Bryan Gee/The Globe and Mail
Since his highly publicized resignation as the country's top statistician, Munir Sheikh has become a new hero for disgruntled workers who daydream of quitting their jobs in a spectacular way.
Online commenters have called him "brave," "honourable" and "admirable" for leaving Statistics Canada last week, instead of accepting a policy he opposed, and giving the government a piece of his mind on his way out the door. And his resignation has no doubt made it harder for the government to sell its plan to replace the agency's mandatory long-form census with a voluntary one - the issue over which Mr. Sheikh sacrificed his job.
But as much as admirers might applaud Mr. Sheikh for taking a stand, those employees he left behind at Statistics Canada are now probably finding themselves in a worse situation than ever.
Sticking it to the boss may be every unhappy employee's fantasy, but the aftermath of a bitter resignation is everyone else's nightmare.
Particularly if the person who resigns is well liked in the workplace, his departure can leave others feeling deflated, stressed out and afraid to let their allegiances be known, says Lorraine Weygman, president of Toronto's Weygman Consulting, which deals with workplace culture and team-building.
"What are people going to do? They're going to keep their mouths shut. ... There's no trust, so they're not going to share anything," Ms. Weygman says. "The politics would go something like, 'Who are my allies? Who do I trust and who don't I trust? What's the gossip? What's going on in the grapevine?' It sounds dirty, doesn't it? But that's what happens. It's called survival."
Ms. Weygman says that although quitting is an effective way to make a point, the net loss could outweigh the benefits to those who remain. In Mr. Sheikh's case, "from what we know ... if he's a good person in that position, it's a great loss," she says.
However, Kevin Kelloway, a professor of psychology and management at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, says that when a leader or employee resigns over a matter of principle, it can actually raise employees' morale, as it serves as a rallying point that validates their dissatisfaction.
"It's a morale-enhancer, but it's not a very good one," he explains. "It enhances their sense of solidarity. But that's not always a good thing."
When such situations arise in labour disputes, for example, each side tends to bond together, he says. "They become more convinced of the rightness of their position and the wrongness of the other position. And it's a small step from being convinced you're right to denigrating the position of other side."
Dr. Kelloway likens the effect to a "siege mentality," where the adversaries are the ones paying the salaries.
Bridging the divide is no easy feat, he adds, as generally it means resolving the issues under dispute. And in a case like Statistics Canada's, where there appears to be no quick resolution, he says, he wouldn't be surprised if others quit too. "I think if I worked there as a statistician, I would see this as the beginning of the downhill and I'd be looking around" for other opportunities, he says.
Regardless of why a leader quits, a loss of productivity almost always occurs as employees focus on the upheaval instead of on their work, says Wendy Phaneuf, managing director of The Training Source in Winnipeg, which specializes in building workplace loyalty.
For example, the impending resignation of embattled BP chief executive Tony Hayward, reportedly scheduled for October, is likely to have a similar impact on the oil company's employees, she says, predicting that his departure will pull attention away from dealing with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
"There is ... uncertainty that comes with a leader that leaves, whether it's a respected leader or if it's someone that people have not enjoyed working for," she says.
Yet, Ms. Phaneuf says, such circumstances offer an opportunity for other supervisors to step up and take leadership, open the lines of communication and motivate those left behind.
To do so, she advises, the worst thing a supervisor or manager can do after a high-level resignation is to carry on and pretend as though nothing happened. "Some people say, 'That's done. ... What's the point of talking about it?' Well, people need to talk about it because it's a major change," she says.
Supervisors should share what they know and what they can discuss, within the limits of confidentiality issues, but they should avoid theorizing about the reasons behind a resignation, especially if they don't know themselves, she advises. "It's fuelling the rumour mill and it's not productive."
Lastly, she suggests that supervisors should let employees talk about their uncertainties and acknowledge their fears, but also refocus their attention on the tasks at hand.
Ironically, in the aftermath of a leader's resignation, it's the ones who remain who can steer the workplace into a positive direction. "That's the test of a leader - you step up, you calm people down, you get them focused on the things they can control," Ms. Phaneuf says. "People need you. And if you're there for them, they're loyal to you after that."