this is what scares me the most, because I need the money.
Always line something else up first. If possible, also have enough money to last 3-6 months without a job - makes things a hell of a lot less stressful. We would essentially just bank any bonuses throughout the year, and it would afford us a nice nest egg in case something ever happened. However it needs to remain untouched.
I am a homeless man in San Francisco because I quit a public sector job that I was not allowed to fix with my good-ass coding skills. I have no regrets.
It scared the shit out of me, but was one of the best decisions I took, on my next job I learned to impose limits from the start.
I managed to find something very soon, but if I were in a similar position nowadays I would first find something new.
I’ve never had trouble finding new work, so it hasn’t been too scary for me. Once I got laid off and found another job before the severance ran out but that job turned out to be a disaster and I got laid off there as well, only months later. That was definitely discouraging but a relief as well. I got right back on the horse.
However now things have changed a lot. I am much more senior and earning a lot more. Senior roles are fewer and more competitive. And the job market has been a disaster this year. It used to be that I’d get a couple of recruiter emails per week and now I can hardly get a response to any job applications I send. So yeah. At this point the financial hit terrifies me because I have a lot more at stake and I don’t know when I could get back to where I am if I left. I’m not miserable but I am unhappy as well as bored. For now I’m just dealing with it. I’m a little afraid to be “dealing with it” for the rest of my days though.
This is me right now. The job market has been so shit I’ve just keeping it together while trying to utilize my accumulated network of connections and start my own business.
Ooh starting your own business must be so exciting. I wish you all the luck with that.
Currently at a job where I haven’t slept in 4 days because I am stressed out about quitting. There are too many safety violations and I keep getting in trouble for things completely out of my control. Maybe OSHA will supplement my income for a few months
Break a leg!
I’ve been fired before. It honestly isn’t that bad unless you have absolutely shit financial practices.
It seems that everyone already answered, but I will give my perspective as well.
It’s definitely very different for each person. Some people need the money more or less. Some people suffer more in their job or less. Some people have more options or less.
I like to imagine a scale where on one side you have the reasons to leave and on another side you have the reasons to stay. And reasons to leave are multiplied by how many options you have outside.
So if your job is terrible and you’re pretty financially stable and you have a lot of options for finding other jobs then the scale would lean towards leaving. Or if your job is pretty terrible, but you’re not financially stable and you don’t have a lot of options, then the scale would be pretty equal and you’ll have to take a risk.
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When a job is toxic, I send off a job application for someplace else every evening. It makes the job I have bearable cause I feel like I’m already gone but the toxic boss still thinks they have power over me. Gives me a chuckle.
Every time I left a job to find something better, I doubled my salary as well.
I’ve left two jobs because they were toxic. I always had something else lined up beforehand though.
I left a few toxic jobs before. At one I left with my middle fingers in the air, throwing chicken nuggets from a bucket at employees I didn’t like on my way out. And then when I saw my fat manager I just went MOOOOOOO on my way out.
20 years later, still worth it. I still laugh.
Don’t quit, slowdown, make them fire you, collect unemployment and get a better job
Bad advice for a toxic workplace. That’s just going to ruin your mental health.
Still, if I can drag down the mental health of management with me, that’s a win.
I call it “the fear”. Being unemployed or underemployed or having the risk of no income fills me with it.
Do the math. See how rational the fear is. Whatever the result, admit you’re afraid and decide if you also want to be brave and act despite the fear. Make a plan. Start working on it. Hopefully things are better on the other side, but either way that fear will pass.
Fear is a natural part of human life. Often useful, but also often not. But as long as you can manage to act despite your fear, it won’t harm you.
Ok, cortisol and stress exist, but you have bigger things to worry about.
Toxic jobs really take a toll on your health, especially if you feel trapped in them. Looking for a new job is really a full time job on itself, it can be hard to do so while already working a full time job. If you feel your job is toxic you should start looking for something new right away - whether you’ve given notice or not. I’ve ended up in the hospital twice from the toll toxic jobs that I felt trapped in took on me. Another thing you can consider is diversifying your income. Ie, a “side hustle”. If you have more than one income stream you won’t be quite as trapped. You also will have something to help buffer the transition between your real jobs.
Always be looking for a new job, you never know when a new boss arrives and makes it horrible.
