SINGAPORE: A Singaporean employee took to social media claiming his boss guilt-tripped him after he shared his intention to resign, prompting him to seek advice online about his next steps.
He shared, “I recently received an exciting job offer that I was thrilled about and accepted. The new company even offered to buy out two months of my notice period, leaving me with 1 month to transition smoothly with my current employer.”
However, despite the excitement over the new position, the conversation with his boss took an unexpected turn.
In his post, he explained that he had joined his current employer with five years of experience but admitted to lacking specific expertise at the time.
His boss had been supportive, providing the necessary training over the past two years, which helped him accumulate seven years of diverse experience.
However, he felt his salary was significantly lower than others in similar roles at larger firms, prompting him to seek better compensation elsewhere.
Upon informing his boss of his resignation, he noted it caught his boss off guard when she reminded him of his initial commitment to stay when he was recruited. She also questioned why he hadn’t discussed his plans with her before deciding to leave.
“We can always talk about remuneration. In fact, you’ve been paid higher than the rest,” his boss told him.
According to him, “She pointed out that while I might get a better salary now with the knowledge she gave me, I had struggled to find a good position without it before joining her.
She emphasised that this was a terrible time for me to leave, given that the team is already short-handed. She recently hired a new staff member with limited experience who is still getting up to speed.
Her words made me feel incredibly guilty as if I were abandoning my team in their time of need,” he added.
Second-guessing his decision, he took to social media, saying, “I feel guilty and worried that I might be making a mistake by leaving for a company I don’t know much about. Plus, I don’t want to sour my relationship with my boss.
Our conversation about this didn’t end well. I’m thinking of sending her an official resignation email tomorrow instead.”
Singaporeans online were direct with their advice, urging him not to be swayed by his boss’s appeal.
One commenter pointed out, “If she decided to sack you, do you think she would keep you after you point out that she hired you in the first place?”
Another added, “The company will drop you like a hot potato in three seconds flat without blinking if the shoe is on the other foot. Don’t mess up your whole career for non-existent loyalty.”
This sentiment was echoed by others, with one betting that if he stayed, he would be fired within a year, while another advised him to move on and end on good terms.
“The moment you expressed your intention to leave, it is checkmate; you have to leave now.
She will now mark you as a ‘potential quitter,’ and given the limited info you provided about how she talks about ‘loyalty,’ there is no way she is going to give a potential quitter any opportunities,” one commenter advised.
“I think your boss just doesn’t want all the workload on her after you leave. If you stay and help her, knowing you have the intention to leave, you can be replaced once the new staff member is trained. Just end on the good note and move on,” another added. /TISG
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