So, I was working a contract medical job , very good pay. The client wasn’t getting enough staff to come in and work ( contract or permanent ) so they decided to switch to another contracting company just as my rotation ended. I was left with 4 days to make a choice , leave ( probably the state ) at short notice for another job, or stay with the new company.
The difference between the new company and old.
- No insurance benefits until after 1 year.
- $2000 less per month in per Diem pay.
- 1.5x OT instead of 2x
My wife had an ER visit 1 weeks after.
I signed up for marketplace insurance but it took a month to kick in. So imagine that expense.
Pretty significant pay drop. Not to mention their HR presented as really unknowledgeable and unhelpful with the onboarding.
2 weeks later , the client is unsatisfied with the NEW company and tells me I can renew with the previous
Yay. So I do that: takes a week or so. Finally I am ready to pick up shifts with my first contract employer again, so I write a resignation email to the new contractor. It’s pretty concise, simply stated that I will no longer be picking up shifts under their account. ( I was listed on their ADP as part-time anyway and had no set hours)
Supervisor calls and leaves a message, just wants to know if it’s effective immediately or there would be notice. I hem and haw like a weakling about the whole notice thing. Then; my amazing wife tells me
“ They didn’t care about us when they cut your salary, gave a short timeline and cut insurance leaving us with a big bill a week later, why are you worried more about their feelings than your family ?”
Amazing woman.
So I called back , told him it was effective immediately. He asked if everything was ok with the family, I said yes ( not his business ) and thanked him for asking . Then… “So why are you leaving us ? “
Basically I allowed myself to be pushed into saying that I was going back to the old company .
Cue him being more aggressive and hanging up on me.
Why did I let myself be weak and pushed into giving a reason ? Why do we treat managers and supervisors like they have some kind of real authority in our lives?
Anyway; proud of myself for going with the money and what’s best for my family and for not giving notice. And still feel like a bit of a weakling for being pushed into giving a reason. ( possibly causing friction with the client)
TL;DR
I quit on my own terms to do what’s best for my family but still let them control the conversation on the way out and left feeling weak.