How to Build a Workplace Culture that Acknowledges Leaving
Every person’s experience is different when it comes to leaving a job, but I’ve seen a lot of people try to make a job work long after they realized it wasn’t a good fit–mostly because they didn’t want to disappoint anyone or let people down at work.
But your first priority must always be your own wellness, so this article is all about how to protect your heart before and during the decision to leave a job, especially if you want to Leave Well.
This topic was inspired by a post I saw on LinkedIn from Zena Me, talking about five signs it’s time to walk away. Those signs are:
You’re constantly stressed and anxious.
You experience a lack of respect or feel undervalued.
There’s no room for growth or personal development.
Your needs are consistently ignored or dismissed.
The situation doesn’t align with your core values.
This is good advice for any relationship, personal or professional. Zena goes on to share five reasons for Leaving Well.
Taking your heart back from a job, an organization, a client, etc. gives you much greater capacity and agency for your next movement and growth.
You can turn to focus on the future rather than be 'stuck' energetically in the past.
You free yourself from the role you inhabited, so the next person can build on what you contributed to the organization.
You can consciously let go of the loyalty to the people you worked with, leaving you open and available to build new relationships.
It frees you from any entanglements that may become an ongoing hidden pattern in your relationships.
What I love about this approach to Leaving Well is that it gives us agency in how our leaving process impacts not only our immediate next steps, but our future work. There is so much power in being able to let go of our connection to the work that we are leaving–for more reasons than just our own mental wellbeing.
Untethering from Work
I use the word untether when it comes to discussing all things Leaving Well. I like the concept of untethering much better than the idea of detaching, even though they may seem extremely similar.
The definition of untether is to release, or free from restraints. The definition of detach is to remove from association or disconnect. Maybe that’s semantics and the differences are too nuanced to worry about, but I prefer untether. It feels more intentional and personal to me, while detach sounds like a very binary process of either being attached or detached.
When we untether from our work, it doesn’t mean that we have to forget about the impact we’ve had or disassociate ourselves from the progress made, projects begun, relationships formed, and intentions worked toward. What it does mean is that in order to set ourselves up for the next thing coming into our lives, we need to properly care for our heart and untether from our connection to that work.
Doing so helps create a beautiful space for the next person who comes into your role or organization to continue the work you’ve started. A key thing to remember here is that there are all sorts of ways that your work can be carried forward. It could be continued in the same fashion you laid out, it could be pivoted or shifted into a new direction, it could be merged or incorporated into a new collaborative project, or it could be ended and wrapped up without seeing the impact you originally intended. All of this is ok, natural, normal, and healthy. Freeing yourself from that role allows the next person to step in and carry things forward.
As you untether, you can also intentionally work to protect (or take back) your heart as you create space for new relationships, whether that’s with your friends and family, or new opportunities with people you haven’t met yet.
To help the untethering process, ask yourself these questions. You can journal on them, talk them through with a friend or trusted professional, or just let them linger in your mind until you’re ready to process.
Did I give the right amount of myself to this work?
How can I take what’s mine from the work and leave the rest with others?
What am I most proud of from this work that I’m leaving?
How did this work contribute to my overall body of work or portfolio?
What does protection look like for your organization and your teams?
Management’s Role in Protecting Employee Hearts
Managers and leaders have a responsibility to contribute to this protective practice, looking out for the hearts of your team members. Protection doesn’t need to be rigid or definitive. It may simply entail understanding that a large number of folks who work in your teams and departments are actively leaving–either currently looking, or beginning to untether.
The current norms around employees leaving is that their departure creates a vacuum of projects and knowledge, and teams usually have to scramble to stay above water while you find a new hire. This vacuum is optional. You could instead understand that people will come and go, and it’s much easier to manage when turnover isn’t seen as some terrible thing that gets hushed up.
Evaluate what your organization does to transfer knowledge regularly. Are there processes, documentation, or cross-training to ensure that no organizational knowledge is lost when a person leaves?
Have you cultivated a culture of asking employees what’s going right, through intentionally designed “stay” interviews?
You can embed healthy and proactive pillars of the Leaving Well framework before it becomes an urgent matter.
Being Proactive Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated
Navigating the Atlanta airport while traveling for work last year, I noticed a lot of construction happening above our heads, in the ceiling. While it wasn’t actively happening, the evidence was clearly obvious–hanging lights in various states of completion, exposed duct work, and hundreds of large red tags hanging at various lengths from the ceiling.
I finally stopped to read the tags. “Fixture is safe and supported from structure.”
The tags were both a proactive and reactive response to the reality that construction was happening, and that the public would be interacting with it. The simple acknowledgement that most people would–if they looked up–be concerned about the hanging fixtures led someone to suggest signage to share that this situation is safe.
Doing the same in our workplaces doesn’t have to be complicated.
“Acknowledging that people leave allows the organization to proactively work to shore up the fixtures, while reminding people that they are safe and supported. ”
Operationalizing the organization’s values, and sharing them transparently allows the public, the community, and future employees to feel supported, included, and informed about your workplace culture.
Living in accordance with and operationalizing your values means not only a more proactive and supportive workplace for all team members, but it can also provide more accountability for leadership who may be more removed from the pressing needs of the community your organization serves. Bringing personal and company values to the center can also help you protect and guard your heart, especially when you’re in the middle of navigating a departure, or an untethering, from the workplace.
If you are an organizational leader, board member, or a curious staff member, take the Leaving Well Assessment to discover your organization's transition readiness archetype at naomihataway.com/assessment.
To listen to an audio version of this article, listen to Episode 40 of the Leaving Well Podcast: Protecting Your Heart, Walking Away, and Leaving Well.