JOBS: Why Interns Opt to Quit in Many Organisations

Most employers have also failed to understand this set of people as some of them come to their organizations with weird characters that cannot be understood. In a thread that was seen to go viral especially on Kenyans on Twitter (KOT) weeks ago, many of the interns and workers have come out to defend interns/attachés on quitting the toxic work environment that they have been in.

In one of the threads that led to the topic being reviewed, an advocate in Kenya narrated how she had sent an intern to deliver some documents to a corporate client within Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya but was shocked that the intern went ahead and used an uber to get to the destination to deliver the documents. She further added that the intern used the office’s expense to get to the destination.

This tweet elicited a lot of mixed reactions online with some defending the intern for using an uber to get to the place on time while others criticized the intern for being lazy to use the uber. Several people also questioned if it was bad for an intern to use the means of transport to save time.

In most cases, employers have had to put up with the seeming interns ‘bad habits'. According to employers who have been in several organizations in the work industry, they see interns’ habits as unethical, and unprofessional and have further taken them to be indisciplined.

On the other hand, most interns have termed several organizations to be extremely toxic. One thing to discover with the interns is that most of them have come to discover the toxic environments that they are put to work in in several organizations and for them, their mental health is more important than the work they’re in.

Most interns have also gone ahead to quit their workplaces barely a month after they started. Complaints have also been seen to rise as most of them have ghosted their employers or even quit through a text message. According to most organizations and companies, it is unprofessional for any staff to quit their position in the company.

From several sources, interns have termed most employees to be abusing and taking advantage of their situations. This has made most of the interns hate working environments and have opted to start self-employment or rather do online jobs.

Here are some reasons that have made many interns quit several job organizations in various parts of the world or country.

1. Lack of motivation

One thing employers need to understand is that workers tend to perform much better when they get motivated in their work environment. Similarly, interns need to get motivated in their workstations.

Motivation enables workers to act and work harder towards the company’s goals. Motivation is also an appreciation of the work that your staff carries out in order to achieve the objectives of the company.

Most interns have also reported that when working in some organizations, their contribution to the company is not recognized or appreciated. Sometimes individuals need a little appreciation so as to work harder.

2. Underpayment or no payment

This is one of the most discussed topics that interns are always cautious about. In the modern world today, the young generation is mostly influenced by the good life and ‘soft life’ that people have. Society has also contributed to the interns having this mentality that they should not have to go through the difficult stages of life.

As the young generation nears dominating the current organizations, the older generation should be able to teach the young generations that the wealth and the good life that people have does not happen within a day or two.

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Success is a journey that many people especially interns should embrace. On some days the road is very difficult and this builds and strengthens you for what is ahead.

Most of the young generation believe that as you start your career journey, you are supposed to earn some good money and maintain a certain lifestyle.

When interns get to hear that they’re given less money than they expected, they opt to withdraw and seek other options such as doing online jobs where they are able to get some good money.

3. High expectations from the organizations

When joining, especially the big organizations, interns always have high expectations from the company. This comes in terms of getting a hefty salary among other allowances that the company offers.

When one has high expectations and doesn’t get them, he or she is most likely to quit the position and get demoralized.

When joining an organization, as an intern, you should know that is a good room for you to work on your skills and get to learn more from the surrounding.

4. Mistreatment from the supervisor and other staff

Most interns have come out to complain about being mistreated in various organizations. Most organizations also fail to handle interns as workers in the company. The highly profiled workers take advantage of and mistreat the interns.

In some cases, you can also find out that interns are given tasks that are contrary to what is expected from them. Some are also overworked and get low payment. This discourages a person and he/she opts to quit the job position.

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As much as employers are complaining about having a ‘lazy’ sets of young workers, they should also keep in mind how they are treating them. The work environment should be kept ample so that everyone can be productive and get achieve the best for the company.

The employers should also be considerate and know that the interns are on a journey and as they begin their life outside school, they should get a conducive work environment for them to bring out their best and to also advance in their lives.