8/8/2019 I Resign! How to Quit Your Job Professionally

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C-6 Classified Sunday, November21, 2010I Resign !

(How to Quit Your Job Professionally)

RUBENANLACAN

ou may probably bethinking about resignin g from your job.However,before doingI . so, you must think ofthis a couple of times. It is shamefulto resign, and beg to be taken back: by your employer, once you re alizeI you are wrong. In most cases, thisis ir reversible.Soyou have finallymade up yourmind. You are resigning any timesoon.But kindlyconsider the follow, ing before saying adieu!I. Make sure you have a newjob.If someone offered you a position,ask ifyou may firs t see the contract.; Study the counter-proposal, an dmake sure tha t it is a bet ter dealforyou. However, if you don't haveany job offer, make su re you haveenough savings, as sometimes ittakes months (evenyears forsomel)i to find a newjob. Carefully prepare a resignation letter.Make sure you address itI to your immediate boss ,and providea copy to your HR officer. Have itpr inted on a clean sheet of paper.Never write anythi ng nega tive in theletter, no matt er howmuch you hateyour devilish boss and co-workers.Remember,you stillneed your boss'srecommendat ion letter, oryoumighthave to go back to get certain certi-fications! Remember, also, you are. not compelled to tell your boss the( re ason for your resignation. Ju s tI inform them ofthe date ofits effectiv-ity,and say thankyou forall the skillsand lessons learned.

Refrain from tendering resignation that is effective immediately.Give at least thirty (30) days' notice,to give enough time for your bossto hire your replacement. Besidesthis, the 30 days ' notice is a legalrequirement. Never brag about transferringto a bett e r company. Your lett e rshou ld be sh or t and st raight. Asmuch as possible, maintain a positive relationship with your boss andcolleagues. Make the transition easier foryour replacement. If there's enoughtime, train and orient the new employee.

Before re signing, try to finish all tasks ass igned to you.Neverleave a project hanging, especiallyifthis wouldhurt the company, or mayhave a negative effect on its sa les orproduction.Be productive untilyourlas t day inthe company. Maintain your good tie s withyour boss and co-employees . Neverbad -mouth anybody in the office ,asthiswillleave a bad impression, andmay lead to your employer not givingyou a good recommendation. Be pr epared for your boss 'sreaction.There are some whowouldmake a counter-offer.Make sure youknow how you would react to that,

and what ter ms you would acceptto stay. On the other hand, there aresome employers who will feel bad .and take it against you when you resign.Some willimmediatelydismissyouuponreceipt ofyourresignat ion.In this case, make sure youhave already gatheredyour personal things(ordeleted your personal files fromyourcomputer!), soyoumay be ableto leave immediately when asked.Although, there are somewhowouldask you to s tay a little longer (sayanother two weeks or one month).In this case , never feel guilty to sayno.Your new employer may alreadybe waiting for you to start work as

soon as possible. Compute your remaining salary and benefits. Check ifyou stillhave unused leaves andotherunpaidbenefits. Total eve rything, including your 13th month pay and otherbonuses. Re turn all company assets ,equipment, or materials assignedtoyou.Avoid unnecessary litigation.Make sure youturn over everythingthat belongs to the company, such astheir laptop, cellphone,companycar,and even confidential documents . Remain polite andprofessionalduring th e exit interview. Even ifyou wan ted to shout or cur se theinterviewe r, maintain your grace

an d poise. Dwell on th e posit ivethings you have learned from thecompany.Even if you despise your job, itis not easy to turn in a resignationletter. No matter howyou hat e yourboss , it is imperative that youresignin a courteous, tactfulmanner.Neverbur n bridges. If you leave, leave ingood terms.Be wary. Yourresignation letterwill be placed along with your 201Files. It willbe kept by the company,and whateveryou have written therewillbe used for or against you. If youdecide to move on, there is actuallyno point in criticizing your boss orthe company.Wish themwell, and becivil. Good luck on your new job!Business and managementconsultantRUBEN ANLACANJR. is the presidentofBusfnessCoadJ Inc. anda resourcespeaker for various business topics.He discusses overviews and tIps forbusinessfrom thepoIn t o fv iewof asmall- ormedtum-scs!e entrepreneurwho has started several successfulenterprises. Those who wIsh to askquestionsor to makecommentsmayvisit http://entrepcoach.blogspot.com or email entrepcoach@gmllil.com.

BUSTING STRESSHERE'SHOW

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to talk to yourboss.The keyis not "if "you're going todo it, but "how."Before approaching you r boss,consider carefully what you wantfrom the outcome -your joband lesscoughing.Planyour conversation byfocusing on the behavior without embarrassingher.That means a quiet talkin private that focuses on solutions."JaneI'dlike to talk toyouas someoneI sharean office with,not as myboss.I hope that if the roles werereversedthat youwould do the same withme.I'm worried about something that Ican'thelp but notice: It's your coughing and clea ring ofyour throat . I tmustbe difficultforyou,and it's verydistracting forme.Sometimes it cango o n for as much as an hour. Wereyouaware ofit?"By asking her the question youdirect the conversation tothe specificissue. Now you can try to exploresolutions with her. If you discoverthere t ruly are no viable options,then you'll have to decide if youarestayingor not.

higher blood pres sures than thosein less taxing si tuations, includingpeople with stressfuljobs who couldmake theirowndecision andthose ineasygoingpositions whohad little opportunityto think for themselves.The studydiscovered that peoplewith high-st ress, low-freedom jobshad blood pres sures that averaged137/85, against about 129/83 for others. The difference grows progressivelygreater as peoplege tolder, thestudy noted. Normal bloodpressureis 120/80.Generally, blood press ure flue-

r thnnovByPeter PostGlobeCorrespondent

How to elnoffleI have shared an office with myboss for almost a year now.Sincedayone Ihavenoticedtha t she clears herthroat ...a 10L It's not just your typicallittle clearing, it's much more thanthat and can lastforuptoanhour at atime.Ihavelastedayearwith this,butit is starting tobecome unbearable.Evenwith headphones on,I can stillhear it. There isn'tanother space forme to move to. Can you please giveme some adviceon howI should ap

proach this? CA. B.,Winchester)Shared offices, cubical environments, and open offices are obviouswaysfor a business to save on costs.Butsharing ofspace comes at a costas well: People's annoying, disturbing, and, sometimes, even offensiveactions can affect productivity, andtherefore profits.In your si tuation, simple fixeslikeearphones or movingtoanotherspaceeither didn'tworkoraren'tpossible,anddoingnothingis intolerable.Unless you're willing toquit, it's time

St res s , whe n it changes to distress,can render a personvulnerableto many diseases thataccelerate therate of ageing. Some health expertshave claimed thatdistress is a factorinasthma, arthritis,ulcers ,andotherailments.In most cases, distress is not theactual cause of physical illness , butrather it pickson the "little guy."making the weakestpart ofa person evenweaker. "Weallhave organs or partsofour bodies that are more vulnerable than others ," DrSeyle explainsin his book. "And dist res s attackswhere res istance is lowest ."In the stomach, for instance, theexcretion of gastricjuices increasesunder stre ss. The higher aciditycause indigestion; stomach musclesknot ; tension hampers the movementof foods out ofthe stomach, resultinginmore irritation. Repeated distresssituations will ultimately le ad to anulcer.

Men with s tre ssful jobs havehigher than usual blood pressurewhen they sleep,suggestihgthat suchdifficult work permanently damagestheir circulatory systems, according.to a s tudy presented at a meeting ofthe Society of Behavioral Medicinein New York City a couple of yea rsback.The study was conducted by DrJoseph Schwartz andothers from theState UniversityofNewYorkat StonyBrook.Theysurveyed 373people whowork in nine different places in NewYork City. The researchers foundthat people inhighlydemandingjobswith littleautonomy had significantly

Dr Seyle argued that stress isthebody's non-specific response to anydemand made upon it. "Sitting in adentist's chair isstressful. But so isexchanging a passionate kiss with alover - after all, your pulse speedsup, your breathing quickens , yourheartbeat soars ," he wri tes . "Yetwho inthe worldwould forgo such apleasurable pastime (kissing) simplybecause ofs tress? Our aim shouldn'tbe toavoid stress completely, whichwouldbeimpossible,but torecognizeour typical response to stress andthen to modulate our lives in accordance with it."Dr Seyle said as long as humanbeings are capable ofhandling stress,itis a very gooddriving force. However, when stress really get s a person - whichhappens when he grindshis teeth and starts telling himselfthings that upset him - it changesinto dist ress , which every person istrying to avoid.

TRESS has emergedas one ofthe most serious health issues ofthe 21st century as itmakes people aroundthe world vulnerable to many diseases ,according to a recent reportreleased by the International LaborOrganization (ILO).In the United States , job st resshas been estimated to cost industryaround US$200 billionannuallywhileinthe United Kingdom, stress is reported tocost upto 10percent of thegross national product."The kind of tense and stressfulworking environment seems to havebecome accepted as natural willhave to be addressed urgently if the

changes through which the worldis moving are not to become overwhelming," said the United Nationslabor agency.In recentyears, many companiesallover the globe have felt the financial costs of stress directly throughcompensation claims inthe courts. InJapan, for instance, therehas beenanincreasing number of compensationclaims forso-called karoshi or deathfrom overwork.Dr Hans Seyle, the world's premier stress researcher,said the term"stress" came from the Old Frenchand Middle English word "distress."Hesaid thatthe first syllable eventuallywas lost through slurringas whenmodern kids turned "because" into"cause."

"In the lig ht of ou r invest igations," Dr Seyle writes in his book,Stress Without Distress , "the truemeaning of the two words becametotallydifferentdespite their commonancestry, justas incorrect usage wedistinguishbecause (since)andcause(reason). Activity associated withstressmaybe pleasantorunpleasant:distressis always disagreeable."

By HENRYLITOD. TACIO