Ever Just Walk Out On A Job?

[MT Johnny]

Or leave with not much notice?

I just can't do this anymore - all I do is screw up. And it's really eating at me. My work is technical and complex and errors are costly. Accuracy is important. And I just F everything up.

I fought really hard to NOT destroy my career - but I can't do this right now.

The really bad part of it - small employer, family atmosphere - and unlike what so many people go through - they have been great to me, very supportive and understanding.

And that makes it all the worse, because I would feel horrible guilt about leaving.

Honestly though -they deserve so much better performance than I am capable of giving right now - it would be best for my employer long-term too. But hard in the short term.

 

[watundah]

The world of work can be so overwhelming. You sound fortunate to be in a healthy and caring work environment. Can I suggest a heart to heart and request a leave of absence? It sounds like they care. A few months off (or what you believe is best) may give you time to recoup. It's a possible interim step before walking away. Best to you.

 

[illusionist]

I'm sure if you screwed everything up they would have had a word with you by now...no business is going to stand by and watch an employee screw everything up...it's their livelihood that's at stake.

Are you sure that's not just your thinking? Maybe you can have a word with them, then take it from there. Maybe hearing what they see will help.

 

[shimmerz]

I'm sure if you screwed everything up they would have had a word with you by now

This is what I picked up on too. Are they telling you that you screwed up?

I realized when I worked and noticed I was going on mind benders that nobody else would know I had made a mistake because nobody knew computers. I could have hidden it but I just couldn't do that to my clients. Is your work something that your employers can't actually check on? Otherwise, I would say you may be thinking you are doing poorly when you actually are not.

 

[The Albatross]

I have only walked off one job ever... and that was for being induced to do things when I worked at a major pharmacy before I was certified to be a pharmacy technician and though the store manager had tipped me off as to his doubts about the pharmacy staff and told me to come to him with pharmacy issues/concerns... well that resulted in some angry confrontations at inappropriate times (in front of customers, in the staff lounge, etc) and they began blackballing me on the schedule, writing it in pencil to make it look like I was a no show when I'd photocopy it and such.

I walked off that job and not 3 months later they had 3 critical incidents... two of them fatal. The store manager was transferred to a local store here after a few years, and we talked about it. He was a good man.

 

[MT Johnny]

Trust me, I'm really screwing things up. My boss is just too kind - he never loses his temper or screams or gets upset at staff - when something goes wrong he just says "fix it".

It is just an escalating thing - yesterday a client called who I failed to get something done for a year ago, and it made me really come close to an on-the-spot panic attack.

I feel like I just have to get out of here, and whatever happens, happens, because if I try to just keep going like this it will be worse - what kind of blowup do I want, the "I'm leaving" or the "you're fired" ??? I should have been fired a long time ago, it would be totally justified.

 

[shimmerz]

(((((Johnny))))) This must be such a horrible feeling. I am so sorry this is happening.

 

[Friday]

While, yes, I have simply walked... (On a side note, I loooooove that I can! I've worked jobs where that's not an option, and took the freedom to a bit of an extreme at one point)... It doesn't sound to me like this is what you're really asking.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what it sounds like is that you're asking if it's right &/or okay for you to give notice, quit, take some time off (any version of leaving temporarily or permanently)... When your employer has done you no wrong.

Short answer: Yes. People quit on good terms with former employers all the time. In fact, it's the preferred method.

 

[Hope4Now]

I am on leave from my job partly for my own good but also partly because I just can't do it at the moment. And I feel protective of my colleagues and the program I run and the people who look to me for wisdom/guidance etc. It took me more than a year, but I finally gave notice and promised to do some things before I left. I failed to do even those things. I am just too "sick" with symptoms. I feel awful about all of it.

Just remember that if you were injured seriously or physically ill, you would not be able to do your job and everyone would understand...even you hopefully. Just because we have a more invisible form of injury doesn't mean it should be dealt with any differently. Take care of you.

 

[ihateusernames]

The really bad part of it - small employer, family atmosphere - and unlike what so many people go through - they have been great to me, very supportive and understanding.

I think this is an excellent reason to have a talk with them and see if there's a way you can take some sort of leave. I've been fortunate enough to work in that environment a couple of times before and I've seen co-workers successfully negotiate arrangements like this and I've also seen people really f*ck up due to personal things and they didn't get fired. They got help- through the company.

I've quit with no notice twice. One employer and most coworkers were abusive and I was fed up with their bullshit. I sent them an email saying buh-bye. It was seriously the best option. The other I never showed up for my next shift. It was retail. I wasn't exactly essential and it wasn't exactly unusual for them. I really liked it there, but I was working 4 jobs at that time and this particular job was definitely not the part that was paying my bills. I couldn't handle it anymore and I didn't trust myself to go through with actually quitting. I regret that one. I should have been more grown up about it.

 

[hodge]

I was laid off from my job, thankfully, almost 10 years ago, about a year after I was diagnosed. Then they still wanted me to do freelance projects for them. I did one and it almost killed me. They sent me another one and the next day I told them I just couldn't do it. I wasn't able to do any work again until two years ago. Now I work very part-time somewhere else, about 20 hours a month if that. I can usually go at my own pace, which is about 15 minutes at a time. Then my concentration goes south.

 

[SnowJo]

Trust me, I'm really screwing things up. My boss is just too kind - he never loses his temper or scre...

give yourself a break, in technical roles things go west sometimes, you won't be the first or the last. Maybe its time to get a new role somewhere where you don't feel so trapped and overwhelmed? Think about your future and plan a pathway for yourself, its a job, not your life. You are more important than any job.