I switched jobs roughly 7-8 months ago. My current job is much better than the old one, but what actually motivated me in making the switch?
I had plenty of complaints at my previous job. I was the most underpaid software developer in the entire world (way below the median salary in my country), the schedule wasn't flexible (it was on paper though: as the contract only specified me having to work 40 hours a way and said nothing about a 9-to-5 schedule, yet they were still obsessed with 9-to-5), overtime was often expected but never compensated, I was being stunted in my career growth (basically at the risk of becoming a one-trick pony who doesn't know about the hot new techologies), and I overall felt bad at my previous job. The only perk was that I could work fully remote, but there was no telling how long would that last (they basically restricted most other employs to only have 2 remote days per week, so there was no telling when would I be next).
Yet, none of those reasons were enough to make me quit. Do you want to know the real reason I switched jobs? It was the middle-manager. I hated him. I had a really terrible first impression of him, he was very rude to me once when I asked some relevant questions about something he wanted me to develop (basically, I asked him for the plans, for the API, for something written and detailed, for something more than the vague instructions he insisted on transmitting exclusively orally), and ever since that, I have resented him and his very existence. I'm not sure if the perception of a personal conflict was mutual or one-sided (probably one-sided), but I felt terrorized by him, I felt anger when I saw his profile picture, my heart would skip a beat when I heard the “ding!” sound of the messenger, I developed a phobia against the word “hi”, etc. I even admit to having wished for the gruesome death of this man at times, constantly cursing his name. I started intentionally clocking in as early as possible (my contract said my schedule was flexible after all) to minimize his window of time to contact me.
The last straw was, when he terrorized a senior colleague of mine, who has been working for the company for at least a couple years longer than he was. By that point, I have already been searching for another job for almost three months (due to them chewing me out for not working the 9-to-5 schedule, and my absence after 3 o'clock supposedly causing delays measurable in days), and by that time, I would have been eligible for unemployment subsidies had I quit. I reported the incident to the CEO (who was actually a nice guy), and while he did try to smoothen the issue, by that time, it was too late: secretly, I was already dead set on leaving the company, and I was merely waiting for another job offer.
In 2021 September, I was contacted by several companies, I was interviewed, one of them straight-up offered to hire me on the spot, and that's how I left my previous job and got to my current job. I have zero regrets: my salary is much higher, I work fully remotely, I have a fully flexible schedule, my workmates are much kinder, I work with a diverse set of technologies, and I even have opportunities to study new technologies while on the clock. What more could a man ask for? Sure, it's still 40 hours per week, which sucks, but compared to the previous job, it's heaven on earth. And I wouldn't have made the switch, if it wasn't for the terrorization by the rude middle-manager.
This is an important lesson for all CEOs and managers: first impressions matter a lot + don't promote idiots with no/bad social skills to management. The whole situation between me and the asshole middle-manager could have been resolved in many other ways (isn't this why HR exists in the first place?!), but I don't regret it, since I have a much better job now.