Reasons Why COFA Employees in Hawaii Quit Their Jobs Easily

My boss at work asked me to give some reasons why I think COFA employees quit their jobs easily without any second thought. And here are my observations:
· Most Micronesians are non-confrontational by nature. When faced with an issue (i.e. wages, vacation and sick leaves, other benefits issues) that makes them angry or dis-satisfied, instead of confronting their bosses about it, they would just quit – walk away from the job without giving any advanced notice about their intention. Here is an example: "Uwa wes me non ei tenengin angang! Esap eu moni mine ekkei noku repwe kan turunufosei ren," said my friend Sinisio Sarafin.
o This problem is exacerbated by their inability to voice their concern because of their lack of English communication skills. In other words, it is frustrating to have an issue that you cannot address because you “cannot talk”.
· Family comes first. For the Micronesians, the family comes before everything else. When there is an emergency in the family like in the case of death, the employee will want to just drop everything and go. The employee will first try to ask, beg and reason with the boss why it is pertinent that she had to go on an extended leave and be with her family at such a time. So, if her request is denied, she might just decide to quit right away – never mind if she had worked for the company for many years.
· In some cases, when the employee is aware that she is a victim of harassment or discrimination, either by her employer or other co-workers, to avoid confrontation, she would just quit her job. Part of her avoiding confrontation may be that she does not have any idea where to go or who to see or talk to in these types of circumstances. In addition, her culture prevents her from talking about such circumstances because she will not want her family, relatives and islanders know about it.
· A long-time employee may quit her job when a newly-hired employee is an adversary or someone whom she just cannot stand to be around.
· An employee will quit her job if she finds out that her brother or a close male cousin or relative is also working for the same company especially in the same department or unit. This is a cultural thing.
· Most Micronesians don’t like to work on Sundays. This is a religious issue that has become a cultural norm. Everybody back in their country goes to church on Sunday. Other than just going to church, Sunday is also the day to visit other family members or do family functions and outings. So, the employee will try his best to avoid working on Sunday and when pressed to come in to work every Sunday, that employee may just decide to quit.
· Another reason why Micronesians quit their jobs is their lack of work ethics. Many of the Micronesians that come to the US have never worked for a wage before back in their country. Many of them lack the basic educational backgrounds needed to work and retain their employment. Most of them were hired to do menial jobs that pay them minimum wage with no rooms for advancement. They will come to work when they feel like it and usually call in sick when they had other things to do. And they will quit without informing their employer about their intentions.
· Another reason why the Micronesian quit his job without any hesitation or worry about the consequences is due to their culture of looking out for each other. This close-knit family relationship or cohesiveness ensure that a family member is taken care of, not go hungry, and is provided a temporary or even permanent shelter in their homes. As far as homelessness is concerned, only a small percentage of Micronesians are deemed homeless because they are camping out in the parks, on the sidewalks or in their vehicles. However, many more are sheltered-homeless-meaning they are transients. They move from one relative’s home to another where they are provided a place to sleep, to shower, and to eat.
· Another reason for the Micronesian to quit his job easily is due to the notion that he is only here in the US temporarily. Therefore, he has no definite plan to remain here, establish a permanent life here, or secure a permanent job with retirement and disability benefits that he will need when he is aged and disabled. He is always thinking of staying here for only a while and then go back “home”.
· Many of the young Micronesians become substance abusers and alcoholics and many quit their jobs because of these habits.
· Micronesians are nomadic by nature. For many, the lure of the “mainland” is hard to resist. They heard that the rent is cheap, the wages are higher, the social programs are abundant so they will just work to safe up for their fare to Seattle, Oregon, Las Vegas, Arkansas or Corsicana and they will book their flights as soon as they have the money for their tickets and then just leave.
o This is interesting because many come back to Hawaii after realizing that life in the mainland is totally different from the island life they grew up in or the life they had in Hawaii which is very similar. For many, transportation is a problem – there is no transit system in the US mainland that will rival The Bus here in Hawaii. For the majority, they miss the social gatherings and get-togethers that they always enjoyed here in Hawaii on almost a weekly basis. There in the mainland, people get together only once in a long while.
· There may be many more reasons why Micronesians quit their jobs very easily but these are the only ones I could think of at this moment. However, if you, the reader, have some other reasons or ideas that would shed some light on this problem, please post it here so we could add to our findings and try to come up with some solutions.


These are my own observations and they are not based on any actual data, survey or report. Some of you may agree, and some of you may not. However, I am hoping that, if we care about changing the attitudes of our people here in the United States, sharing of valuable information that will contribute to better outcomes should never be a problem at all.

Killisou chapur.