Quitting a job after 7.5 years
I’m planning to leave a job I have been at for 7.5 years. I love the people I work with but have completely grown to detest the company. There’s undercutting at every turn, everyone covers their own ass because they have to in order to not end up in the crosshairs of upper management and there has been a pattern of disrespect and loyalty to the employees by the same upper management where people are seen as a cog in the machine that can be switched out at the drop of the hat. When I started, I was part of something. There were less than half the amount of employees and there was more of a culture. Now, with all the rapid growth, the turn in the market and internal politics, it’s become a meat grinder of a workplace. It’s regular now for me to work 65 to 70 hours a week without any additional compensation for the overtime. People have left because they just can’t stand the work load and the internal backbiting anymore.
I’ve always been a top performer on paper and in person and am seen as a future leader of the company. I’ve grinded and sacrificed for the company, without any sore of recognition or hope for promotion over others with more experience or longevity. I’ve never threatened to leave or tried to leverage an offer from another company. Over the years, I’ve carved out a place that, once I leave, will likely leave a noticeable hole for months and I will feel bad leaving those I enjoy working with the most to fill that gap in some overworked way.
This all being said, have any of you left a company after years of employment that you don’t really want to leave but feel you need to because you’re just dreading going through the front door day after day? Was the split amicable or was there animosity, regardless if you left everything in tiptop shape? How did it feel to finally walk out the doors of that company for the last time and did you ever look back?
7 comments
you give them enough notice and work with them to train/find a replacement. you mutually agree on an amicable exit date.
as long as you’re not “KTHXBYE” it should be fine. for white collar professional jobs, this usually means giving more than 2 weeks notice and can be upwards of months, in order to successfully hand off your tasks to someone else.
another option is that you quit and they hire you back on contract as a contractor for a certain time as well.
Typically the longer the notice you give, the less butthurt the company and fellow co-workers will feel. Depending on what you do and how easy you want to make it for your friends still there, I would give a month to six weeks under the guise of making sure your replacement is up to speed.
You don’t have to do this, this is just what I’ve done in the past. My last job where I had been for 5 years I gave just over a month’s notice as the leaving was amicable on my part. Same sort of thing, loved the people, grew to hate the company and what it had become.
Just ghost them
Just resign. Don’t go all postal and burn bridges. Nothing good comes from that
Just be civil, give notice (same as notice they need to give you) and be done.
As others said below, giving a decent amount of notice is a good idea. If you want to maintain good relations, emphasize that it’s for a new opportunity, for a change of pace, rather than shitting all over the company.
7.5 years is a long time to work at a company these days; it’s not uncommon for people to leave after that amount of time, especially if the company has changed significantly since you started. In other words, generally, they shouldn’t be terribly surprised.
Do they commonly request exit interviews? If so, work out some answers ahead of time, much like you would for a job interview. If you want to convey some of the feedback you listed above, work out professional wording for it.
You don’t say where you are from. I’m a manager in the US.
General advice is always 2 week notice. If you are the only one doing quite a few things and you think training others in for a smooth transition might be warranted, then by all means give more than 2 weeks, but I’d argue if management hasn’t kept people properly cross trained, that’s a them problem. But again, nothing wrong with giving a longer notice, but definitely not less than 2 weeks.
As far as leaving, a signed note like the following will suffice:
[Today’s Date]
[Boss’s name]
Consider this my notice of termination of employment. My last day of work will be on [date].
I have appreciated working at [company name] for the past 7 years and the experience that I have gained here. I wish the best for [company name] and all of their employees.
I am willing to help with the transition of my work duties until [date of last day], but will be unable to help after that date as I will have other obligations.
Again, I appreciate all the opportunities given to me at [company name].
Signed,
[Your name]
Provide a copy to your boss and to HR/Payroll so your boss can’t later say, “what note?”
I have noted others suggested helping out afterwards on a consulting basis. I generally advise against this because presumably you’ll have a new full time job and be busy learning how to do that job. You don’t need your old job calling your cell for every little thing because they didn’t bother making sure your work transitioned to others.
As far as what to do on your last day, that’s entirely up to you and the culture at your work. Some people just prefer to act like it’s another day and hand their keys in the last day and just walk out at closing time and never come back. Some have drinks/dinner with closer coworkers after hours. Some have a cake in their office bought by coworkers on the last day. It just varies.
Do NOT bad mouth the company, management, etc on your last days.