another position rather than address the issue head-on,” said Mark Ellwood, director of Robert Walters, Singapore.
“It might come down to promotions, alternative career plans or trying to alter an individual’s perception about an apparent glass ceiling.”
He said it was more constructive for employees to do this rather than becoming frustrated and handing in their resignation. However if an employee felt it was time to move on sometimes there was no turning the clock back.
“It’s very frustrating for a line manager or an HR manager to receive a resignation letter with no prior warning and at this stage it is hard to salvage the situation,” he said.
Ellwood has seen many ‘buy-back’or ‘counter-offers’ in the current climate, because employees believe it’s a good time to move on to greener employment pastures.
“It’s only when they resign that they air their issues and the current employer then tries to do something about the situation and buy them back or counter offer them to prevent the individual from resigning, and this isn’t necessarily all about money.”
Bruce Henderson, director of Robert Walters, Perth said it was entirely natural for employees to look around the job market when faced with problems in their current workplace.
But he said this should be coupled with discussions with line managers, noting that three-quarters of employees would immediately initiate a job search when faced with a glass ceiling in the workplace.
“Regrettably, it seems from this survey that HR and management still have further work to do on staff relationships, to avoid losing employees at the first sign of a problem,” he said.
“Often with staff turnover comes the loss of intellectual property and ultimately productivity and profitability. They must aim to make themselves more approachable, keep communication channels open and be strategic in the way they manage their staff.”
From an individual country perspective, Luxembourg (40 per cent) and Hong Kong (43 per cent) showed the highest number of respondents prepared to simply initiate a job search without raising concerns with either HR or their immediate manager.
The global average was 25 per cent. Conversely, the Republic of Ireland (39 per cent) and New Zealand (28 per cent) polled the highest number of respondents who would prefer to initiate discussions before embarking on an active job search.
