Monday, October 27, 2014

Constructive Resignation


Constructive termination is where a workplace is so offensive that an employee is forced to leave. What on the surface appears to be a voluntary resignation is in reality a coerced one.

I suggest that another helpful concept would be constructive resignation. In that situation, a person who performs in a manner which signals extreme incompetence or a lack of interest in performing the job would be regarded as having resigned, even though no resignation has been formally submitted.

Elements of constructive resignation would be:

  • Frequently being surprised by events which should have been anticipated;
  • Frequently attempting to blame others for inadequacies;
  • A history of shirking responsibilities;
  • A history of missing deadlines;
  • Repeated fumbling of crises and major decisions;
  • Failing to fulfill frequent vows to correct practices;
  • Failing to manage;
  • Failing to follow-through;
  • Failing to work well with others; 
  • A long history of excuse-making;
  • Failing to produce results.

Just as there are people who retire on the job, there are people who "resign" but remain on the job. 

They are not gone but they should be.

2 comments:

LA Grant said...

Though it may be closer to what you refer to as retirement on the job, I recall an acronym I learned while a young navy officer: ROAD.

It stands for Retired on Active Duty and covers most of the shortcomings you list.

I was also reminded of my navy days by your post on lists. I learned very early (and painfully) that my mental list keeping was greatly inferior to a paper memory. I still keep a running list of tasks. Couldn't live without it.

Michael Wade said...

Larry,

ROAD sounds very close to the situation.

Re lists: I couldn't get along without them. It is truly amazing how easy it is to forget something important.

Michael