Hello,
First post here. I have already discussed this a bit with my partner / friends / parents, but am interested to see what the MM Community might think!
I have been in my current job since graduating University - I will hit my four year anniversary in December this year. It is a good job, in a top firm in the industry. About this time last year, I took on a new project within my role, which has been awesome, but very, very, stressful. I am paid a (reasonably good) salary, but not paid overtime at all. I estimate that I have been working 55+ hours on average a week for the past year, including incredibly late nights and weekends (often at short notice). So taking that into account my pay is actually pretty average. The nature of my area of work means that the general rule of thumb is no overtime is paid. A couple of weeks ago, I raised the issue of the hours I am doing with my supervisors, and told them I couldn't cope with doing this for the remainder of the project (which ends mid next year). The issue being the hours themselves, as opposed to the pay (because I just am sick of not having weekends, or not being able to hang out with friends etc). They have reacted brilliantly and are bringing down a temp worker from another office for a few months, plus are looking to recruit a further team member (I have seen the short list etc).
My bosses and wider team are great - I enjoy working with them and our work styles are very compatible. However, I think I am getting sick of the type of work, and want to try a different type of job at a much smaller 'mum and dad' firm. The type of job I am looking at is in my industry, but I would need a bit of retraining in that area. I also cannot cope with the idea of having to work these hours any more. Having new staff members will no doubt assist, but I think since raising the issue with my supervisors I have realized that the hours is just part of the issue - I am just not engaged any more either.
Some other relevant facts:
- I am moving to another country next year with my partner. We will be leaving March / April. This is non-negotiable timing wise (ie won't be earlier / won't be later), and we are both happy about that.
- I am at the point where I think I want to resign from my job. Financially I am not concerned (in that I know I can get a job on similar pay, with far less hours, in a different area of my expertise which will stimulate my mind).
- In a new job they would have to invest some time in training me up, but I think I would be good to work autonomously after 6 weeks or so (and overall I am pretty confident I would earn them far more than I would cost them, even if I was there for a short period of time).
So the moral question(s) are:
1) Is it wrong for me to resign from a job, when I have told my supervisors I can't cope with the hours BUT I have only given them a few weeks to fix this and then resign? I think I can explain this away, because I genuinely thought the issue was the hours and have since realized that is not the only problem.
2) Is 4 weeks notice enough? There are 3 of us involved in this project (and some others on the fringe). I have a lot of 'inside' knowledge, but the other two do as well. My contract is 4 weeks notice, but they have been a great place to work for and I would like to give more notice. The issue is, the longer notice I give, the shorter time I have available to work at the "new" job, before moving country.
3) Which leads to the third moral question: Is it morally wrong to take on a new role (where you will need some training) when you KNOW you will be leaving in 7-8 months time??
Note: I won't be quitting the job until I have another lined up, but based on the market at the moment, things will move quickly.
Would be interested to see what you guys think. I'm just a bit stuck on what to do. Suck it up, or make the move?
Thanks in advance :)