Saturday, May 11, 2019
Quiet Days and Colleagues Leaving: What to Do
Updated September 2026: in 2019, during a quiet spell when everyone in my team tried to look busy to avoid extra work, a colleague told me she had finally managed to leave the team, the second departure in a short time. I have rewritten it into advice on what to do when your team is quiet and people keep leaving.
For several days there was little work, and most of the team made a show of being busy so the manager would not hand out anything new. I did the same: laptop open, documents on screen, videos playing in my headphones. Then a colleague tapped my shoulder with her news. She was leaving the team.
Is it a problem to look busy when there is no work?
It is understandable, and common. But it has a cost. Time spent looking busy is time not spent learning or building something useful, and managers often notice more than people think. Being openly available and using the time well usually serves you better.
What does frequent attrition from a team tell you?
Several departures in a short period usually point to something shared: the manager, the work, workload or lack of growth. It is worth asking leavers, privately, why they are going. Their reasons are often the same ones you have been feeling but not naming.
How should you respond when colleagues leave?
- Get their knowledge before they go: files, contacts and unwritten know-how.
- Raise workload early with your manager if their work will fall to you.
- Keep in touch; former colleagues are the best source of honest information about other teams and companies.
- Reassess your own position calmly, rather than reacting to each departure.
How can you use a quiet period instead?
Pick one skill your accounts need and build it, such as a certification or a new tool. Improve the team's templates. Offer help on another account. Each of these is visible and useful, and it makes you the person managers think of for interesting work.
When is it time to follow them?
When the reasons others give for leaving apply to you too, and they are unlikely to change. An internal move is often the first step to consider, before looking outside.