Chapter 13: If, When, and How to Leave Your Job

Overview

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again
and expecting a different result.
—Albert Einstein

There comes a time in every career when you question whether it makes sense to continue or not.

At one point in my corporate career, I was reporting to a man whose behavior vacillated between “Kindly Southern Gentleman” and “Wacko Hostile-man.” He could be soft-spoken and charming one moment, and then scream, throw things, and disparage you the next—and there was no way of telling which of these behavioral styles you were going to encounter at any given moment.

As I was a remote employee, it took me a little time to catch on—and while I certainly was not his only target, I was apparently one of his favorite targets. Each meeting I attended in the company’s headquarters offices allowed me to see the mask of civility displayed in the interview process melt away. Moreover, the untargeted members of the management team followed his lead, and they often played right along with the office politics surrounding this antagonistic and often discriminatory behavior.

I created and implemented a plan to set some boundaries around how I would be treated, what kinds of jokes I thought were inappropriate, and what tone of voice would work for me, and I asked for the support of Human Resources management. As sometimes happens, this boss was a long-term employee, and while Human Resources agreed that his behavior was offensive, they made it clear that they were willing to look the other way.

I was not. There was no way this was going to work for me. After only 5 months of employment with this organization, I knew it was time to leave. I submitted my resignation, we developed a mutually beneficial transition plan, and I moved on.

It was the smartest thing I ever did.