I'm Getting Better... At Quitting.

At the end of September, after posting about my excitement for a job interview I had, I announced that I'd just joined a new company doing what I called "my dream job". But last Thursday, I announced I was leaving that dream job.

It's been a little over a week now since I walked in and walked back out with my office supplies and personal items, and I've had some time to process the details of my brief, whirlwind adventure as the marketing director for an Albuquerque-based garden nursery. In a stark departure from the usual emotions, much of my aforementioned processing began with an attitude of pride, self-respect and optimism rather than the exhaustion, sadness, frustration, fear and grief that has accompanied so many previous separations.

While I quit suddenly and without notice after just four weeks, I had and continue to have zero regrets about quickly walking away from a situation that many negative work experiences have taught me to recognize early on. I've also re-examined my reasons for quitting and have critically played devil's advocate with myself; ten days later, I'm still thoroughly confident with my decision.

Which is why I'm writing this, now.

My goal isn't to target this company in any way nor do I wish to negatively reflect anyone who still works there -- we're all drowning, and most humans are just doing their best to make do with what they've got. But I did want to detail the reasons I left as well as write about what seems to be a widespread, infectious abandonment of employment law by employers as well as a refusal of employers and management to behave in appropriate, professional manners.

I'd also like to insert a note for the reader: until May of this year (2023), I owned and operated a successful bike shop here in Albuquerque that I brought back from the brink of failure in 2020; during peak summer months, we had 15+ staff members. That is to say that what's written here is an employer standard I not only insisted on meeting, but always exceeded, and that I'm personally aware of how low the bar really has fallen.

I quit this recent job for the same reasons I've left past positions and other employees often leave: I didn't feel valued, respected or even treated properly nor legally. That's not a difficult standard to meet, folks. Giving a damn about employees and their work product leaves a positive impact, just as the opposite will leave a negative mark. Not treating employees poorly and disrespectfully is the most basic of standards. It's the baseline.

And as I've been a writer and online contributor for a very long time, I know that this is likely the juncture that some people might begin questioning what I brought to the position of Marketing Director or questioning my version of events. But when I explain that I began reworking this company's SEO on my first day at work while touring around the website and our social media channels, it should communicate a few things: 1, I'm not new at any of this; 2, previous 'marketing directors' may have definitely been and 3: I had a lot of work cut out for me.

A lot.

But we need to rewind a bit first. When I started work that first day, I was still under the impression that I was not, in fact, the marketing director. I was hired under the premise that I would be joining a marketing team; after all, that's what the job advertisement, posting and interview process had specifically and repeatedly stated. It's also why I had offered up a low hourly wage during the application process and confirmed that wage with the general manager during my interview -- I genuinely believed that I would only be a marketing team member until about 2pm on my first day, shortly after I discovered that I was being paid $2 less per hour than a much less experienced counterpart. I was suddenly thrust into the role of Marketing Director for $18 an hour, despite a very clear absence of consent to meet the requirements that role would demand for the low price of $18/hour. As a bonus, I found out that I would also be doing it all alone. No team, no secondary members or assistants, just as one person. For $18 an hour.

So that was my first day, in a nutshell. I found out that not only was I now responsible for every aspect of the very wide-ranging job title (you can view the job description and duties required in my Linkedin profile), but that I would be earning less and doing a better job than my young predecessor, who had been hired on as a graphic designer right out of school just six months earlier under similar dishonesty, then unofficially 'transitioned' into the job... And who was leaving because of other nonsense from and by management.

My frustration with that series of events was only compounded by knowing multiple people who've been treated the same way at other companies in the last two years and watching as it becomes a trend for companies to bait-and-switch people at hiring.

This where I'm going to step back and say that if you're an employer or in HR who has or is considering hiring people under false pretenses and you're imagining that these people will tolerate being bait-switched, I hope that this essay causes you to rethink your approach... because I'm writing this essay about Osuna Nursery only after I already took a pretty hefty swing at them during my departure in an email that was sent to every single subscriber on their 4000+ email distro list. I also wasn't subdued in the manner that I quit, and gave coworkers the full run down of why I was leaving both the morning of and in the aftermath. Don't piss good people off by disrespecting them or insulting their intelligence and trying to be sneaky while hiring. Not only does it demolish any trust that a new employee has at the outset of their employment, it also serves to create a culture of fresh animosity for an organization, making a recipe for true disaster when mixed with any existing discord that current employees might have -- companies are insane to think that people don't talk to each other. We do, and we're doing it more than ever before. So just don't.

Secondly, knowingly underpaying a person who has just closed their own business despite its financial success and the immense amount of work they put into rebuilding it and investing in their community is remarkably stupid. You have just given the best, most driven employee you could've ever found a reason to walk away.

There are so many aspects of my professional history that boggle my mind, but the continuing thread of employer mistreatment is one that's both rotten and of questionable logic: why would you mistreat the very people that you're trusting your business to and with??

This is a behavior that still confuses me in light of the employment situation in 2023 and, in particular, after COVID-19 and the subsequent impact to global hiring.

This misadventure was entirely preventable, you see... because I did take my concerns to the general manager. I confronted him about the discrepancy in hourly rates, the dishonesty at hiring and even wages that were illegally taken out of my paychecks for lunches that weren't.

All I received for my efforts was continued placation paired with hours of circular conversation and blame-misplacement that delayed deadlines and frustrated me beyond belief, particularly when that general manager seemed more concerned with reading my emails than he was with my job performance or the import and efficacy of my daily efforts. It also required multiple conversations in addition to an email to get an agreement from the general manager to have my paycheck be corrected, and I had to invoke the Fair Labor Standards Act just to get there. 'There' being the minimum of receiving a paycheck that accurately reflected my timecards and the already-underpaid work I had done. It was exhausting. It was also incredibly uncomfortable and completely unnecessary. It also made it painfully evident that neither my time nor my intelligence were respected (nor would they ever be). It was the final reason I decided to leave.

Employees should not be forced to explain employment law to employers.

That's a burden employees should not have to carry, nor should people go to their jobs worried about which federally-mandated employment right will be violated next by their employer. Trust is a basic, crucial aspect of employment. Without trust, any relationship between employers and employees will be detrimental to organizational performance; damaging or destroying trust is one of the most costly mistakes that ownership or management can make. Yet 'lack of trust in the workplace' is the number one suggestion on Google if you type the words 'lack of trust' into the search bar. "... in a relationship", "in management" and "in an organization" are the next three.

What does that tell you about the culture of modern workplaces? What does that say about how employers are responding to employee concerns?

There aren't enough words to convey the hostility I have towards companies who fail the people they rely on. It's not something I bother to disguise, nor was it a topic I ever tried to avoid in my own business. If you cannot, will not or even outright refuse to take care of the people who work for you, you should not have a business. It's really simple: take care of your people. Value their time, their experience, their passion, their humanity and their lives. Trust them. Listen to them. Learn from them. Encourage and reward them. Take care of them. It may seem like a daunting task, but it's the most important part of owning and operating a business, and if you fail to take care of your people, you should fail.

If you're an employee who shows up and throws down every day, thank you. I hope your boss appreciates you. I sincerely hope that you're being paid well, that the benefits are fantastic and that your work/life balance is ideal. You've earned it and you deserve it. You make your company better and you make the people around you better, and your company is lucky to have you. I hope they continue taking care of you.

If you're one of these companies or a boss trying to make your organization into one of these companies, thank you. You give me hope for a better working environment for everyone and you're probably kicking economic ass because of it... or you eventually will. Please keep doing it. Keep going -- you're setting the standard and raising the bar for other brands to follow suit, and it matters.

Also: call me.

I need a new job.