For those that were following my initial posts, I've got the final update here. This Thursday, I provided my manager with my official resignation letter and gave a heads-up to the colleague that initially tipped me off to the major compensation disparity. To show my appreciation, I sent them a gift certificate for dinner for two at a nice local establishment. Without their initiative in helping me and their insight, I most-likely would've been stuck in this job for years, thinking my rate of pay was decent.
Now on to the really rewarding part… About an hour after sending my resignation, my current boss (of three months) pings me on an MS Teams call, and I calmly and happily pick up. First thing out of their mouth with a very agitated tone is, “I guess you couldn't wait to see if we could do anything for you?!?!” I calmly replied back with, “I was told directly by you and the Director of Bus Ops that nothing could even be considered until September. I cannot put my family through that, and I cannot sit here and watch other opportunities pass me by. I had to do what was best for me, and what was best for my family. I literally reached out to you three times in the utmost professional manner, and each time was met with resistance.”
After a long pause, they asked me what they were supposed to do now, now that they are down a marketing manager (who left almost as soon as this re-org was announced) and now that I'm leaving. I bluntly said, “Well since I wasn't offered the managerial role that was initially brought up, that's not something I have to solve for.” I knew it was a cheap shot, but I felt like they deserved it. I also brought up the fact that in our call that I felt they and the Director of Bus Ops were making light of my situation, saying things like, “You've been working from home for about two years now, right? So you must be saving a lot of money on gas, RIGHT?” They had no reply. Of course.
So after wrapping up with the generalities, the Director of Bus Ops (Mr. Funny Saving on Gas Guy) sends me an MS Teams message saying, “Good Morning! It's a shame to see you go. It's too bad you had to seek other opportunities outside of _________ before we could do anything for you. We'll miss you!” Yeah, I'm sure you will, in the productivity aspect. Personally, you've known and worked with me for less than three months, so I'm sure there's no love lost there… I simply replied by tagging his message with a thumbs-up emoji. This guy would do the same whenever I was trying to convey important info in the past via Teams. Passive-aggressive? Maybe.
A couple hours later, the e-mails and MS Teams messages started coming in after one or both of the previously mentioned “leaders” leaked the fact I was leaving. I even received a call from my old boss, asking why I was leaving and he was stupefied. It was a lackluster offer, but he'd mentioned there might be a position opening up in my old department sometime in the future. I told him it was appreciated, but that I've decided to move on to a more rewarding and progressive company, one with a more employee-centric culture.
Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to my new role in a four weeks. I have 10 days left with my current dumpster fire of a job, and will have a quick vacation before starting in at my new role. It worked out great, and I can already feel the depression from my old job falling away from my shoulders. My anxiety also seems to be subsiding, and I guess that's partly due to feeling optimistic, and knowing that even though it's still brutal out there, there are people that care, and there is still a humanistic element to be found.
It was also kind of touching that in the final panel interview with my new company, the hiring manager's son wandered up and asked his Dad if he could have some cereal. We had a joking moment, where he seemed embarrassed and was trying to apologize. I waved it off and asked the kid what kind of cereal he was going to have. Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries. Good choice, kid.