Why You Should Work Hard During Notice Period

People moving across jobs is usual. It is increasing due to the shift in social behavior, attitude of both organizations and employees. For whatever reason, one might want to move on.

Flickr/ Pavlina Jane

What follows the resignation is notice period. Some countries have long notice period. Like India. 3 months is many companies.

Here I want to talk about how people work during notice people. If it is long like 3 months, it is worth thinking about how to work in this period. I have seen that behavior of employees could greatly change during notice period. I see many people getting into retirement mode. The commitment towards work drastically reduces.

• It won’t lead to salary hike
• Nobody would remember
• Someone else is likely to claim credit for all that work.

So, do not bother. Just relax. Whoever comes next will take care of it. Sounds reasonable? Sure it is.

Let me give some arguments to work harder during the notice period.

• One of the biggest demotivators at work place is appraisal system itself. Those who are excited about work, get quickly demotivated just due to immature handling of the annual review by the managers. No need to fear what others think and the consequences. If you really liked the work, this is the best time to work and do it the way you always wanted to do.

  

• This period you could work without getting into the irritation of getting judged and disproportionate recognition.  Probably this is the best time to work. Very less chance of you getting disheartened because there are no more expectations left. Sounds philosophical, but if you think about it, hopefully you get it.
• In dynamic labor markets like India, China, pay hike is a big motivator or demotivator. If you perform well you are supposed to get great hike. In this practice, most people have forgotten that they work for salary.  They are wired to think that they work for the next pay hike, not the next paycheck. what is forgotten is salary is paid for the work. It is almost taken for granted. Could we not get back to the basics and remember that we earn salary for the work we do?

  

• The experience itself. Long term market of professional experience depends on the quality of experience. There are many I know have lot less experience than the number of years they have put in. When we talk during the interview, it shows up. The work opportunity you have today may not necessarily there in the next job. Working would make your resume rich, with more accomplishments. Then why not?
• Brain wiring. Getting used to accomplishing things is a great habit. Anyone who talks to you – be it a future employer or customer, can make out. So, why to spoil a good habit?

  

• If there is no good work, consider learning things that might help in the long term. This would be lot smarter than just lazying around.

This is the period where you are making last impression. Not just with the current supervisors, but with everyone around you. With social and professional networking, impression you make on everyone is of paramount importance. Why not leave the best impression? At the least, you do not need to degrade your working habit impression during this period.

Hopefully this strikes a chord regarding the notice period.