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Original poster

should I resign?

19 replies

hatstand · 27/07/2005 21:04

ok court of mumsnet opinions please. I kind of love my job and I kind of hate it. I work for an organization whose principles I am utterly dedictaced to, but, to put it bluntly, I'm fed up with all the crap. We have an ongoing and serious crisis of management with senior managers coming and going. This puts huge pressure on people acting up - quite a few of whom are not, to be honest, up to it. The ones who are up to it, are frequently effectively running two jobs, meaning they have NO time to delegate and manage. As a consequence I am under utilised. Projects I do off my own bat (as a result of lack of management) frequently come to nothing as managers either change their minds (or actually change and have a different position to the last one)or have no time to action my work. Plans are constantly changed. Areas of responsibility are unclear. Pitched battles occur between my department and another one, and big boss favours the other one, and I passionately believe she is mistaken. And I've had enough. The silver lining is that I have a sabbatical planned, and I'm out of there for a year, starting in September. But I can't face the thought of being tied to going back. And if I wanted to maintain my professional integrity - and actually do a job where I'm adding value - I think I should just go. It will piss people off as they have laid plans to cover my sabbatical (which is not the same as filling my post permanently). Am I mad to give up a safe job to go back to or should I just quit?

OP posts:
morningpaper · 27/07/2005 21:05

Is there any reason you can't postpone the decision until after your year off?

CarolinaMoon · 27/07/2005 21:07

How tied are you to going back?

Is there somewhere else you could go that is in keeping with your principles but better run?

It sounds like a nightmare tbh, don't just stick with it cos it's a job.

Jane63 · 27/07/2005 21:07

how much do you love your job though?

Twiglett · 27/07/2005 21:09

take your sabbatical and make your decision during that time .. you cannot make a decision when you are feeling this put-upon / disheartened

morningpaper · 27/07/2005 21:10

I agree with the twiglet.

Personnel might have changed in 12 months. And you might be desperate for the money. Things can change a lot over a year.

Original poster
hatstand · 27/07/2005 21:18

If I take a sabbatical I sign an undertaking to return for a year. Obviously it's unenforceable and people sometimes don;t come back. But I feel a certain moral obligation not to renege on an agreement I signed.And I do have some loyalty to my immediate collegues and boss (even if he is too over-worked to talk to me) The other thing is more of a pyschological one - I just feel I need to make a stand - not in the public sense of making a big fuss about why I'm resigning. No-one would care. But for myself. I feel I am compromising myself by continuing to do a job like this. And I feel taking the sabbatical and keeping my job open is compromising myself too. I'm torn between pragmatism and something I can't quite put my finger on, but which I think is integrity, if that's not too pompous

OP posts:
CarolinaMoon · 27/07/2005 21:19

Think you've pretty much answered your own question there...

morningpaper · 27/07/2005 21:19

Get knocked up and then you get a year off AND you can deide at the end whether you want to return.

OK not very helpful...

Jane63 · 27/07/2005 21:19

is it making you unhappy much?

Twiglett · 27/07/2005 21:20

so take your sabbatical .. and use the first month to formalise a report / document on everythign you feel is wrong with the current structure and how you could be used more effectively and feel more valued

then submit it and see what happens

Magscat · 27/07/2005 21:26

Are you in the Voluntary sector by any chance? Just sounds a bit like what a friend of mine was going through a while back due to an ongoing 'temporary funding' situation for her project.

What's the root cause of all the staffing crises? Is there ever likely to be an end - i.e. will it settle down or is it a situation that so far as you can tell will always exist?

Is there anyone you can talk to about it or any way you can make a change - even if it's a small one?

If you can't see anything changing, can't talk to anyone, can't influence anything then I'd be tempted to move out.
If you think it might be different in a year then stay & don't give yourself a hard time for taking the year out.
Just my guesses though. Only you can really know how you feel. Hope it works out for you whatever you decide

Tortington · 27/07/2005 21:32

lol magscat - sounds familiar doesn't it - i was going to ask if you worked for a housing association?

seriously though if you can afford it - f*ck em.

i have completely comprimised my morals and work ethics becuase i get a good pension, a secure job ( which isn't found all that often int his sector esp with a good pension) and decent salary.

Magscat · 27/07/2005 21:38

Custardo - did you mean me or Hatstand when you mentioned working for an HA? I do. Did you know that?

I think I'm quite lucky with my HA job - I get a good salary & pension & but I still feel like I'm doing something useful.

Original poster
hatstand · 27/07/2005 22:03

interesting thoughts. Twiglett - the organisation I work for is way too big to listen to my thoughts, if I were honest about them. which brings me to the q of the cause of the problem and is it likely to continue. to be frank, it's the big boss. and everyone - except those to whom she is accountable, knows it. and she's here to stay for the foreseeable future. How does this sound as a compromise? I come clean and talk this through with my boss. I know I can be reasonably frank with him. I tell him I want to do my job but don't feel I have the support right now to do it well. Tell him I want to come back to the organisation after my sabbatical but - if things don;t change would have to think very hard about it. Or does that sound like a stupid threat I probably won't carry out?

OP posts:
Nightynight · 27/07/2005 22:09

I wouldnt be blackmailed into coming back by signing an agreement.
You have obligations to yourself and to your family after all. And your employer also has a moral obligation not to be such a cr*p employer! They are making your job stressful by being disorganised, and that's not fair on you.

Use your sabbatical to find another job!

Original poster
hatstand · 27/07/2005 22:13

I don't feel blackmailed. It's a two-way thing. In return for keeping my job open for a year while I pursue something else, I agree to go back. I think that's fair enough really

OP posts:
Nightynight · 27/07/2005 22:18

hatstand you're too nice with your employer!

Its supply and demand. If they want you back that much, its because they are getting very good value out of you, not because theyre being kind.

Original poster
hatstand · 27/07/2005 22:22

mp - done that twice. did think about a 3rd but decided on the sabbatical instead

OP posts:
Nightynight · 27/07/2005 22:32

he he hatstand, you dont believe me do you? repeat after me "all employers are the evil enemy, their interests are directly opposed to mine"

Think Id better go home from work now

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