Quitting job with nothing to go to - WWYD?

In the current job market, I would hang on as long as I possibly could. It’s brutal out there.

Generally, it's easier to find work while employed and you shouldn't quit until you have something to go to. However, if the toll is too high, then sometimes there is a place for leaving earlier. You and your husband know the details of how it balances best.

I’d do minimum whilst finding a new role.

I agree with this.

A few years ago I would have said leave and look for soemthing else, but the current job market is awful. People who have previously walked into jobs with no problem are now struggling to find work, even after months of searching, and that's without the extra dififculty of their roles being niche.

In your shoes I walked!
Never regretted it. It was toxic and I was too old for that crap.

A few years ago I would have told you to get out asap and then look but times have changed, I agree with other posters you should hang on whilst you look elsewhere.

i had this several years ago. Red flags at interview, first day, and every day after. I couldn’t sleep with the anxiety. Awful time that only got worse. A junior colleague quit in my first week ( he had been there 2 months), as it was so bad. Team and manager simply horrendous.

i had a fully supportive DH, and the role was difficult to find. I decided to stay for 1 year, then aim to move internally to literally any other team that would take me. I managed to do this at a huge cost to my mental health. Was in awful role for 18 months, and it took me about 2 years in nice new role with sane manager to mentally recover.

fortunately new role was great, I flourished and got promoted. All of the people that’s made my previous role stressful left or were got rid of within 3 years.

you either leave/ go back to old role ( like my junior colleague did) for 3 months. Otherwise you try and stay for 1 year to 18 months but have a strong plan to cling to.

many years later I am glad I clung on, but don’t underestimate the mental toll. Endurance is what counts in senior positions.

Take a couple of weeks off sick to sleep and recharge. Then start looking, hard. Best not quit unless you can fund 2 years without work.

@MHPlummeting
I'm currently going through a similar thought process, I have a thread ongoing on MN.

Slightly different to your situation as I've been in my role a long time, pension to consider etc.

Its affecting my MH and was making me ill.

Personally, I planned to stick it out but am now actively looking for a new role but in the meantime I'm trying to shut out the nonsense, head down, ignore what goes on around me.

This attitude probably won't work for you as you sound like you're at a higher level than myself.

I wouldn't leave without a role to go to, just looking for something else has shown it's a tough market.

You have my sympathy

Go off sick with stress to string things out?

The job market is brutal that is true. However you can’t underestimate the impact stress has on the body and your mental health. If you can manage on savings and your husband’s salary and cut your cloth to suit you should consider leaving.

My young adult son had a similar situation in terms of stress in a job and it triggered a lifelong health condition which made us all reconsider the importance of health versus working in a job that was making him ill.

I am not comparing your situation to his or saying this will happen to you. But it made me reevaluate my thinking on this. If you were on your own, with a large mortgage, bills etc. then that is a difficult and more tricky situation. However, if you can manage and accept that it might take a while to find something else then it is definitely something to consider!

This is precisely what I am currently doing. It’s tough, but applying for 100s of jobs while my savings dwindle would be tougher.

speak to management
but ride it out

Normally, I'd say quit, you can do better, i am a veteran job-hopper. However, my last FTC ended a year ago and I still havent found work even though I started looking 6mo before it ended. I have turned down 3 unsuitable roles in that time, so technically i COULD be working now, but they were unsuitable for a reason and it would affect my quality of life bigtime. If i was dependent on the income, that would be my situation. So, i'm advising caution. I'm running out of money now and concerned I'll never find a serious contract in my sector again at 40. Feeling rather like all my training, investment and graft was a waste. Esp. As our house is now hovering on the edge of negative equity too! :/

I think the first thing is to reframe what work is and what this role is to you. Accept it’s a bit f a misstep, accept it’s a bad environment/crap boss/awful clients, and figure out how to work to the minimum of what’s required so you give yourself headspace to find another role. If you need to take leave then do. Carve out coffee breaks / a walk or gym at lunch etc or wfh days too.
Id set yourself a realistic timeframe to find a new role - say 6 months - and actively look during that period. After that, give yourself the break regardless of the job prospects. It’s easier to say ‘I can do this til March’ than ‘I can’t see an end to this.’
Be mindful of seasonality of recruitment in your field. Also actively use your network - previous company or managers might help?
Good luck (from someone who’s been there).

Quit, today. Your health is more important.
As soon as you hand in your notice you will feel better and be able to ride out those three months. That gives you until christmas of salary and by then who knows? You are already putting out feelers so you might have something else lined up, you might not, but its absolutely not worth risking a breakdown.

Different circumstances but DH had to look for a new role as his current one was ending. It took about a month of constant searching, applications, a few interviews… There was about a week and a half between him finishing his old job and his new one starting. He had been wanting to leave his old job for years but it gave him the push he needed to properly try.

A friend’s DH has recently quit with nothing to go to. He had a 3 month notice period and was signed off for a lot of that. I can’t say for certain but my impression was that he wasn’t putting in 100% effort to finding a new job but he has now secured one and will have been unemployed for 1.5 months when he starts.

I think, if you’re willing to move to a role that’s not quite right, then do what you need to do but if you want to hold out for the right thing, you should keep working. In this economy, not working would stress me out even with lots of savings.

How badly is it affecting your health?
Are you responsible for a large team or do you have junior managers under you?

I agree. I think it would give you time to think and you might even be missed. I don't think walking out is a good approach.

No way in today's job market would I leave without 2 years of savings. If you quit now you'll also be without a job over Christmas.

I would go on long term sick and get myself signed off with stress and use that time to find another job. I wouldn’t be quitting!

so technically I'd have 9 months before the money ran out. It feels a bit reckless but I think we'd manage

I appreciate the health problems make this a more difficult decision. But thinking you will manage, isn't a plan. You need to seriously consider what you would do, if after 9 months you're still unable to find a job. As there's a very high chance of being unemployed, with a big mortgage and no savings, which would be a lot more stressful than the job you left.

Where do you live that house prices have dipped so massively or did you only have a very small deposit? I’m only asking because I have (totally unrelated concerns) about my brother putting himself in meantime equity through his divorce settlement and have been advising to think it through rather than just agree to get it done. Where I live house prices have dipped a little and the market is cool but they are still generally up from 5 years ago

You're right about slim pickings. I'm also on the hunt for something new after seven years. Because I've been in my current role for a while I am well paid, have great annual leave and a good pension, etc. I'm finding it hard to better the package I currently have, but I know I've got to leave before I say something I shouldn't. The frustration is killing me. My role is also in a fairly niche sector. You've started the hunt so you are moving forward. I've had my CV looked at by a few agencies and have taken some advice, as a lot of recruiters now use AI screening tools. In the past (before I had a kid), I have just walked out of jobs and then found another, but that's not so easy these days. Could you find temporary work to plug the gap whilst you find a permanent position? It's always easier to find a job when you're already in one. I've found employers take a suspicious view if you leave your last job with nothing to go to. What about taking some time off for a bit of head space?