I'll try to keep this short as I am in an ethical quandary.
I work in a small two-person consulting company with a man who owns the whole business. I am very well-paid, but the job is very stressful - long hours, weekend work, tight deadlines, etc.
In particular, my boss is very demanding. We get on well as people - in fact I like him a lot as a friend - but he doesn't see how incredibly difficult his work style is (unreasonable demands, moodswings, confusing instructions).
In the last two years we have hired six people to try and grow the business - all have quit within a week to a few months. When they leave, to keep the peace they make up an excuse, but most have confided in me that they find my boss impossible to deal with. He refuses to see this.
I have stuck it out for two years, largely because the money is excellent and I have been able to compartmentalise the stress. But working from home for six months has ground me down and now I find the job almost impossible.
I've been looking around for a year, but the marketplace has not been good (especially since COVID) and I'm reluctant to move for the sake of it. I'm shortlisted for another role (a good one), but won't know about this for 2 months.
Last week we lost yet another new employee. My boss and I had a heart-to-heart and he asked me straight out if I was looking elsewhere, and said if I was I should tell him.
I said I wasn't. But I feel very conflicted. I don't think it's reasonable to ask me to commit to a business when he is so hard to work with, and I have no stake. (I also have a three-month notice so he wouldn't be left too much in the lurch if I did quit). So I could keep my mouth shut.
But part of me would rather be honest and say I'm looking around. If I am honest though, I run the risk of being got rid of, the other job falling through, and ending up unemployed.
Should I tell him he's impossible and I'm looking around, or keep it to myself and just drop the bomb when I decide to leave?