So, many of you already know my problems and issues with my current employer/job. I won't name names, but I'm sure you can figure out who I work for from reading some of my other posts or from talking to me off the boards. Anyway, in all honesty I am a workaholic. I love working more than school, partying, drinking, etc. But, my current situation has driven me to the point where I hate work and dread the thought of work. Back in August, I think I posted something about how I threatened to quit my job if they didn't give me a promotion and raise. Well, the company met my demands 2 days later and gave me what I wanted (for the most part). In August, I was upset about the money and they fixed that situation. This time around though, their lack of support for my team/group has been unacceptable, driving me to the point where I AM going to quit my job because they do not deserve my effort, time, and dedication.
If you have read the entertainment headlines in the past year, you will know that the largest company in the world bought out one of the largest entertainment companies. I was an employee of the entertainment firm for about 7 months prior, working 60 hour work weeks, learning a lot, getting exposure to presidents of the company and being handed responsibilities I would not receive anywhere else. I can honestly say that I was pretty happy with that situation, despite 12 hour days.
After the merger occured, **** hit the fan and things around the office got quite hectic. Everybody in my group was put into a position where we were effectively working 3 different jobs that were levels higher than what our titles suggested. To make matters worse, 1) we worked in the 1 division that was going through ALL of the integration, and 2) we worked in finance, which is the backbone of the acquiring firm. Compared to all of the other finance groups within the newly created entertainment division, our group works almost twice as long per week and have less staff than everybody else. There is an inherent problem when the 1 finance group that is actually integrating cross companies is working such long hours, when all the other finance groups get to leave at 6pm. I am typically the 1st or 2nd into the office and leave when the last person leaves. Since the merger occured, I have easily been averaging 70 hour work weeks. I have run my entire group for a total of 2.5 weeks (2 separate occasions) when nobody else was physically in the state/country. Back in August, I worked 42 days straight averaging at least 100 hours a week. Nobody else from one of the other groups was there on the weekends and nobody offered to help me. This was just after my manager had left for a competing firm and I had to step up into her position and also do mine. After that stretch is when I threatened to quit the first time.
I took the promotion and raise in August and decided to stay with the company for a few more months with hopes that things would get better for me. They didn't replace my manager immediately, so I was reporting directly to a CFO. But, that also meant that my workload was now my former manager's job and my analyst job. A few months of mayhem went by and I started looking for jobs in October. I was one of the top prospects for a job with a cable network, but that fell through when they gave the offer to someone at a higher level than was advertised (they ended up making the position a manager's level to meet the candidate's qualifications). No hard feelings, and that is when I decided to wait until 2005 to make another decision. That time is now.
Last month we had our year-end financial close. I had been through this before, last year, with my old group (my entire group has since left the company). I am the last one remaining from the group that was intact during the 2003 close process. My current boss had received upper mgmt approval to take a vacation during the close process when he signed his contract in march. That left me and my manager to do all the work, while the other 2 people from the parent company focused on their accounting issues for year end close. Normally, 2 people can handle all the data validation and approvals, but some idiot in upper management thought it would be wise to send my manager to NYC on an emergency meeting for 1.5 weeks (she had to take 2 separate trips in 10 days). Of course nobody thought about what the hell would happen to me during that 1.5 weeks. Well, they left me alone for the year end financial close. I am glad they really trust me to do the work (I know that I am more than capable of doing it), but given the time constraints and lack of hours in the day, I was pretty much ****ed for that 1.5 weeks. I worked from 8-midnight everynight for 8 days straight to get everything done because nobody thought about the lack of resources. They didn't realize that by pulling 1 person away (with 1 person on approved vacation) that it would be painful for the last person standing. Of course that last person standing is ALWAYS me. How so?
1) I am typically the 1st or 2nd person into the office (between 8am - 8:30am) and leave when the last person leaves (at the earliest 8pm).
2) I have been left alone in the office for 1 week during our Q2 close and for 1.5 weeks during our full year close.
3) I was grossly underpaid compared to my counterparts coming from the parent company. I had to threaten to quit before they gave me something equivalent. This is something that my manager should have seen coming months prior.
4) I was doing my manager's and my analyst work for more than 6 months.
5) I am now on my 3rd supervisor. My first supervisor left 3 months after I started. My (then) manager became my supervisor and for 3 months we were the only two in the group. My third supervisor started 3 months after that, but was virtually ineffective since he was new to the industry. That left my manager and myself in the same position...2 of us doing 3 people's jobs. After the merger occured, my manager quit and i was told I would be moving to a different group. My complaint...that would be my 4th supervisor in less than a year...who the hell would be giving me my annual evaluation? Nobody thought of that. That's one of the reasons they didn't move me.
6) No other finance team in the entertainment division works as hard as we do, nor are they as strapped for heads as we are. We are the ONLY finance group that actually has to integrate resources. So why is it we don't get more resources when everybody else is leaving at 6pm?
7) I was given a 6 hour lecture on Integrity, yet upper management has continued to lie to my boss and to me directly about their directives and initiatives. I guess upper management was excluded from Integrity training.
8) Upper management is only around for another 1.5 years before they move onto a different position within the parent corporation. Instead of addressing issues that need to be fixed, they put bandaids on it. The only time upper management actually focuses on the real issues is when **** hits the fan. For guys who have to go through weeks of management training, they sure suck at it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out there's problems when you have 3 vice presidents telling you there is a problem.
9) They "promised" to make me a manager "soon" but they are not willing to give us more heads. Instead they are applying the band-aid and truly think that paying me more money will keep me there. They don't understand it's not about the money for anybody in my group. We all want to quit, and everybody knows that.
So, that's my situation in a nutshell. Yes, my issues have become personal issues. I have no life. Work is my life and I used to enjoy it. I can't even say anything positive in or outside of the office these days. Everytime I walk in there, I want to throw myself out the window (I work on the 30th floor) and wave to everybody on the way down.
I have decided that February 4th will probably be my last day with the company. I probably won't be looking for a new job between now and then, because I feel like I need a break from working, god knows I ****ing deserve a break. I will be going to Whistler to ski for a week in February and when I return I may take a few smaller trips and enjoy my life. After all that, maybe in March/April I will start looking for a new job.
Have any of you ever quit your job without something lined up? I have spoken with my family and relatives and it's split about 50/50. Surprisingly, my parents support my decision to just quit. They have heard how ****ed up my situation has been. Most people my age all tell me I would be crazy to quit without another job. Happiness is my number one priority now, and I will NEVER achieve that if I remain with my current employer.
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Originally Posted by Maarchk
you have absolutely nothing to lose if you are going to quit anyway. and i not talking about just demanding more money. 
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