“Take This Job and Shove It” the song immortalized by Johnny Paycheck is the anthem so many people fantasize about singing to the boss they despise and the co-workers they tolerate. But the economy being what it is, and with many of us hanging on by a financial thread, few people can afford to make this kind of grandstand play.
That is until you find a better job.
At that point, after being massively unhappy for years, accumulating years of bitterness, and swallowed anger, you can have your revenge. You will no doubt revisit all the slights: the nepotism causing you to be passed over for promotions (which still makes you angry even though you really didn’t want those jobs), the blatant disregard of your suggestions, the unreasonable demands for overtime without pay coming with the strong inference that your continued employment was dependent on your compliance.
If you’ve long harbored the wish to belt out the title of Mr. Paycheck’s song, and you’re fine with ignoring the traditional advice of “don’t burn your bridges”, this is how you extract your pound of flesh:
1)Tell everyone who will listen how much more you’re making, how much better your new office is, and how much better your new company is. Express your incredulity about why those things couldn’t happen here. This should increase the worker’s resentment of the current leadership.
2) Give your employer one week’s notice, telling them that it’s a condition of your employment. You may have told your new employer that you need to give two weeks, but they’ll never know, and this gives you some R & R time.
3) Show up late and leave early in the time you have left. What are they going to do, fire you?
4) Refuse to train anyone on what you’ve been doing. Just say you’re too busy cleaning up your files.
5) Don’t clean up your files.
6) You probably have email correspondence with many people outside your company. Don’t bother letting them know that you’re leaving. They’ll find out-eventually.
7) Make sure you have an exit interview. Then take that opportunity to tell your current boss everything they’ve been doing wrong since you’ve been there.
8) It may be pro forma in your company to have a celebratory sendoff which usually includes a cake. As soon as it’s presented to you in the break room, say “thank you”, put it back in the box it came from, and take it back to your office uncut and unserved.
Undoubtedly you will be progressively disliked from the time you make your leaving announcement until you gather your belongings and leave.
But your absence will be a welcome relief.
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Read I WILL NOT BE IGNORED from Ed Friedman. Available in paperback and kindle on Amazon .
