I'm submitting my resignation: Summary of Sarrah Masengo's podcast interview.
- Jennyfer MONTANTIN
- Aug 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 17
In this new episode, I had the honor of welcoming entrepreneur Sarrah Masengo, founder of Time for Action, whose main goal is to support women in achieving fulfillment in their professional lives. In this interview, she reflects on a pivotal moment in her life: the moment she decided to resign.
I. A corporate life that does not promote fulfillment.
With over ten years of experience in the field, this human relations enthusiast candidly describes the issues she's faced in business. Among these issues, Sarah particularly highlights the unscrupulous strategies that some companies don't hesitate to implement, often to the detriment of employee well-being.
"I was very unhappy. I thought, 'I can't keep doing this. If I refuse to do it, I'll get fired.'"
Honestly, I was impressed by Sarrah's strength of character. Throughout our conversation, she reminded me how important values are in the professional sphere , and especially how difficult it is to thrive in a job that takes us away from our authenticity.
Of course, we shared a smile when Sarah told me the story of a colleague who thought she was too "human." Because, indeed, the corporate world is far from being totally benevolent . But that's precisely why I admire people like Sarah, for whom convictions come before everything else.
A strong woman, then, but one who had a lot of doubts . Indeed, Sarah tells me how difficult this period was for her psychologically, and how she saw herself change over time, leaving aside her infectious joy of life.
II. A winning mindset for concrete actions.
But what I particularly appreciated about her was the determination she was able to demonstrate in order to extract herself from this complex situation. Convinced that the solution was to leave her company to put an end to her unhappiness, Sarrah gave herself the means to achieve her ambitions. The goal was to listen to herself in order to "move from an existence through images to an existence through action." Thus, Sarrah managed to radically change her mindset, both personally and professionally.
Then, she plucked up the courage to request a mutual termination agreement from her HR director at the time. She honestly explained to me that this was one of the everyday things she dreaded.
“I needed to have those little private victories before it could show on the outside.”
Aware that a mutual termination agreement was an option that might not work, Sarah didn't settle for that and explored all possibilities. She also considered the option of leaving her job, which she ultimately opted for despite many doubts.
All this to say that I was a complete admirer of Sarah's composure and perspective, as she worked to escape her misfortune by taking measured and necessary risks.
III. Step outside the corporate framework to showcase all of your strengths.
And it certainly did. Sarah's risk-taking is now fully justified, since it allowed her to remove the "social mask" she previously forced herself to wear. Currently, Sarah has found her smile again and is trying new things: she explains to me, laughing, how surprised her former colleagues were to see her create YouTube videos where she appears without a filter.
So for her, it's a kind of renewal, which she was able to achieve thanks to her willpower. She was able to free herself from what was holding her back, while continuing to showcase her natural talents.
“If I had dared to show myself as I am in business, maybe I would have had other opportunities.”
Despite this slight hint of regret, it seemed to me during our conversation that Sarrah was proud of the step she had taken, and that it had acted as a liberation for her. She seems more radiant than ever, and her entrepreneurial projects perfectly illustrate her desire to support other workers in taking this step as well.
She also brilliantly explains how she put up barriers for herself, partly because of people's opinions or a lack of self-confidence. But beyond that, she invites us to detach ourselves from the negative and sad image of resignation. And I really appreciated the fact that Sarah invites us to put things into perspective, and to still maintain a positive image of the corporate experience and its employees.
As a specialist in HR change management, I encourage the HR community to consider offboarding and maintaining relationships with departing talent as a priority area for developing employee relationships and the employer brand.
References for further reading
The number of conventional terminations is exploding
10 Signs It's Time to Quit
5 Things Not to Do When Resigning
How to resign properly
Mutual termination refused: What to do?
Abandonment of post
Contact Sarrah Masengo
Website: https://www.timeforaction.fr/
Instagram @ timeforaction.fr
Linkedin @ Sarrah Masengo
Contact Jennyfer Montantin
Website: https://www.blossomtalents.com/
Instagram @blossomtalents
Linkedin @ Jennyfer Montantin
HR Community Meetup in Paris @ RH à Paris
On your podcast platforms: Ausha, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcastaddict
Comments