Have you ever had a bad boss? Do you ever fantasize about quitting your job? I'm ready to submit my letter of resignation to this site:

http://www.kissmyfreckledassbye.com

How would your fantasy letter of resignation read?

-- Anonymous, April 08, 2000

Answers

I'm still in the 'trying to work things out and patch it all back together' phase right now. If it changes for the better, there won't be a letter of resignation. If things stay the same or change for the worse..... believe me, Joann, the explosion will probably register all over the planet. Great site, btw.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I did write one six years ago, and it's still biting me in the ass. I permanently lost options in my industry as the people I 'let loose on' will never work with me again, but the feeling's mutual ... They were responsible for destroying a successful business with petty politics and self-gratification. But my method of resignation also amused the people in my next two jobs, all of whom knew the targets and felt similarly, but weren't going to go on record.

I wouldn't do something like that again, because chances are it won't change anything and you'll just look like a poor loser. My previous lapse may keep me from working in some other companies.

I'd recommend sucking it up, go out with some friends and bitch about it over drinks. Look for another job and don't explain. Exception: If some undirectly-involved supervisor asks directly why you're leaving, explain rationally. Not "X always treats me like shit," but "X never tells me what he wants, but only says 'no, that's not right yet, if you had talent you'd know what I wanted'. " Or "X always shows up a few minutes before I'm going home after a long day and gives me a task that will take me a couple of hours, and insists I do _right then_, and then if I object calls me lazy, unmotivated, that I have poor team spirit ..."

In my case, though, the head of the company was just as bad, I was under contract and couldn't leave the job for a while, and had my work torn apart daily by a teenager with no experience telling me I had no talent and no team spirit... I'm so glad I don't work there anymore.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I think no name had it right ... it's always a bad idea to really vent when you leave. Burning bridges is just not smart.

But of course I have my fantasies ... oh, yeah. But I probably shouldn't post them here.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I think I may have handled the last job I quit in the best way possible while still giving myself the thrill of the one-two punch.

I had the job from hell working for two doctors. The docs were great. The office manager was psycho, fond of calling me away from my work to chew me out for some trumped up charge. The charge always came from my co-worker who was jealous as hell that the docs really liked me. She was also the psycho manager's best buddy. It used to just burn my ass that the two of them made it their life mission to make my life a living hell, while keeping it all from the docs. They never knew. The two women just kept it up, each time pushing it to the limits to see how I'd react.

I wrote out my letter of resignation and put it in an envelope. Then I just worked on, waiting for the opportunity. The next time I got called in to the manager's office, I just listened quietly to the two of them rant at me (yes, the manager used to pull in my co-worker so they could gang up on me)not saying a word.

Finally, when they ran out of vitriolic steam, I pulled out my resignation letter saying, "Well let me just take care of your "problem" right here and now." and plunked the letter in front of her. The look of shock on her face was priceless. They never expected me to actually quit (the docs would find out why). There was several minutes of back-pedalling on their part to try to talk me out of it. I just got up and walked out with a HUGE smile on my face.

I didn't burn any bridges in the medical community. I didn't punch anyone out like I felt like doing. But I had my moment of glory delivering the surprise they never thought would happen. Heeeeee! It was great.

The office manager was later fired after 15 or the 20 employees quit within 8 weeks. She had managed to keep the docs from knowing about most of those by threatening to fire anyone in the office who let a phone call or a letter get thru to the docs from the people who quit. Finally, someone who had left contacted one of the docs at home and let him know the details about the psycho manager, and he fired her the next day. Small consolation to those of us who ran screaming from that job, but just enough to feel avenged.

Tee

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

The way the old work bitten people told it to me when I first became incensed at the treatment I was receiving. "Never leave a job until you have one to go to the next day and when leaving be the perfect diplomat and make the grand circle telling every one a nice goodby and telling them how much you will miss them. Someday perhaps you will want to use that company for a reference and possibly someone you disliked could be you boss again in the new company." Long winded, true, but true ? Yes ! ! ! !

Even in these days a company being asked for a reference can without putting themselves in a legal bind convey that there was dissatifaction. One question I became familiar with was, "If you need help in the area of that persons experience and proficiency, would you rehire them ? That one can be waffled around to convey what ever meaning is desired.

DON'T BURN YOUR BRIDGES BEHIND YOU - - - - - -someday some way you may want to go back over the same path traveling to something better yet !

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I know I fantasize about leaving this place. Sometimes it is because some of the people here are really crappy, but usually it's just because I got this job right out of college and have been here three years and I want to move on. I want some time to be really free and travel and stuff again. I got myself all psyched up and happy about this and figured I would try to save a bunch of money this spring and summer, leave my job this fall (with plenty of notice and such) and travel for a few months. Most of my friends were really supportive of the idea, most of them are still working crappy retail jobs and quit to travel now and then. I'm the only one with a real career. Too bad when I told my folx about it they just gave me this infantilizing lecture about responsibility and how I couldn't make it work. Now I just feel like crap.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

Lordy - do I ever understand. I recently had drinks with some former co-workers and heard the latest tales of tyranny about my ex-boss.

Here's my advice though - provided you work for an organization large enough to have a separate human resources department, request that they grant you an exit interview. Vent your concerns there, but keep the letter of resignation short and to the point. That's what I did, no bridges were burned, and human resources ended up thanking me for my candor.

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

Check this out!

www.mybosssucks.com!

-- Anonymous, April 10, 2000

I left my last job because my boss was a major asshole, but I knew better than to tell them the real reasons. I work in the financial industry in the New York City area and it's incestous. You'll definitely run into the people you've worked with before.

I worked with another woman who reported to the same asshole and while he was on vacation and still calling us up and yelling at us, we decided to quit. It worked out that we quit on the same day, within hours of each other.

I wouldn't give him a reason besides, "The commute's killing me I'm going to a job closer to home" and she didn't give him a real reason either. And the best part was that EVERYONE knew the real reason. We stuck it to him by quitting on the same day and everyone knew he deserved it.

He was a major asshole till the day I left, but after I quit nothing he said bothered me.

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000

I like my job and boss and don't really have fantasies of telling off anyone. When I've left jobs it was always to go someplace better so there was no need to rub it in. And, I don't believe in burning bridges. You never know.

All that being said, I do fantacize about leaving in order to annoy my office mate. We work for a computer company in silicon valley and people are constantly leaving to go to startups or other computer companies. This is just the nature of programmers - the average job length is something like 18 months. Every time someone leaves, my office mate gets all upset and acts like it's the end of the world (it's annoying sometimes but not a crisis.) She also acts like she can't understand why someone would ever leave - she'll say "But he was here for five years! Why would he leave?" Cause he wants to do something new! Work on something cutting edge! Maybe get rich with stock options!

So, sometimes I want to tell her that I'm leaving and see her face. But you've been here three years!

-- Anonymous, April 11, 2000