I’m a social worker. I’ve worked with a variety of people and I care a Lot about other people. My boss is aware of this and always talks about my “big social worker heart”. In the past 4 months, the 3 person team I was on has dwindled to only me. My on call hours have doubled. This is because I won’t let my clients (which is now all of them) go without care and I’ll work myself into the ground to make sure I’m helping them. I’ve brought up my burn out and stress and begged for some help — even hiring a part time person just for file compliance. The answer is no, not enough money. I’ve been having migraines and panic attacks over the stress and urgency of each day’s problems.
This isn’t sustainable for me and I feel that I’m being exploited so I gave my boss a two weeks notice. She told me that I needed to stay longer for her and that, if I leave, she’ll be stuck with everything. She was very upset. And I took the bait because I don’t want her to suffer. I extended my notice to 3 weeks.
I just got offered a great job with someone I trust and they want me to start ASAP. I want to shorten my notice back to the two weeks I started with. I’m burnt out and ready to move on. That would give her 9 more days with me.
I’m looking for motivating words and guidance because this woman is likely to tell me that I’m being selfish and/or careless but I’m just trying to better my life. I’m not sure what I should do.
What would you do?