Unhappy Employees Should Find New Jobs
By: Mick, February 23rd, 2007
I came across a very popular recent blog post from Violent Acres: Don’t Treat Your Employer Better than They Treat You. I found it on Digg, where it has nearly 2000 “diggs” so far and a growing number of comments — the vast majority of which are supporting the overall “The Man is keeping me down, so F him!” approach of the post. Violent Acres had a pretty miserable job for about a year and she kept showing up, despite her hatred of the position. She finally quit abruptly after a week-long vacation where all she did was dread returning to work. Her take is that working for her company sucked and that they have no right to begrudge her quitting without notice, etc. because “they” robbed her of dignity, etc.
I understand that work sucks for most people. And I understand that most large companies don’t exactly create an atmosphere of mutual respect with their employees. But, man, if you’re really that miserable (or miserable at all, for that matter), then get the hell out of there and move on. I know it wouldn’t take me a year to realize that I hated a job.
I also know that there is risk involved in quitting and finding new work. But given the resources that are currently available to job seekers and the countless recruiters that are dying for a chance to place people with even marginal talents, I would think that there has never been a better time to venture out and test the waters of a job search.
Tags: bad employers, new job search, unhappy employees, work sucks
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February 23rd, 2007 at 10:01 pm
You are completely right. I once hired a guy and trained him and a few months into the job, someone in our office who was actually out interviewing turned down a job but gave the name of the person I trained to the recruiter as someone who might be a good fit. He was then approached by the recruiter, who loved his resume and wanted him to interview for the position. He asked my advice on the matter, because through the training process we had become good friends. I told him that the most important thing is to look out for number one, and that if the position was a good fit for him, he should go for it. I encouraged him to interview with the company (which he did), because if he didn’t he might lose out on a great opportunity. He was hired and gave his two weeks notice and that job was the beginning of a great career for him.
I would still give the same advice to just about anyone who approached me with the question. Mick and ViolentAcres are completely right. Life is too short to be stuck in a job that sucks and that you hate. Though I never recommend quitting without giving notice (former employers can end up being real jerks when recommendation time comes around if you do), I do recommend getting your job search into full swing as soon as possible, because you need to get out of the job you hate and find the one you love.
Juan Rodriguez
Editor, www.JustJobs.com
February 26th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Great story and good point about remaining professional (giving notice) while still attempting to improve your career situation. It’s best not to let it get to the point where you have to abruptly quit to maintain your sanity.
May 20th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I think you make some good points. Personally, I strongly dislike my job (I wouldn’t quite say “hate”) but I’m not about to just vanish. It can be hard to deal with some days, but I’m also gaining valuable experience. Humor helps me deal with it: http://www.worksucks.com