Leave Your Job on Good Terms and Save Yourself Regret
A recent report by the US Department of Labor indicated that the retirement rate for recent college graduates has been decreasing, and that only 56% of them are actually saving for their retirement. This is in stark contrast to workers with 20 or more years of experience who have a retirement plan over 57%. However, this doesn’t mean you should rush out there to resign from your job and leave everything behind!
Instead, if you’re considering leaving your job on good terms before you get your feet wet in the workforce it is important to remember not just what this could be like later on but what type of life impact it could have. This article outlines some common ways that leaving now could get you into more trouble later on.
It Makes a Great Story.
Everyone loves a great story, and the story of how you left your job for an “opportunity” is a great one to tell. But this is also why it is so easy to get caught up in the nostalgia of your previous life and regret your decision. The more you tell your story, the more you’ll want to make sure it looks good to everyone else. You may want to keep some of the details private for your family and close friends, but this will cause you stress over how you’re going to handle the media.
You may encounter people who look at your story and go, “How could he do that?” It’s easier to believe you were a good employee if the only things they ever hear about you are positive. You might think that people will be more sympathetic if you tell them about certain mistakes that you made. However, the people who are going to judge you the most are those who only hear your story once, and they may use it to build their own personal essay or speech. If that sounds like the kind of pressure you don’t want to be under, maybe it’s better to stay at your job and just save up a little longer.
It Will Take You Longer to Save Up Enough Money.
Even if you have an incredibly high paying job with an amazing retirement plan, why would you leave now? Yes, it will be difficult to justify staying at this job unless you can come up with at least one solid reason by thinking about what is going on around you. Maybe you don’t need the money that much after all. Maybe you’ll be able to make a more substantial amount of money by starting your own business.
However, your savings will grow slower than if you were to leave later on. In the first few years, it may be difficult to face having to pay the bills or buy food on irregular-sized checks due to your decreased income, so your bank account can feel like a scary pit of almost non-existent funds. However, this will also have an effect on everyone else as well. The more people who do this, the fewer opportunities there will be for those who are staying in school or are just starting their jobs.
This is an example of how trickle-down economics doesn’t work. By allowing people to leave their jobs early, you allow them to become part of the top tier of earners and eventually take away from the income of everyone else. This whole process can be able to be broken by forcing people to stay at their job longer, which in turn forces them to save more money faster.
It Helps You Feel Better About Yourself.
The reality is that you were given a job for a reason: because someone else thought that you were good enough for it. However, you’re going to feel like the most confident version of yourself again once you start making more money and leaving your previous employer. This can be a scary experience if you don’t have a lot of savings, but it could actually make things worse for those who are staying in their jobs.
The people who are staying at their jobs today may be suffering from an empty feeling, because they can see how wonderful the other side of being an employee is. The problem is that it is taking people years to save enough money to enjoy this lifestyle, but it is only going to get harder for them if more and more people leave their jobs early.
It Doesn’t Help You Be a Better Employee.
Your boss is always willing to help you out in any way that he can, simply because you are one of his or her employees. However, what happens if you leave a company before they want you to? You’ll feel good at first because you were able to make the right decision. However, it won’t be long before any help that your boss was offering will stop altogether.
You may reach out to people who work there and tell them how much of an idiot their boss is, and that they should leave as well. This could lead to a mass exodus of employees who are suddenly happy with their situation and ready to enjoy life outside the office building. This is one of the reasons why bosses are always asking their employees to work harder, because they know that otherwise more people will get fed up and leave before it’s time.
You Don’t Have to Do It.
The reality is that you don’t have to leave so early. This is not a rule that is set in stone or something that everyone has to follow. You can go with your gut instinct, stay at your job, and save up the money that you need. Your boss won’t think any less of you, and your paychecks will be just as large as everyone else’s.
All of the benefits of leaving early can be enjoyed by those who are willing to wait. Staying at your job can give you a wonderful life. Your finances will grow faster, and you’ll get more opportunities to learn how to manage your money on your own. You will be able to think of yourself as a smart and capable person who is able to take care of themselves while still appreciating the world they live in.
Staying at your job may be something that you need to do for your own sanity, but it can also be the right decision when you think about what it will do to those who are staying in their jobs. Is seeing the world through the eyes of someone who is leaving early something that you want to experience or is it better to stay here and appreciate all of the good things that come with being a part of a company?
by Amber Scheuert-McNamara – founder of TheLadders.com, an online career site for recent college graduates and young professionals.
Conclusion
What do you think? Which side do you agree with? It is definitely a hard decision for all of us. Personally, I have left my full-time job but it took me 3 years to save up the money to put towards my investment properties and starting my own small business. I went from a salary of $50,000 to $25/hour in less than 18 months. I never wasted time at my job anymore and was able to give more attention to my work from home business.