After working four years at a corporate desk job, the stress of being understaffed and not having enough work flexibility finally got to me. I hatched an escape plan and followed-through with it, but when the day came that I actually put in my two-week notice, I was completely surprised how different everything actually ended up.
Everyone’s quitting story is going to be different, but I bet you once you quit your job you’ll find a few of these surprising things on your list, too. Here are 10 surprising things that happened to me after I put in my two-week notice at the desk job I quit:
1. The world didn’t explode
All that build up and it wasn’t as instantly dramatic as I thought. Emails kept coming and 5’oclock rolled around like every other day.
2. People congratulated me
They seemed proud and excited for me. Fewer people seemed angry than I thought. There were a handful that were bitter, but they did me the favor of masking that, which I appreciated and respected them for.
3. I didn’t feel an immediate sense of relief
‘Are you excited?’ My good friend/coworker asked after I IMed him and told him I just hit send on the email letting my boss know I was quitting. I didn’t know how to answer him. I was playing out in my head how everything was going to be in my life from this point forward. I was still in shock and felt a lot of things. I couldn’t pin point it as excitement at the time, but it was in there somewhere.
4. It was overwhelmingly emotional
I went home and wept. I couldn’t explain what exact emotion I had. It wasn’t happiness and it wasn’t grief. The closest emotion I could describe it as is an overwhelming relief.
5. I had worked myself into a depression
I knew that my depression was at an all-time high when I put in my notice at work. I forgot that this is a chemical imbalance that just does not switch on and off. I wasn’t going to wake up on the first weekday after I quit my job and have rainbows and sunshine bursting from my ears. I realized there was still going to be a recovery time needed for me to pull myself out of the depression I had literally worked myself into.
6. I really, really, really realized how much I hated my job
The next day after I gave my notice, I came into work expecting to feel relieved. Expecting to be kinda panicked and thinking ‘oh dear god what have I done? Is it really that bad? Is this really what you want?’
Much to my surprise, that moment never came.
All the negative people were still negative, the workload was still unmanageable, and I was stressed and still being hounded by passive aggressive sales people. I was instantly miserable and stressed, even though I knew my time there was limited. This quickly made me realize one thing. I did not regret my decision. I hated my job the day before I put in my notice and the day after. It wasn’t my attitude toward the job, because surely it would have changed after putting in my notice. Luckily, this reconfirmed that my decision was solid. I wondered how I had made it for years doing this.
7. I still wanted to work
I hadn’t lost my work ethic after all, even after being so overworked. I felt pride in helping, especially after coworkers were telling me how much I was going to be missed.
8. Music sounded different
You know when you are on a mission-fueled road trip with purpose, or flying somewhere epic, or just feeling like a winner while getting ready in the morning and the perfect song comes on? It sounded like that after I put my notice in. It sounded like the soundtrack to my new life was revealing itself to me every time I turned on the radio.
9. People didn’t ease into the idea I was leaving
An under staffed department should take an employee putting in their two-weeks seriously. They should start learning how to do something themselves since they are going to be short an employee soon. It only makes sense, because that makes it easier on the people who are still working there. But for me, some people continued to forward me emails up until the last minute. Perhaps there’s a bit of denial in some people to realize that a good employee is leaving. I was surprised how many of my coworkers didn’t seem to create a plan for after I was gone. It was an obvious example of extreme disorganization in a company.
10. Things got really real
When I say really real, what I really mean is really, really real. I was preparing to start my own business, and after I put in my two weeks at my job, it suddenly felt real. Paralyzing, terrifyingly, liberating…..excitingly real.
Can you relate to any of these? Was there anything unexpected that happened when you put in you two week notice?
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When I finally told them I wasn’t coming back, I was terrified. I was afraid of
how people would judge my decision. But then I felt happier than I’d ever been.
Thanks for sharing, Jessica! There’s definitely a stigma of feeling lazy or like you are making the wrong decision when it comes to quitting your job for self-employment, but I think it’s easily forgotten once you realize you are meant for that kind of work environment, if that is the case!
Wow…this is a wonderful description of all the different emotions you felt at that time….thanks for sharing Lisa!!
Thank you Laurie! It was definitely one of the big emotional milestones in my life, as it is for many people.
This is my second time putting in my notice and they are still trying everything possible to have me stay. It is a wonderful company and I have enjoyed my 17 years, for the most part but one too many times of being at the short end of the inner office drama has left some real emotional scars. While I am pleased that they did not just say okay, I just want to move on.i said I would think about the change they proposed and I will give my boss that, but, I know it’s time to do something for me.
Hi Malinda. It’s awesome you are putting yourself first, and it’s really great they are trying to get you to say. That speaks volumes for the quality of your work! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with us.
Hi! I have been an integral part of a company’s leadership team for the past 2 years. I just put in my 2.5 week notice 3 hours ago. My boss cried and hugged me, said he was in shock that I was leaving. I felt a range of emotions: guilt, sadness, joy, and fear. Thank you for writing this article, it was very relieving to read that I was not alone in my feelings after quitting! Also the soundtrack part is very real!
Hi Julie,
Congratulations and what an awesome story – you are so welcome. I understand completely about the roller coaster of emotions you’re going through.