Hey everyone. I’m posting this here because I’m not really sure where else to post.
Two weeks ago I gave my boss my notice. It was extremely difficult for me to tell her as I didn’t know how she would react. However, she accepted it respectfully and wished me well, saying that she would never want to hold me back.
The reason I decided to quit is because the work environment is toxic. It is a small, family-owned business that only employs 4 people at my location. Some of the things I’ve witnessed or had to deal with are:
• Coworker #1 having a seizure and falling to the floor due to alcohol withdrawals. I had to administer first aid until paramedics arrived.
• Coworker #2 sleeping in the bathroom all day long on some Sundays, leaving me alone to man the floor. Kept checking on her to make sure she was alive.
• Coworkers 1 and 2 asking me to go to the store to get them alcohol so that they could function and get through the day.
• Coworkers 1 and 2 having sex on the job in places where other people can easily walk in on them.
• Literal constant abuse from the general public because this is a retail position.
This is just to make a few. I’ve dealt with a lot during my 3 years here and have only earned a cumulative raise of $3, despite continuously taking on more responsibility and tasks than my coworkers. The customers and my coworkers make this job very emotionally exhausting.
Even though I’ve dealt with all of this, I’ve become quite close with my coworkers and feel bad for leaving them. Today is my last day of work and I’m struggling to say goodbye to them. Some part of me empathizes with them. I feel bad that they are stuck here due to their current situations—nobody else would hire them. I sort of feel like I am leaving them high and dry, short staffed, overworked, etc.
Everyone has told me I shouldn’t feel this way, but that doesn’t exactly help.