Job Hopping Still Sucks

July 7, 2008 · Filed Under Stupid Employee Tricks 

If people must know one thing about my blogging pet peeves, it is that I hate when people do not read through the entire post. There is one post in particular that often gets wrongfully credited to me even though it is a blogswap post (first sentence) and the person introducing herself is clearly a lady while I am clearly a guy (who has his name posted all over the site).

So what happens when a supposed lawyer misses the first two lines of a post and then goes on a long rant about how I hate employees? Chris says:

Background: I am a labor lawyer who is THRILLED by HR Guy’s comments. As Gen Y dominates the workforce, they will face a brick wall from management (e.g. HR Guy) regarding work-life balance, mentoring, etc.

Gen Y will get mad and leave their job.

And? Tons of people leave their jobs every day for the same reasons from all generations. Only they are being passed up for promotions and pay increases instead of work-life balance and mentoring.

So What? Well, why not file a lawsuit and get $50 to $100K out of the company that treats you like dirt. Most young people are not only changing jobs but - this key - also industries. I predict Gen Y will be an untapped market for employment related lawsuits.

Based on what? No mentoring opportunities? Are you kidding me? You’re going to sue over work/life balance?

Scenario:

I am a young buck with an overbearing middle manager who barks commands at me all day. After 9 months I had enough - I am going to move back home, apply for the Peace Corp and go to Zimbabwe.

The manager I hate is ill-trained and one day makes an off-colored joke about women - BAM! EEOC complaint. But, like most EEOC complaints this one will not come to fruition. However, I now have this poor, ill-trained, arrogant, middle manager in a trap. He’s mad at me, and starts treating me worse and worse. I document and document until a retaliation suite comes to fruition. The company, fearful of elongated litigation, settles for $50K. I get $20,000 after legal costs, my lawyer’s cut, taxes.

Outcome: I’m happily in Zimbabwe with a nice chunk of change in my bank account.

A far reaching scenario with an overly generous payout. This is the sort of nightmare scenario you see in a HR textbook to prove a point, not the run of the mill discrimination or retaliation case.

It is irritating that this (supposed) lawyer has dreamed up this fantasy to prove his point. What’s next Chris? Protecting our employees from wild unicorns? What potential legal liabilities are involved there?

Look, the reason that companies don’t want to hire job hoppers who lack a legitimate excuse for job hopping is the same reason many people avoid temp to hire work: there is an implied lack of commitment. Employees who wildly decry employers who cut people loose on a whim seem to have no problem with an employee’s lack of commitment. Let me be as clear as possible:

I have a problem with both bad employees and bad employers. Job hoppers hurt organizations and irresponsible employers hurt employees. In times of either high or low unemployment, the practices become nearly impossible.

Employees shouldn’t put up with bad employers but the solution isn’t to job hop and hurt yourself. That is dumb. The solution is to leverage your experience into a better job (where you can build up experience and time) or bide your time while you work into another career path (both of which ultimately stick it to a bad employer much worse than being a job hopper). People hate biding time so instead of doing this, they switch jobs (into another crappy job where they’ll want to move on) and perpetuate the cycle. It sucks, I’ve seen people fall into it.

Of course there are going to be exceptions. For the average worker though, you end up digging yourself into a hole by being a job hopper. In that way, you give the employer all of the power. The power the employer has over you when perception that your love of changing jobs every six months overshadows your performance. When you aren’t in charge of your destiny, you have just given your career over to others. You have lost power.

And I know that this trait gets assigned to Gen Y but I have seen it across many generations. Job hopping sucks. Bad employers suck too but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that job hopping hurts the good employers as well.

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Comments

11 Responses to “Job Hopping Still Sucks”

  1. Breanne Potter on July 8th, 2008 11:26 am

    Great post, and so right on! The issue isn’t a generational issue. It’s a job-hopping issue. When I was a recruiter, I was skeptical of anyone who lasted less than 2 years at a job unless they clearly advanced their career in the next move.

    [Reply]

  2. Tim Tanis on July 8th, 2008 12:32 pm

    Lance,

    I fully disagree with you. On their death bed, nobody ever said, “Gee I wish I’d spent more time at work!” Especially work that they didn’t enjoy. There are several surveys that have liked job satisfaction to employee performance and job satisfaction to on the job injuries.

    I believe that retaining employment in a position or company that you don’t enjoy is more hurtful on the company and the employee then finding a new job. The company expects a specific qualify of work and the employee doesn’t need to go into cardiac arrest at 28. (Note: Life satisfaction, which is directly linked to job satisfaction, and hypertension are also linked by research.)

    My experience with interviewing with companies to this point. Is that few have created customized recruiting practices that stress test applicants for fit within the culture or the job. That is the responsibility of Human Resources and most recruiting practices don’t do a good job of providing that service to their clients.

    [Reply]

  3. Lance Haun on July 8th, 2008 12:50 pm

    Tim - I am trying to figure out exactly what you are disagreeing with me on. People shouldn’t overwork? I agree with you there. People shouldn’t stay at bad jobs? I agree with you there. A stressful work environment can hurt your health? I agree with you there. Companies do a bad job of figuring out cultural fit? I agree with you.

    I think the implied point that you’re trying to make that disagrees with mine is that it is the employers fault that all of these things are happening and they should work unilaterally to fix them? Is that correct?

    I think both parties are to blame and job hopping ultimately hurts both parties. It hurts employers by having to rehire and retrain a person. It hurts the employee by making their employment choices less than desirable. I don’t know if you’ve been unemployed but it is pretty stressful as well. And I certainly know that hopping from one bad job to the next bad job is even worse than staying at the first bad job.

    I just want employees to seriously consider the consequences of their actions. I don’t want people to stay in bad jobs but I do want them to leave bad jobs for better ones. That’s it.

    [Reply]

  4. Kelly O on July 10th, 2008 11:17 am

    As a Gen-Xer, I got caught in the trap of job hopping. I had been at one employer for almost three years, and in an effort to change things in my life after a few traumatic events, I wound up in the cycle. Believe me, it’s hard to get out of it too… once you start it becomes a rhythm that is not easy to lose.

    The temp-to-hire route is really a weird feeling. I’m doing it again, hoping and praying this time it works out and I’m not back out at the recruiter’s in a month or two with yet another thing to explain. My husband (a full ten years older than me) just lost a temp-to-hire when the company decided they “didn’t really need” the extra person. That’s the third time in eighteen months he’s been on that end of things.

    Oh, and I have to add all the HR bloggers who tell you that job hopping doesn’t matter, that your resume doesn’t matter… they are absolutely wrong. Every recruiter or HR person I met expressed concern, and I wound up revamping my whole resume to a more functional one (which by the way a lot of HR people and/or recruiters don’t seem to like) in an effort to help assauge concerns about my qualifications.

    [Reply]

  5. Lance Haun on July 10th, 2008 11:28 am

    Kelly,

    Thanks for the comment. Examples like yours are what I try to mention when discussing job hopping. Good people who end up trapped in this cycle of short term employment. I don’t want people to “Suck it up” if they don’t want to but I do want them to consider the long term consequences of their actions. That’s speaking to reality rather than want.

    [Reply]

  6. Bob Eskridge on July 11th, 2008 9:36 am

    I agree with your post in general. Job hopping evidence on a resume can be a huge red flag; the employee may not work well with others or may not have the maturity to keep a job for long.

    However, in some cases you may want to explore the reasons for the job hopping. As a physician recruiter, I often work with physicians who have taken locum tenens positions, similar to short- or long-term contract positions. The reasons for accepting these jobs may vary, but sometimes the physician wants to gain experience in a variety of specialties, or to check out a geographical area before moving there permanently. When I see that sort of evidence on a resume, it’s a signal to gather further information – that information may actually become a mark in the applicant’s favor.

    [Reply]

  7. Lance Haun on July 11th, 2008 12:44 pm

    Good point Bob. In especially mobile industries, it wouldn’t be a big concern but, as you point out, it is still something that is probed into.

    [Reply]

  8. Toshiko on July 15th, 2008 4:42 pm

    As a former job hopper (I am rehabilitated, thank you HRGuy!) I know the evil of my past! I’m also older now so I can’t risk quitting a job, I have “real-life” bills now! :) I have actually been on my job for a year now… almost as long as I have been reading this blog.

    As far as people who get a job and somehow end up hoping/praying to get a lawsuit out of it, that’s pathetic. Just look for another job and put in your two weeks, sheesh.

    My past has made it very hard for me to get a job in my field, even though the previous jobs were way before I graduated. When I get the second interview, I almost can’t even believe it anymore. Sad but true.

    My advice to job hoppers… give it some more time with the position! Nothing is worse than quitting a job only to end up getting paid less- every time.

    [Reply]

  9. Ron on August 14th, 2008 7:58 am

    I’ve been working for 4 years now and am up to my third job now. My first one lasted 3.5 years and my last one lasted 6 months.

    I found I lost my patience and keep looking to others for advice and guidance for my career. This is almost to the point of asking everyone in my phonebook!! It is so absurd.

    How do I explain this to a future employer? I knew what I was doing was wrong but did it anyway. Is there a way out of this hole I’m digging for myself and find the right job for me?

    [Reply]

  10. Generation Y (Insert Clever Play on Words) | YourHRGuy.com on October 23rd, 2008 1:36 pm

    [...] use me as a sounding board for Generation Y angst. Why not? I occasionally post about generational issues in this blog. I think that generational issues are generally overblown. I [...]

  11. The Right and Wrong Time to Job Hop | Business Pundit on November 14th, 2008 2:42 am

    [...] should never leave a job solely to get out of a situation they are unhappy with. Instead, as Your HR Guy suggests, they should bide their time while preparing for another, better career [...]

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