1. Management realizes they have a captive workforce, and uses that to accelerate schedules, by working the employees harder
2. Management also realizes it doesn't need to pay bonuses for the same "bad market" reasons.
3. When the market recovers, and top talent flees en masse, management will call emergency sessions to discuss how to "stop the haemorrhaging", and try to understand why people are leaving.
I once worked at a place where they paid the backend people $35K. The going rate at competitors was $80K. Unfortunately, it was a bad market, and the competitors weren't hiring.
As the market recovered, the entire backend team picked up and moved. We had three competitors literally within a city block (finance industry).
Our management freaked out, and held an emergency session to discussion the issue of employee retention. They'd lost 28 employees in three months, it was panic time. Did anyone have an idea, ANY idea, how they could retain backend people?
Fifty hands went up.
"Oh, before starting, we have to mention that increased compensation is not an option. Okay, let's start with the first per-"
Fifty hands went back down.
Yup, it was truly a head scratching mystery as to why people were leaving.
It was a defence contractor. Pretty much every manager was active military, retired military, still a reservist, or some variation thereof.
Most of the managers adapted to civilian life, and understood that employees were not crew. But not all of them did.
Many served on a boat for a decade, and been a senior officer. That meant that (a) subordinates had to follow their orders, by law, and (b) nobody could leave, not only by law, but also, if you were at sea, there was no one to go.
They were used to being obeyed, and the distinction between "quitting" and "desertion" was not as clear as it should have been in their minds.
The next steps, which I've seen happen, are:
1. Management realizes they have a captive workforce, and uses that to accelerate schedules, by working the employees harder
2. Management also realizes it doesn't need to pay bonuses for the same "bad market" reasons.
3. When the market recovers, and top talent flees en masse, management will call emergency sessions to discuss how to "stop the haemorrhaging", and try to understand why people are leaving.
I once worked at a place where they paid the backend people $35K. The going rate at competitors was $80K. Unfortunately, it was a bad market, and the competitors weren't hiring.
As the market recovered, the entire backend team picked up and moved. We had three competitors literally within a city block (finance industry).
Our management freaked out, and held an emergency session to discussion the issue of employee retention. They'd lost 28 employees in three months, it was panic time. Did anyone have an idea, ANY idea, how they could retain backend people?
Fifty hands went up.
"Oh, before starting, we have to mention that increased compensation is not an option. Okay, let's start with the first per-"
Fifty hands went back down.
Yup, it was truly a head scratching mystery as to why people were leaving.
I can't believe they didn't consider simply not letting people leave.
"What do you mean you are quitting? Says who?"
I've had managers that tried.
Jeff: I'm giving two weeks notice; my last day will be July 13th.
Manager: You're not getting off that easy.
Two days later...
Bill: We need to assign someone to XYZ support starting in August.
Manager: There's no need. Jeff is assigned to that.
Bill: And Jeff gave notice and is leaving in two weeks.
Manager: Don't worry. I talked to the company lawyers; Jeff's not going anywhere.
Jeff did, in fact, go elsewhere, to the shock of the manager (and director, and PM, and...)
I can't even begin to imagine that level of hubris. I bet Jeff was laughing all the way to HR to sign off on papers.
It was a defence contractor. Pretty much every manager was active military, retired military, still a reservist, or some variation thereof.
Most of the managers adapted to civilian life, and understood that employees were not crew. But not all of them did.
Many served on a boat for a decade, and been a senior officer. That meant that (a) subordinates had to follow their orders, by law, and (b) nobody could leave, not only by law, but also, if you were at sea, there was no one to go.
They were used to being obeyed, and the distinction between "quitting" and "desertion" was not as clear as it should have been in their minds.
Indeed
Bob needs to create more jobs
Note from Caspian Blue: The real horror is your boss will use that against you.
Booms and busts. Doesn't have to be like that, it's almost as if by design.