Two days ago, I quit my 100K+ job with no notice and no savings. Long story short, I was suffering from burnout and it reached a breaking point where I had Just. Had. Enough.
Now, I feel totally guilty for leaving without giving the usual 2 weeks' notice. Generally, giving notice is a common courtesy and is not legally obligated, unless it was in your work contract and even so, it is hard to take someone to court over not providing notice.
However, unless you really hated the place you worked, it is normal to feel some guilt quitting in general and especially quitting without providing proper notice. I absolutely loved the people that I worked with and the thought of my coworkers having to pick up my slack absolutely kills me.
I am going to be totally honest, I quit on a Sunday right before the start of a big phase of our next project. A project where I was the only one that knew what we needed to do. To add to the guilt, I had not completed the deliverables from the previous phase. Not only was I letting my team down, but I was also letting the client down and potentially damaging the business relationship.
But, after weeks upon weeks of travel and 16 hr work days, I couldn't bring myself to do it again.
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| 6 am on the way to the client site, looking cute but ready to kill myself |
If you have a similar story, I am here to tell you that it is okay. It is okay to leave the work unfinished, it is okay that you didn't hand off your work properly, and it is okay not to give notice, especially if it is a matter of your health. Without our health, we have nothing.
YOU HAVE TO PUT YOURSELF FIRST!
You are the only one that knows what is best for you. We only get one life to live and although we feel terrible about letting people down, you have to take care of yourself first. Like the flight attendants always tell you, put your own mask on first before trying to assist others.
It took me getting sick 4 times for several weeks at a time before I realized that this job was terrible for my health and I needed to get out immediately. I knew that if I started the next phase of the project it would be another (at least) 6 weeks of agony and I would never fully recover from the respiratory virus I was battling.
I stayed as long as a did because I didn't want to seem like a failure and I didn't want to leave on bad terms. I had discussions of leaving with my boss a few times, and although there were attempts at improving the working conditions, inevitably these attempts failed. It is normal to feel like a failure, but know that there are brighter and better days ahead.
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| trying to get back to simpler days, when I wasn't mentally and physically exhausted |
Today, marked day 2 since I quit my job and I already have an interview for another job that has a much better work-life balance (or so it seems).
When one door closes, another will open. Trust in yourself and your abilities.
It is okay to feel guilty, but know that the world will keep on turning and everyone will be okay (including you!).
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