Colleague resignation.

*name changed for privacy, and my own protection of cos(don’t wanna break my own rice bowl! lol )

It was Thursday morning when Tommy told me that he heard Michael is leaving. I was in disbelief. I thought perhaps he heard the wrong name, but he was pretty confident of it.

So, I decided to ask Michael about it when I bumped into him on the way out for lunch. He was rather cool about it, but was surprised that I knew. This must be one of the best kept resignation news.

I spoke to him later that afternoon, and he told me that Friday is his last day. I was indeed shocked. He submitted his resignation one month earlier, and he did not tell a single person, except, of course the person who accepted his resignation. I was a little shocked and sad. He is one of the better guys in the office.

Since Friday is his last day, I decided to have a chat with him, before he left. I went up to his place at 12 ++ pm on Friday, and he was already packing his stuff. We had a long and interesting chat that I even skipped my lunch. He told me a lot of things that happened prior to his resignation.

He was hinted to resign. I am still in a shock. I don’t know how he felt, but I feel for him. He somehow did not live up to the MD’s expectation. And the hint to leave was relayed to him by another director. By the way, he’s an assistant manager. Did he really perform below par?

Michael (left) wishing my manager happy birthday. pics by At.

In my humble opinion (lol), I think not. In fact, I think his hands are tied. I understand him, because more often than not, I feel like him. That is how you will feel, working in a family-run business. You have people sitting on the higher position not on merit, but on blood relation. It’s not easy working with these people who think they are mr or mrs know-it-all, when they know nuts. Working under one of these kinds of people is bad enough, let alone having to work with almost all of them.

That is exactly what Michael is facing. His job scope requires him to deal with most of the managers, and I reckon that he did not get a good appraisal from a number of them, especially the Big Boss. My Big Boss often has his own ideas, and he keeps on changing his mind about things. And sometimes, he can be vague, and hard to please.

I spoke to Michael from time to time. We chat about things like work, life, principles, etc etc. I find him quite knowledgeable, though his dressing might be a little bit… *ahem*. He is a sneaker freak. I lose count of the number of pairs he worn to work.

One thing he told me that I found it kind of true. He said, “This Company need workers, not thinkers.” I have been having the same ideology regarding this company, but his sentence still hit me, and all I could do is agree with him. Have you met a manager who is afraid to see or talk to the customers? I doubt her credentials, really.

Michael almost left without a single word. He never tells anyone about his resignation. News of his resignation is just a rumor and only an exclusive few who know it. I’m really glad that I heard about it just in time for me to catch him.

I might be the only one from below the managerial level to know the whole story. Perhaps I did not know the whole story. Maybe just a bit part, but I might still be the one who knew the most.(?) I somehow suspected that there might be some internal problems among him and those people below him. Chances are that he might have been stabbed from the back.

Well, he has left anyway. I lose a colleague, and I got a friend at the same time. There’s nothing that anyone can do. It might take a little time before the company will be able to find a replacement. I somehow felt the company lose more than Mike do. He’s a thinker worker. Forward thinking and hardworking. In a more obscure way, I believe he’s a victim of office politics.

Can you imagine he is not even being recommended for bonus?