Everyone has that one job that they consider to be a “mistake” for taking. It happens to the best of us [Tweet This]. The company looked great and you were excited to work there long-term, but after working there for a few months you realized that it just wasn’t the right fit.
What makes the situation worse is the awkward position you’re put in. Should you keep working there while looking for another job? Should you leave right away? Should you wait another 6 months to see if the job improves? In these cases, the questions and answers rest squarely on your shoulders. But what if the relationship between you and the company is only soured as a result of disagreements with your managers or their management style? It’s in these cases when the fate of your future isn’t entirely in your hands, and it’s up to you to work with the very people you’re having problems with, your managers, to determine the best course of action.
When you’re in this situation and faced with these two paths—quitting or getting fired—you need to turn to what Liz calls the Third Path.
Liz Ryan, author of Should I Quit, or Wait to Get Fired?, saw this situation arise far too often during her time as CEO of Human Workplace. The core concern is you, the employee, need income. If you quit to escape the hostile environment without a job already lined up, you lose the opportunity to collect unemployment insurance. If your relationship with management has reached the point where you expect to eventually get fired down the line, you can then collect unemployment insurance when you’re let go—but that means you also have to stick around for an undetermined period of time and work in an environment you don’t want to be in.
When you’re in this situation and faced with these two paths—quitting or getting fired—you need to turn to what Liz calls the Third Path.
For the Third Path, you need to sit down with your manager and let him or her know that the relationship between you and the company isn’t working out, and that you want to slowly transition out of the role until you find a new position, or until 6 weeks (or whatever time frame you establish) passes. Let your manager know that you’ll also help find a replacement candidate for your position.
Why is the Third Path the best path in this situation? Two reasons.
First, it helps repair the relationship between you and your manager. Coming forward and speaking openly, and noting that you want to help find a replacement hire, shows that you have the best interests in mind for the company—even if you don’t, but don’t want to burn any bridges. If your manager fires you on the spot when you go and speak to him or her, then you can get an unemployment claim started with no worries (but, it’s assumed that at this point you’ve already been looking for a job, as you don’t want to collect unemployment insurance long-term).
Second, the transitional period between you give notice and the 4-to-6 weeks that follows makes your departure easier on everyone involved. The company isn’t forced to scramble for a replacement, and your colleagues (who get along with you) won’t feel disgruntled over you leaving and all your work immediately falling in their laps. Meanwhile, you can look around for other jobs during this period, while still getting paid, and it won’t be as hard for you to take time off an interview, as your current company expects you to do so. Everyone is treated like an adult, and no bridges get burned.
Through it all, just know that situations like these happen to everyone, and you can consider these situations to be learning opportunities [Tweet This]. Next time, you’ll know to do more research on the company, be willing to reach out to current and former employees for their feedback before accepting an offer, and know to have contingency plans in place should your original plan not be what you envisioned.