Why do PR pros quit their job?

 17th June 2016    PR Insight 

It can be as bad as a bad divorce sometimes. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard come to mind. Or a smooth, conscious uncoupling in the footsteps of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow. That moment when you just have to quit your job. We find out what makes PR professionals say the two magic words – “I Quit”!

It’s the environment that matters

For Jaspreet Kaur, associate- Genesis Burson Marsteller, the main reason for quitting a previous job was that there was no more learning involved.

Jaspreet admits that, “The environment had become very negative.”

Tanni Mandal, assistant manager, with a PR agency in Mumbai says, “I have seen my colleagues quit organisations in the past. Sometimes organisation don’t live up to employee expectations; like adding value, appraisal, appreciation, and top of that mismanagement of the team adds to dissatisfaction. And most of the time it’s the internal politics which paved the way for them to leave the job even they had no intentions of doing so a few months back.”

An account manager with a leading PR firm in India, who wishes to stay anonymous says that the experience working with a startup wasn’t great.

The account manager says, “I quit the first firm which was a Bengaluru based PR startup because Saturdays weren't off and I wanted to work on the PR campaigns of big consumer brands. I also quit a multinational PR firm in Bangalore because I wanted a higher designation and pay.”

Harday Gupta assistant manager – media & client servicing for Integrated Centre For Consultancy Pvt. Ltd agrees that, “Unhealthy working environment and lack of  job satisfaction” are personal reasons to quit. Among the professional reasons Harday flags off, “Better organization or salary.”

The bad boss!

Though few would admit it openly, bad bosses are a strong trigger for people quitting. Mansi Shah, who was content head in a digital advertising firm, faced this challenge. She says, “I was handling an entire team at the place I worked at. We got a new boss who was supposed to oversee all the teams. He had no idea what we did, what timelines we worked with. He only wanted to prove that he was smart. He was overbearing, annoying and intrusive. I quit within six months of him joining and I made sure I said I left because of him in my exit interview.”

Would you go back to a company you quit?

Not all leave the company with a negative frame of mind. For example, Harday says that, “I left Bharti Airtel after working there for one and a half years. My new company was paying me approximately double what I got at Bharti, but the but environment was not so healthy and happening. So I left that company and joined Bharti Airtel again after 4 months on a reduced salary.”

Jaspreet however says she has never gone back to the organisation she quit.

Shreya Khatri, senior account executive, Elite Relations, has not gone back either but is still in touch with her former colleagues. She advised that, “A person should behave normally & should maintain his or her behavior with her seniors & colleagues while quitting the job because you are quitting a job but not ending your career. And the relationships do matter in life.”

As Jaspreet puts it, “The only essential thing one should have in your mind is to take their learning from the job along with them and leave the negativity behind.”

And Tanni says it best when she talks about the first time she quit a job. She says, “Honestly I was lost as the first job is always special. Being young, I had no clue as to how to react to exit formalities and it was tearing me apart. I am still in touch with them and I love them. They are part of my journey and I will always be grateful to them for the wonderful memories we had together”!