I'm quitting my job without another job..

[Anotherday]

I've done this quite a bit, and it's probably why I have never had a stellar career. I'm so sick of everything right now, I just want to make it until 11/6 to give my notice. Actually, I'd give it tomorrow, except my benefits start 11/1 and I'm hoping I can go on COBRA.

 

Anyway, it's very scary. I quit my last real job and moved out of state. I didn't work for a long time. I think it was a huge mistake to move here, but I felt like I had to for the sake of my resume.

 

I'm planning to do the same thing again, although I'm not sure where I am moving to. It's not like I have to be out of here, but I wish I had more direction. I think I will feel a huge relief when I give my notice. I do NOT have a good relationship with my boss and I have zero respect for her. It's odd, but she wants to meet with the other staff once a week for half an hour, but not me. She tries to find fault with me over the smallest things, when she's made two huge judgement calls that were very bad.

 

Anyway, just had to vent and I hope I make it unti the 6th.

[quietgrl]

Anotherday,

 

I feel your pain because I don't like my current job and it's not my career choice.I'm going to be furlough from my job for 3 months starting in Nov. so i'm going to figure out my next career move because I want out of my job and into a job i really love.

[renaissancewoman101]

Are you going to be able to survive financially without a job? I know that when you work with a nasty boss and nasty people, there is the pull to leave your job. What are you planning to do after you quit your job before you find another job. Sometimes, it doesnt look good to have a gap in your employment history. A lot employers seem to frown on that, from what I know. Maybe you can do something constructive with your time from you last job to your next job, like take a class, go back to school to start on a new career, etc. That will make you look better to employers since you are bettering yourself and not just sitting at home doing nothing.

 

Like you, I quit my job in Dec. to move out to CA. I like my job a lot and would have stayed there for a long time. It was a decent job, good pay, nice boss, etc. I quit because I wanted change in my life and to move to CA with my friend. I havent found a new job since then, partially because I have had a tough time adjusting to living out in CA and partially because I decided on a career change and am now going to grad school part-time to finish my masters in teaching. Also, it starts to get boring and depressing if you are not working and doing anything else to keep busy.

 

As for COBRA, it depends. Some companies, if you leave in the beginning of the month, they will keep you on their health insurance till the end of the month. Some wont. But with COBRA, you have to remember that you are going to be paying not only your premium, but also what the company pays to cover you. So it could be quite expensive. If you are in good health and have not had a lot of health problems in the past, maybe you should look into buying your own health policy through companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield. They have varied health plans and are not too expensive. I have asthma so I dont qualify for self-funded health plans like Blue Cross. But, I am also married, so I still do get health insurance through my husband. That also played a big role in why I decided to move and was willing to give up working for a while and go back to school. If I had problems with getting health care, I would never have left my job. Health care is very expensive.

[Pressfit]

Well, you sound a lot like me... don't take much crap from an employer attitude, do 'Ya?

But that's not right to do to an employee either, and totally unprofessional to isolate someone on a working basis. It destroys team players and creates dissention in the group.

 

Good luck on the COBRA thing. It's really expensive to pay for it all on your own. We're talking around $600 to $700 a month premiums.

[Anotherday]

Well, you sound a lot like me... don't take much crap from an employer attitude, do 'Ya?

But that's not right to do to an employee either, and totally unprofessional to isolate someone on a working basis. It destroys team players and creates dissention in the group.

 

Good luck on the COBRA thing. It's really expensive to pay for it all on your own. We're talking around $600 to $700 a month premiums.

 

No, I don't. I'm too old to put up with some stuff. I'd posted this in another thread, and it will explain more why I have to leave...

 

"I'd recently been told by my boss that a couple of my coworkers were having a problem with me, that I was too high strung and stressed them out. Why, I have the nerve to worry about things like a lice infestation, or shifts not covered, or even ask questions like, why? I squirmed in that chair for about an hour and told her I was angry, uncomfortable, and that I may be higher strung than they are, but I'm a darn hard worker while they sit around chit chattin'.

 

So you know what I've done since? Kick back, watch the lice problem get worse, watch all those shifts not filled and I smile pleasantly. I go in and do my job, I am polite, I smile, I don't reveal anything personally, and I go home on time. The one thing I've really tried to do is avoid getting lice myself. I think so far, so good."

 

Yes, COBRA is extremely expensive, but I've been paying over $300 for catastrophic ins only, and they now raised my premium to $370. Cobra will be about $450, but at least I'll have real insurance.

 

Oh, and another thing, being sick in my job is out of the question. I must go in or find someone to cover for me. The place is sick for weeks at a time, because everyone has to go in. And the FUNNIEST thing is that one of the buildings was broken into (bad part of town). So, instead of waiting for the police to arrive, a few go down there. So my other coworkers say, let's go too for moral support. So, there we are 10 feet away(one woman with a scissors in her hand) and my coworkers are saying, yup, we think they are in there. I ask, what if they have guns, why are we standing here? After a few minutes I just walked away shaking my head in disbelief.

[Anotherday]

Anotherday,

 

I feel your pain because I don't like my current job and it's not my career choice.I'm going to be furlough from my job for 3 months starting in Nov. so i'm going to figure out my next career move because I want out of my job and into a job i really love.

 

That sounds like a good plan. I moved from the SF Bay Area myself. Wish I would have stayed there.

[Pressfit]

That's it! All you can do is be really good at what you do and let the chips fall where they may. You're not going to buck the system with these people. They already got their minds made up and any prodding on your part would be just confusing them with more FACTS.

 

I think there is some concern with the Lice problem though. Maybe the County Health Dept. would think that too? Perhaps it wouldn't be that much of a problem to them...I don't know. But I think you have a right to a clean (disease free) work environment.

[Anotherday]

You're so lucky you are married. I wish I were so I could stop worrying about things like benefits. I miss California. There is an adjustment period to moving anywhere. I was sort of lost the first year I lived in San Francisco. Of course, I've been here three years and been lost the whole time. Some places are better than others. I am thinking of moving to Salem, OR. I would love to return to CA, but at my age it's financially unwise. It sounds like you have a pretty sound plan you're working on.

 

I think an employer is required to offer Cobra under a group health plan of 20 or more employees, which is the case. It would be nice if it went through the end of the month (their paid portion), but I can't hardly make it until the 6th, which will make my last day the 17th, which oddly enough marks three years of living in my house. Time to move on, it's just scary when you're alone.

 

Can I afford to do this? I guess. I guess the misery isn't worth having a big bank account.

[Anotherday]

That's it! All you can do is be really good at what you do and let the chips fall where they may. You're not going to buck the system with these people. They already got their minds made up and any prodding on your part would be just confusing them with more FACTS.

 

I think there is some concern with the Lice problem though. Maybe the County Health Dept. would think that too? Perhaps it wouldn't be that much of a problem to them...I don't know. But I think you have a right to a clean (disease free) work environment.

 

I did call Public Health here and speak with an epidimiologist. At one point I was going to get stuck doing head checks and I just would have refused. When the situation came up, my boss told me that I was "free to pay for my own treatment out of my pocket, if I wanted to do so." Made me livid.

 

Anyway, I don't mean to complain so much, but it helps. I just find the whole thing preposturous, coming from a background in corporate America.

[Hope75]

Hi Another,

 

What kind of work are you in right now?

 

I'm curious, it sounds like it's been a pattern for you to leave jobs when things aren't working out. What's going on there? Are you sure it isn't you that needs adjustment and not your employers?

 

I dated a guy who had alot of trouble handling employers for 5 years. The problem was more with him and his trouble respecting authority then the actual jobs or bosses themselves. This was a chronic issue with him.

 

I found that because he was unhappy with multiple employers and often for the same reason that it might have been better for him to look inward and see if there was something in him that was causing or perpetuating the problem.

 

I'm just curious, if you had considered this also? I'm not saying it's the case, but if you haven't been happy anywhere, it's worth considering.

[Anotherday]

I don't know, what was your BF's situation in life?

 

I am in social services. To answer your question, I have a low tolerance for working for stupid people. That's pretty much it in a nutshell. I hate micro managers and people who are into control and power.

 

In my last real job, I really did work with some brilliant people, which made the whole thing work for three years. However, my career was torpedoed by another coworker and it was never going to be right, so I left. My house had sold and it was a matter of staying at the job and renting again, or moving on, which I did.

[Hope75]

My ex had no formal education behind him, in fact, he did not graduate from high school. His jobs ranged from cook at a restaurant to working in a factory. It sounds different from your situation.

 

I fear though, that you may come accross people that you will view as less then intelligent no matter where you go... how much do you let them affect your job? How much do they directly have something to do with you and what you are doing at work? Is there a way to minimize interaction and be a bit more accepting of their downfalls?

 

Do you think it is that you have no tolorance, rather than them being the problem?

[Anotherday]

My ex had no formal education behind him, in fact, he did not graduate from high school. His jobs ranged from cook at a restaurant to working in a factory. It sounds different from your situation.

 

I fear though, that you may come accross people that you will view as less then intelligent no matter where you go... how much do you let them affect your job? How much do they directly have something to do with you and what you are doing at work? Is there a way to minimize interaction and be a bit more accepting of their downfalls?

 

Do you think it is that you have no tolorance, rather than them being the problem?

 

Well, Hope, to be perfectly honest with you, here is the scoop. I live in fear that I will violate confidentialty in my job somehow, but I highly doubt anyone I know in this town is reading this sub section of this forum.

 

First, I really have a problem with the lice situation getting out of hand. I was reprimanded for contacting our sister house and getting info as to how to deal with it. I wanted to "jump on it" as I've been blasted in jobs before for not taking the next step, or not thinking ahead. However, I apparently threatened my first grade teacher supervisor (who has no training in social services and cannot even spell or punctuate), so I was called on the carpet. I have long hair. I have no one to comb eggs out of my hair, so I take things personally.

 

Second, this person put out two moms and nine kids, into the streets, with no beds in this town, on three hours notice. There was NO reason to do this. I spoke with the guy I'm trying to get over (he's discussed elsewhere here) and even he knew that could come back on us. Mind you, this was TV news station worthy. I abhor this cruelty, stupidity, and most of all the flexing of some person's muscle who isn't even qualified to hold the position she does.

 

So, these are the main issues I have. I spent hours crying over the latter. I can't work in a place like that, as I signed up to HELP people.

 

I don't mean to sound snippy, I just still hurt and wonder about the little baby and others we turned out.

 

And I really need to emphasize, THREE HOURS. Everyone was crying. The kids were crying. Why on God's green earth couldn't these people have even been given 24 hours? Do you even think the worst hotel chain would do this? Well, maybe so. But we exist to help people, not throw them into the street on THREE hours notice.

[Hope75]

Hmmm.. This does indeed sound very frustrating. Was there no where to place these families, even temporarily? I have friends who are social workers and they run into similar problems, not every family can be helped. One friend visits homes where there at 2" of cockroaches on the floor and the kids barefoot amongst them. Exterminators have a long list of homes to do and these are not considered the 'worst', so they are on a waiting list.

 

This is tough position, where perhaps the resources are not quite enough to bring you the job satisfaction from helping people that you crave.

 

Has this situation been similar at other departments you've worked in?

 

I wonder, if this is consistant, if perhaps a break from social work might be an order for you, to avoid burnout.

 

What do you think?

[Anotherday]

Hmmm.. This does indeed sound very frustrating. Was there no where to place these families, even temporarily? I have friends who are social workers and they run into similar problems, not every family can be helped. One friend visits homes where there at 2" of cockroaches on the floor and the kids barefoot amongst them. Exterminators have a long list of homes to do and these are not considered the 'worst', so they are on a waiting list.

 

This is tough position, where perhaps the resources are not quite enough to bring you the job satisfaction from helping people that you crave.

 

Has this situation been similar at other departments you've worked in?

 

I wonder, if this is consistant, if perhaps a break from social work might be an order for you, to avoid burnout.

 

What do you think?

 

I think there was no reason to put them out on three hours notice, as of 48 hours later all their beds were still empty.

 

I also think we need educated and smart people in positions of leadership within social services. I, myself, have an MBA and am sure I could add value, if given the opportunity to do so, in an environment where I don't report to stupid people hung up on power trips. But that is just me. Thanks for your thoughts.

[Hope75]

I think there was no reason to put them out on three hours notice, as of 48 hours later all their beds were still empty.

 

I also think we need educated and smart people in positions of leadership within social services. I, myself, have an MBA and am sure I could add value, if given the opportunity to do so, in an environment where I don't report to stupid people hung up on power trips. But that is just me. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Have you discussed possibly moving up into a leadership position to your boss? I realize that with a poor relationship with him/her this might not go over well, but perhaps your work performance would speak for itself?

[Anotherday]

Have you discussed possibly moving up into a leadership position to your boss? I realize that with a poor relationship with him/her this might not go over well, but perhaps your work performance would speak for itself?

 

 

Thanks so much, you are sweet. I just want to walk away on a pleasant note. I'd better go to sleep now. Thank you all again..