Have you ever quit a crappy job? We want your story!

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2 responses to “Have you ever quit a crappy job? We want your story!”

1. 

   October 26, 2015

   Sophie

   I took a job after being made redundant and also at a time when I had quite bad depression. I knew from day 1, I didn’t like the company. Even when I felt happier in myself, I became so stressed from even opening my laptop. I lost all my creativity at work and ended up just doing the minimum.
   I applied for other jobs and have several interviews but at the last minute things fell through. I kept thinking that I wanted to run my own business and not get stuck in office politics so now I have quit to set up my own company and work as a consultant. I am on the way to creating my dream life and work from wherever I want.
2. 

   October 27, 2015

   Prescott Perez-Fox

   I have definitely quit a crappy job — in fact, several — because I live by the words of Sally Hogshead who wrote “Being in a crap job isn’t your fault, but staying in one is.” Plus, what am I gonna do, just sit around being miserable and downright unhealthy for the rest of my life? No.

   But allow me tell about the worst job I ever had. I lasted 5 months, which is about average for designers at this particular firm, I learned as the weeks wore on. On paper, it seemed like a very good role, but the owner and boss ran the place like a convent, taking the role of mother superior and treating us like wayward novices. Everything was terrible — no planning, no strategy, nothing on the calendar, everything ad hoc. The boss would never sit for longer than 15 minutes at his desk, and would instead simply walk up and down the aisle to interrupt every single person and insert himself in whatever we were doing. So frustrating.

   After about 3 weeks I was skeptical, and another 3 or so I knew I had to head for the exit, but I was really worried about finding a new gig because I had just moved into my first-ever Manhattan apartment and New York is obviously very expensive! More expensive than I could afford as a freelancer. Luckily, an old boss got back in touch and essentially poached me. It was the first and only job offer I entertained during that period, because I was desperate to get out under any circumstances. Even with the existing relationship and a mutual want, it took about two months to finalise things — one more for the new job to get itself together and make an offer, and another MONTH of notice I had to give my old job.

   When the moment came, I simply asked the boss to speak in private and told him simply “I’m moving on.” I had a written letter stating the same already drafted and signed, and gave it to him when we were back at our desks. Honestly, I know he had been through it all before so I honestly didn’t care for his feelings at that point.

   The only downside, if you can call it that, is that I felt like I was walking out on my co-workers. One woman started the same day as me, and although she worked in a different role, I felt like I was quitting *on her* and the other teammates. They were miserable as well, but most lasted the better part of a year compared to my five months (4 + a month of notice, remember).

   Many people asked me why I stayed the full month and didn’t just walk out. Yes, there was the matter of one or two weeks paychecks still to be delivered, but it was more a matter of grit. I just couldn’t lower myself to run away and felt I had to finish something, if only to prove that I can have integrity, even when treated like crap from the moment I stepped through the door.

   I should also remark that this is genuinely the only firm I’ve heard of in NYC that has such a gruesome high turnover rate. Everyone I’ve ever met who worked there — full-time or freelance — has an identical experience. Recruiters refuse to work with him, and many of his former staffers don’t even list that company on their CV or LinkedIn profile. It’s him, not us.

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