Will Humphreys argues most people quit before talking to their boss. Have the awkward conversation first: supervisors can often fix what's wrong, keep you around, and sometimes improve things for everyone else too.
Chapters
When someone's unhappy at work, the number one mistake I've seen them make is go apply for other jobs without talking to their direct supervisor first. Here's why that's a mistake. In most cases, if we bring that early to the attention of a direct report, they have an opportunity to work with us to resolve the issue. Now, I'm not talking about cases where you don't feel safe at work and you don't feel like you can talk to that employer. You've made a huge mistake. I'm talking about most cases where you've been working there happily for years and. And then all of a sudden, things start gradually shifting and you start looking elsewhere without bringing it up. As an employer, whenever someone had the courage to bring that to my attention, I worked overtime to make sure that we made them happy at work. Cause here's what happens most of the time. If I get surprised when someone quits, they go work somewhere else. And sure enough, the grass isn't greener over there. And sometimes they even want to come back. So just make sure that when you are unhappy at work and you feel like your supervisor could listen, even if it's an awkward conversation, don't go on linked. Go talk to your supervisor. It'll make you happier where you are and maybe even change the culture for everybody else as well.
