We’ve often heard that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, but it’s often hard to see how that can be until it’s too late.
Because when we get excited about an idea that we think will help a lot of people, it’s easy for us to put up blinders about their unintended consequences.
And it seems we can apply this problem to matters of employment as every now and then, we hear about a business owner making a grand gesture of appreciation for their employees or simply showing some understanding when times get hard for them.
But while some of these actions are just unequivocally welcome and good, others speak to an idea that sounded a lot better in a boss’ head than it turned out to be in practice.
And while it’s often easy to tell the difference between great ideas and bad ones with good intentions, it seems that people can’t agree on which category one boss’ recent decision fits into.
At the beginning of November, CEO of Fiscal Care Services Jerry Meyer shared a story of how he reacted when he heard an employee was interviewing at another company.
As he explained in a LinkedIn post , this led him to call that potential employer and highly recommend hiring him. He talked up what an excellent worker he is and made the case that he would be a perfect fit for this other firm.
And he said that when the employee heard about this, he looked at Meyer like he was crazy and asked why he did that.
But as Meyer said, “I’m no saint, and I’m not crazy.”
Instead, he said he did what he did because that employee had “maxed out” at his company.
By that, he meant that the employee had gone farther in his career than Meyer had the appropriate opportunities for, so he felt it was better to help him get another job.
As Meyer put it, “There are few things that damage a person’s morale more than coming to work day after day, feeling that you are trapped in a job.”
Finally, he said that this line of thinking is as beneficial to the company as it is to its employees.
And it seems that a significant number of people agreed, as Meyer’s actions earn him no shortage of praise.
For some , his response was a breath of fresh air as it’s not uncommon for bosses to take it personally when an employee tries to leave and either refuse to provide a reference or poison their reputation.
This camp also found it encouraging that somebody actually cares about the happiness and potential of their employees, even if that potential leads them elsewhere.
As one of these commenters said, “It does however take a GREAT man to see potential and hold himself to his word and when that time comes, push for that person so they can have their dreams.”
However, while others could appreciate the intenions behind what Meyers did, they argued that he wasnt being as helpful as he thought.
For one thing, the fact that he did this without telling the employee first both came off as ill-advised and as potentially opening the door for legal consequences due to the violation of the employee’s privacy.
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But critics argued that Meyers also risked doing the opposite of what he intended, as the potential employer now knows that he has no intention of fighting to keep the employee. At worst, this may make them hesitant to hire him.
But as one commenter pointed out, even at best, “All you did was give the other company the upper hand in negotiations.”
Because now they know they won’t have to present an offer that competes with his current employer.
h/t: Bored Panda
