Leaving a job is never easy. If you’ve been there for a long time, it’s saying bye to long standing colleagues, people you’ve likely developed a friendship with. It’s having that awkward talk with your manager, about why you’re leaving and if there’s any way you can be convinced to stay. It’s having the courage to admit that you’re not currently happy and leaving that safety net. Whether you’ve had a positive or negative experience at your current job, it’s still quite often one of the most uncomfortable experiences in your career. And it’s also a bit of fear, leaving something you know like the back of your hand behind, ready to go into the unknown. Whether it’s because you’re not being paid enough, or if you’re offered another position, or you don’t see any progress for yourself, leaving is often met with a negative stigma. But why should it be? You’re leaving to move onto the next chapter of your life, and both you and your employer should be thankful for the part the company played in your career. If you’re leaving based on a decision made by the company and are looking to sign a severance agreement, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a negative experience either – your company respects and appreciates your efforts enough to provide you with a pay package to keep you going as a thank you. No matter your situation, it’s in your best interests to leave on a good note, or at least amicably, and we’ll go through some of the reasons why here.
You Never Know If You Might Need a Way Back
As the saying goes, leaving a steady job is like removing your safety net. It’s removing that feeling of security and familiarity, to pursue other paths. Moving on is fine, but you’ll never know what the future holds, maybe a position you wanted previously at your last company opened up or maybe your new company have suffered an unforeseen financial setback meaning they have to cut costs – either way, it’s a good idea to leave amicably, to not rule out the possibility of coming back.
References
More often than not, most jobs you apply for, will ask for a reference from your most recent employer. Sometimes you can get away with this and explain that you left on not so great terms, but it doesn’t reflect so well on you if you have to explain that you probably won’t be able to get a recent reference, and while it’s true that companies can give a negative reference, it has to be accurate and justified, they need to provide proof of such judgement, or they can refuse to provide one altogether, which is just as bad. When leaving a job, play by the rules; complete your notice period (unless agreed otherwise), ensure a smooth handover is given to the person who will be taking over your duties, return whatever equipment needs to be returned, and don’t spend the final 2 weeks of your notice period doing nothing just because you’re leaving.
Connections Help
As mentioned earlier, when you work with people 5 days a week for 7+ hours a day, you can develop bonds with people. Some end up being life long friends. You might have been the reason some people enjoy going to work, and if you’re leaving, they may want to keep in touch. This can be really handy, if you’re ever in need of another job and you know someone who used to work with you, or equally, say you start your own business, you may end up coming across someone who you used to work with, who you know from previous jobs, is a fantastic worker and someone you can trust, who will also love to work, or for you.
The World Can Be a Small Place
Sounds a little cliche, but the working world can be a very small place, and often you’ll run into people that you used to work with years ago, in different companies. If you were known in a previous job to be unpleasant to work with for whatever reason, and you apply for a job, you never know who could be interviewing you, or who you could be working with. It could be a previous colleague that you rubbed the wrong way, and news can travel incredibly fast if that is found out. It could mess up your chances of securing another job. Sometimes disagreeing with people is unavoidable, but don’t go out of your way to make enemies where you work, it could change a decision in the future
