Today I put in my two weeks notice at my job. I am leaving to go to a job at another company. Why? That's a subject for another blog.
When I put in my notice, some people were suprised, but not nearly as many as I expected. At the same time that everyone was finding out that I was leaving, I was finding out that a lot of other people were either already leaving, or were planning on leaving. You never hear these things in normal day to day conversations at work. Why? I think it's fear.
Noone wants to ever admit that they are not happy at their job, especially not to their boss. Why would you ever go to the boss and complain about something you don't like and take the risk of getting fired because of your complaint. This leads to a lot of fear among employees. Noone wants to say anything bad or do anything that would cause them to risk losing their jobs. Everyone has bills to pay. You just can't afford to risk losing that salary.
This fear of complaining can lead to an unfortunate problem for managers - they never know when something is bothering their employees! If the manager doesn't know there is a problem, how is he going to fix it? I honestly think most managers are decent enough people that they wouldn't fire you if you went to them with a legitimate complaint. Of course, noone (myself included) wants to take the risk of finding that one manager that does mind when you complain.
Today has been an amazing education for me. I knew I wasn't particularly happy with my job. I just didn't realize how many others also weren't happy with their jobs. Many times someone would say to me "Oh, you are leaving the company? Take me with you!" or "Oh, you are leaving the company? Is your new company hiring?" Clear signs that they want to get out too.
I really hate changing jobs. It's always a risk to give up the job you are at. It's a place you've been at for a while and you are comfortable there. You know everyone, you know your job and generally, it's 'safe'. Taking a job is a risk because you are always diving into an unknown situation. Will you get along with the people at your new job? Will you be able to do the work required of you at the new job? Is going to this new company the right decision? Am I making a mistake leaving this 'good thing' I have now?
You have to weigh the pros and cons of leaving or staying and decide what's best for you. I do feel a certain amount of loyalty to my boss at my current job. He's always been good to me and treated me well. I really have no complaints about him. I felt bad leaving him. I was very surprised to learn that he wasn't really surprised by my resignation. He's a very smart guy and I'm sure he's noticed that things have not been going well and that I've been very frustrated. He has been too. He even commented that he had considered leaving himself. His problem is that he is one of the original founders of the company, so he literally is the company. Plus, I'm sure he's getting paid A LOT of money to stay. He offered to try to get me a counteroffer. I told him I would consider it. It would take A LOT to convince me to stay though.