The factors that lead to employee separation depend on the cause/ method of separation and can be outlined as follows:
a) Retrenchment
Factors leading to retrenchment include:
- Poor business performance owing to decline in market share. This may be due to competitive pressure from competitors among other reasons.
- Poor management and inadequate planning
- Business mergers, takeovers and divestments.
- Introduction of high performance work systems which may entail
- Employment of multi skilled personnel capable of increasing productivity and responding to change.
- Introduction of new method of production
- Introduction of organisation structures designed to enable quick decisions fast responses and empowered employees.
b) Resignation
This is the most common way of separation. Employee leaves his job and employment with his employer for the following reasons:
- To pursue better opportunities; a better position at a better compensation package in a branded company (or better known company) in a same city and country or in a different city or different country.
- Better compensation and benefits;
- Higher position / level;
- Challenging role;
- To move from an unknown or lowly branded company to a highly branded and reputed company (Top 10 or 25 companies in the world etc.); and
- For foreign or international assignments.
c) Termination
Usually, this process is perceived negatively by employees. In termination, an employer uses his right to terminate the contract of an employment. There can be many reasons for an employer to terminate the contract of employment but some of the common reasons are: Non-Performance, Indiscipline, Misconduct, Insubordination, and theft etc.
d) Absconding
This is one of the most unethical, unexpected and unprofessional way to terminate the contract of an employment. Employees can abscond in either or all of the below mentioned circumstances / situations:
- After stealing the confidential information or documents or database from the company
- If the employee intendeds to commit a crime
- If there is a work-pressure and stress and the individual is not able to cope-up with it
- If the employee has committed any crime outside the office and after working hours (such as murder or getting involved in terrorist activities or theft or any other civil crime)
- When priorities are different e.g. Employee has asked for leave due to some urgency at his home (or might be he is trying to escape from his work responsibilities) and at the same time his team also needs him in the office and his leaves are not approved.
- If he has got some exceptionally good opportunity that requires him to join immediately and he feels that the process of separation in his company is a bit too complicated. He assumes few things and do not really try to face the challenge.
- Employees that abscond have different personalities. They are low in confidence. They are too weak to face the reality and challenges of life. They feel that running away from the problem is as good as solving the problem. They are cowards to take the problems head-on.
