On Employment End Reasons: They Weren't Giving Me Enough Hours

Employment end reasons (i.e., why you quit/got fired/quit showing up/etc.) are simultaneously one of my biggest pet peeves and sources of amusement wrapped into one. During any standard interview, a candidate should expect to discuss past work history. Recruiters want to understand why you left your previous job(s) in an effort to understand whether the position under consideration may or may not be a good fit. Perhaps, as you are reading this post, some of your own employment end reasons pop into your head: Relocation, returned to school after a summer job, got promoted, found a better opportunity, or, even, found an opportunity more aligned with career goals. All very legitimate reasons for leaving a job. You know what's not a legitimate reason for leaving a job without having another job immediately lined up? "They weren't giving me enough hours."

Let’s back up a moment. For a single, hot minute during my time as a student, I considered a career in economics. I made it through micro and macro economics before deciding the money was in political science (boy, was I wrong) and jumped ship. Within those basic econ classes, there is a concept in economics termed “utility,” which, as far as I could understand, was an attempt by economists to lump all of the myriad motivations why a human does or does not do something into a single term. Why did Joe Schmoe quit his job? He had greater utility upon quitting his job. Why didn’t Joe Schmoe quit his job? He had greater utility by not quitting his job.

“So which one is he going to pick?” asks Me, the young, intrepid student.

“Whichever option gives him greater utility!” answers the TA, no doubt privately wondering the same thing as well as whether he was ever going to finish his thesis and get out of needing to deal with undergrads.

<crickets chirping>

You see why I decided to change my major. I am not nearly smart enough to make money out of that kind of opaque reasoning.

Ok, fine, I mock, but there is some logic to it. If I am going to make $5.15 flipping burgers while standing on my feet 12 hours a day, I would probably decide to quit my job too, which does feel a little counterintuitive at first pass. But, I would have greater self-esteem (i.e., Utility!) by NOT working at the golden arches than I would have looking at a paycheck worth two hundred bucks, so there you go. [Sidebar: Yes, I am old enough to use $5.15 as the minimum wage example. I have no idea what minimum wage is right now, but I’m pretty sure there are two digits in front of the decimal place.]

With that, let’s return to the topic at hand. “They weren’t giving me enough hours,” is the kind of argument that forces my brain to dredge up those econ lessons and endeavor to work things out.

All right: If they weren’t giving him enough hours, we are probably talking about money. Fair enough. I just used the not-making-enough-money example above as a reason to quit a job.

But: the complaint isn’t about the hourly wage. Said another way, the employee was perfectly happy to work for an hour and exchange that time for the agreed-upon monetary compensation. The employee wasn’t even upset with what he was doing for the hour, so it wasn’t like he was obligated to quit to save his self-esteem from the kind of crushing depression that (may, hypothetically) come after flipping burgers for 12 hours a day. Which was the case in my example, for those of you with short memories.

So…the issue was straight-up about the size of the paycheck. Great, fine. Paychecks equal hours multiplied by hourly wage. It takes two, and all that.

But…if the issue was about the size of the paycheck, wouldn’t the greater utility be to quit in dramatic fashion and then immediately jump into a job THAT MAKES MORE MONEY???

Argh! This is why I am not in finance. No econ degree. Not smart enough. Brain hurts.

Based on the frequency this specific reason comes up for why someone left their job AND has a gap in work history after (i.e., no new job lined up), though, it apparently makes plenty of sense.

I discussed this recently with one candidate when he told me he left his job four months ago because he wasn't getting enough hours and hadn't worked since. [Second sidebar: There are times when I just nod, make a note in the file, and move on. However, the urge explore the mind of my fellow man does strike me every so often.] The conversation went something like this:

Me: I see you were most recently at Speedway but left about four months ago. Why did you leave?

Candidate: They weren't giving me enough hours.

Me: (pause to make note of this, consider whether or not to engage, and decide today was a day to push) So, you left a job because they weren't giving you enough hours?

Candidate: Yes.

Me: Because you weren't getting enough hours?

Candidate: Yes.

Me: You mean to tell me that you left a job where you were getting paid to work some hours, even if it wasn't full-time, for no job?

Candidate: I told you, I wasn't getting enough hours. I got bills to pay, yo.

Me: You quit a job where you were collecting a pay check to not work, and you haven't worked in past four months?

Candidate: I been looking for work.

Me: You just said you have bills to pay. Why would you quit a job where you're getting a pay check to not work. Why didn't you have something else lined up before you quit?

Candidate: 'Cause they wasn't giving me enough hours.

Me: So, a job with low hours and a pay check is worse than not working for four months?

Candidate: (silence)

Me: Alright, let's just move on...