So I finished up at my previous job of 26 years a few days ago.
This job was over an hour’s drive each way on a good day. I stayed as long as I did because I mostly enjoyed the work and I liked most of the people I worked with. My wife has been on my back for years to find something closer to home. Early January I had an accident in a (work-supplied) vehicle while driving home. I wasn’t injured but was very shaken. So the next time my wife pointed out a job online she thought I could do, I applied for it, got an interview and got the job.
I told one of the two owners I was leaving. He seemed a bit surprised but didn’t say much. I purposely didn’t mention my leaving to anyone else, because I (foolishly) thought they would make an announcement of some sort. Anyway it came to my last day and there were still people in my office who didn’t know I was leaving. I had to rush off to leave early because of the terrible weather here in Australia. So when it was time to leave, the branch manager (who I got on well with) said a few words while everyone was there, gave me a ” goodbye and good luck “ card signed by the staff… and that was it. No acknowledgement of my 26 years of service, no token gift. The other owner wasn’t there, hadn’t mentioned my leaving at all previously, and didn’t even call to thank me for my service.
The company I worked for had 9 branches. I had to deal with all of them almost daily and knew some of the staff pretty well. But I found out just before I left that nobody had thought to mention my leaving to any of them.
So please people, if you’re thinking of leaving your job, do it. You might think you’re irreplaceable or that you’ll be missed. There’s a strong chance you’re not, you won’t be, and someone else will value you and your abilities much more highly.