Handing my notice in at a bad time - is that okay?

[SarahCrowcombe]

Am I being unreasonable by handing my notice in now?

I have hated my job - I escaped teaching (which I loved, but it destroyed me) and started a job in marketing at an NGO. It was okay at the start, but I then soon found that it didn't interest me in the slightest, and the lack of human contact and constant screen time started to negatively affected me and my mental health.

Fast forward to 7 months in, and my lovely Line Manager left for a better paid role elsewhere. The company didn't replace him, leaving me to do both jobs (with only 7 mths experience in that field and no formal training). The company said that they wouldn't replace him and wanted to hold his job open with the view to giving it to me (in a year when I have more experience), and they got an agency in for a few hours a week. So I have now taken on a massive workload and am basically now doing the manager job anyway (and I am totally lost because there is so much I am being asked to, of which I have no idea how to do, and am being given ZERO help or training from my boss who just says: 'sorry I don't know'). On top of this, I took a £10,000 pay cut when I first took the job and have struggled financially. I also know the manager job that they want to give me in a year, will be a tiny salary increase - hence why my line manager left in the first place.

So, I have just been offered a job in Student Support at a brilliant University. Much more up my street, in Education, a £6,000 pay rise, great career progression, amazing holiday, amazing maternity (for future planning - my current job has almost no maternity pay), options for doing their apprenticeships whilst also being paid (so I can retrain in another career should I want to) and they seem super lovely! So overall, MUCH better for me!

BUT, I feel terrible. Me handing in my notice will come totally out of the blue, and will be leaving everyone in the lurch. The boss will likely be extremely annoyed because they've kept the manager role open for me, and they will have lost the entire team in the space of a few months. It is also a very bad time for the company in many ways, and they are VERYYY stretched for staff (with another manager quitting in another team last month, who they haven't replaced yet either), and I feel like I will be letting my close colleagues down and leaving them all alone.

I think I am looking for a little reassurance if possible.

Thank you so much in advance! 😊

Go for it. If they want to retain their staff then they need to treat them properly.

What will probably happen is that they'll hand the marketing side over to the agency they've got in now. They'll be fine and you'll be incredibly relieved once you've handed in your notice and moved on.

I stayed a year (or possibly more) too long in my previous job.
It used to be a fantastic job with interesting work and a good team who all liked doing the work.
We got taken over by a big company and things were still ok for the next few years.
Then it started being not so good as they tried to bring us into line with the big company way of doing things
People in my team dropped out one by one and muggins here was last one still in.
They were training up a new team in India to help out, but it was too little too late and everything felt on my shoulders.
I finally handed in my notice after my mental health was wrecked. My leaving did leave a big hole, but it wasn't my issue to solve.
The most annoying thing is that the big company has a good reputation in general for looking after its workers. I just had bad luck in the particular managers that didn't handle the rapid loss of experienced team members.

No job is worth losing your health over

How is this even a question? Hand in your notice, take the new job!!! They weren't "keeping the manager job open" for you they were taking you for a ride - go go go! And don't look back!

Sounds like the place is going down, get out while you can.
You don’t owe them anything, get your notice handed in and enjoy your new job. X

Go for it. The new job sounds fantastic. Congratulations

If you stay, nothing will change. They won't be grateful. They aren't even grateful for what you're doing now (the work of 2 people, for rubbish pay, with zero support or training). They aren't interested in improving your current situation. Even if they are annoyed at you handing in your notice, it will be entirely because they're thinking of themselves and what they need/want.

This new job sounds amazing and much better for you. If you feel worried about telling them, then make the reason for leaving into something that they can't do anything about (e.g. say you've always wanted to work in a Student Support role, or that it offers an opportunity to train in something different). Then they can't try to persuade you to stay because they can't possibly match that experience.

Be strong! I am often conflict avoidant and will sometimes tolerate unhappy situations because I know that changing it will be uncomfortable. But that never works out well. Take my advice - accept short term discomfort now for much more happiness longer term.

I agree they aren't keeping the manager role open for you they are getting you to do that job as well as your own for a low rate with not enough training. They are laughing all the way to the bank!

Go and enjoy your new job. If they are left in the lurch that's on them.

This!

I mean this in the most caring and supportive way: grow a backbone. They have treated you badly and strung you along. If it suits them, they’ll treat you even worse. You do not owe them loyalty. Get the contract for the other job, and then hand in your notice and don’t look back.

(working in education I echo the warnings that student support won’t be an easy ride, but neither is what you are doing now. Better to move on and up with better benefits!)

Never ever feel guilty about doing what's right for you.

They've left you doing 2 jobs with the excuse it's for your benefit in the future - if you dropped down dead tomorrow they'd have an ad out for a replacement by the end of the week 🤷‍♀️

Good luck with your new job.

You don’t owe them.
Theyre taking the piss, good for you leaving!

I assure you this company would think nothing of making you redundant at a time when it would be especially disastrous for you. They will do what is best for them, and you absolutely should do what's best for you.

My mantra is, look after your staff and they'll look after you. The problems are not your doing and for you to fix. Hop, skip and jump out there. You'll regret it forever if you don't and you were obviously unhappy enough to apply elsewhere. Go for it.

Ddad always told me to not leave a job unless you were walking towards another, not just away from the one your leaving. How you've written about the student support role sounds exactly like that.
They've treated you shoddily @SarahCrowcombe , why do you think they deserve better treatment than you?

In case it's not obvious, I think YANBU to leave.

Don’t feel bad put your notice in accept the job offer
You will feel so much better for it
The company your currently working for clearly don’t care about you or other staff members you owe them nothing best of luck OP

@SarahCrowcombe Do what is right for you. Organisations will always do what is best for them.

their decision to not fill the role by offering it to you/ recruiting externally resulted in you doing the work without the recognition. I’ve worked in an organisation like this and it isn’t a healthy place to be.

best case scenario is if you do leave them in the lurch by leaving, is that they rethink exploiting their staff in this way in future.

When you hand in your notice to your current organisation it is possible that they might try to counter offer and give you the full salary of the job you’ve been covering these past few months. At that point you have two options:

1. go ahead with you decision to leave (which seems like a good one given the information you’ve provided)

or

2. agree to stay but only if your salary is X amount, and in addition they pay you a lump sum of back dated pay for the months you’ve been doing these past few month. essentially, you would be asking for the difference in salary for each month you’ve covered the role, meaning that you recoup the money you’ve been missing out on.

but to be honest the benefits of the new job seem to out weigh what you’ve currently got.

good luck whatever you decide!

If I've learnt one thing over almost 50 years of working it's that you don't owe your employer anything - unless they are especially good to you, which yours clearly haven't been.

Hand in your notice and dance out of the building with the biggest smile on your face 😁

It's a no brainer, take the job. It sounds fantastic for you. In fact, if you don't take the job I'm going to track you down and slap you with a wet fish!

I always ask myself "What would happen if I dropped dead tomorrow?"
They'd have to find a way wouldn't they? They'd have the job advertised by the middle of next week and someone else employed within a month at most depending on the new employee's notice period at their current job.
If you give notice now they can do the same thing and have a replacement ready to start.

You should do what you want to do and if your mental health is already suffering you should leave without a second thought.

If members of the team keep leaving perhaps they should look at their working practices to find out why that might be happening.

They (the management) do not care about you, their actions so far show that so you owe them nothing. If you stay you will remain stressed, miserable and financially disadvantaged and the company still won’t care about you.

You have to take the right path for you.

Take the job.

I feel like I will be letting my close colleagues down and leaving them all alone

Do you think they would give you a second thought if they were offered a better paid job with better conditions?
Nope. Not a chance. They'd be out the door without a backward glance.

Your employees has a duty of care towards you and they're absolutely not sticking to that or providing you with any of the tools to do your job effectively.
Hand your notice in asap. Time to think about what you want and put yourself first. If they don't want you to leave maybe they should have offered you the support needed. Good luck!

Leave!! Take the new job. There was another chat on here a few days ago about job ‘loyalty’ after decades of service and you get no thanks in the end. Do what suits you, never ever put a job first. They will replace you the second you leave.

Definitely hand your notice in. I would also find it hard but this new opportunity seems to be everything you want, your current employer doesn’t sound like they really care and would replace you in an instant if it suited them. No need to be loyal to them when they haven’t really showed you much in return.

You would be daft to stay.