Moving On Is A Mixed Blessing

by Audrey Ference

So, exciting news: Frank quit his job. Hooray. After a long search process he finally found something that is going to be really awesome, I think: a great boss who he knows from his old job, lots more money, subject matter that is more up his alley. A mere two weeks from today he will no longer have the job he’s been unhappy at for the last three years.

Obviously, this is great. What’s not to like? At the same time though, when a person quits their job it sets of a weird ripple effect of uncertainty in the people around them. Like all of a sudden people look up and realize hey, I’m not going to be doing this same job forever. Maybe I should find something new.

It’s even worse when it’s someone you work with. Frank’s co-workers—the ones that were his friends and knew he was unhappy—were surprisingly surprised to hear the news. At first, a few of them were even angry with him. I think this is normal. After he went out to drinks and told them more about why he was leaving and what the new opportunity was about they, of course, were happy and congratulatory. It’s just strange that no matter how much you like someone at your work and want what’s best for them, your first reaction to hearing they’ve quit is a weird kind of anger and betrayal.

I experienced this first-hand on Friday hearing through the grapevine about a co-worker who is thinking about looking for something else. I know this person would probably be happier doing something else, and that they (no gendered pronouns—I don’t think anyone from my office reads this but just in case) have good reasons for wanting to leave. And it’s not even like they resigned or even accepted another offer. They just indicated that they wanted to go and were going to start looking.

The feeling is akin to being at a party and your friend saying they’re going home when you’re having a good time. The friend could have a million really good reasons for leaving—early meeting the next day, booty call, tiredness, dinner date, whatever. And there’s no reason that you need to leave just because your friend is. But still you worry: am I a loser? Should I have something better to do? Am I overstaying my welcome? Is it lame that I like this place so much?