2000 Transition States

摘要

Sometimes when people leave their jobs to start entirely new careers, it takes everybody else by surprise—especially their colleagues and bosses. But maybe it shouldn't. In the September/October 1999 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Harvard University psychologists Timothy Butler and James Waldroop explain why people make radical job transitions. Usually, they say, these exits are written off to reasons such as: "She got an offer she couldn't refuse" or "No one stays with a company for very long these days." But on the basis of 12 years of research, the authors believe there's much more to it than that. They say many managers don't understand the psychology of work satisfaction; they assume that people who excel at their work are also happy in their jobs. And, although that sounds logical, strong job skills don't necessarily have much to do with job satisfaction, they report.