Is it awful to quit a job with immediate effect?

[Mrsjaffacakeys]

If it's making you unhappy and causing stress and anxiety? No matter what mess it leaves behind. I have money and don't need another job.

I'm really struggling but feel so guilty.

Depends what it says in your contract about your notice period. If you are meant to serve notice you could always resign and then get signed off sick until your notice period is up.

Why do you feel guilty? If it’s causing you stress because the company is treating you like crap, then definitely no need to feel guilty at all. Go for it!

It’s not great for your employer covering the work but from their point of view the positives are that they don’t have to pay you for the notice period or being off sick and, if you are unhappy then it may be affecting your performance and they don’t have to manage that.

Ultimately you have to look after yourself. If you've given it lots of thought, tried to make it work and you can't do anything else, then you know what your path is moving forward.
Would the quitting and regret around the short notice make you feel worse or would staying be the worst option for you?

I would check your contract. Under mine, if I walked out, I am expected to pay them one month's salary. (And yes, they would take legal action to recover it).

Hi @Mrsjaffacakeys
If the job is causing you stress and anxiety, that's no good for your wellbeing. You are the priority. I would resign with immediate effect xx

Don't feel guilty. They may be mildly inconvenienced but will replace you like you never existed.

I assume they have a significant part of play in your stress levels in the first place. So let them reap the consequences.

In most jobs, there's no such thing as resigning with immediate effect, as there is a contractual notice period of at least a month. This is there to protect the business from disruption but also individuals from being fired with a little notice, as can happen in many other countries.

As others have said, if this is the situation and you don't want to do another day, you can resign and then go off sick - assuming it's at least a week's notice, you'll generally need to see a doctor for evidence of this.

If you just stop showing up they can consider this gross misconduct and fire you, which leaves you with less money and an awkward disclosure at your next job.

Absolutely nothing happens to you if you resign with immediate effect. There is no legal recourse. You may lose pay for your notice period but you will not lose pay for the hours you have already worked. If it is causing you MH issues resign with immediate effect, no job is worth that

If you want to sue for constructive dismissal then you have to have resigned with immediate affect. It is a thing although it is breaking your word I guess and depends how you feel about that. The only thing that may be a problem is getting a reference from the employer but employers can’t write negative references anyway.

Get signed off with stress and then phone in sick for your notice period. It's the best way to do it, plus you can then get paid while you're looking for another job, which is helpful.

I'd feel guilty if I was close with colleagues and they would be put upon if I left them in the lurch, would still resign if I couldn't stand it a minute longer (or go off sick). Otherwise could not give a shit and would walk without a backwards glance.

Never put any job, any employer, before yourself and your well being and mental health. Always put yourself first.

As much as this is true, OP has not indicated what steps she has taken to communicate this to her employer.

You need to have a clear conversation with your employer.

If you really decide to leave without working your notice period, then in most cases there's no sanction. (But do check your contract). However, depending on your profession, this can look badly for you with future employers (it would in my sphere of work which is very connected).

From an employer's point of view, it's a significant hassle if someone does this. It's also for any decent employer, not how we would like it to end.

Sometimes, there may be no other option of course.

Do you have a notice period? If you get a doctors note to sign you off sick for the duration of your notice period then I think that would be fine. But I wouldn’t give notice with immediate effect with no valid reason.

Also depends how long you’ve been working there? A week? Then fine to give no notice.

Could you go in. Explain how stressed you are and agree a handover meeting? You get to leave quickly but have tried to be helpful.

No job is worth your mental health. They'll replace you in an instant.

(That's the sad reality. Being replaceable sucks)

Hope you get better soon

Depends what your contract says.

I was in a similar situation. I told my new employer on Wednesday and left on Friday. It was a call centre job that had been misrepresented throughout the recruitment process, so I felt no guilt at all. We're mostly just numbers, or an inconvenient means to an end for our employers, so don't feel bad about it.

As you can afford it, just tell them tonight you won't be back. Don't let it damage your health any further.

I walked out one Friday, put a note through their letterbox on the Sunday and never went back. I'd only been there just under a year though. Never heard from them and they even managed to send my P45 to the wrong address.

I quit a job with immediate effect last year.
It was really messing with my mental and physical health (I had started suffering from palpitations!), and one day I just quit. I was supposed to give 2 weeks notice, but I had some annual leave accrued, and overtime, so I just told them to use that in lieu of me working my notice period.

To be honest, I wanted them to be in the shit with me leaving with no notice. They were, and struggled for weeks, as, despite accusing me of not doing my job properly, I did it, and not one other person knew how to do my job.

I work in a school so feel bad because the kids need supporting and my colleagues are nice but I've taken a step up and the hours aren't going to work for me. I thought I'd give it a try but I'm struggling with the increase in hours and workload. I will talk to them as I don't think I do want to quit.

Reminds me of a colleague who was pissed off to the max with her job. She walked in one morning, tossed her pass on the front desk and said 'Tell them I'm not coming back.' No idea what repercussions there were but the style....

I quit on the spot but did wrote a letter and hand my notice in properly the next day. I had no other job to go to so I sucked it up and once I'd done that I felt a lot less stressed but I don't think there's anything wrong if you don't need the money or a reference. Even then they can still give you one