Quit and walked out of work today (1 Viewer)

[Gawain]

that said, I've had one "I QUIT!" moment (after building for months) that felt glorious.

I’m feeling pretty good, but have the biggest regrets on the people I left behind that are going to be thrust into situations they’re not going to succeed in.

As far as Cobra goes, my wife has MS and I’m well above 2023 marketplace income levels where I could game the system. That check is almost as important as my mortgage.

 

[FatMax]

I made a previous employer fire me for this exact reason. They verbally asked me to do unethical activities (obviously wouldn't put it in writing) and I said no. They called my bluff, found out I wasn't, thought I'd quit, didn't, so they had to cut the cord. I've had some toxic weeks at work before, but nothing will ever compare to that one.

I'd be curious to hear more about this.

 

[fatness]

Might want to check in with the doctor about that episode while driving, just in case it's something else.

There are so many jobs - good for you to leave one that was miserable.

Cardiologist appointment on Monday, but I feel much better. I think it was stress (the above issue was just the most recent), but do want to get checked out.

I'm really glad you're doing this. Stress alone can knock the hell out of you.

My business used to do a certain kind of work (among other kinds) that over the years involved increasing government regulation and increasing customer dissatisfaction. I was the one who did almost all that work, and there were 2 clients in particular who were high-pressure to the point that I hated dealing with them. I found myself most Sunday nights worrying about the Monday workday and incoming pressure. One of those nights I felt very weird, told my wife, went up to bed, and could do nothing to stem what was happening. Things began to get gray, like everything I knew was rushing away from me, and then finally I had a seizure. As it was beginning my wife was on the phone with 911, and I thought she was on the phone with one of the clients. I was trying to wave and communicate that I wasn't available, and then just went completely out. What I felt and saw then was the most peaceful wonderful dream I've ever had, standing on a hill full of poppies under a blue sky with green trees on the perimeter. What was actually happening was my body jerking and shaking and lifting up off the bed while I was making ungodly noises. That was my first seizure. No physical cause was ever found in testing. I was just under too much stress for too long, and in self defense my brain just took a ****. Thank you brain, actually. Second seizure was a replica of the first, just with the other high-pressure client on the phone (so I thought while my wife called 911).

End of story is that I now take anti-seizure medication and, most importantly, I (and my business) quit doing the kind of work that was causing the stress. My business didn't take a hit because we filled up with other work, and I've had no seizures since then. Stress was doing that to me, and my brain knew enough to shut itself down when the stress was too much.

I hope your cardiologist visit goes well, and your path to a better job goes well.

 

[MAC_32]

I made a previous employer fire me for this exact reason. They verbally asked me to do unethical activities (obviously wouldn't put it in writing) and I said no. They called my bluff, found out I wasn't, thought I'd quit, didn't, so they had to cut the cord. I've had some toxic weeks at work before, but nothing will ever compare to that one.

I'd be curious to hear more about this.

Unfortunately, not that interesting of a story. Small construction business needed particular ratios to get a loan from the bank (it's when rates were low) and in order to do so they needed me to defer 7 figures worth of expenses to the next year. I told them to go **** themselves.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

Congrats to the OP. You should feel good and proud about giving more loyalty to your mental and physical health than you do to your employer. Nobody should ever feel bad about picking their health and well being over a job. Had you continued working there until you dropped dead of a physical or mental breakdown—that employer would move on like you never existed and wouldn’t shed a tear. I walked away from a toxic work environment last year after being there for 28 years. It was the best move I ever made.

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Folks it's not new to quit a job on the spot. It's not some generational thing or post-COVID response. I'm in my 50s and have seen at least 30 people quit on the spot. Numerous give 2 weeks to a manager at a meeting out loud and usually in s shouting match.. And I've seen the other side ... people walked out of companies by the owner on the spot. mostly IT and sales positions for large companies like Oracle, Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP, etc. I've seen a CEO fire 2 people over what at the time would have been known as Facetime, and have them walked directly out of the building. I've seen a proposal manager quit the week before a $2B proposal was due, and rightly so as the EVP was really being an *** to everyone. I gave my 2 weeks notice the next day in that particular case. You gotta do what's best for you. Life is too short to be completely miserable.

 

[Fat Nick]

Have you looked into Salesforce?

I'm not sure if you work there or if this is just based on reputation, but my wife worked there for all of 8 months before being caught up in their downsizing/re-org. She was so happy to get laid off from there. The stories she had in her brief stint were enough to keep me from ever considering investing in them, much less working there. I'm sure YMMV depending on the function, but that place seems to be great for some, and awful for many.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

Folks it's not new to quit a job on the spot. It's not some generational thing or post-COVID response. I'm in my 50s and have seen at least 30 people quit on the spot. Numerous give 2 weeks to a manager at a meeting out loud and usually in s shouting match.. And I've seen the other side ... people walked out of companies by the owner on the spot. mostly IT and sales positions for large companies like Oracle, Siebel, PeopleSoft, SAP, etc. I've seen a CEO fire 2 people over what at the time would have been known as Facetime, and have them walked directly out of the building. I've seen a proposal manager quit the week before a $2B proposal was due, and rightly so as the EVP was really being an *** to everyone. I gave my 2 weeks notice the next day in that particular case. You gotta do what's best for you. Life is too short to be completely miserable.

As I have repeated multiple times to my own team over the years, "You always have to look out for <Insert your last name here> Inc., because in most cases, your company won't be looking out for you". I understand that situations are always different but this is coming from someone with a large corporate company background. That's who I have worked for in my past three roles, and there is a reason why they all have a department called Human Resources.

That's all we are to most companies, a "human resource." No more, no less.

 

[Desert_Power]

Have you looked into Salesforce?

I'm not sure if you work there or if this is just based on reputation, but my wife worked there for all of 8 months before being caught up in their downsizing/re-org. She was so happy to get laid off from there. The stories she had in her brief stint were enough to keep me from ever considering investing in them, much less working there. I'm sure YMMV depending on the function, but that place seems to be great for some, and awful for many.

It's more based on reputation. He mentioned maybe doing a certification and I think enough companies value them that it could be a good way to change careers.

I do use and really like Tableau, but that was an acquisition for them.

 

[Gawain]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

I was talking to my wife about the above and could feel the stress just rise through my body. I was stressed that the employees would cause another injury. I was in fight/flight since the initial incident and it just kept ramping up.

Cardiologist put me on BP meds. Normally I'm 128/72. Measured at 146/90...

 

[ChiefD]

3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

Jesus.

Have you talked to a lawyer?

 

[Caveman33]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

I was talking to my wife about the above and could feel the stress just rise through my body. I was stressed that the employees would cause another injury. I was in fight/flight since the initial incident and it just kept ramping up.

Cardiologist put me on BP meds. Normally I'm 128/72. Measured at 146/90...

Aren't there a bunch of lawyers here?

Did you measure your BP over a period of time? Mine usually fluctuates 20-25 points. 120-140/65-90 If I am running late and have to jog to my appointment, it will be high. I would never take meds unless it was a last resort. (Taking meds is good if you want to go the lawyer route with your former employer).

 

[massraider]

This seems like the best thing for you, good luck.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

I was talking to my wife about the above and could feel the stress just rise through my body. I was stressed that the employees would cause another injury. I was in fight/flight since the initial incident and it just kept ramping up.

Cardiologist put me on BP meds. Normally I'm 128/72. Measured at 146/90...

Good god bro. Thank goodness you left, and I wish you would have done it earlier. I mentioned earlier in this thread that you owe more loyalty to your well being than you do your employer—and that they wouldn’t shed a tear if you dropped down dead. This backstory effectively proves that. You got physically and mentally attacked at the workplace—and their ONLY concern was about getting you to lie to minimize the severity of the incident. Not only did they not care about your well being—they were going out of their way to destroy it.

 

[ProstheticRGK]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

I was talking to my wife about the above and could feel the stress just rise through my body. I was stressed that the employees would cause another injury. I was in fight/flight since the initial incident and it just kept ramping up.

Cardiologist put me on BP meds. Normally I'm 128/72. Measured at 146/90...

Sometimes this place can be awash with testosterone and macho energy. First, I’m sorry that this happened to you.

Second, consider getting to therapy. This was definitely a very traumatic thing that happened, judging solely from your body’s response. Talking it out with a professional can help give you the tools to manage your body’s response to the fight/flight instinct. It can also help frame the incident in a way that is more manageable and healthy for you. I strongly encourage this.

Third, get legal consultation. None of what you described passes the sniff test of how this should’ve been handled. Pursuing legal action can give you your sense of justice, closure and control back. Best of luck, brother.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

Did you literally not remember this or you were just trying to focus on other things and now just realized that a lot of your stress was probably tied to this incident?

 

[Gawain]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

Did you literally not remember this or you were just trying to focus on other things and now just realized that a lot of your stress was probably tied to this incident?

I remembered that it happened and I remembered the actions of each of the parties, but I didn't realize how interrelated the events were.
I did sit down and talk with someone who asked what had happened over the past 60 days that could have caused such a change. I mentioned the above (having to go to urgent care after getting struck with a pallet jack due to reckless/intentional behavior) and they started connecting the dots.

It makes sense. I was talking to my wife and could feel my tension and stress rise describing what had happened.

 

[Tom Servo]

Do you still get unemployment bennies if you quit? Was thinking maybe you could've just put it into cruise control collecting a paycheck until they just let you go. In NJ at least, you're looking at a max $20k in unemployment. That would've funded a few nice excursions during your transition.

I worked in MD when I was essentially fired in 1991. I was able to collect unemployment. YMMV

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

I was talking to my wife about the above and could feel the stress just rise through my body. I was stressed that the employees would cause another injury. I was in fight/flight since the initial incident and it just kept ramping up.

Cardiologist put me on BP meds. Normally I'm 128/72. Measured at 146/90...

Sometimes this place can be awash with testosterone and macho energy.

Yeeeeeah, riiiight!!!!!


Also, nothing wrong with the two, but thats a discussion for another time. Not gonna just read somebody trying to manipulate reality and say nothing.

 

[Gr00vus]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

Did you literally not remember this or you were just trying to focus on other things and now just realized that a lot of your stress was probably tied to this incident?

I remembered that it happened and I remembered the actions of each of the parties, but I didn't realize how interrelated the events were.
I did sit down and talk with someone who asked what had happened over the past 60 days that could have caused such a change. I mentioned the above (having to go to urgent care after getting struck with a pallet jack due to reckless/intentional behavior) and they started connecting the dots.

It makes sense. I was talking to my wife and could feel my tension and stress rise describing what had happened.

In regard to the emphasized - were they really intending to harm you, or were they joking around and things went wrong? If the former, why were they intending to harm you?

 

[Nick Vermeil]

After doing some soul searching and talking through the last month, I came to a realization about why my stress levels were so high. I normally am able to let most of these incidents go, but my stress levels had amped up so much over the past few weeks. Then I remembered what happened:

1) On 8/17/2023 an act of violence was committed by XXX employees against myself that required me to seek medical attention.
2) I and the manager who reported the incident were instructed to materially change the Workplace Incident Report by a member of the Executive Team. The instructions were to lessen the severity of the incident.
3) To the best of my knowledge, no questioning of the Employees occurred, no Corrective Action was given and no changes were put into place to protect front-line managers like myself.

As 9/15/23 was to be the first time I was again alone with the employees that caused the injury and it was known no action had been taken to lessen the possibility of another injury event occurring, any reason not to be placed in that position was used.

Did you literally not remember this or you were just trying to focus on other things and now just realized that a lot of your stress was probably tied to this incident?

I remembered that it happened and I remembered the actions of each of the parties, but I didn't realize how interrelated the events were.
I did sit down and talk with someone who asked what had happened over the past 60 days that could have caused such a change. I mentioned the above (having to go to urgent care after getting struck with a pallet jack due to reckless/intentional behavior) and they started connecting the dots.

It makes sense. I was talking to my wife and could feel my tension and stress rise describing what had happened.

In regard to the emphasized - were they really intending to harm you, or were they joking around and things went wrong? If the former, why were they intending to harm you?

Would love to know more about this incident. Sounds like some people need to be fired immediately. What industry is this?

 

[shuke]

Don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t give notice. Pretty unprofessional, especially in a management situation.

I’ve always given 2 weeks but I get it if someone doesn’t.

I’ve been laid off before, and was given zero notice

Yup. You don't owe your company anything if you're quitting due to a toxic climate.

 

[shuke]

I didn’t mean to sound accusatory or inflammatory. Although, it probably came off that way.

This hits home for me as I just had someone do this last week after a meeting where I had to bring them in to “be called on the carpet” for abrasiveness toward numerous colleagues, offensive comments, and generally negative behavior.

They quickly became defensive and stormed out.

Just curious what the Director’s accusations were?

That person probably did you a favor by quitting.

 

[Phil Elliott]

There is no time like the "pleasant". Enjoy the time off and transition to your next adventure.

 

[Hastur]

Had been having a bad couple of weeks. To the point where I had to pull over while driving to the grocery store on lunch yesterday because I wasn’t sure if I was having a panic attack, a heart attack or something else.

Came in very proud today about a change I had fought for a month to implement only to be called on the carpet by my director. Reached out to the COO (who had been in the loop about the discussions) and had a meeting where for 20 minutes I kept getting dumped on. Pulled the plug at 1:50 pm.

I’m lucky enough to have 12+ months of expenses and it’s amazing to feel the stress bleeding off. Going to add a certification in the downtime and open to any tips for a mid-level supply chain / operations guy.

Update?

 

[Gawain]

Had been having a bad couple of weeks. To the point where I had to pull over while driving to the grocery store on lunch yesterday because I wasn’t sure if I was having a panic attack, a heart attack or something else.

Came in very proud today about a change I had fought for a month to implement only to be called on the carpet by my director. Reached out to the COO (who had been in the loop about the discussions) and had a meeting where for 20 minutes I kept getting dumped on. Pulled the plug at 1:50 pm.

I’m lucky enough to have 12+ months of expenses and it’s amazing to feel the stress bleeding off. Going to add a certification in the downtime and open to any tips for a mid-level supply chain / operations guy.

Update?

With the way the market ran over the last 6 months, I have felt no pressure to take something else. I have an on-site interview on Friday actually for managing a new distribution facility. I’ve put on a bit of weight from being home more, but I’ve taught my middle kid how to catch a baseball and throw a football. Dealing with Cobra insurance is a nightmare, but I’ve brought my oldest up from extra help in math to 100s on her last three tests. I’ve introduced the youngest to the music of Tom Waits and I’ve run out of negatives. It’s been arguably the best six months I’ve had and it’s a shame not everyone is fortunate enough to get this opportunity.

 

[Senor Schmutzig]

Had been having a bad couple of weeks. To the point where I had to pull over while driving to the grocery store on lunch yesterday because I wasn’t sure if I was having a panic attack, a heart attack or something else.

Came in very proud today about a change I had fought for a month to implement only to be called on the carpet by my director. Reached out to the COO (who had been in the loop about the discussions) and had a meeting where for 20 minutes I kept getting dumped on. Pulled the plug at 1:50 pm.

I’m lucky enough to have 12+ months of expenses and it’s amazing to feel the stress bleeding off. Going to add a certification in the downtime and open to any tips for a mid-level supply chain / operations guy.

Update?

With the way the market ran over the last 6 months, I have felt no pressure to take something else. I have an on-site interview on Friday actually for managing a new distribution facility. I’ve put on a bit of weight from being home more, but I’ve taught my middle kid how to catch a baseball and throw a football. Dealing with Cobra insurance is a nightmare, but I’ve brought my oldest up from extra help in math to 100s on her last three tests. I’ve introduced the youngest to the music of Tom Waits and I’ve run out of negatives. It’s been arguably the best six months I’ve had and it’s a shame not everyone is fortunate enough to get this opportunity.

Dude. That makes me happy. Glad you are enjoying the time off. I have been back at work for 5 months now after my own 10-month hiatus and it was great. It’s how it should be.

 

[Gawain]

And that interview panned out. Start tomorrow. Quite possibly the best six months I’ve had. Fell backwards into this, so didn’t even have the stress of a search.