Dealing with the Feels After an Employee Quits

Women at Work

Harvard Business Review

Hbr, Entrepreneurship, Business/management, Careers, Progress, Harvard, Business/entrepreneurship, Workplace, Human, Management, Resources, Gender, Women, Business, Business/careers, Equality

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 25 October 2021

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Managers are told that when an employee resigns, they should be professional, reassure their team, and wish the person well. But we also know that resignations bring up a lot of feelings: panic, loss, self-doubt. Five managers acknowledge those emotions and share how they’ve learned to cope.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Harvard Business School Executive Education develops leaders who make a
0:04.5	difference in the world. In their programs, experience the power of fresh
0:09.4	perspectives and connect with the world of new ideas. Learn more at hbs.me
0:15.6	slash work. That's hbs.me slash work.
0:22.4	I am feeling for my friends who manage teams right now because this phenomenon of
0:36.0	the great resignation is hitting them really hard. What are you hearing from them?
0:41.4	I hear a lot of stories about dreading the can I talk to you for a moment or
0:47.8	getting the invite from a beloved direct report that it's unclear why exactly
0:54.4	they're setting up a meeting and the sleepless nights of how do I make sure I
0:59.8	don't lose anyone else on my team. I have to tell you nothing strikes fear in my
1:04.9	heart like the email the subject line of which is got a sack. I mean that it
1:12.6	never takes a sack. I always want to say yeah I just want to say no.
1:16.9	No I don't. You know all managers have gone through this and we know how we're
1:25.1	supposed to respond and it's genuine. You want what's best for anyone on your
1:32.1	team. You want them to be happy. You know that no employment situation is
1:38.1	forever but even though you know all of that intellectually it still hurts.
1:44.2	It still strikes home. I didn't realize how personally managers take it which
1:49.9	is so sad. For all by past managers who I've been like bye.
1:57.1	You're listening to Women at Work from Harvard Business Review. I'm Amy Gallow.
2:01.8	I'm Amy Bernstein and I'm Emily Caulfield. Every time I see a manager calm and
2:08.8	collected after somebody on their team quits I wonder what are they actually
2:13.2	thinking and feeling. Well we're about to find out. You're going to hear from
	...

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