Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a bad job

April 7, 2008 @ 10:10 pm · Filed under Best of site, Happy At Work

If you’re unhappy at work, I’m sure that the thought “Man, I really should quit!” crosses your mind occasionally.

So why don’t you?

Even if you long desperately to quit, to get away from your horrible workplace, annoying co-workers or abusive managers, you may hesitate to actually do anything about it, because right on the heels of that impulse come a lot of other thoughts that hold you back from quitting.

Each of these excuses may sound to you like the voice of sanity, offering perfectly good reasons why it is in fact better to stay and endure that bad job just a little longer, but look a little closer, and they don’t really hold up. What they do instead is keep you trapped in a job that is slowly but surely wearing you down.

Here are 10 of the most common bad excuses for staying in a bad job.

#1 “Things might get better”

That jerk manager might be promoted out of there. That annoying co-worker could quit.That mound of overwork could suddenly disappear.

On the other hand, things might also get worse. Or they might not change at all. If you’ve already done your best to improve your job situations and nothing’s happened, just waiting around for things to improve by themselves make little sense.

#2 “My boss is such a jerk but if I quit now, he wins.”

Who cares. This is not about winning or losing, this is your life. Move on, already.

#3 “I’m not a quitter.”

Well guess what these somewhat successful people have in common: Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Tiger Woords, Reese Witherspoon, John McEnroe and John Steinbeck?

Yep, they all dropped out of Stanford.

The old saying that “Winners never quit and quitters never win” is just plain wrong and leaving a bad job is just common sense.

#4 “I’ll never get another job”

Well not if you stay in your current job while it slowly grinds you down, you won’t! Move on now while you still have some self-confidence, motivation and energy left.

#5 “If I quit I’ll lose my salary, status, company car, the recognition of my peers, etc.”

Yes, quitting a job carries a price and that makes it scary. We all know this intimately.

But few of us ask this question: What is the price of staying in a job that makes you unhappy?

That price can be very high. It can ruin your work life but also your marriage, your family life, your health, your self-esteem and your sanity. Not all at once, but a little bit every day.

#6 “Everywhere else is just as bad”

That’s just nonsense. There are plenty of great workplaces in every industry.

#7 “I’ve invested so much in this job already”

You may have sacrificed a lot of time, energy and dignity already in attempts to make things better. This will make it more difficult for you to call it quits.

I’m reminded of how Nigerian email scammers sucker in people. At first it’s a small investment, but then the amounts grow and grow. At each step the victim is reluctant to stop because that would mean losing all the money he’s spent so far.

Quit anyway. Staying on is just throwing good time after bad.

#8 “I’ll lose my health insurance.”

I have a lot of sympathy for this argument. Where I live (Denmark), everybody gets free health care regardless of their employment situation so I can’t imagine the leverage this must give employers.

One answer: Start looking for another job with similar health benefits.

Also: Ask yourself what good job related health insurance is if your job is actually making your sick – which bad jobs can absolutely do.

#9 “My job pays very well”

I have zero sympathy for this argument. I don’t care how well your job pays; if it makes you unhappy it’s not worth it.

Quite the contrary, if you make a lot of money now, use that financial security to quit and find a job that’ll make you happy.

#10 “Quitting will look bad on my CV”

Whereas staying for years in a job that grinds you down and goes nowhere will look excellent.

The upshot

Many of us would be much happier at work if we quit bad jobs sooner. I’ve talked to many people who have finally managed to quit a bad job and only wished they’d done it sooner. I have yet to meet a single person who quit a crappy job only to wish they’d stayed on longer.

You may have perfectly good reasons to stay in your crappy job – all I’m saying is that it pays to examine those reasons very closely to make sure that they hold up.

‘Cause it may just be the fear talking.

Your take

What do you think? Have you ever been stuck in a lousy workplace? What kept you from leaving? What finally made you quit? Please write a comment, I’d love to hear your take.

Permalink

142 Comments »

obbop Said,

April 7, 2008 @ 10:41 pm

Entrepreneurialship may be your route to happiness.

After leaving the dreaded job I joined up with several out-of-work military veterans.

After appropriate planning and preparation with traveled to the selected 3rd-world country and commenced a coup.

That country (best to leave it unnamed) is now under our benevolent leadership. The citizenry is happy, peace is upon the land and our group is living a wonderful life of ease.

Being from the USA we know what steps to take to maximize our personal and country’s wealth. We muttered the magic words to America’s elite class and their idiotic lackeys. “We hate terrorists.”

Wham!!!! Just as during the Cold War years when despots, tyrants, war lords, dictators and a very few decent heads-of-state when the magic word was “anti-Communism,” the magic words flooded us with many billions of American dollars forced from the American people by their tyrant-class.

What a deal.

Thank you to all you American sheep who bleat with glee when your masters bother to notice you for the smallest moment and obey so well when your masters instruct you on what to do to remain in your master’s graces. We appreciate your sheepishess.

Best of luck to all of you departing a dreaded job. Just remember that happiness does not always require you to be an obedient sheep under the thumb of an elite class.
Andertoons Said,

April 7, 2008 @ 11:38 pm

The best thing I did was quit and start my own business. 5 years later and I’ve never looked back (except to laugh)!
Laurie Ruettimann Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 12:53 am

This is a very comprehensive list. The more power you give to your boss, the less power you have to own your own future. GET OUT OF THAT HORRIBLE JOB!!!
Alex Andrei Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 12:56 am

Great article. I agree. Staying in a horrible job will only make your soul wither away. You owe to yourself to pursue your passion – or at least first discover what your passion is :)
Michael Henreckson Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 1:48 am

So why does anyone ever stay at their job?

Personally I’m in the process of quitting a job. I’d rather like to be out the door right this minute because I have too many other things to do to keep the job. On the other hand, my boss did a great job of working with me, and at the moment he still needs me because he doesn’t have anyone else to fill in. The end of the month I’m done.
Jessi Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 4:38 am

I’m ‘in the process’ as Mr Henrickson mentioned of quitting (not because my boss has been great, but because being the person in charge of hiring, I have to find my own replacement oddly enough), and I can’t wait.

I’ve always been an extremely healthy person, but in the past six months I’ve been at this job I have had one illness after another. Being a generally happy person, and also healthy, I’ve never fully appreciated how being under constant stress and pressure by being micromanaged constantly can really affect your health.

I can’t wait to get back to being my happy, healthy self again.
karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 5:19 am

I think I’ve said all those excuses to myself at one time or another. Since I work in America I have to get my insurance through work. I’ve stayed at a job because I was scared to leave. After I made the choice to leave I never regretted it. It felt like a 200 pound monkey was lifted off my back.

We all deserve the right to work happy and if that means taking a risk and quiting then so be it. We can’t work forever so we may as well work happy.
Noos Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 8:29 am

Great post!
My previous job was really horrible. I thought about quitting every single day. I use to have those bad excuses not to quite. Actually I was just afraid that I couldn’t find a better job and a better pay. And just like you said “if it makes you unhappy it’s not worth it.”

Anyway I learn a lot from the previous job more than I could learn from anywhere else and I’m grateful for that. Even finally I choose to quite.
Noos Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 8:31 am

sorry i meant Even finally I choose to quit. :)
Eric D Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 9:23 am

Fantastic post !

I cannot agree more with you Alex: quit your job if you feel it’s still bad after having done your best to fix it ! You damage your own life not doing so, as well as your relatives, friends and colleagues. No excuse stands in front of that.
diego Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 12:06 pm

What if the real problem is not the job?
I can think: it’s a personal problem, I can change thousands of jobs and never be satisfied. I have to concentrate on my life, the job is not perfect but neither that bad.

And also, what if you are from a country where is not easy to find a job?
The risk is not to get a lower salary, but to remain unemployed for long time!
Kelly Olsakovksy Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 7:17 pm

My last day at the Toxic Job is Friday. Yes, my resume of late has not looked so great, and I’m fully prepared to take my responsibility in making some not so great choices in an effort to just get a job. But you know, I’d rather work part-time somewhere, keep my head a little clearer, and take the time I need to make the right decision for my long-term career development rather than taking the first thing offered to me just to have health insurance.

Like someone else mentioned, I have been sick more times in the last six months than I can remember for some time. I think a good bit of that was stress-related. When my husband’s insurance kicks in we’ll be okay on that front, but it’s just come to the point of not being worth staying.

I wish I was leaving on better terms. Sadly it’s gotten to the point over the course of only six months that I find myself not caring, simply to get through the day. That was my major red flag. I’m not the kind of person who doesn’t care, so all those other arguments (MANY of the ten things you mentioned) fell by the wayside when I came to that realization.

Fabulous post! Thanks so much for helping me remember I’m making the best decision for me and my family in the long run.
AP Said,

April 8, 2008 @ 10:10 pm

I had a really awful job that I should have quit and I didn’t. It ended up almost completely destroying my self esteem, I was sick all the time, but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to quit. Mostly because I thought I wouldn’t get EI if I quit (I found out I probably could have, as the job was abusive)

I was laid off and suddenly all of my health problems went away. The job I am at currently had a really bad patch and I stuck through it and I’m happy, but I think I am more willing to move on if things don’t work out.

I look back and wonder why I have put up with the crap I’ve put up with. Had your blog been around when I needed it, I probably would have quit :)
Stressed and sick Said,

April 9, 2008 @ 9:20 am

I’m in that place right now, stressed out, heinously sick, micro managed, constantly made to feel like I’m not good enough, and it’s only been two months!

However, today things change… just got offered a new job! Things are looking up.
Happily at a New Job Said,

April 9, 2008 @ 2:45 pm

I switched jobs a couple of months ago and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I stayed at my last for years, even though I knew from the beginning that it would eat my soul. I used ever excuse in the list. My boss was terrible, I was plagued with panic attacks and I started to think that maybe I was the problem. It was awful.

I started reading this website a month or so before leaving that job. The site acted as a much needed reminder that work can be a good place to be and I knew it was time to stop being scared and just make something happen. I sent out my resume and got a job offer almost immediately at a great startup. I lost the security of my last job but gained my life, dignity and happiness in return. It was a fair trade. Thanks for the great post!
Steve Roesler Said,

April 9, 2008 @ 7:51 pm

Alex, this is a spot-on topic as you can tell from the comments.

At the risk of totally hanging my “Boomer-ness” out here, I left my last job in 1977 to follow a dream of doing training and consulting globally. I broke every planning and rational rule in the “business” book. I was simply clear about what I wanted to do and started trying to do it.

Thirty one years later I’ve raised a family, lived or worked on 5 continents, and never did come up with an initial business plan. (Note: Looking back, it might have been a good idea to do so:-) Most importantly, I still have the same energy and enthusiasm for my speaking and consulting practice as I had in the beginning. And the best part is, I get to learn and use the new technologies that add an additional level of excitement to the game.

I’ve thought about what prompted me to go “on my own” to begin with. The real answer is this: After watching how things actually work on the “inside” of organizations, I decided I’d rather take responsibility for my life on the “outside.” It was clear that, if push came to shove, no one else inside of an organization was going to care very much about my future the way that I would.

Make no mistake: sometimes things get tough. But I’d rather be my own decision-maker and make difficult choices on my behalf vs. having a faceless group of people decide that somehow I was the “wrong” size for the “right-sizing,” a euphemism that should be a candidate for linguistic homicide :-)

Tracking this conversation with great interest. . .
Marcus B Said,

April 13, 2008 @ 12:16 am

Same here, a toxic job brought me down, major depression and all. I left, we moved and I was able to stop taking drugs shortly after. Now I work in a different field, earn a fraction of what I got before, but am happy as one can be. Thanks for the excellent blog.
L0Q.com - Life’s Quest » Blog Archive » Get Rid of That Lousy JOB Said,

April 13, 2008 @ 6:19 am

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April 13, 2008 @ 12:35 pm

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Alfa Said,

April 13, 2008 @ 5:47 pm

These excuses are similar to those alibis many are using when asked why they’re not yet leaving their abusive spouses. :-D
Fountain Pens and Handmade Paper » Blog Archive » links for 2008-04-13 Said,

April 13, 2008 @ 11:31 pm

[...] Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a bad job Here are 10 of the most common bad excuses for staying in a bad job. (tags: happiness work lifehacks mlf) [...]
All but #6 apply to me Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 2:36 am

I know there are better places, but I keep hoping my current job will become one of those better places. It might become one eventually, but can I wait that long? I’ve already waited five years. I’ve just doubled the dosage of my anti-depressant, and I’m going to start seeing a therapist in my limited free time. I’m sending out my resume. Quitting without a place to go to just isn’t my style, but I admire the courage of people who do it.
Kuri Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 4:19 am

Re: #10. OK, I realize that staying in a bad job for years will of course look bad, but what about when you want to go after just 1 month? I got out of a bad job after 2 years (the longest I’ve been anywhere – prior to that was grad school) and I was hopeful my current employer would be better. Instead, I’ve landed myself in a hyper-competitive and political workplace where no one trusts anyone and the whole atmosphere is toxic. Frying pan to fire. Quitting after 1 month, I’m certain, will look bad. I fear I’m stuck for at least 1 year, anyway. Though, if I had somewhere else to go and it wouldn’t make me look disloyal, I’d jump in a second.
Robin Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 9:44 am

My life really opened up after I made a decision to NEVER AGAIN do casual school teaching, in 1998.

It was scary at the time because I needed the income. I’d had no trouble resigning from full-time teaching – because I could always earn money casual teaching, couldn’t I? But then I just couldn’t (getting sick etc etc)

I endured a few months of being at home all the time with no money, but then some new opportunities came along and now I’m self-employed with a good income (I write books and do some other bits and pieces – am just starting the blogging thing.)
Camilla Herrmann Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 10:45 am

I read this with special interest because I am about to have lunch with a colleague who is stuck in a job which she is not enjoying. But she has two reasons which you don’t mention here:

Her job is part-time because she has two small children, and her chances of getting another part-time job using similar skills in this relatively small city are quite remote. UK managers are very resistant to having senior people work part-time.

She loves doing what she was recruited for but is under constant pressure to develop, to focus on improving her weaknesses rather than using her strengths, or to work in areas which dust don’t excite her.

I would be grateful for your thoughts.
Alexander Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 10:55 am

Camilla: Please tell your friend from me that I feel for her. Her situation ain’t easy.

I think it comes down to weighing up what quitting will cost her vs. what staying on will cost her. And as I write in my post, few people consider that last question.

It is absolutely possible that staying on in that job is the right decision and is the best thing for her and her children.

It is also possible that this job is slowly grinding her down and that she’d be better off moving on.

I can’t know. But I bet she does – if she thinks about it.

Is that helpful at all?
Jackie Cameron Said,

April 14, 2008 @ 12:38 pm

Great post and really interesting comments Alex. I hear too many stories of people “stuck” in jobs they hate. And I have heard all of the reasons ( excuses) in your list. It’s a tough message but you always, always , always have a choice. A while back I spoke with a single mum whose dream was to leave her job and retrain in something she had always wanted to do but told me that she had “no choice” but to stick with the job she was in as she needed to support her child. When I pointed out that in fact the issue was probably that she did have a choice but that she was not willing to suffer the consequences of that choice she agreed. I met her again some time afterwards she told me that she was more content where she was working and all the while was saving up towards her next career stage.
Jay Said,

April 15, 2008 @ 2:28 am

I recently quit a job. I had my own 300 sq ft office and 65 grand a year. Not much to some, but a dream for me. I tell you it was very hard to do it. Although, when I told him, his response just solidified my decision. The work environment was pleasant, but the owner has no common sense when it comes to people. He was constantly getting involved with my personal affairs and in others as well, belittling our characters for our personal philosophies and choices.. Many have followed in my footsteps since then.. Now I am searching for another job and I am stressed to the max with bills, I still do NOT regret my choice, even though it might be my demise. I am happier now and have my sanity. If you let your life be controlled by money, you will find no happiness.. Since then I have been told he has been reaping all that he sow.. I also have been told it was getting way worse there.. Oh the horror stories… The next time you see a homeless guy on the street smiling, say hi… It might be me…
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April 15, 2008 @ 6:17 pm

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AP2 Said,

April 15, 2008 @ 11:07 pm

HEY AP!
yeah.
bos
Top 10 Bad Excuses for Staying In Your Job « The Pursuit of a Life Said,

April 21, 2008 @ 6:33 am

[...] Published April 20, 2008 Entrepreneurship , Philosophy Tags: Happiness, Jobs This is a great list from Alexander Kjerulf. Sample: But few of us ask this question: What is the price of staying in a [...]
jake the snake Said,

April 21, 2008 @ 10:56 pm

90% of you will never quit yer jobs ’cause yer from the “wanna learn the piano” school of life…you wanna learn to play the piano everytime you hear someone else play it but never get off yer lazy asses to actually go out the front door and do something…cause yer too comfortable with whatca got.

That explains why 90% of the population work for 10% of the entreprenuers – in ANY culture/country ANYWHERE in this world

whoooooyaaaah
Crafty Green Poet Said,

April 29, 2008 @ 1:23 pm

I’m currently in a job that I e njoyed for the first two years but have gradually become disillusioned with to the extent that i hate it. I stay because I don’t want to leave without having another job to go to. My last job was one I disliked and I handed my notice in on that one before having a new job to go to. That time I was lucky and found my current job within my notice period. I don’t beleive it could happen again. But maybe I should take that risk again?
nudgeme Said,

May 5, 2008 @ 5:42 pm

What a great post, thanks. I’ve been doing some research recently on whether it’s possible for people to work at what they love AND get paid for it – the majority of responses so far from people have been YES, you can – as long as you don’t get stuck behind many of the excuses that you highlight! Overall, there seems to be something else too about people getting ‘stuck’ in living a certain kind of lifestyle, which they are loathe to let go of and yet they are also fed up working in the job that they say they have to do to maintain it!? The key is something around expectations and choice. And people often have more choices than they might at first think. We can choose to live in a smaller house, go on less expensive holidays, spend less money on eating out etc etc – esp when we start from a standpoint of how many people in the world really DON’T have a choice … just that thought alone can snap us into realising there are things we can change. My research so far also shows me that people who are passionate about what they do are far more likely to live rich lives (not necessarily financially, but in many other ways) than those people who work in jobs that make them unhappy. And they are also more likely to attract happier things and opportunities into their lives.

Hope this also helps people to take a leap of faith and explore doing something they really enjoy.

All the best

Tamsin
Challa S.S.J.Ram Phani Said,

May 8, 2008 @ 2:36 pm

Alex,

the list is good for those who want to quit a job. Gallup survey says, people leave organisations because of the behaviour of their immediate boss. After reading Ira Chaleff’s ‘Courageous follower – Standing upto and for our Leaders’, I have changed my attitude towards bosses, workplace and my attitude towards any job which I am doing. Simply said ‘take ownership; blaming others is a sign of failure’

One has to follow the principles of Ira Chaleff to have peace of mind at workplace to become a productive employee.

• I am a steward of this group and share responsibility for its success.
• I am responsible for adhering to the highest values I can envision.
• I am responsible for my successes and failures and for continuing to learn from them.
• I am responsible for the attractive and unattractive parts of who I am.
• I can empathise with others who are also imperfect.
• As an adult, I can relate on a peer basis to other adults who are the group’s formal leaders.
• I can support leaders and counsel them, and receive support and counsel from them.
• Our common purpose is our best guide.
• I have the power to help leaders use their power wisely and effectively.
• If leaders abuse power, I can help them change their behaviour.
• If I abuse power, I can learn from others and change my behaviour.
• If abusive leaders do not change their behaviour, I can and will withdraw my support.
• By staying true to my values, I can serve others well and fulfill my potential.
• Thousands of courageous acts by followers can, one by one, improve the world.
• Courage always exists in the present. What can I do today?

(Excerpted from ‘The Courageous Follower – Standing upto and for our Leaders’ by Ira Chaleff)

Good luck.

Phani
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May 14, 2008 @ 8:45 am

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Robert Said,

May 16, 2008 @ 5:45 pm

I’ve been there.

My previous job was hellish. Basically, I was given no encouragement, nor the tools I need to do my job. I was unhappy for a month and then one day I got up and walked out.

I knew there would be consequences such as explaining why I resigned and dealing with possible bad-mouthing, but I didn’t care. I was out and I was happy.

Your health and happiness always come first.
rhea Said,

May 20, 2008 @ 8:35 pm

Good post. I make excuses along the lines of, Yikes, I won’t have health insurance if I quit. But I should stop complaining and LEAVE!!!!!!
Teresa Said,

June 11, 2008 @ 9:43 pm

I’m in Hell right now trying to leave asap!
My boss is the Devil. I have worked my butt off for my company; I’ve made her lots of money. She calls me names, talks behind my back, lies, cheats. She threatens me and puts me down in meetings. She’s nice to me when HER boss is in town and then goes off on me when he leaves. She treats the guys in my group with respect and treats me opposite.
I have been the number one person in my group for almost a year and she tells me I’m 2nd and not to forget it. When I get deals she say’s that I’m must have been wearing my “Golden Knee Pads”. And so on, and so on. She has taken accounts away from me when I’ve been out ill; others have closed my work and got paid very well for it.
So, I’m looking for a position every minute of my free time. She has smashed my self-esteem, self confidence, self-worth. I have lost sleep like you wouldn’t believe. Now I’m just mad! I’m done feeling sorry for myself and I’m turning my raw anger into action by leaving this hole. She has taken the #1 producer in the company and worn me down.
So to anyone out there who has a “crappy job”, RUN and run fast before you end up like me. It’s wrong, it’s dysfunctional and very harmful to you’re way of life! Don’t think they’re going to change, you’re wasting precious time and energy!
Rebellious Arab Girl Said,

June 12, 2008 @ 11:50 pm

Thanks for this advice. I was so hesitant to quit work but reading this article and seeing all the possible reasons to do so, then I am more convinced than ever. Thank you.
Quail Said,

June 22, 2008 @ 1:06 am

Oh Teresa (june 8 post)! we are living parallel lives. i’ve held on for so long because i too am a top performer and i [sadly] believed “the truth would eventually be known and i would be vindicated.” Oh yeah…then it dawned on me [4 years and millions of migraines/ulcers/tears/self loathing spells later] that -DING DONG- she has all the power, therefore my “vindication” is in HER hands and therefore will NEVER come as long as i’m there. then i took a good long look in the mirror and told myself that i was not put on this earth to be somebody else’s punching bag. You made her a hell of a lot of money, therefore, GO SOMEWHERE ELSE AND MAKE SOMEONE ELSE A LOT OF MONEY . that’s what i told HR last week and now they are doing backflips to keep me, but in the end i’m leaving because i don’t work day in and day out with HR. they can’t come to my rescue for the rest of my career. get the hell out. I AM and SO CAN YOU!!!!!!! BELIEVE ME, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!! alex, thanks for the great post.
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Ross Said,

July 29, 2008 @ 4:42 am

At 58 it is not so easy a decision to quit my job. Yes, I am extremely unhappy, stressed out and it is affecting my private life. I no longer enjoy the weekends because of all the stress of the week. Yet, my wife and daughter (18) depend on me as my wife doesn’t work and my daughter is in school full time. I have looked for something else for the last three years and I can not find anything. Employers do not want someone my age. There is a ton of age prejudice in the workplace. Everyone wants someone young. I have 32 years experience as a successful outside saleman but it means nothing to employers looking for sales reps. I don’t know what to do. Suggestions????
Teresa Said,

July 29, 2008 @ 5:39 am

Ross,

I don’t have a family but I can feel you’re stress and understand it.
I recently posted here a couple of months ago; I wrote how unhappy I was. My boss was and still is a horrible person and ruined a great paying job for me (I also very much enjoyed that job). But I had to go or I would have gone down the tubes emotionally, spiritually. I do believe I did have a kind of break down and this prompted me to get online and become hungry for a new life.
My relationship with a close boyfriend ended due to all the stress I had re: job.
I would start to panic on Sundays about the following day and the Hell this woman boss would put me through, and do it with a smile.
Painfully I found through taking inventory of my life that she was a bully, the company let her do this. This company did not deserve a person like me.
So I don’t know why you hate you’re position (i.e. boss, company, role in company). It really doesn’t matter. You wrote, “Yes, I am extremely unhappy, stressed out and it is affecting my private life. I no longer enjoy the weekends because of all the stress of the week”. It’s time to take action before you waste away at this old life.

If I where you Ross, I would take inventory of you’re professional life and ask yourself what you really want; don’t kid and lie to yourself either.
Stop believing that being 58 is stopping you from being hired. In my opinion, when you think this, you in return act like a guy who’s 58, desperate for a job. You give off the sense to others that you can’t think young in today’s market place. You must remember all you bring to the table and more importantly return to the man who is passionate about what he does for work. It’s already inside you but you just need to be reminded. I actually recognized this through your words immediately when I read what you wrote.
I’m not sure if you settled into you’re misery yet and cannot see a different way.? I guess you have to take a long hard look at what’s really holding you back.
I might sound like a moron to you but something has to give on your side. You might need to change the way you think a little. God I hope this helped and I didn’t just waste your time.
Good luck and don’t give up until you get what you want. You’re too young to go on like this.
Michael A. Said,

September 3, 2008 @ 4:40 am

For years I have worked at the hospital where I am employed and have been fairly content. I have taken on a lot of extra responsibility, and I always thought it was apppreciated on some level. But the longer I’ve worked there the more it seems like I was just getting used. I have written technical procedures, gone to out of state training that no one else wanted to go to, and taken on other responsibilities that take up a lot of extra time. I’m not given any extra time to take care of this extra work. The rest of the people in my department come in, do their work and go home. I have to try to “make time” and get ahead so that I can take on the extra responsibility that I have.
Another person in my department occasionally has to do some computer programming work. In that case, it’s “Oh, we have to do so-and-sos work today. He has to go work on computer issues.” The kind of stuff that he does looks like it shouldn’t take more than an hour. In the meantime, they give him his whole 8 hour shift to do it.
I get my but chewed out for the slightest mistake, or for things I wasn’t even responsible for. At the same time, another coworker completely neglected the previous days work, and my boss just talked and laughed about it with her, like an old friend sharing the good old days.
Many days the boss has a cheerful hello for everyone as she walks in, except for me whom she conspicuously ignores. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I could save my bosses life and that would either get ignored or turned into a negative.
Quitting this job isn’t as easy as it sounds. Seems like I’ve had this kind of trouble with bosses off and on, even though I outproduce most of the others around me. I’m a meek person, so people figure that not only can they use me, they seem to think that it’s perfectly ok to do so. When I complained to my current boss about how I had been treated before, she told me that I had a grudge! She somehow thinks my previous boss is the greatest thing in the world even though I know him to be a selfish scoundrel. But my point is, if I go somewhere else, I don’t have much hope that it will be different. Any new boss will see me as a kind of a meek Mr. nice guy, and then he or she will push extra responsibility on me. Then, if I complain about the unfair treatment, I’ll just get the boss mad at me.
It’s just not that simple as changing and being more assertive, etc. As I said, when I try to do that I just seem to get people upset with me. So if I leave this job and give up all the accrual of vacation, the benefits, etc., I am really afraid that I’ll just wind up in the same kind of situation without as much pay or benefits.
Good Rational Decision Said,

December 19, 2008 @ 3:56 am

This post is really useful to me. I have read on the internet several post exposing the signs for when to quit and yours is by far the most rational and “motivating” one.
Even though I am not in the US nore Europe (excuse my english), I asked my self the exact same questions and had the same opinions at first, specially the “I’m not a quiter ” one. It conforts me in the decisions I had already taken.
I always say to myself it would be too bad to have spent years at university to finish up wining and complaining about a “killing” job, instead of just taking decisions for myself and assuming them.
letilu Said,

March 23, 2009 @ 6:17 pm

I have just spent nearly 4 years in a job that was slowly wearing me down. Before I started I was a very happy person, always good-spirited and enthusiastic; then after being told very often how incompetent I was I truly started to believe it and slowly was stripped of all my self-confidence. Just a few month ago, I was a complete wreck, with absolutely no energy, looking like the shadow of myself. Then I took a sick leave and that really saved my life. At first, I didn’t want to do it, I thought my self-esteem wold run down even lower as I would be off sick but I got really good advice from a psychiatrist who kept me off the medicine (thank god for that) while coaching me on regaining self-esteem. Meanwhile, I started looking around for a new job and I finally ended up landing a top job (honestly, I’ve more than doubled my income!!!)
So I’m glad I got out of my previous job, because staying there with low confidence, it’s very difficult to go to job interviews next and make people feel that you’re great when in fact you have very low energy levels.
When things start to be really bad, best thing is not to think twice and go… Health has no price and we never now what might come next! I’ll never look back, only to know what I really don’t want.
petrina7 Said,

April 17, 2009 @ 2:55 pm

hello all!

been through almost all 10 excuses above, and then i finally made the jump.

yes, i earn less now, and i m essentially starting all over again, but well, what have i gained? the opportunity to grow as a person and to experience life in all its ups, downs and in betweens. ( i have more free time now!)

i only ask myself – why didn’t i do this earlier? :)
Jen Said,

April 23, 2009 @ 7:45 am

It’s your LIFE. Get out of there if it’s not good for you. I wish I had read this article 5 years ago!
Feen Said,

May 27, 2009 @ 10:38 pm

Hiya CHO,

I did enjoy this article but am still scared to quit my job from hell. I am a secretary with Scrooge & Scrooge’s counting house in the City of London. I have very little financial independence (enough dosh to last me nearly a year but considerably less if my sweet elderly cat throws another health wobbly and racks up too many more 3 figure vets bills…).

I don’t care diddly squat about status, a company car or recognition from my peers because I don’t have any of those anyway. As far as this job’s concerned I only care about getting the bills paid every month. But tuther problem is I don’t want to resign because then I wouldn’t qualify for unemployment benefit. I don’t much care about the benefit itself which is pretty meagre but I do care about having a “good” explanation for leaving my job to offer to future employers, and about having the DSS or whatever on my P45 instead of an embarrassing gap since my last employer. There’s not much temp work at the moment.

Flipping blimmin pussies in recruitment don’t seem to accept that you might be perfectly capable and presentable… and yet desperately unhappy in your job… all they want to hear is happy Tellytubby gush about what a cheerful and positive little target busting buzzword beeping proactive bunny you are (I did hear this from the lips of someone in that field. Not expressed in quite those terms but the message was clear). And yet the *rses still have the barefaced cheek to demand that you be an honest soul. I can’t be honest regarding my feelings about my current job without revealing stultifying boredom at best; mental health threating misery at worst. Telling Stepford employee porkies at interview absolutely sucks. I furiously resent the *rses that demand you tell these lies.

Sorry everyone I’ve gone into RANT mode. The other day I woke early feeling angry and sad about work and dreading it….. then I realised it was Saturday morning.

Letilu I liked your post and I’m really glad things worked out for you. I am longing to be made redundant because although my financial situation would be precarious, it would give me a fig leaf to wave at future employers and most importantly it would remove me – respectably – from a toxic environment that grinds me down. I’d feel far better about convincing people I was worth employing if I was away from Scrooge and spending my spare time doing the volunteer work I enjoy at my weekends. I’m going to ask Scrooge if I can go part-time so I can do more of the volunteering which makes me feel happy and useful. If it alerts Scrooge to the fact that I’m seriously under-employed and unhappy maybe he’ll make me redundant. Fingers crossed. And fingers crossed that senior cat stays in good health…..
screwedbycollege Said,

June 6, 2009 @ 11:10 am

I’ve had to work 3 bad jobs in a row b/c my college screwed me over by not teaching its curriculum after I went back to school to IMPROVE my situation with a degree. Terrible situation: in each bad job I’ve hated it and could not advance though I worked my ass off because I was playing catch up in my career field. None of these employers paid me appropriate pay–and all of them had lousy work conditions. It’s taken me 5 years to learn on my own, what college should have taught from the beginning. Now, I’m finally trained, going to DITCH the last employer, get a new life as well as career, AND go back and sue the college for millions.
My job is… Said,

June 16, 2009 @ 9:31 am

[...] Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a crappy job. [...]
Adam Said,

June 17, 2009 @ 12:52 pm

“Whereas staying for years in a job that grinds you down and goes nowhere will look excellent.” – that was so funny, I laughed out loud.

Thanks for making my day.
X.Han Said,

June 19, 2009 @ 4:48 am

u’ve given me more than enough excuses to QUIT my current job. totally f**ked up by the annoying co-workers and the shit company…
Lera Said,

June 19, 2009 @ 9:55 am

Hi guys ,
we should change our situation not only complain ,
why not find some ways to deal with the awful things ,
quite just one way to escape we need some clear analysis
and tell ourselves next step what we can do .

Good luck .
Leslie Hoffman Said,

June 26, 2009 @ 3:27 am

Thank you for your insights. I have a great job, great colleges, but my boss is a bully, a con who masters the art of dividing and causing problems and then looking good in front of strangers. He makes the best of his acts in front of the upper management. When you face him, he ducks, pretends and assures he was just faking it, that blah,blah. You even quit and he still says you are missing the point, he really needs you and blah, blah…It a sick relationship and if facing him doesn’t work, maybe just not showing up will do..
Best resignation letter ever Said,

July 1, 2009 @ 12:09 pm

[...] Leslie Hoffman: Thank you for your insights. I have a great job, great colleges, but my boss is a bully, a con who… [...]
issues@workplace Said,

July 3, 2009 @ 7:49 am

I read all the comments and found that I hadn’t been alone in this. I couldn’t quit from the job that made me unhappy because I’m the only earning member of my family. I have 2 kids and my partner’s business closed down.

I had a bad manager who not only lacked professionalism, but was indulged in unethical practices. My ex-mgr was ‘loud’ in many ways. Not only that, I came to know that my ex-mgr had been badmouthing me to the management.

When I heard of an internal vacancy, I spoke to the functional manager about moving me to that team. All was set for my transfer to the new team. But, my ex-mgr even foiled those plans. I was on the verge of quitting. By a sudden turn of events, I was transferred to my current division and am HAPPY here.
Kristina summers Said,

July 4, 2009 @ 2:42 am

thanks for the great advice! I was worried I was alone in feeling this way…but no more. So many of us waste so much time in a bad situation…only to wake up one day and realize that we don’t get a “do-over” – we have one life so act like it and be happy while we are here. awesome post. :)
Escaper Said,

July 7, 2009 @ 12:33 pm

I just love this piece (and I will share it on my blog)
These are all true statements of how the mind works when stuck at a job.

Awesome.
Don’t quit your day job? « escaping this Said,

July 7, 2009 @ 12:53 pm

[...] 7, 2009 I’ve just come across a great blog (Chief Happiness Officer – catchy name as well. You’ll find it in my recently added link love list) that brings [...]
nharris Said,

July 8, 2009 @ 2:30 am

When I finally quit a bad job, my self esteem was so shot, I messed up more interviews and potential positions than I care to admit. I’ve learned my lesson! If I ever land a position where the boss is two faced, management is incompetent, and co-workers inconsiderate. I’ll move on to the next position.
Clay Said,

July 8, 2009 @ 4:16 am

All nice and happy, but quitting a job in this economy is a joke. You have to wait until you line up other work. Money is too important to quit without thinking of the consequences. i work a job i hate more than any other thing in my life. however, I keep working until I find a job, which where I live, won’t happen. Some people are stuck not because of bad reasons, but because that is the only way they can make money.
Job lock vs. flexicurity. What would you prefer? Said,

July 13, 2009 @ 9:13 am

[...] The 10 worst excuses for not quitting a crappy job. [...]
Riley Said,

July 15, 2009 @ 11:16 pm

I stayed too long at the fair.
I let a couple of sales managers beat me up, for way too long.
Now, my old friends don’t recognise the overly catious attitudes about offending.
One of em said, don’t “worry” about getting fired, start thinking about how you can “get them mad enough” to fire you.
MOOŠEMA » Blog Archive » Diletantizam Said,

July 17, 2009 @ 1:24 pm

[...] ilustracija na naslovnoj strani je preuzeta odavde. (No Ratings Yet) Loading [...]
Fernando Said,

July 26, 2009 @ 2:33 pm

This is a very controversial subject to me! I live in Brazil, working at a job I usualy hate, besides, it supports me and all my family (wife and three grown children). I can’t see how to get out. My wife isn’t employed. I don’t feel confident to do anything without safety. I think that this is an important point to me, safety. Despite suffering day after day, I can’t be irresponsible with my family. I wish I could study a little bit more and daily to get a better job in the future. That’s my only hope!
transitvans Said,

July 30, 2009 @ 3:23 pm

I think something like that, if its a difficult decision to make, has to come down to instinct really. do whatever feels right.
Ajay Said,

August 3, 2009 @ 12:58 pm

I WORK IN MIDDLE EAST…ALMOST IN A SITUATION AS MOST OF THE PEOPLE ABOVE…REALLY FED UP WITH MY JOB…THE PROFILE IS DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I HAVE BEEN WORKING….WITH LOT OF STRESS….MANAGEMENT NOT CARING FOR EMPLOYEES….MY PERSONAL LIFE IS ALSO GETTING AFFECTED….ANY ADVICE..I REALLY WANT TO QUIT AND REGAIN MY HAPPINESS IN WORK WHICH I HAVE LOST….
Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a bad job « Your Daily Upper Said,

August 9, 2009 @ 3:32 am

[...] Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a bad job 08/09/2009 [...]
Joe Said,

August 10, 2009 @ 1:54 am

I love my horrible job . .
Teresa Said,

August 10, 2009 @ 4:32 pm

Joe,

I hate my job! However, your post just made my morning/day!

I was all geared up to read another paragraph(s) of pain and depression, which in return would have made me angry at my own Hell here at “Dream Killers R Us Corp”..
But I basically spit up my coffee when yours appeared. God love ya Joe.

I live in Colorado where I’m a hard core mtn biker, road biker, and trail runner. All this exercise and good tunes off i-pod is the only reason why I haven’t flown out to corp office to slap boss and get back on plane. I’ve been sexually harrassed for about 6 months, boss drunk dials me at night and weekends.. Has flown out to my state for no reason other than to hit on me. Sends countless letters and notes to my house (I think while he’s been drinking). I left my other crappy job for this one. My salary is 40% higher than old job.
But back on point, thanks for the post. Without knowing why, it made my day.
Dominic Son Said,

August 21, 2009 @ 2:32 am

Perhaps we’re looking at the employment process all wrong. Instead of looking outward for a better job, we should look within, and use the internet to help reflect or reassure who we are. They (employers) need us more than we need them! It’s all perspective! Check out ResumeRace.com. This site promotes people to post their resumes, and people within their field rates them along 30+ questions!
Meredith Said,

October 1, 2009 @ 12:58 am

Thanks so much!!! This is exactly what I needed to hear today when I finally decided to quit my really horrible job.
Lysh Said,

October 27, 2009 @ 5:00 am

Just left a job with horribly abusive co-workers and a maniacal owner. Went from salaried employee (opted out of over-priced underdisclosed medical benefits) to a 28 year old serving at a fine dining restaurant applying for grad school and feel like an entirely new person. Depression had set in as I’d never has such a problem with any employer or position. Took a step sideways but regardless, taking a step away from that position was the best choice I could have made. Difficult, but once made, an excellent choice!
Miss Moosh Said,

November 6, 2009 @ 9:44 pm

I just quit my waitressing job, and it feels amazing. I wrote down exactly why I was quitting, and left it for my boss to read. He has anger management problems, and is mean and verbally abusive to workers. I told him that he seemed constantly unsatisfied with my job performance, although i worked hard constantly and did everything that he said, and that I was unsatisfied with HIS performance as a restaurant manager, and so i was quitting. also, i told him it is unethical, and probably illegal, for a restaurant manager to take tips (which he does.) he had ridiculous demands, including that workers be constantly busy, even if it was slow, and we had completed all possible tasks. He also got angry when workers would talk to each other. anyway, i’m going back to school, so screw my boss, and screw 2 weeks notice! let him work in my place, since he takes tips anyway..
Older_but_Better Said,

December 10, 2009 @ 4:56 am

OMG. Just loved this post. I am a 47 year old woman, talented, ambitious and quit a very good professional position in the middle of a recession no less, because enough was enough with my old toxic workplace! It’s now 8 months later and although I miss some aspects of of not having a full time job, I have peace of mind, quality time with family, lower blood pressure, my original true friends I had when I started working and new found ambition to try new things. One comment that always stays with me was from a coworker who said to me-what are older women like us going to to do – Well guss what…Just about anything you set your mind to! Great Post! Thanks!
Nan Said,

December 14, 2009 @ 1:09 pm

Found this while searching for a resignation letter as I planned on quitting my job today. Wow, I am absolutely convinced that I am making the right decision. Thank you!
Agnes Said,

December 21, 2009 @ 5:07 pm

I have stayed too long at a nightmare of a job and now feel I have no choice but to quit. If you stay too long, keep in mind that it can very well get to this point. Sometimes you really do need to leave to avoid things getting worse, not only to your health and well-being, but to avoid corrupt management. Because an honest employee can only last so long in such an environment. One day the bell will toll for thee.

My job is a US federal job, by the way. I really did care about doing a good job and serving the public well. Whistle-blower retaliation is real and it doesn’t take long to realize nobody really cares – and the bad guys know it. Your best bet is to get out when you first encounter unethical people. No matter how hard-working you are, how many awards you rack up (why did they give them to me? I now see it as hush money), how much you are loved by the good people.

That’s my lesson – get out at the first sign of trouble, even if it’s your dream job, it’s just not the place for you if bad people are running the show. Don’t hold onto something it seems you can’t give up, only to find out that by doing so, you gave up your life (or close to it).
mark Said,

January 5, 2010 @ 5:21 am

i wanted to quit my job, so i was surfing for the net of reasons why people quit their jobs…then i saw this.

Im a professor (and have a permanent status), but here in the country, it doesn’t matter. The pay is low. no training. name it, we don’t have it. the other professors hated me like i’m a cockcroach needed to be killed at once. however, the next school year they are gonna send me to study to the city, in return, i need to stay like 10 years in the university…I have been planning to quit my job, two years ago…i hate to commute for 15 miles…i no longer eat just to pay for the fare. Well, it is not the real reason to start with… I just think that i can look for a teaching job in the city, while i’m with my family rather than stay here and rot….My mom is the only one working and i can’t give any support coz i need to support myself. I am unhappy now. very very miserable.

i just hope that i am making the right decision.
Belle Said,

January 5, 2010 @ 1:56 pm

I’m so happy I happened to find this post. I, too, detest my job, and am just about ready to walk out. The only reason I don’t is that I recently depleted my savings account and ran up some bills I need to pay off. My job SUCKS and I’ve hated it pretty much since the day I took it. I moved to a new state to take the job. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who’s lost a relationship because of the crappy job. I’m 47 years old, work 50+ hours a week and am considered a top performer. Yet all I think about when I drive up to the building every morning is how much I want OUT.

The funny thing is, when I listed to our Human Resources department, I think, “Man, this company is great!” And we are in a lot of ways–great benefits, more vacation time that most people get, generous sick time…. Yet I’m miserable… and I’m not the only one.
Selly Said,

January 8, 2010 @ 8:44 pm

My last day is today and in 3 1/2 hours I will never have to walk back into this toxic environment again! When I sent my resignation letter it felt like I had been freed from a prison. I realized quickly that I had put myself there. And yes! even though I still have 3 1/2 hours left in my last day of work, I feel like I should have done this sooner. Sometimes it is best to save yourself and break the rules. And don’t let the recession scare you into suffering. It isn’t worth it. Make a plan and save your soul!
Cavour Said,

February 5, 2010 @ 4:29 pm

What if you have been called up for a job in a far off country with a lot of promise and when you find that you can’t leave the job at all because unless you complete your probation you have to stay on the job or else pay visa processing charges. Literally trapped….
kelly Said,

February 26, 2010 @ 2:46 pm

Cavour?
Cant be that much money for visa processing?
Believe me, being trapped in a bad job in a foreign country is soo much worse get out while you can!
Mark Said,

March 11, 2010 @ 4:27 am

My job has been literally killing my soul for the past 3 years. I help the poor and criminals for a living, listening to their horrendous stories all day long -horrible, mind-bending, psyche-melting histories- and have known this entire time I needed to leave. But I didn’t realize how seriously I was burning out, and now I feel like I am being pushed over the edge. I have drank every night for the past three months. I am acerbic, aggressive and emotionally closed off. I hate the people I serve so much I cuss and spit when I have to see them. I have secondary trauma and can no longer sleep without medication. It is not possible to hate your job more than I do.

I have applied to seemingly countless jobs, but as I want nothing to do with this career field any longer it has been impossible to actually land anything in this economy. I have begged for other work at the company, but there is none. Most places are laying off. I am lucky to have a job. But am really not, because it is poisoning me. It is nice and pat to say “Hey, it’s your life, just quit!”, but the problem is that I make an utter pittance, have essentially no savings (not very possible on my salary), and have thousands of dollars in credit card debt due to a combination of bad choices when young and bad luck/unexpected crisis expenses. Life has been tearing me down and I have not gotten a break. I cannot afford to leave. I have no money to do so. I will go broke. I will lose everything. I have school loans and a car loan in addition to my aforementioned expenses. I have applied for so many jobs I no longer really believe in some level that I *can* get another job, despite being very highly educated. I can’t afford to work part time. If Ii don’t work for a day I will go under. I have less and less energy every night to look for other work. And every day, all day I get to hear exactly *why* there might not be hope, from all the psycho, miserable, traumatized people I see. It’s quicksand and I am not getting a break to get out. I feel completely trapped, despite knowing I have a choice… though the alternative is to lose everything. I never thought I would be this guy. Does anyone have any suggestions? I really need them. Thanks.
Jenny Said,

March 22, 2010 @ 9:41 pm

I’ve been working a great-on-paper job for the past two months, trying my best to be content in the fact I hated it (if that makes any sense). I left the job I worked before, that I really did like a lot, because this new job had better benefits and great health insurance. The pay is a little better too, but not by much (a couple thousand a year). My dilemma came when I decided that this new job is making me absolutely crazy– like some of you on here, I’ve been drinking A LOT more, I fill my weekends with dread because I know that I have to go back to it, and find myself trying hard but getting nothing but insulting comments and slurs in return.

Something I didn’t notice on here is whether or not anyone filed complaints about their employers. I work for a small city government and filing a complaint won’t do much except get my current co-workers (most of them very nice folks) in a shit ton of trouble. So rather than doing that, I’m looking to perhaps talk to someone on the State level (reminder: I work for the government, this may not be a good way for you to go) and filing a complaint that way. I have the rest of my professional career to look forward to, and this job I’ve had for such a short period of time has almost burnt me out on it.

On an even better note, I called my old employer today and they want me back starting immediately. They told me how much they’ve missed me and though I cannot get a raise in benefits or anything, I’ll be getting my sanity back… and that’s the most important thing.
Nicole Said,

March 25, 2010 @ 9:01 am

Hello,
I am a student extremely unhappy at my part-time job. i have absolutely no additional time to find another job, and I always tell myself that it is much more work to find another job than to stay at this one, which wouldn’t be a problem if i had any extra time. The most terrible part is that after working this job 8 months I still only get paid minimum wage, and I have to put up with too much for such a low pay. Every time I am at work I have to hold back tears because I too often think how I am wasting precious time that could be used applying for grants or finding better opportunities. It is beginning to affect my happiness, and I feel I am too young to lose hope. I know I can do better-I just don’t have the time or money to try. But reading your advice and the reader comments makes think that maybe I should take the risk of quitting even if it means living as an unemployed, poor student for awhile. Good luck to all the rest of you as well.
Stephen Said,

April 19, 2010 @ 7:08 pm

I went back to college at 56 for 2 years, ended up in the worst job I could imagine. Micromanaged to death and rule by fear is how management works. I have used a couple to techniques to survive this last 2 years, especially after a terrible year end review, namely two styles of meditation, mindfullness and metta. They sort of help most of the time.. Anyway, I am looking at other opportunities and one thing I have noticed that it seems that most of us do not check out what a firm is like before we go for the interview. I have realized myself that if I did this I would not end up in bad situations that just do not fit me as a person. Thanks Alex for being on the web, just what I needed…
Shouldhavedonethissooner Said,

April 20, 2010 @ 5:51 pm

Thanks Alex for posting this! If only I have read this sooner ;p

Anyway, I’ve finally quit my job (after attempting twice!) and having mixed confused feelings abt my decision until I read your article. I’ve been working with my current company for the last 4 years and have never been happy or felt tht I fit in. But I’ve put in so much efforts in the company esp in tge last 3 years wheb we are having financial difficulties with salaries being delayed etc

However what dissapoints me most was the fact that my boss does not seem to appreciate the efforts that I have put in and at most time even credited another colleague for the works tht I hve worked so hard on. I was also being paid lower than another officemate while being given more responsibilities to work on. I am frustrated with the way I have been treated but everytime I tried to quit I kept on thinking abt the time and effort I have put in and would not be able to reap thr reward if I were to leave (if I an ever goin to get any, anyway)

My boss actually bought another colleague of mine 2 new computers for the office and her home so she can work faster in the office and does not have to stay back or come over the weekends to the office. While for the rest of us we have to work on slow old pcs, come back on weekends and stay back late in the office till just in time to catch the last train home. That is surely very unfair.

So in February this year I came to my boiling point and resign without having any job lined up. I am lucky however to be in a professional field thus the demand is quite high- still it took me abt 2 months to get the job which I think will be good for me and I will be starting this May ;p

What I regret most is tht I shld have done this 4 years ago! But I am thinking positve thus looking forward to a new working environment ahead!
Shouldhavedonethissooner Said,

April 21, 2010 @ 3:12 am

Sorry about the typo errors.. was typing with my phone ;P
Cliff Said,

May 2, 2010 @ 10:23 pm

Thank you very much for posting this list. It has given me the courage to go on with my life and leave this job, the word horrible is an understatement for my current job. I do have a few months of savings to cover the bills and rent so I think I’ll be okay. Just need to focus on what I do next and stay positive.
taking the leap Said,

June 16, 2010 @ 3:19 pm

i have been in my current job 10 years and am about to resign, i have watch and helped this company grow and now i am having a
hard time with my health i am being treated badly and given no support. I have been lucky in that i have a job offer from another company but its for lower pay and a drop in rank. after reading this site i am now convinced that i should take the leap. I feel the higher the pay the bigger the price you pay in family, health and happiness. I want to live my life not work my self in to an early grave…..we work to live not live to work ………the best things in life are free……your happiness

this site is an inspiration thanks everyone
Mike Said,

June 22, 2010 @ 3:52 pm

Hello everyone,
I have graduated from university two years ago and since the. Have been stuck in go nowhere jobs and a miserable relationship. I have no drive to find out my passion in life because right now I hate both my job and my home life. Recently I finally broke things off with my gf and am very close to quitting my current job to finally think about myself and find out what I want to do. I have to thank you for this outlet because it really helped solidify that I am doing the right thing and things will get better!
New Start Said,

July 28, 2010 @ 7:04 am

This article has given me the courage and know that my decision to quit the job is a right one. And most important of all, I know that I’m not alone. A lot of uncertainties ahead but I strongly believe that this decision to quit is for my own good.
The Bean and BarryKitty Said,

August 2, 2010 @ 5:22 am

Quit the best paying job I’ve ever had in my life earlier this month. Money doesn’t mean anything when you can’t stand being there, hate going there, information you’re given to work with is so screwed up beyond belief that the job simply can’t be done anymore. On top of that, being treated badly for “not working fast enough”. The lady in the nexg cubicle had been crying at her desk from stress lately. Worse case scenario, I’ll have to move in with my Mom if/when my $ runs out or I can’t get another job soon enough (trying for unemployment, but doubtful since I don’t have a video of Management breaking my arm). Oh, well. What can no longer be done simply can no longer be done. That’s OK, what goes around comes around. And it won’t be long for those folks.
Robert Said,

August 6, 2010 @ 7:22 pm

I relate most with Mark.As much as i want to leave my horrible job,i have bills to pay.Where will i live if i cant pay rent ? How will i eat ? I am apparently stuck and i must face this as reality.I am still going to keep trying and trying to get something better but realistically,i dont really expect to get anything else or land a better job than what i have right now.If i were to get another job,with my luck,it would be something just as bad.Life is very hard and i must toughen myself up.Toughen up my body,mind and spirit.I’ve been riding my bike more lately and i plan to join the gym very soon once my shoulder is just a little more healed.It was injured from,none other than my rough tough miserable job.
Mary Said,

August 15, 2010 @ 4:45 am

I left a federal govt. job last year after 19 years of employment. I went to work right out of high school and it was by no means my dream job. I was miserable for most of my time there, especially after getting consistently passed over for promotions that I was more than qualified for. I would get numerous awards for my exceptional work, but I knew something was really off. I agree with the previous poster, Agnus, if you work for a corrupt organization and are an honest employee, don’t expect ANYONE to support you. After suffering a tremendous amount of harassment by a bullying supervisor, I recently lost my EEOC case against my former employer and I’m still upset that it seems that evil has prevailed over good. I stayed because I was told early on by family, friends and co-workers that because I have a “good, government job and so many years in.” that I would be a fool to leave. Its almost like a cult, you are actually brainwashed into thinking that you can’t possibly do anything or go anywhere else. I made the mistake of accusing them of mismanagement and, yes, whistleblower retaliation is a nightmare. Once you become a target, they discredit you, claim that you can’t do your job and isolate you. If you think you have friends, think again, they will treat you like you have an incurable disease. So, after losing my confidence, my hair, relationships, money and a place to live, people ask me why did I leave? Are you serious? I have recently found a new job, I am in transition and will finally start my own business, something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. My advice to those who are in a similar situation, get out as soon as you can. It will NOT get any better. I tried so hard to get another job before I left, but it never materialized and I was quickly deteriorating. Don’t end up like me.
Tony Said,

August 17, 2010 @ 3:41 am

I really want to quit my job which I hate a lot. The thing is the economy is so bad, however improving slightly. I’m torn between quitting or staying it is driving me nuts because I need to quick because school is starting in a couple of weeks. A lot of people say don’t quit until you find another job and I know that is not going to happen anytime soon. dame it.
Tony Said,

August 17, 2010 @ 7:59 am

I really want to quit my current job because I really hate it. No room for growth, bad relationship with dumb managers, hate management bunch of morons. I’m scared of leaving because of the chunk change I’ve been getting for the past 3 years. People don’t quit until you find another job and that is not going to happen anytime soon =(. I literally have to drag myself into work. I am depressed and totally stressed out and all for some chunk change. What to do.
Barbara Said,

August 29, 2010 @ 11:01 am

I am working for a company that I have been with for 4 years. I have been placed in the job from hell, and I want to quit but it is just me. I would have no where to go and I am 63 I would lose my apartment and not have a place to live, I live in Michigan, its like I dont have family
Fernando Said,

September 7, 2010 @ 6:01 pm

This is a tough one. I had to quit my job because my boss was a jerk, my co-workers didn’t help me out but put all the burden on me, etc…
yet I loved the place. It was close to home. I loved the people beyond my immediate co-workers, etc! I had a life when I was there.

I regret quitting and not fighting hard enough against those monsters, I would still be there and happy. I wasn’t unhappy, I was just runned down. I wish I had fought better for what I really wanted and not give in to the bad boss, irresponsible coworkers.

I will regret it all my life.
Sarah Said,

October 5, 2010 @ 7:32 pm

I unfortunately don’t have time to read all of the comments above but I’m hoping someone can offer some insight. I had a job I loved for 3 1/2 years and was eventually laid off with the rest of my department when it was dissolved. I was unemployed (though I worked 3 little jobs) for 5 months and took the first job that came along, even though I was told by the interviewers that it was boring (and yes, one of the main reasons I took it was for health insurance). Anyway, not only is this job so boring, there are unfriendly employees, boss is beyond description (bad, not good), and I dread coming in so much that I am unpleasant to family members and start feeling crappy Sunday night. I also get paid very poorly and get close to no vacation time. I can no longer stand sitting in front of a computer for 9-hours a day doing nothing. Ideally, I would be happy never seeing a cubicle again in my life. I want variety in my day…and basically just want to be happy. Any advice is much appreciated.
Donna Marks Said,

October 8, 2010 @ 7:56 pm

10 excuses why we DON’T quit a bad job when we have a 1000 reasons why we MUSTquit. Apart from my own reasons for not quitting, my family and friends also gave me a few extra reasons why I should not quit – 1. You cannot leave until the market gets better (yeah like I am gonna last THAT long, I’m already suicidal, my note will read “sorry Mum I just couldn’t cope….) 2 You are never happy in your job, the next one will be just as bad (really, no it can’t be, I’m having to spend more than I earn alcohol and drugs just to face the day) 3 You should stay to show them you are tough (what and waste more of my life with a load of dick heads)
I am working out my few days notice now – my co workers are like “we are really gonna MISS you, and what are you gonna do now?

I didn’t know they cared, that is because they don’t, so don’t waster any more of your time or money. I have got an upward struggle to build up a decent wardrobe, build up skills and confidence. In my line of work looks and confidence go further than real knowledge so I am gonna work on that first, then get the hair and clothes sorted. Wish me luck, I hope all you contributors get out of your ruts soon.
Robert Said,

October 10, 2010 @ 7:10 pm

My last post was on 8/6/10.I am still with the same job that i started in november of 2009.I am still very unhappy.It is abusive and i’m really looked down upon by other co-workers.I dont get to take a break until 9pm,and i start my shift at 4pm.I’ve been feeling under the weather for the last week(feeling physically sick and run-down).
It is just a horrible situation.I make under 8 per hour and i pay 550 per month.Yeah,i get $200 worth of food stamps per month,which is absolutely mandatory because i’d have to resort to eating rats and bugs if i didnt get any public assistance.
The thing is,I’ve worked with this company franchise before(Supermarket).Back in december of 86 till november of 88,and then again from october of 1990 till september of 1993,and then again from october of 1998 till december of 1999.
It is horribly unfair that i’m actually making less now than i did in september of 1993.I left in september of 1993 because i absolutely had to at the time.The reason ? The store closed and they transferred us to different stores and i was only given an 8 hour work week.Two 4 hour shifts per week on random days.This was a horribly raw deal that i was given so i’m not to blame and i’m not at fault. They Are !
I am used and abused,mistreated,and miserable and certain employees get to hog the payroll.They make 20 plus per hour plus they get plenty of hours.This is totally wrong.A supermarket isnt a job to make good money at and they need to be ALOT more balanced with the whole payroll scenario. I feel highly disgusted and disgruntled and when i can to vent,i write logs of what i go through and what the misjustices entail(The details and such).I keep notes and tabs when i can.This i do during downtime periods.Other spoiled brat kiddos at my job text away and surf away on they’re blackberry phones while i have a very very basic rock bottom phone.They get to save all they’re money because they still live with they’re mom and dad while i barely scrape by and am stuck with the hardest most miserable job.A job that is very isolated from having the capacity of having fellowship with fellow co-worker/employees of the company.
I am still looking and looking for another job and i just had an interview but they have to interview many others gunning for the same job. This is such a miserable rut.My life has degressed so horribly.I’ve been coming home at night from work feeling sick and i need to drink some brandy to settle into falling asleep.I dont even feel like working out anymore.I have no reserve energy and this itself is highly depressing.I used to be so full of life and full of strength energy and vitality and now i’m just totally becomming a grumpy old man withering away inside and out.
I just turned 40 in may but i feel alot older in terms of inner vitality and mental well being. This job has transferred me from a 39 year old with great vibrance,vitality,energy,and strength,to a 40 year old who is feeling a much lesser version of the 39 year old version of himself,along with other additional details such as helpless,horribly depressed,distressed,disgusted,disgruntled,and utterly bitter to the bone. If they were at least so much as to update and upgrade the store music soundtrack for the better,i would likely feel substaintially better to some degree but NO ! They want to keep plenty of us there very VERY Miserable because that adds to they’re upper manegerial and corporate czarship based powertrips.
Robert Said,

October 10, 2010 @ 7:23 pm

I have to correct myself very quickly.After reading what i had just posted,i noticed that i didnt clarify at the beginning of my post that i Pay 550 per month IN RENT,while only making a less than 8 per hour wage at my job.Not to mention,i only get 24-30 hour work weeks.I drive 10 miles to work and this doesnt sound like much but it adds up as far as the cost of regularly having to fuel up my car,plus my car insurance,and also,i still have to pay for things such as toilet paper,paper towells,toothpaste,shampoo,and soap. Plus,my foodstamps run out when i still have a week before the ebt card re-tops itself so that means i have to pay for my food for a week and i barely have any extra money to spend. So i wind up rationing my food intake and going around like a starved zombie for a week during every last 7 days of each month. Life Really Stinks During these regular time periods !
Doug of Awesomeness! Said,

October 13, 2010 @ 1:18 pm

Today i have decided to get a job with another company. luckily I had been thinking about this for a few weeks and someone to contact. Will find out Monday when i start. Actually did this in my lunch break today after the following meeting I had.

I have only been there for 3 months but it feels like a year. The company can’t keep staff and is unable to correct it’s over-promising, compliance nazi micromanagement that is forcing staff to leave.
Before i started with that company i was doing outdoor fitness training three times a week and cycling 30km’s every other day, but within the first 3 weeks i had caught a head cold which progressed into a sinus infection then bronchitis and then caused me to have a massive asthma attack. Which you would understand has a major impact on your ability to function. I only took two days off within this whole time, for something that nearly put me into the emergency unit.
I can almost pin-point what it was that caused that sort of reaction, it was the continuous threats of being “breached” if you got something wrong. The job is completely inflexible and uses the customer service staff to shield the management from their responsibility to the clients.

The last straw for me came today when i was called into a meeting with my team Leader and told off because i had told an abusive customer that i would not help her if she didn’t stop abusing me. I was told by this manager that i was the worst customer service person that she had ever heard, which of course is an exaggeration to make me feel bad and she also added that i didn’t know what customers service was even though i has 15 years experience in all facets of dealing with customers. I had done nothing wrong except be assertive.
The Team leaders attitude was one of hostility and she expected me to accept it. Well she was wrong i told her that i was sick of explaining this companies lies to customers about long queue times and that the lack of integrity within the company was not only apparent to me but also the customers. For example what sort of company increases it’s premiums by 30% then tells the customers to love-it or leave-it? One headed for a crash is what sort.
The company is suffering from a personality complex, it thinks its a Gold Nugget when in actual fact its a Dog Turd rolled in Glitter.
What makes me laugh is that they will never fix the staffing issues within that company due to their lack of introspection, integrity and most importantly respect for their staff. Sure they can hire people to replace anyone but that is the only option they have cause they cant keep anyone. It’s so funny too because it takes almost two months to train us in all the systems and product knowledge.
I’m just angry now that i allowed myself to be beaten down to the point of getting sick. I used many of those excuses mentioned in your list to keep going when i was deathly ill and angry.
The futility of waiting for improvements from a bad job is the reason their are so many bad jobs.
I can’t get away from this job quick enough for it’s clear there are problems that will never be solved.
D-Rob Said,

October 26, 2010 @ 11:20 pm

A few years back I had a pretty good job as a medical instructor. At the start the job was under contract and I absolutely loved it. I liked my co-workers and work was fun. Our supervisor was the best. She always looked out for us. Of course all good things come to an end though. The company lost the contract and the positions were converted to civil service. There was about a 9 month break before I got hired on as civil service.

When I returned I was assigned to a different section with different co-workers and a different supervisor. On top of that there were new rules and requirements under civil service. It felt so diffferent. I missed my working alongside my old co-workers.

My new co-workers totally didn’t fit my personality type. With the new requirements that we had to attend a paramedic course it became a pretty heavy workload. The new supervisor was quite different and a bit more strict. I mean he was a good guy but just not what I was used to. I questioned if it was worth it all. Eventually I resigned.

From there I changed career fields totally. I began to work on a career in criminal justice/law enforcement. I have been in 3 seperates jobs involving security/lawenforcement/criminal justiceover the last 2 and a half years. I can safely say that they all three sucked way worse than my job as an instructor. They were all bottom feeder jobs that made you feel like just another body to feel the position.

Even worse I used a lot of my GI bill benefits( almost $20,000) on working towards a criminal justice degree. I applied for at least 130 to 150 jobs that I felt would be better. I got shutdown for all of them. It appeared I wasn’t going to be able to land a higher level job in this field.

I found myself not only stuck in a job I didn’t like anymore, but in career field that I didn’t like anymore. I became very depressed and lost a lot of self confidence. It seemed that each job started out okay and then slowly went downhill.

This last one was the worst. I dreaded going to work each morning. I had to talk myself into getting out of bed to go in. Work was boring and repetitive. We were always micromanaged and talked to in a condescending manner. The manangment seemed to always take the customers side and hardly ever if at all asked our side of the story. Promises were made that would not be kept. And worst of all the supervisors had this s**t eating attitude as if they were way better than their subordinates.

They treated us like we were dumb little kids or as if we were all morons. We got very little if any recognition for anything we did, not that there was much to do since the job was so repetitive. So when i did accomplish something I felt i should be recognized for it. It seemed that it would never matter. I realized that time was passing me by and my life was sitting still. All in the mean time this job was eating away at my self confidence, ruining my personal and family life, making me be sick a lot more often, and wasting away my youth.

I always found a reason to talk myself out of leaving though. It was either I needed the money, I had invested so much into this career path already, I need the health insurance,or maybe I’ll get a better job eventually.

Well finally I had about 3 or so bad run-ins with management all pretty close together. I guess the last incident was the straw that broke the camels back. I had ,in the previous 2 months, been looking into schools to attend. I had even started the admissions process at one school that I had researched and it really got my attention. So as soon as I got home that day I typed up a letter of resignation. I decided I didn’t care what the consequences were I would not allow this job to take any more time from me.

So now I am on the way out of not only this crappy job, but out the career field as a whole. I got accepted into a nursing school and I am so excited and anxious to begin. And the best part of it all is that not only will my GI Bill benefits pay for the course but I will get a monthly living allowance that in addition to my disability compensation will support me and my family while I am in school.

I just wish I had got the guts to do this a lot sooner.

My opinion is that if you dread going to work each day and then once you get there you are miserable and just watching the clock for the day to end it is time to leave. Never let a job interfer with your self confidence and family life.
D-Rob Said,

October 26, 2010 @ 11:38 pm

TO MARK:

I really don’t know what to say. I mean it sounds like you really don’t like being there. It sounds similar to the situation I was in. I kept getting tireder and tireder each evening. There were less and less jobs to apply for and each day seemed to get worse.

You just have to find your quitting point. I understand that money is playing a huge role in why you are staying. At some point you have to say how much does this really matter?

Do you have family who can help you out and who you can fall back on? If so try to use that and any resources you can to buy you some time after you quit. Once you quit it will give you a lot more time to look for better jobs.
Moving_On Said,

November 23, 2010 @ 10:34 am

How awesome that this thread exists – I of course find myself here with anxiety attacks, sleepless nights and a suffering personal life due to the toxicity in my workplace. It really has helped to read everyones experiences and I thought it would only be fitting that I add my own.

As of this past weekend I finally feel resolved to get out of my current place of employment, which is absolutely insane! Not only do they have all of the classic elements of a psycho/toxic workplace but it has genuinely harmed my health with the stress it has caused and keep in mind I’m in my late 20′s!

If you would like to witness some of the worst management decisions and thought process’s of your life then this workplace would be the ideal specimen. We’re talking dysfunctional, innapropriate and crazy decision making or lack of decision making abilities. My department manager is a few years older then me and is quite possibly bi-polar or has some other type of mood disorder making it near impossible to have an effective working relationship with her as she makes it ALL personal.

She is catty, speaking about other employees in a negative tone at one moment and then COMPLETELY switching her tone to siding with that same employee in the next moment. She makes a point of going out of her way to be cold and at times patronizing to me while she laughs and jokes with other co-workers in my immediate office area. She makes unreasonable, unorganized and uneducated business decisions that show her inexperience and ignorance to the job that I am responsible for and her knowledge of it.

At times she’ll bark back something rude and dismissive when ask her a question and other times she’ll walk up with a high-school like mind frame talking about how the outfit she’s wearing got her ‘laid’ in the past – trashy, unprofessional and dysfunctional would encompass an accurate description of this woman.

I’ve had to deal with 2 inappropriate co-workers who have absolutely NO interpersonal skills and have received no support from my so called manager in either instance. In fact when I complained to her about how inappropriately I was being treated by the one co-worker, my manager actually told me that I should start saying ‘hi’ to her more?!?!? What kind of advice is that?? That is incredibly demeaning that my managers solution to an important issue was that I should kiss her a*^? And it’s strictly because the co-worker I have issues with is twice my AND my managers age and she has no confidence or skill-set to deal with her.

Our office area has been outright told that we’re being watched and I have personally been told that my reputation hasn’t been harmed ‘yet’ but that I need to be careful. Everyone is in such a state of fear of getting in trouble or being ‘watched’ that noone is speaking to eachother anymore, which is just the way this dictatorship likes it!

On that note the job I am responsible for is nowhere near the original job description that originally lured me into the role. I am sorely under-utilized, every positive change that I would like to instill into this damaged vessel of an organization is met with hostility and offence…because to succeed in that hell-hole you need to be 100% submissive to the insanity! So essentially I’m a glorified band-aid that is supposed to gloss over the severe infection that is the organization, and thus like everyone else, keep scrambling to fix the same problems over and over and over….life’s too short and my skills are too valuable to waste on such nonsense.

I could go on and on about the rest of the management teams lack of experience, knowledge and professionalism but I’ll save you the time and say that after only 7 months of being in this environment I have come full circle into the realisation that this job is effecting my health and my general well-being. I am a strong, confident person who has experienced rather sever panic attacks in the last 3 months due to work, I have become depressed and I am not able to recognize myself anymore. My personal life has suffered and cetainly my self-esteem due to this craziness, not worth it, no pay chq in the world is worth that!

Anyways, I am looking for a new job now and I feel resolved and confident in the decision to get out. I hope that someone out there reads my story and feels inspired to get out of their toxic work situation as I have been inspired by the other stories on here.
PRABHA GANESAN Said,

December 8, 2010 @ 9:47 am

I have quit my job. Do not have another job. Your comment has given me confidence that I will get another job very soon.
EssOO Said,

December 24, 2010 @ 11:16 am

Hey,
This man! Point #7… I would like to ask, why did you have to mention Nigeria in your article!

You sound to me like have been a victim of scammers! Or probably you are close to someone who once fell victim!

While I realise scamming is not right and that its an offence, and also which I am not in support of, I would say I wouldn’t let you defame Nigeria on the web.

Most of the time, if you aint a greedy person, you wouldn’t fall a victim of scammers!

I demand an apology to all Nigerians, because scamming is NOT a vice peculiar to only Nigerians!
Brian Said,

January 10, 2011 @ 2:14 am

Hey! So glad i found this site, i was actually starting to beleive that i have serious issues or something.
I’ve been in my new job for 10 weeks now, and i regret starting it completely. So much workplace politics, such a miserable workforce, gossip and backbiting at levels WAAAAAAAY above what i would consider to be ‘normal’ (and i’ve had a LOT of jobs before now).
Its destroying me mentally and physically, and literally ALL i do in my free time is worry about going back in.
I was made redundant a couple of years back, and finding jobs has been tougher than i’ve ever known it to be. So in the last 12 months i’ve taken on a couple of crap jobs (cleaning, dishwashing etc) just so i can treat my kids and pay my way, but i’ve bailed out as soon as i’ve had enough of them. This has caused problems at home with the mrs( who incedentally dosent and hasnt worked in years). When i got this job, i was elated that i was back doing a ‘mans’ job again (lol!), but within one week, i knew it wasnt going to work out, that i didnt fit in etc.
So, i’ve now got xmas out the way with (kids presents, bills etc), i just dont have anymore bulls**t reasons to stay there now, except the fact that i’ll probably lose my relationship if i do leave it. HEEELLLLLLLP!!!
I feel like i’m trapped in a shoebox that is getting smaller by the day.
Thanks alex for giving me the platform to get this off my chest, this place is invaluable.
Gigi Said,

February 5, 2011 @ 9:40 pm

In the beginning of the year 2011, I resigned from my job. I worked at the company for 10 years. As I sit here after a month transition, I should have left a long time ago.

As I surf the net for information to make sense of this ordeal, I enjoyed reading your article and it gave me a lot of inspiration and made sense. The article really was encouraging to me.

It is scary when you resign but you have to trust your instinct and just go with it. When you do this you can feel very alone. I saw a quote a while back by someone that I respect and keep it in my journal. The quote reads, “My parents raised me to stand up for myself. If there was something I believed in, I had to fight for it. As a pioneer, sometimes I had to stand alone. You just have to believe in your own ideas.”

With the transition you go thru from any change in life it can be unpleasant but as time goes by you start to understand strength from within and you see things that come into your life to help with the change. It can be a bumpy road getting to it.

I’m still in transition as it’s been 1 month since leaving my job and I’m optimistic that things will turn in the right direction. I found that I’ve been hanging on and need to let go to move forward.

I’m a ski instructor right now and no longer in corporate america. It feels good!
5 essential steps to resolve a conflict at work Said,

March 2, 2011 @ 9:31 am

[...] Top 10 bad excuses for staying in a crappy job. [...]
Gladys Said,

March 3, 2011 @ 1:03 am

Gigi

I just did the same, I quite my job on Feb 17. It was a very hard thing to do.

I will be starting new job tommorrow. I would rather be scared than miserable. I was miserable and unmotivated every day. Really hard to go to work everyday.

Glad to know their are other people out there that stepped out in the “unknown”. It takes courage to do so
orion Said,

March 8, 2011 @ 5:50 am

I am in a toxic job, in a very toxic team within a company that does not offer any positive growth. I want out SO BAD! I am so torn inside for most days and use all my energy to psych myself up to face the day. I have had so many lousy managers in the time I’ve been with the company. They excel at beating down the team as opposed to lifting people up.

I am looking hard for a job so that I can leave this dreadful company and team. I pray that the Universe will send something my way soon.

Please never stay on at a toxic job. It eats away at your soul and kills your self-esteem. I have to keep telling myself that I am worthy and that something will come my way soon. I did not use to feel this way before I joined this company. I’ve fought so hard so that these toxic people do not get any more of my soul and spirit than they have already tried to do.
sean Said,

April 8, 2011 @ 11:27 am

first, let me tell you guys that this post is extremely useful…
i have been and still struggling in my current job which deals with IT and Telecoms Industry.

The technical work in itself is really challenging and pleasant. i like it personally. I visited many countries (poor, rich) around the world with this job, and learned from many people.

but the management tends to ruin it each and everyday. some ppl who are not even in this field just come up and start to command each of the team members, without even taking into consideration what the staffs think about it. As rightly said by someone, Lack Of Knowledge is Dangerous!!!!

The company is really big with many internal depts. locally and internationally, and this is the main reason which stopped me from taking this decision.

After reading the feelings of everyone in here, which i respect deeply, i have now been able to make THE decision – which is to quit and pursue my dreams.
I have balanced both sides:
(1) the technical work, which is pleasant and i like to do it
(2) the management which is unpleasant and i don’t like it (without mentioning the numerous ways where attempts to level-down my work results were made by ‘colleagues’ and ‘supervisors’. The weight is much heavier here than option (1)

Many times in life, you will find that you’re doing something which is not bad and it is OK for you – you can live with that. But what many people don’t think is that IS THIS REALLY MY DREAM?

Making money mechanism has many ways.

I can guarantee you that paving the way to your dream will lead you to success. I will not hide it by saying it is easy and quick. You will overcome all these obstacles if you do it with your heart, and feel happy doing it all the WAYYYYYY ;)))

I will come again with my future plans. Let me deal and close this issue with my current company first ;).

BTW: i am not in America or in any country, where there is no more than 1.5 million population.
maggie Said,

April 14, 2011 @ 11:03 am

So I am finally getting ready to leave this job. Thank God!
maggie Said,

April 14, 2011 @ 12:10 pm

so I am finally ready to leave. I realized the unhappiness and soul destroying result is not worth it. Of course you do not realize it while your soul and spirit are being destroyed. Many jobs are toxic, not necessarily because of the nature of the work but because of the insecurity, meanness, incompetence and power hunger of many middle and upper level managers and employees are either selected to “join” the team or are shut out. True, bosses receive pressure from above, but a good boss recognizes the value of the staff and that this really does help to strengthen the boss’ position. Currently we are short staffed – and they are “looking”; in the meantime I stretch out & have done so for a while – but my boss is the equivalent of some of the worse mentioned here. I was working hard, doing everything my boss asked and feeling like crap whenever I talked with my boss; I also realized my boss got a sadistic pleasure from it. The more boss & manager abused me, the more I felt I had to do. I rollercoasted between incredible depression & anxiety, anger, confusion and feelings of incompetence. The worse the boss’ personal & work situation & pressure, the worse for me and other selected members of the “team”. Except that some of the “team” came from my boss’ old job and could do no wrong – it was blatant. I worried & like others here, examined, criticized & blamed myself – all the while, doing a grand job of destroying my self esteem. I prayed a lot and then prayed some more. I looked around & realized that I was not the only one going through this. I started to understand that while I was not perfect, I had worked hard, was a contributor and served the company well.

Then I came across a website called BULLYING IN THE WORKPLACE. Look at it and recognize your boss, yourself, your co-workers & your job situation.

It was a shortstep to the decision to leave, particularly when I realized things would never change. I decided that if I was no use to my boss, I would offer my service to someone else. I was nervous about interviewing at first but I got a job quickly. I did learn a lot about myself and about dealing with others; but I am now psychologically prepared to move onward. I KNOW that despite all my boss has done, there is MAJOR unhappiness there. I hope it will be worth it for my boss.

Just one final note – I did not go to them, but in reading & researching, I clearly understood that HR is NOT on the side of the employee. Their job is to protect the company/ bosses AT ALL COSTS. Instead, find a good friend that you trust to tell you the truth. Run it by them, step back, honestly examine what you do and how your boss values it. If you do not value yourself, do not be too upset when your boss does not. Pray a lot before, during & after you make your move.
migel Said,

April 24, 2011 @ 4:21 pm

I’ve had several bad jobs. I used one of the above reasons to stick until i got sick, depressed and had to leave.
So now on I have decided to live simple, spend less, save more and have enough to fall back on when I want to walk out of a job.
I realized I cannot work with mean and morbidly competitive people, but these don’t come stamped on their heads with red ink….so sometimes i just landed up with such people but due to my habit of saving a huge chunk of my income I didn’t think too much leaving. That way i also left on good terms and generally at a time when they needed me the most…suck it up f******! My last job was one of the worst. The boss the owner of this small org was a complete a-hole. I tolerated him for over 6 months and my parents did not want me to quit the job. They have never done a job in their life so they are clueless what it is like to be in a bad job. And they insisted that I stick around as long as he wanted me. Wow! what a thing to teach your kid! “Let anyone screw you honey!!! as long as they pay you” when i think of it i even hate them as much.

So i finally quit, i do not yet have another job, but am looking for one with nice people at an agreeable pay. I also do freelance, but I make sure I save a lot. It may not be the best way to become a millionaire, but it will save you a lot of mental agony about finances.

For those who do not know how to save – here is a little trick. if i can live without it…i dont want to pay for it! – If feels frustrating initially, but once you get into a habit its actually empowering that you do not succumb into buying products from already rich companies and manufacturers. Don’t give your authority away as long as you can hold on to it.

Goodluck to all those looking for better jobs, may God Bless You and all the good employers!
emm Said,

April 30, 2011 @ 1:49 pm

So grateful i’m not alone…. i’m miserable at my job which is twisted because I love the job itself, just not the horrid way we employees are treated. & I cnat just transfer to another co that does the same thin as they made us sig a contract that we wouldn’t for at least a year after leaving. I need something that’s closer to home, pays better, & treats employees with the resect we deserve
Victoria Said,

May 3, 2011 @ 10:06 pm

I quit a job of 10 years and it was the best thing I ever did. I quit during my 2nd mental health leave. I had been labeled, laughed at and talked about – I could not go back. I decided that there was nothing I could do to resolve the situation, nor was it worth it to me to try. It was an unhealthy environment for me. During this time, I made arrangements to begin graduate school the next fall and relocated to another city. I have never looked back since!!! I only wish I had done it 5 years prior. I would be 5 years younger than I am now… I resigned by fax, which some would say was a bad idea, but I could not stomach seeing anybody there. My manager made a note on my file for the company to never rehire me and I thought to myself, “Why the hell would I ever go back there”?!?!?!!?!?
KC Said,

May 22, 2011 @ 2:54 pm

I too quit my job after 11 years working in IT. The good thing is that I started to work for my employer fresh out of high school at the age of 18 so I am still relatively young. About my fifth year in, reality really kicked in and I realized I could not do that job until retirement. So I went back to school to pursue an Engineering degree while continuing to work in order to pay bills and my tuition. As soon as I finished college I booked the hell out of there and quit the job, told my “boss” and HR all the reasons I am leaving and kept it honest. I didn’t have enough space on a piece of paper to air out all of my grievances but I think they got the idea. Of course they gave me the “you’re an asset to this organization and we’re sorry we couldn’t convince you to stay” BS.

I live a very modest life so I managed my finances responsibly so I had ZERO debt when I up and quit so the pressure is not there from a financial point of view. Saving my money helped too.

I learned a lot about myself through those horrible years being underpaid, under-appreciated and overworked. What I originally thought was that I was worthless thinking “if I was so talented then why wouldn’t they pay me my worth” but in reality I was so efficient and competent at my job that I always had spare time to learn new things and thus was given continuous work (why fix it if it ain’t broke?). Meanwhile, others got to goof around or disappear during the shift and still managed to keep their jobs. I guess you would call it rewarding bad behavior or “playing dumb” to avoid extra work on my peers’ part but I never stooped that low. My character never changed, I was able to keep my integrity intact and am glad it held true – even though I was unfairly compensated I did my job to the best of my ability.

Now it is time for an overdue and well earned VACATION. =)

Keep your heads up Ladies & Gents. But don’t wait too long before quitting – you might go INSANE. =P
Ben Said,

May 24, 2011 @ 4:39 pm

I was in a good paying job and was constantly promoted and given raises for about 4 years. Then I was put on another shift with a manager that belittled me constantly. I took it for 3 more years. I filed complaints. I filed workman’s compensation when I was injured due to being forced into 56 hour weeks on jobs that anyone can do but the manager decided that rotation was out of the question. I turned in a 17 page report to the owner of the company detailing the situation. None of this changed my situation. No one gave me any quarter. Everyone around me received raises and I still was forced to do the worst of the worst, nonstop, forever. My grandmother was put into hospice care in november and I took time off to visit with her. Upon return I was punished! Finally I quit that job (Via the no call no show method) and didn’t have any contact with them until I showed up months later to collect that hanging around last paycheck that they specifically told me they would not mail. I was forced into a meeting with the owner and explained to him he and his company was full of ****, and they forced me to not give a **** about them because their own records could prove they didn’t give a **** about me. BEST DECISION EVER!!!! Yes life was hard for about 5-6 months. Now my band is getting paid gigs and I actually enjoy every aspect of my life.
badtiming Said,

June 6, 2011 @ 6:45 pm

#1 reason you shouldn’t quit you don’t have another job lined up.

Had government job for nearly 20 years. Was making well over 6 figures. Management targeted me while letting others slide for same reason. I’m to blame as well.

Figured worse case scenario find another job. Unfortunately I quit right before the worse economy since the depression. Home got foreclosed, saving nearly gone, unemployed for 3 years. I messed up big time.

With my experience going to try to go out on my own.

If you do quit make sure you have another job lined up. Even better if you can go out on your own.
Rebel-IT Said,

August 8, 2011 @ 8:52 am

As I write this I’m not sure if I’m fired or they think I quit. WIthout going into it and boring everyone I’ll say that either way I feel awesome about it.

We know ourselves better than we think we do and no matter what our conditioning tells us our intuition will eventually force a change. It’s a survival mechanism not that different than the basic fight or flight andrenaline response when we sense danger.

Know your passion isn’t the tired new age 90′s happy talk you may think it is. I’ve found myself stepping outside the situation and looking at exactly where I’m at with my regular job and what I see I can’t be proud of.

I currently/did work for a supposed “green” company but once I was there for awhile the only “green” they care about is the kind you put in Chase and Bank of America. Weak management and incompetent technical leads are institutionalized there. Problems aren’t solved they’re patched awaiting the next round of bandaids to justify ineffective management. One thing I detest is wasting time and that’s all I’m doing in this job. I like to solve problems and move on, not sweep them under the rug.

Staying for the money or benefits is short term thinking with long term ill effects. The longer you stay in a bad situation the more anger, resentment, stress and physical effects you’ll suffer. Eventually self preservation will kick in and one way or another you will be out of there. Either you’ll quit or do something so outrageous that you’ll get yourself fired. It’s only human nature.

Best to get out before all that happens and focus on what it is that you really want and then go after it. If your knee jerk reaction is that I’m just spewing Life coach BS then you’re not ready for the change and I suggest you stock up on antacids.

The bottom line is if you’re not invested in how you spend your very short life span be it work or otherwise then you’re never going to accomplish anything no matter how hard you try. Frustration will be your constant companion.

I suggest not taking that road.
katie Said,

August 10, 2011 @ 8:50 am

I have finally resigned from my job this week after 6 months of building up the courage to do so. I was working as a mental health nurse in a care facility for the elderly and I took the job out of sheer necessity after being made redundant from a job that I absolutely loved. I first thought I was unhappy at work because of the situation of being forced to take a job that I would never have considered if I had the luxury of choice. I suppose that was part of it but in reality the main source of my misery is my overbearing bully of a boss. When I interviewed for the job she told me how I would be a valued addition to the team and would be given excellent support from management. What a load of rubbish. The woman can make her mouth say anything. I signed a contract for a 36 hour week and in twelve months of holding my position I have never worked less than a 48 hour week. Typically i put in a 56 hour week. My manager is incredibly manipulative and intimidating and definitely rules through a climate of fear. Perhaps i could have had mire backbone and stood up to her when i was receiving phone calls at 4 in the morning telling me i “had” to cover extra shifts and i “had” to go out and assess patients on my days off. Even being told on one occasion to take my 2 year old son with me and leave him in the car whilst i visited people with psychiatric conditions. (Because I had dared to suggest I couldn’t work that day due to having no childcare). Of course where my child is concerned she received short schrift from me and I told her no way. This led to a disciplinary meeting with her about my lack of commitment to her and the company and my apparent insubordinate attitude. This is just one in a long line of issues within my place of employ. Frankly, I could go in all day! Anyway, I’ve quit and it is liberating! I talked long and hard with my partner about what it would entail if I quit and would we be able to pay the mortgage and the bills. We decided we could and even if it meant things being tight for a while that it was worth any cost just to be happy again. I’m lucky enough to have found another job, working behind a bar. I used to work behind the same bar when I was at college and my best friend still works there. To say I’m excited would be an understatement. I get to spend all day with my beautiful son, I won’t be tired and snappy with my partner and I finally get to be free of the stress. People have told me that I’m throwing my career away but I see it as getting my life back. I have plenty if time for a career, I’m only 28 but that job made me feel 108. Here’s to the future! Good luck to anyone else trying to regain some happiness and quit those life sucking jobs.
PJ Said,

August 19, 2011 @ 7:12 pm

I quit a good-paying position three years ago and like to read about similar experiences that people have. I fully understand a person’s position when he’s supporting a family or in debt, but if you have none of these problems or sense a way around them, you should follow your instinct and get out of that job while you still have your self-respect.

I have held three positions since leaving college in 2000. My first position was at a college, where I worked for five years and was generally treated well. The work, though, wasn’t related to my field and I looked for prospects in what really interested me. By chance, I made a connection with someone in the field and he eventually offered me a job at the company where he worked.

Since the position sounded appealing, I resigned from my job in education and switched into a corporate setting. From day one, this job was a complete nightmare. It turned out that my connection, who became my boss, only used his pleasant demeanor as a front and was really a self-loathing toady to management. I only lasted 18 months on the job and people around me remarked that I should’ve gotten out sooner.

My job was publishing-related. I held a managerial position, but the working culture in the place was so dysfunctional that my work was made almost impossible to carry out. I had to deal with consultants and people who were lower in rank but wouldn’t readily take orders because they were working there for years before I arrived. They all ‘knew somebody’ higher up the ladder so they went off and did what they wanted. These people openly said they couldn’t stand me, largely because I was efficient, presentable, and well-educated.

None of the promises made at my hiring were carried out. I was supposed to receive an office, but it was given to someone else before I ever moved into it. I was also supposed to have an assistant, but HR and sometimes my boss would checkmate whomever I interviewed and chose to hire. It was always an excuse either about not having the money or the payroll ‘wasn’t set up for it.’

This could’ve been improved with a reliable boss, but the boss I was stuck with had already been isolated from the rest of the operation. I knew none of this when I first met him. He is a procrastinator, is often unavailable during working hours, readily laughs or pokes insults at you, and gives you a hard time whenever he has the urge. My phone was always ringing with his questions and he was always palming off his own work onto me – this despite having three people working in his office. I had no direct contact with management, who were in a completely different sphere from us, so I had no means of support and had to suck it up. I was also an easy target for pushing around because they knew nothing was coming back.

I worked ridiculous hours, sometimes up to 70 per week, largely because I had no office support and had to do all of it on my own. I often worked across weekends and on holidays. I was seeing my family far less often than I would’ve chosen. My diet was also affected and I weighed 160 pounds by the time I left (my normal weight is around 145).

On a cold day in January, I received a phone call from my supervisor that was the absolute last straw. I had been in a tug-of-war with the consultants, who were actually doing a large part of my work before I arrived – this had all changed in a reshuffle before I got there. They didn’t want to lose any of this work, because it meant their getting paid for it and was a blow to their ego. I had fought to hold my position but my boss called to tell me that ‘they’ were getting their old responsibilities back. None of my work had been criticized by management and there was never indication that it needed to be fixed. In the matter of a phone call, half of my job was taken from me. This, despite having performed far and beyond the expectations.

After getting off the phone, I knew that I was in a hopeless spot. I was badgered for the entire 18 months I was there and if I stayed, I would be badgered more and lose my self-respect in the process. I’m not a violent person, but I was bound to say or do something ridiculous and tarnish my work history altogether.

The solution to all this was simple. I left my ID and keys on my desk and walked out. I never went back to the office grounds again, despite living two blocks away. I received phone call after phone call from people in the company asking me to come back. A lower-ranking manager even came to my apartment building and asked me to return, but my decision was made. All they really cared about was my work getting done. All the promises in the world – which they wouldn’t have delivered on – would’ve made me go back. When you escape from an asylum, you don’t start banging on the door and asking to be let back in.

Since I had an essential job there, they were left with a complete mess in my absence. From what I’ve read and heard since then, the berserk atmosphere hasn’t changed at all in the three years since I left. I don’t take pride in how I left there, but I don’t regret my decision at all. I was unemployed for eight months and it was a very difficult process, but I did find work eventually and still hold that position now. I am making far less money, but the benefits are very good and I am working with great people. No one has ever said a derogatory word about anyone in my time here and everyone goes about their work professionally.

To the posters here who are considering leaving their job, I will say that it’s a huge risk and can be trying with the current economy but your dignity is far more important than anything a job offers. I read often about the hard time that excellent workers are given by managers and can’t believe how widespread this problem is. There are certainly good bosses out there, but for every good one there seems to be four or five who must’ve been raised in a sewer. They lack professionalism, tact, and common decency. And in working environments with these people, the bums are rewarded and the good workers punished. Then you wonder why the American workforce is such a disaster.

I agree with the earlier posts on trying to fix things. These problems are beyond our control. It is too big for one person to fix, unless you’re the Hulk or Attila the Hun. Run and don’t look back. When you’ve resigned, people you know will be shocked and no one will really understand the agony you went through at work. They’ll think you’re crazy for having left. But unfortunately, they’ve also flocked into the fold, they’ve had it drilled into them that a job is what makes you and breaks you. Break, yes. Make, no way.
Kayle Said,

September 10, 2011 @ 12:10 am

Easier said than done, I’m afraid… When you live in a country that does not have free health care, and where jobs are hard to come by (like the US), hanging onto a crappy job can mean the difference between staying afloat and sinking.

You missed a crucial reason for not quitting… How do I pay my bills? Student loans, car payment, rent/mortgage… When, like me, you’re only 24, you haven’t had much time to save up in case you find yourself unemployed and searching for a new job for 6+ months (it takes that long here). Jobs at cafes or behind sales counters won’t pay my bills.

I was hoping to read this article and feel validated about wanting to quit my job, and get some inspiration to do it. Now I’m more convinced than ever that I should be responsible and stay, at least until I find something else (have been looking for 7 months).
Amadeo Said,

September 20, 2011 @ 6:27 pm

Having a health care isn’t needed when you’re perfectly living a healthy life. The best article I manage to browse so far, I am fucking quitting my job tomorrow. lol
Amadeo Said,

September 20, 2011 @ 6:30 pm

after nearly 5 stupid years of service… I will set myself free and will be moving towards a better tomorrow. Muhahaha! I’ve really enjoyed reading all the replies and stories of you guys. Wishing all of us the best.
Jo Said,

September 29, 2011 @ 4:19 am

Wow! What a great site for insite lol! I have been back and forth for the last year over quitting my job. I make a lot of money and can afford to be comfortable. But I find myself needing a physical therapist, psychotherapist, massage therapist, life counselor, long pick-me-up talks with close friends, BLOOD PRESSURE medication, and a very, very, very unhappy and unfulfilled personal life. This is all because I feel stuck in a job because of the paycheck. I have been afraid to move on and do what I love to do. I am a great musician. I have been told my some of the best in the industry that I am tops. I need the courage to take a step and do my thing!

I have been in my job for 13 years now. I have come super close to suing my employer for discrimination. They have collectively rallied against me and done some despicable things behind my back to retaliate. I can’t even walk down the halls of the firm without someone rolling their eyes at me. These are new employees I never met. There is serious discussion going on behind my back. I hate it but I march off to work every morning because I feel I will be devastated if I leave and won’t find a way to support myself. I know they have done some very illegal things. I want to contact the state department and give them big trouble. But it makes me more and more angry and bitter toward them. I need to just let it go. I have been having dreams and desires of some of them dropping dead. This is how serious it’s gotten for me. It must be a sign for me to cut my losses and walk away.

I’m thinking of quitting and taking a payout of my 401K to help me live. Many say that’s a big no-no. But at least it will buy me time and keep me from being desolate. It’s hard in the US right now. But I’m in New York. People are always finding a way to make ends meet here. After reading all of these posts I’m starting to believe I can make it as well. I think my new plan will be to stick it out to the end of the year, get a Christmas bonus (which is usually very handsome) and then not come back after the New Year. I’ll start 2012 fresh and in a new direction.

Any and all encouragement is welcome :)
Why Staying in the WRONG Job Isn’t Always RIGHT | truyuu Said,

October 3, 2011 @ 6:08 pm

[...] Let’s face it. Most of us have been there once or twice: you dread getting up in the morning, you loathe the sight of your boss or your co-workers, you can’t wait for Friday to come and wander aimlessly through the rest of the week trying to get through it. You sit and dream of the day when you find a new job, when you can tell your boss where to go, and that feeling of utter satisfaction walking out of your office without looking back. So, why do we stay? [...]
Graceful Goodbyes by Cheryl Wisniewski | YNPN Chicago Blog Said,

October 9, 2011 @ 8:26 pm

[...] first let me say that I am not in any way advocating you leaving your job during this recession unless you find it’s absolutely necessary and/or you have another one secured. This is my official [...]
Sarah Said,

October 21, 2011 @ 11:02 pm

I have been working at a job for about three months now. I just graduated college and found this job right out of a school. The job seemed so cool and the perfect job for me.. Since I’ve started, I have been miserable. I have been sick for three weeks straight, get panic attacks and friends and family have been telling me that I’m acting like a zombie and my personality has been changing.

This article really helPed me realize that this may not be the right job for me or at least not the right time, especially by seeing that I am definitely not alone with these feelings. It is just hard to leave this job because I feel like I need to be there for the kids I work with (I work At a group home/ rehab for high schoolers) and that I need to toughen up because this is what I thought I wanted to do. But I dread going to work everyday, the staff I work with aren’t very supportive, I have kids cussing me out and yelling at me, my job is really just to yell at them and give them timeouts pretty much. I’m not happy and it is affecting my personal life and my own health. I’m just scared to leave the job I thought I was meant to do. But I’m only 22 and need to work on my own life and being happy first, right? I’ve just been so confused!
A Said,

November 30, 2011 @ 4:05 pm

I’m leaving a job I’ve been at for a little over a year now. To be honest, I do feel that I should have left quite a while ago. From day one I had the feeling this place was going to be a nightmare; I work at a major rural midwestern grocery chain and I have never seen so much corruption and greed in a long time. I’m quitting because I am being worked as a full time employee without the full time benefits and because I was misrepresented on the company’s investments. I didn’t invest any money into this place because I could never get a clear answer as to what exactly I was buying from the company as far as investments go. If a company misrepresents financial or investment information to you, your best bet is to GET OUT. Forget about the politics and crap, if your employer is unwilling to be truthful to you on something like a 401k or stock ownership, leave, and don’t turn back. No sane employer would want you to put up with that.
Aubrey Said,

December 6, 2011 @ 4:20 am

Diego is right… what if it’s not the job? One can reason it out by saying “It’s a personal problem, I can change thousands of jobs and never be satisfied. I have to concentrate on my life, the job is not perfect but neither that bad.”
Endurance is a valuable quality developed over time, and one that will be used at any job in the future. Why not develop it now?
Besides, only a few can afford to live without a job.
if god wwas real, you'd all be dead Said,

December 13, 2011 @ 7:51 pm

how is “i’m supporting some i shouldn’t be and quitting would put us both on the street” or “i tried to get another job but it didn’t because my work was giving out false information to where i applied to”?. quitting without having another job lined up is dumb.
Why Staying in the WRONG Job Isn't Always RIGHT | TruYuu Blog Said,

December 16, 2011 @ 6:21 pm

[...] Why Staying in the WRONG Job Isn’t Always RIGHT Posted on September 28, 2011 by truyuu Tweet Let’s face it. Most of us have been there once or twice: you dread getting up in the morning, you loathe the sight of your boss or your co-workers, you can’t wait for Friday to come and wander aimlessly through the rest of the week trying to get through it. You sit and dream of the day when you find a new job, when you can tell your boss where to go, and that feeling of utter satisfaction walking out of your office without looking back. So, why do we stay? [...]
Ms. Frustrated Said,

January 2, 2012 @ 8:47 pm

I am gratified I was able to notice this link while I’m searching for samples of resignation letter. It has strengthen my driving force to leave and pursue my dream job. This is my first job after graduation (it left me with no choice because this was the first company to accept my application) and at the initial stage, I found it quite enjoyable because of my amiable peers and high salary (have to admit, though). It also came to a point when I was blinded and I missed all the opportunities which came upfront to me – all the chances in which I could have considered as my first stepping stone to land the job I love. Everyone was shocked and some bombarded me with negative feedback. I know I failed their expectations and I also hate myself for that. After staying for almost nine months now, here I am, still full of regrets and frustrations. I wonder why I didn’t have the courage to leave and bid goodbye to this materialistic ideal and go far beyond to pursue my passion. This new year, I stand firm to free myself from being stuck to which I’m not supposed to be. I know it may be hard after this decision but I’ll take all the risks so that, in the end, I could shout to the world that “I didn’t regret it because here I am and I’m lovin’ it.”
Kimberly Said,

January 26, 2012 @ 10:48 pm

I work for a small business and at first I loved it. However, we jumped from a staff of 30 to 120 in less than three years. The owners just weren’t ready for that kind of growth. As a result our management here is nothing but a joke. I feel run-down and underappreciated. My “team lead” wants me to walk on water, but he expects half of the dedication and work that most of the others in my department give him. I know I’m not alone in feeling this either. I’ve actually put in my notice twice now. My boss told me that he would most likely have to lay-off my entire department if I left. He says he can’t replace me and that he won’t be able to keep up with the line of business my department handles if i leave. I work with ten other people. I want to quit, but if they really did the lay-offs? I’d feel awful.

I hate this position that I’ve been put in. No one should have a right to make me feel responsible for the others in my department. The worst part? No one else gets this response if they quit from my department. I am still friends with a few of the people who have left in the last year and they got a completely different speech.
In Turmoil Said,

January 30, 2012 @ 9:00 pm

After two years with an employer who wasn’t intune with the employees and the importance of a healthy culture, I resigned. Not a bad place to work … just disheartening to work there. I took a job at a company for less money because I thought “the grass was greener on the other side” but unfortunately has the same unhealthy culture. Been with this company for two weeks and I am already regretting leaving my previous employer. My prior employer, however, is willing to take me back. Should I go back???

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