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I know that, in practice, this doesn't really help any, but employers that find out their employees are looking for another job and fire those employees because

• btilly 17y ago
  't really help any, but employers that find out their employees are looking for another job and fire those employees because of it, are cutting their nose off to spite their face.* Sorry, but that is not necessarily true. If an employee is actively looking for a new job, then the employer should assume that that employee will find a new job at some point. At that point it becomes a question of whose terms that happens on. If it happens on the employee's terms then the employer is suddenly out an employee and starting the hiring process. Which leaves the employer with a hole in their organizational structure, and stresses the people who remain. By contrast if it happens on the employer's terms then the employer hires a new employee to replace the old, trains that employee, then gets rid of the old. The employer now no longer suffers that painful gap. From the employer's point of view happening on the employer's terms is much better than happening on the employee's. So if an employer discovers that an employee is unhappy enough to be actively searching, they should start the replacement process immediately. And once the replacement is ready, let go of the redundant dissatisfied employee. That is how the employer, acting rationally out of their own best interest, will usually behave. If they were smart about it, they would provide you, in writing before you even accepted their job offer, an agreement that they won't penalize you in any way for looking for a better job for yourself. Things change. Jobs get less fun/interesting. Your interests change. If your employer can no longer provide you with the things you're looking for, you have every right to find one who can. They would certainly let you go if you could no longer provide them with the things they're looking for. Why are workplaces run like prisons? This kind of stuff really bothers me. You're drawing the wrong analogy. Employee-employer is a type of relationship. Compare with other kinds of relationships and life is much more reasonable. If you're dating someone seriously and you find that they are actively looking for another relationship, what is your reaction going to be? People change, relationships get less fun/interesting. Your interests change. You have a right to try to find someone who meets your needs. This is all absolutely true. But if your current significant other finds out that you're looking for a replacement, can you blame them for rethinking the existing relationship?
  • umjames 17y ago
    I see your point, but I think looking for a new job/relationship now rather than later is actually better for both parties involved. Sure, the party who finds out last will feel hurt (possibly betrayed) in the short term, but it's much better than staying in a job/relationship that only one party is interested in continuing. The other party will only grow more unhappy until they can't stand it anymore and will forcefully try to end the relationship anyway, except in a much uglier way. Of course your emotions, as all of this is going down, will often make this kind of rationalization difficult to see.