“When the oxygen mask falls down, try to save your own life before helping others.”
Making the decision to quit your employer can be a difficult one. Leaving a good-paying safe job to a future of uncertainties can easily scare away the possibilities of resigning. But you’re not always in the position to make that decision for yourself. Sometimes even the employer asks you to leave because simply he is not able to run the business effectively. Those are some of the worst times.
Recently, Anil Ambani’s reply to the UK court about his inability to pay back the Chinese banks has sent shivers to his employees. After Anil told the court that he has no meaningful assets to liquidate and claimed that he has no money, employers of the Anil Ambani Reliance Group have started to look for jobs outside even when they’re not asked to leave. Employees of the Reliance Group companies owned by Anil Ambani include, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital are now looking at an uncertain career with the employer.
The employees of Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher had to face a similar fate. There were many who left the airlines when the news of Vijay Mallya’s inefficiency to pay back loans to the banks came out. But there were a significant number of employees who stuck with the company. These employees had to witness months of unpaid salaries and finally had to leave the company after it was closed with nothing to support their unemployment period.
Jet Airways employees are also in a similar soup nowadays. With the airline moving towards bankruptcy, its employees are trying to save their careers. The staff has even moved to the National Company Law Tribunal demanding to be made a party in the insolvency process. They have even written to several ministries and ministers to save the airline from being grounded. But it doesn’t look like they have any option other than moving on from the budget carrier and look for a better deal outside. They must stick to the safety principles of flying. “When the oxygen mask falls down, try to save your own life before helping others.”
Such scenarios of businesses going insolvent aren’t just limited to airlines. Although the Indian Airline industry isn’t much profitable and airlines in India have been witnessing such business units closure now and then, start-ups too sometimes can head towards a guarded wall.
With the recent IPO debacle of WeWork and Uber, many employees faced an axe on their careers at the tech companies. Even employees of OYO had to go through the same process. The Indian hospitality aggregator recently cut short its employee base from China and India operations in an attempt to reduce costs and accommodate strategic business changes.
While many people would argue that these are natural reasons for one to leave a job, how can one be certain that they will be able to survive such a tragedy in their lives? It’s not always these reasons due to which an employee leaves, they may be other indications that you probably would have ignored.
One shouldn’t wait for the company to notify about the internal happenings and start the job hunt only after the official mail. There are several indicators that can help you determine whether to stay or move on. Even if your work profile limits you, news can be a good source of knowledge about the company situation. When you start getting news about senior leadership changes frequently and how the company is managing its cost, you must realize that it’s the time to look for new job offers.
You must give importance to your company’s annual report to get a better picture of the company’s fate. When the company is running short of funds and no new investment is coming along, you must start making a move from the company. Loyalty to the company and affection towards your seniors and colleagues are important but saving your own home from the fire is what you should go for. After all, when a building is collapsing, it’s advised to stay far away from it to prevent damage.
Sandeep is a journalism and mass communication graduate with a keen interest in politics and business. He is a part of Research & Content team at HrNxt.com.