u/tuejdjejeiiwieeu

My boss said that he is happy for me to stay on and that there will be more things for us to work on.

He could see that I was unsure about the whole thing and said that he would support me to get me back on board. I genuinely has come across as a good hearted person to me.

We are an extremely small team and I doubt that they could replace me because of how small the team is, how absolutely nothing is documented and how tight budgets are.

I left because I did not know the future of the company and we were on track to lose a core client. I did in fact over think the whole thing and I should have spoken to him more.

On the day before I handed in my resignation he informed me that they signed on for several more years.

The new company I will be going to has a manager that said he will support my development and it would be a pay increase, however they are also going through a severe financial hard ship with various redundancies. It's also a baking role where things can be cut through, the team is huge and everything is already automated.

I have come to the realisation that nowhere is safe and you cannot get a job for life anywhere. I plan to stay at my current role which I really enjoy and ride it out and enjoy as much if it as I can.

I absolutely love my current role and boss. Any advice?

Or perhaps any experiences of this happening to you?

Thanks!

Hi all,

I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

I’ve been at my current company for just under a year. My manager, the culture, and the work-life balance are all fantastic. It’s fully remote and pays well, so in many ways it’s my dream job.

However, me joining was on the basis of the internal recruiter telling me that the portfolio was “quickly expanding.” The company had previously gone through bankruptcy and was cutting costs while working toward new clients.

Day one I saw that they had barely any clients. Three months in, my boss said, “the company may not be here in a year.” Then I overheard someone being laid off, and when I asked why we didn’t have coffee anymore, I was told it was because of budget cuts and we might have to sell the coffee machine. That was partly a joke, but it still put me on edge.

This put me on edge more than the average person because I’ve experienced homelessness, I don’t have a safety net or family to rely on, and job security matters a great deal to me. I really didn’t want to lose this job.

I saw the portfolio shrinking and the company moving back into cost-cutting mode, so I panicked and started looking for new jobs. I found a new role, had a call with my boss where I handed in my notice, and signed the contract for the new role on the same day. However, during the call my boss told me we had re-signed a major client, which would extend our team’s lifespan by a few years. I see now that I should have heard him out before committing, but I felt pressured to follow through, and I didn’t want to let the new company or recruiter down.

The new role pays more, but it’s in a major city where the higher pay wouldn’t go far. The hiring manager promised coaching, hands-on training, and support, and that was the biggest draw for me. He said that he believed in me. It would potentially give me a fresh start.

After signing, I learned that the new company has a large one-time financial obligation that isn’t resolved, and depending on how it turns out, there could be layoffs. The manager said most of the work is automated, which made me wonder how much there would really be for me to do. He said there would be plenty, but the company seems focused on automating procedures and cutting costs wherever it can. They hired me because it would be an opportunity for the hiring manager to advance his career and take the next step in managing someone.

Over the weekend I kept thinking it over, and I went back to my current boss and asked to retract my resignation. He said he’d be happy to have me back, but that I need to be sure it’s the right decision.

Honestly, I’m struggling to make sense of all this. It’s been a rollercoaster, and I feel like I’ve let a lot of people down. I keep asking myself what would have happened if I’d joined the new company and it hit a financial wall, and I was laid off anyway. Would I have gone from one difficult situation to another?

My world of work is small, and reputation travels fast. Do I owe anyone anything, or can I swallow my pride and keep my peace of mind? Surely that’s the most valuable thing.

The key lesson for me is that no job lasts forever. A contract is an agreement for a set period, and “permanent” is only on paper. A company can restructure for seemingly no reason other than to boost its share price, and they do not care about you. HSBC Wealth Management made five and a half billion dollars and still cut half its roles. I’ve realised that companies don’t care about you, and the only leverage you may have is whether your boss likes you or whether you have a specific, irreplaceable niche. I have to learn to accept this difficult reality.

I plan to get in contact with the new workplace, including HR, the recruiter, and the new manager, to apologise and let them know I need to back out. I hope this will be forgotten within a few months, and that I can keep working and get on with my life. There must be plenty more companies out there and opportunities if I require them.

I know people who have done the same thing and went on to stay with the company for a few more years. I’ve also heard of someone who quit and returned a few months later because the new role wasn’t the right fit.