Walking out of your job without working your notice and with nothing to go to - C/D

Be aware that finding a job when you don't have one can be equally stressful. That said, I have done this twice and made out fine both times. Also consider whether you will lose a reference and how much this would bother you.

What sort of work is it by the way?

Thing is, everybody I work with is lovely. They've all been supportive, they've all said "everyone goes through this", they've not treated me badly and they've said I'm doing really well. But when you see someone whose worked there a year taking home the same workload as you on a Thursday night you can't help but think its not going to get any better.

*not knocking bartending gigs. paid my way through school and put a down payment on a house with money earned from slinging booze.

Two weeks from now you may be thinking Dud, though.

I got fed up and walked out on a very nice paying gig that had some good points. It was a great relief when I was free, but in hind sight, I probably should have played out my options with the management and see if I could get some of the changes I wanted. By getting fed up and quitting, I only had one option and looking back at it now, I think it was a rash choice.

But don't you wanna do it at least once before you die? For bonus points, try and take a shit on yr most annoying fellow workers desk before you walk.

1. say something to your manager. see if they'll lower your workload.

2. if they don't lower your workload, start working only the hours in your contract. if it's 35 hours in a week, work your hours each day and walk out at the end of the day with no work to take home.

3. if your manager complains, mutter something about EU working hour directives

4. if there's a union at your workplace, might want to join (do this first, actually)

5. if the loading you up with work continues, keep your hours exactly to contract. keep a very detailed record of this. don't to anything too naughty. turn it into a little game to see how long you can keep getting paid without getting sacked. i'll bet you'll be surprised by how long this is. feel free to use up your annual leave and sick day. consider becoming a magistrate so you can get days off work to do court work.

6. if you do get sacked, take them to an employment tribunal (or threaten), saying you were doing exactly what your contract said, blah blah blah. they'll probably lose, and have to give you a settlement of some kind.

7. with this settlement, buy a lot of lottery tickets. (ok, not really)

8. whether you keep this job and change it to suit you, apply for another job while you're working there, or quit flat out, here's a couple things to remember. you've got several safety nets, so the jump shouldn't be as scary for you. first, you've got family nearby, so you'll never be homeless. second, your friends will probably help you out in the short term. and third, which might sound patronising, but isn't meant to-- there's about a million crappy and unskilled jobs that you can do for a while to pay the bills. there's nothing wrong with doing any of them. and they'll take you with open arms while you figure out what you want to do next. so get a job at a bar or a shop or whatever, and you'll have enough money to exist on.

location: various ilx threads
the jury: massed ilxors
justice: DENIED

The job is what it is - they're doing nothing underhand in loading on the work, although for £21K it sounds like slave labour.

Matt - I think you have to take a view on whether you can stand any more. Are there any rewards to come - will the pay go up significantly if you stick it out for a year or more? There's nothing wrong with walking out, but maybe there are some ways to make it more bearable. I have a lot of thoughts on this, and a few ideas that worked for me. through experience of excruciating workloads. But I'd need to know more about yr job. E-mail me (I think you probably have my real e-mail address) if you like.

Why not? I don't know about other countries, but you have to have at least three *valid reasons* of bad behavior (or whatever you call it) here before you can fire someone. Working overtime (and not getting paid) is not legal here. I realize there's a grey zone if you take the work home, but still...

i can see how it would be different if he felt loyal to the company or something, it certainly isn't a way to make a long-term improvement in a company you want a career in. but i think it's a better idea than working 14 hour days or just quitting without thinking about it. gives you more time to think about options while not killing yourself stressing about work you don't care about.

Unfortunately in Matt's case it looks like a case of not enough people around to bear the burden.

Really? Joining a union is a waste of time? Talking to your boss about the absurdity of working until midnight is a waste of time?

Screw that... It shouldn't be a burden to anyone. If the company can't afford to hire enough people to do the work that needs to be done, then they'll either have to sort out what really needs to get done, improve their processes, or shut down.

And if coworkers are going to do 70 hours to make up for Matt's decrease to 45(?) hours, then they'll have to decide whether to follow Matt's lead or leave or be miserable.

If you do walk out, make sure you leave yr clothes behind, heh.

I think this is part of Matt's concern: if he leaves, he might be putting other people that he likes out of work as well.

just quitting is really such a last resort. you need to talk with them about it, again. yes, it may be a waste of time, but at least you will have brought it up again. whats the deal with the other job? the one you turned down? can you push in that direction?

if you really cant see it changing, its just not worth it. for small periods of time, when things are heavy, i guess its ok, but, indefinitely? its a small place isnt it? i know a number of people who have been in similar situations, it seems to be one of the characteristics of small places. just not enough people

True, but surely it's worth raising with his superiors? Perhaps following the less militant route of pointing out that someone who is tired, overworked and unhappy is unlikely to be producing his best quality work. Y'know - I can give you more if you give me less to do.

The overtime culture that pervades my department is still there - I just don't participate. There's certain amount of autonomy in how we deal with clients and I don't bend backwards quite as far as others to accommodate their whims and unreasonable requests. Plus I've distanced myself (literally) from my workmates by continuing to sit with my former colleagues. (But, really, the ace in my hand is the fact that I have a four-month-old daughter and making me work late in these circumstances is kinda out of the question).

Yeah, but what you want to do depends on circumstances. I'm not suggesting Matt stays there, but there's no point being a prick if it'll make no difference (as, er, you said).

You could look at it this way, Matt: some people, like your workmates, can do these jobs, and some people can't (it's good that you're savvy enough not to see this as some sort of serious character flaw). They will in the long run be better off with someone who can work those hours. If you keep at and it's making you miserable, it will start to seep into your work: the mind has certain safety valves like that.

Also, yeah, talk to them about how you don't like it and are considering quitting. What can they do to you, give you more work?

I finally gave up on being a teacher after the winter break and gave like 3 days notice before classes were due to start again. I felt bad for the person they had to scramble to replace me with, but she was suited for it and I wasn't, and my panic attacks stopped and I started enjoying life again.

Employers will *try* to get fewer people to more and more work, and the English, being English will just load up, take it, take it home, etc. and never complain. Anyway...

I've walked out of jobs before. I've also stuck it out and forced employers into positions where they *have* to sack me, to get the notice money. The money is nice, but the ego-shredding of actually getting sacked (even from a job you hate/that is killing you) is something that will suck.

Me being me, I'd just start leaving at 5.30 on the dot. But see how I go through jobs...

They're not paying you enough for the labour they're extracting from you. If the workload doesn't lighten (and I would say if the pay doesn't increase, but you know what? even 30k does not compensate for losing your entire life) then jump. But do ask around and find out if any of the other jobs are still hiring.

And that said, the job market is picking up again. (Or, at least, I'm getting offers again.)

(Oh, and having been very poor for a very long time complete with spiraliing mountains of debt, I'd advise caution before leaping.)

'Talking to' is what I meant by 'confront' Andrew - I didn't mean it in an aggressive sense.

I will consider reading the thread though. I wonder what it's about.

I am trying to be realistic. I'd put my effort into looking for somewhere else to work rather than trying to change the job to fit in with my requirements. I am 100% sure that this would be unsuccessful. It sounds like the company are knowingly trying to squeeze their employees to get as much out of them as they can for crap pay. I am sure that it is a deliberate strategy and they hope to retain enough people to muddle along. Maybe they've done so for years, I don't know. It won't change after a cosy chat with the boss and Matt should leave as he is being exploited.

What I said may have sounded the same, but in your last job, Kate, I think it was you who was being unreasonable. You weren't being exploited, you just didn't like what you were being asked to do and didn't like the people who were asking you to do it. Again, my advice was the same because you shouldn't expect the company to revolve around your needs. Don't think I'm having a go, Kate, I don't mean to, I'm just giving my opinion.

On the money.

Ha! I'm the only English person in my department and I'm the only one (well, OK, the Corsican too) who won't take it!

I suppose it's different approaches - to try and change an unjust situation from the inside, or to try and go somewhere else. Maybe the former is like bashing your head against a brick wall, but I think it tends to try and leave things better than you found them...

So, in the past few months, instead of fighting it, I’ve just embraced my job as something I need to do really, really well. And it’s crazy how much better it’s gotten. My boss respects me like 300% more as well as my colleagues. Also, I’m working less hours, surprisingly. I used to be clocking in 50-60 (unpaid) hours a week, now I’m at 37-42.

So, in short, I guess the only advice I can give you is to analyze your own performance first. If you’re giving it you’re all, still working 65 hours, and nobody seems to give a crap, talk to your manager. If that isn’t working, totally quit.

But anyway, she immediately went, "look, I promise you can do this in a day" and took time out to shadow me and do a proper time management session. And I finished a similar-sized workload by 5.30. I think it helped a lot because my boss was genuinely supportive (also she told me no one else had done this well after two months in the job). The point is that this is boot camp, it'll become more manageable once I'm up to speed and my training period is over. And I've been assured there's at least one more member of staff on the way.

So I'm not despondent any more. Whether I want to carry on doing this for any length of time, I dunno, we'll see. But at least now I know its manageable...

*This is good because Colette point two would have fallen flat on its face as there's a little bit in my contract that say "... but you may have to stay later depending on the daily product".

On the plus side, I have an interview on Monday. I've almost been revelling in the pain of today to bolster my resolve for next week. I *need* to be working sociable hours for the World Cup.

£21,000 is more than many of us have ever earned. I currently work under crap conditions in a crap job for a lot less. I'm not going to quit. I'm not a self righteous little ass. Get a grip.

Good luck with the interview Matt! If you get the job I think you should pretend that you have a holiday already booked in June to ensure you are working NO hours during the World Cup.

teachers earn more than £21k. get off your self-righteous high-horse anyway, i earn less than that.

enjoy your self-loathing persecution complex oh mysterious loser!

You think you have it bad? I actually have to pay to work at my job - and it's the most horrible job ever - i test pepper spray - on myself - and my boss is mean - he's actually a 9 foot tarantula - do you have any idea how hard it is to work under these conditions? - my office is a gulag in siberia - if i call in sick they shoot someone in my immediate family - get off your high horse you ass, you're an embarrassment to people with bad jobs.

Anyways... good luck with the interview Matt!

why? o: because you're a dick. sorry, that much was obvious from the rest of your post.