I revised this about nine times over the last ten days and probably another nine times between yesterday afternoon and this morning. I sent it about an hour ago. I'm not relieved yet. I'm not 100% sure what to be. I just wanted this to be over. Hopefully it will kick in…
29 September 2023
Dear [Director]:
This letter shall serve as notice of my resignation from [position/department] at [employer]. As I have been on a leave of absence, a two-week notice seems unnecessary; therefore, my resignation shall take effect immediately. I will return my laptop to [the office] on an undetermined date in the near future.
I have no future professional plans as my health – physical *and* mental – must take precedence over success and the income that accompanies it. I would rather remain semi-homeless, living in an R.V. with inadequate heat and refrigeration, than return to a work environment that revealed itself as increasingly more hostile, even to those whose efforts greatly contributed to its previous successes. I spent far too many years of my adult life in corporate settings experiencing gaslighting and its subsequent lack of communication, as if I were not intelligent enough to comprehend or worthy of even knowing the details of my professional future. I would expect far better in a business such as this, operated by educated adults. I remain disappointed, not angry.
This is not the career I envisioned, nor is it one where I see myself continuing to dread each passing day solely out of necessity. The department’s future successes shall certainly be predicated upon your current hiring standards where staff members are comfortable with fear-induced subordination. I can never be one of those staff members again. Despite that which was determined by [disability insurance], the damage is and will be incredibly difficult to repair; it has only worsened my condition and will significantly affect my future professional decisions. I suffer from a nearly debilitating fear of inadvertently repeating my [experience at my employer] which has kept me from even considering another job at this time.
I respectfully decline any requests for exit interviews or further discussion on this topic, as I know my words have never had any value in this venue. That is unfortunate.
I only wish you safety and good health in the future,
[me]
cc: [supervisor], [other supervisor], HR, VP of [my former area of the company]