To quit my job before I get another?

[whatdoiso]

I have a one year old and work part time. DH is self employed and also works part time. We share child care equally and have DS in nursery 2 days a week. This gives us just enough money to live on (frugally but that's our choice) time with our son and time together at weekends.

I HATE my job. The pay is super crap given the hassle (barely over minimum wage). It's an incredibly negative place to be, extremely chaotic due to shocking management and zero leadership, and is not going to change. It's quite a political organisation. Saying more would be massively outing.

We have had a tough year with serious illness, PTSD, big relocation away from my family and friends... the list goes on. This year I really want to make myself happier and be more positive. I plan to go back to uni in the autumn and work part time doing something low paid but low stress at the same time.

WIBU to quit my hateful job now and find something else during my notice period? I'm quite good at getting jobs. Having time to search and apply when on the merry go round of work, nursery, home with rumbuctious DS is hard and I worry that, once I go back, all this positivity and resolve will evaporate out of me in the face of the barrage of shit I know awaits me.

I would say you should quit but I know others don't agree. I also have never had difficulty getting jobs.

Thanks Sparrow. Good to know someone gets my thinking!

Could you afford to live without your wage?

Only if you can afford to live without your pay

Just, and not without state help in the form of working tax credits. We've paid into the system plenty (I've worked since I was 16) but I still feel uncomfortable intentionally putting us in a dependent position, even though it would be temporary and to make our earning better in the long run.

I think it depends on how easy jobs are to come by in your field. I did this - but I knew that there is a shortage in my job and I had a good fallback in the meantime if things didn't work out. If I hadn't been in that position I'm not sure what I'd have done!

I would give myself at least a month. Do your CV, start applying and go from there. If you don't care about your current job, it's easy enough to take sickies to go for interviews.

By sticking to your current one, you make yourself a lot more employable, and you don't have to lie too much about your current position. If your partner is only working part time too, it's easy to take an afternoon to concentrate on your cv and start applying. Of course, you tailor each cv to each job you apply for, but it realistically doesn't take that long.

Get off MN, update your CV and send off a couple of applications now!

It's always easier to find work when you're in work. If there ends up being a gap then you're going to have to explain that and it may put off some employers. Good luck!

If I were you I'd get into job hunting mode and try and stick it out until you have another job to go to. By the time you go through the application, interview and selection process for your new job it could leave you out of work for quite some time. Also, if you're part time will it be difficult to get something with similar hours?

What does your DH have to say about your plan?

I did this 2 yrs ago. Had been hanging on but was so miserable I was worried that this was obvious in the interviews I was having for other jobs. In my case it was a bullying boss who everybody acknowledged was a problem, but management were unable to deal with.

However, we weren't relying on my salary at the time, and it sounds like your financial situation is much tighter.

In my case it worked out well, I picked up some freelance work almost straightway, and this led to a much better paid part time job with an organisation I love working for.

Dingdong Bugger it. You're bloody right and I can't avoid your advice with a clear conscience. How irritating.

(Thank you)

I wouldn't quit a job without another to go to-especially if my DP was only part time and self employed.

If you quit-would you actually be entitled to benefits straight away?

Is it your whole role that you hate or just your current place of employment ? Could you do it in a different setting-maybe one with better management and less chaos?

I know it's horrible being stuck in a job you hate but if you are able to get a new job as quickly and easily as you say then you really might as well stick it out for a couple of weeks while you make applications.

Would it be possible to help out in your DH's business and increase profits for that? If not, I would give yourself a time limit to apply for other jobs while you are working. At least you will be able to see whether or not it really is easy to get another job. Also work out whether you really will be able to apply for benefits if/when you do resign.

What's your notice period?

Quit. Your health is important. You said you can just manage so you will. Life is too short, spend time with your babies while you jobcentre.

Just, and not without state help in the form of working tax credits. We've paid into the system plenty

Do you get tax credits if you resign?

We would get tax credits if I resign, they're based on household income.

I think part of the reason I want to leave is because my DS has gone through some kind of transformation and is currently a total joy to be around. He's just out of the baby stage and is so much fun. Going to a shit job to make shit money instead of being with him makes me want to cry!

I think part of the reason I want to leave is because my DS has gone through some kind of transformation and is currently a total joy to be around. He's just out of the baby stage and is so much fun. Going to a shit job to make shit money instead of being with him makes me want to cry!

I'd prefer to be at home with my kids rather than go to my shite job but sadly, we can't afford that.

Go for it! It'll probably be such a weight lifted when you quit that your mindset will be better for finding something new. Best of luck.

We can't afford it either, I can't afford to be a SAHM. If I had a crappy job that paid shite money but was fairly hassle free (the kind of job where you can leave it at the door and go home tired but not stressed), that would be better. At the moment I feel like I'm in a lose lose situation. The money is terrible and I'm so stressed by it I'm grouchy and irritable when I am home with him. I have to work some evenings too, and often bring work home with me.

There's lots of things, not just money and time, that go to creating a balance of working and living.

Sounds like my job. Just don't leave your job and become a teacher, whatever you do!

I'd do it and I've done it before but the difference is I was single and childfree.
What does your DH think about it?

Dingdong is right.

Sure it is stressful to look for a job when your plate is so full. However, if you know you will definitely be quitting and it is just a matter of time, feel free to mentally check out of your current job. It won't be your problem for much longer. Do the minimal, take longer lunch breaks, sickies if necessary.

It is much safer not to resign until you have another offer in hand. I don't know if your industry/sector is affected by Brexit but better to play safe in uncertain times. If all goes well, it is only for a little longer before you find another job.

He's not keen.

He's an insanely steady guy and little phases him. He works outdoors in the countryside, hard graft but has never experienced office based/ voluntary sector/budgets/incompetent managers. I don't think he gets how crappy it is, but that's partly why we work so well together.

He also doesn't want sole responsibility for breadwinning, which is fair enough as it's not what we ever intended to happen and he's had to do it under difficult circumstances quite a lot this year.