Anyone left a toxic job? Did it feel good?

[Marlborocrystal]

I’m at a final interview stage. My current job is just horrible. The work load has been continuously high since I started - like unmanageably high. I’m criticised every single day l, people talk to you like shit, you’re thrown under the bus, I should have realised something was wrong when the person above me quit after 4 months.

All that is getting me through is the thought I can hopefully soon say - I’m handing my notice in - bye 😁.

So everyone has perfect jobs. Good for you.

I hope you get the new job. I walked out of a Job early in my career, my work colleagues hated me, my boss was awful. After about 6 months I went out for lunch and did not go back !! Just left, very unprofessional but I was so miserable.

I quit a senior NHS job (as it was making me ill, physically & mentally) - now I'm a minimum wage hospitality worker & never been happier.

I left a toxic job with a bullying narcissistic boss who would constantly change her mind about what she wanted, blame everyone, whisper about people while they were sitting two feet away and be generally spiteful. It was a terrible commute for me as well. I felt so free and happy when I left. Good luck.

Yes and yes.

Left teaching after 15 years. Took a job where im working practically half the hours, none of the stress, 2% of the workload and only earning about £200 less per month.

I wish I'd done it sooner!

I was SO happy leaving a toxic place. My 'manager' had absolutely no experience in the sector and micromanaged. She'd book clients in 2hrs before my contracted start time, then yell at me when I didn't come in early- because she'd never told me! There were SO many issues. I hated it, but also left to help support a family member going through palliative care. None of the managers said goodbye nor even wrote on my farewell card- which colleagues bought.

I did and felt Marvellous.

I still remember to this day, the feeling of elation I had as I walked out of the door for the very last time.

Good luck for the future.

Yup.

My first job in my career. I gritted my teeth through two fucking years so I could get a decent period on my CV.

I'm fortunate that they were awful to everyone not just me or my mental health would have spiraled even more.

Unbelievable work load with the managers refusing to turn down new jobs so we had to say yes to everything. The list of (design) projects got longer and longer which meant that clients kept calling to shout at us, so then we would scramble to do that job which put us behind elsewhere. Managers constantly cross with us for not working faster/quality slipping despite us all working 50 hours a week and usually skipping lunch.

My direct manager was a sex offender (found out afterwards) who was really inappropriate to all the female staff and basically hounded them all out while simultaneously shmoosing the directors and talking shit about everyone else to make himself look good.

Shit pay. I left a waitressing job for this role and made considerably more waiting tables and didn't need a degree to do so.

I left with no job to go to at the two year mark and cried with relief on the drive home.

The next similar job in a design office a couple of years later I had to deal with a kind offer traumatic response where I got incredibly angry and defensive over nothing and struggled with even mild criticism because I was so used to having three bosses on my case.

I went freelance and wfh a few years ago. It's absolute bliss!

Yes I was so happy to hand in my notice to a cow of a Manager. It was a huge relief.

I was bullied by parochial colleagues and felt diminished every day with no support from the board. The entire practice was toxic.

I stuck it out for 2 horrendous years. I used to pray every morning “please God, let this be a better day,” Imagine that!

I had no job to go to so (back in the day) I advertised myself in the local paper. Within a few weeks I was back in work again, very happily for the next 12 years.

Years ago, yes and yes.

I remember how happy I was handing in my resignation letter! I wasn't bitter or resentful about it, I just wanted to leave as soon as possible!

Ironically, they then tried to get me to stay 🤷

Ever since then I've trusted my instinct more! When I went for the interview it was a full-day affair; panel interview, personality test, written test, 1-2-1 'chat'. My instinct was that something was 'off'. Even on my first day, I got a bad feeling about it and it went downhill from there.

Good luck OP!

When you leave, leave graciously!

I’ve done it 4 times in my career. Colleagues I kept in touch with for one job told how they struggled to retain any of my replacements with several leaving commenting the job was impossible for a single person. Eventually they split it into 3 FT positions.

The last one was particularly disappointing as as for the first 2 years I’d had the most brilliant manager and the senior leadership team were excellent. But then the director left, as did their number 2, a restructure followed and I ended up with an incompetent, ineffectual micro manager, who took credit for my work, gave me impossible deadlines and generally made things as difficult as possible, so I decided to retire. A lot of others left around the same time for similar reasons. Again, colleagues who I kept in touch with said it took over a year to replace me and only after my micromanaging manager been ‘promoted’ out of the department. It seemed there had been lots of speculation externally that reflected badly on the organisation about why I took early retirement.

In every case, I remember how much joy I felt handing in my notice and on my last days. No job is ever worth sacrificing your health wellbeing for. Employers rarely show loyalty to their employees- they are just a number on the payroll - so if a job doesn’t work for you, move on.

I left a job I'd had for 10 years. It was ok the first few weeks, but quickly things changed and I realised the toxicity to eachother, pressure to explain yourself on headsets if you took longer to do something and just the way things were said to me sometimes. I dreaded going in for most of the ten years I was there. Things did improve the last few months as I had to have a day off due to an emergency, my boss had to do my job and realised it really couldn't be done in the time he'd previously given me - not only that he completed messed it up.

I'll be honest, I think I was in constant dread (even on days off) and it didn't really sink in I was finally escaping, and I still found myself waking up early worrying about going in before I realised I was free. Now I really don't know how I did it and for how long.

I think people who say work is good for you don't have a fucking clue.
Of course not working is not good either but often neither is working.

I have left a toxic workplace myself. More than once. It felt good handing in my notice but it does take a while to recover. Still think back to it sometimes and it's been years.

I left my last job because I was being undermined, scapegoated and treated differently from other team members by my line manager. I had two faced colleagues as well and the whole organisation was toxic and had the highest staff turnover I had ever seen.

Working there shattered my self-confidence and made me physically sick so leaving was the best decision.

Ah yes, the elation is something else, isn't it?