Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be
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You all know I've been wanting to leave my messed up job for some time now, been there 8+ years. It's been a roller coaster with management here.
Anyway, I finally had "the talk" about an exit strategy, and that's when the dung hit the wind generator if you follow.
The boss spent the whole night rummaging through my IT folder in our cloud drive, basically making a huge list and a stack of papers about what she "doesn't know" about my job and all the vendors we use, etc.
So she then comes up with a template of all the stuff she wants to know about every vendor made mention of in my files. Who are they, what do they do, is it a service or a plugin, how much is it, is it paid manually or automatically, on what card, do they need an SSL, when is it due, how much, users/passwords, support contact, etc etc etc.
Keep in mind, most all this is in my vendor information files already, she just didn't bother to read any of it. Instead she creates a new template in Word or Excel or something with lots of little fields to put all this info in.
She's asking for things like the physical mailing address of these vendors! lol, like I'm going to spend time finding out the physical address of some place where I bought some sound files once. Fax number, minimum order quantities, just weird stuff.Lots of lecturing about how she doesn't know what some vendor or another does, and IT people have "secret knowledge" that is complicated so laypersons can't understand it. She says all my notes "might make sense to an IT person, but it's not how my brain as a layperson understands it".
She wants me to write up a "function book" where I write thousands of little "how-to" articles for each "function" I perform as an IT person, but written for the layperson so they can do my job "if they had to". All the information about each vendor, plus all the functions I perform at those vendors, what it's used for, how to make changes, when to make changes, how to troubleshoot it, etc etc etc. Who has SSLs, how are they renewed, when, how...
To top it all off, she won't read stuff that's too long. If I send emails that are too long or detailed, she refuses to even read them and then chides me. But if I write stuff that's too short, she complains it's not written for the layperson.
If I write "right-click the start menu and choose manage" she complains it's too short and written for IT people. What is right-click? Where is the start menu? Is this Windows 10 or 7? Do I right-click the manage link too? ugh
So I write longer, for the layperson, and she complains I write too much and doesn't read it.Anyway, I'm kind of ranting here, but that's not the point.
The point is, I have a folder in the cloud where I have documents for dang near every vendor that plays even a small role in operations. This document has payment information, user info, support contact info, descriptions, even troubleshooting advice. My password database has access to everything. My computer has loads of other stuff handy for the next IT person, like my scripts, private keys, tons of source files for everything I've ever created.
But instead it sounds like she wants me to rewrite everything I've ever written, only in the format she likes, in the way she likes, along with a "layperson" user manual for every vendor and service along with how-to procedures for every bit of work that could be performed with those services.
Frankly, this is just ridiculous to me. I'll be here for the next 6 months just writing stuff over and over that I've already written, while getting chided because IT stuff is too hard for laypersons.
This just isn't right. They don't even want to replace me, they think I can just write enough user manuals and procedure/how-to docs and vendor information docs so that everybody else here (no technical people at all) can just do my job by following procedure checklists. Managing emails and forwards, troubleshooting internet problems, adjusting router settings and testing it, managing backups and cloud drives and archives.
I've told them, just hire somebody so I can train them for a few weeks, but they don't want to, they don't think they can find anybody as cheap as me! Instead they are looking for IT service companies to remotely manage everything + be on call for those emergencies when they happen. But everything else in house should be able to be handled by my expert layperson procedure guides.
On top of all this writing I'm supposed to do, they want me training at lease 2, maybe 3 people here on taking over support and management of various services and websites I run. Like handing over management of our dedicated server to a person whose never seen an SSH shell before. But it's ok you see, because I'll write up a layperson guide.
What is the right protocol here? I feel like I've already written everything of any value that an IT replacement could use. They are trying to force me to stay until all documentation is written just the way they like. Because if I left, if would put their company in a seriously vulnerable state because they "don't know anything about my job and what needs done" or how to troubleshoot and fix stuff if there is a problem.
Since I've already written stuff, it feels very stupid to RE-write everything just to change its format and looks. Like moving a pile of rocks from here to there, then rolling a ball up a hill and letting it roll back, just to roll it up again. This is busy work!
How much responsibility do I have to rewrite documentation just to change its format to please everybody? And keep in mind they never had any kind of official document store or official documentation guidelines. I just write docs as they make sense to me. Server information and the sites hosted by that server are in a spreadsheet. The financial summary of all the vendors we pay for, is in an Airtable DB as well as vendor Word files. General concepts like our overall backup strategy is contained in its own Word file along with any problems, and future changes I want to make. I separate a dedicated document for a disaster plan with overview of troubleshooting advice and who to call bout various things. I have document with instructions on how to do every scheduled task I have in my calendar. I have how-to procedures for each of those scheduled tasks.
I have user manuals saved, research docs, network diagram.
I have a MySQL database on my local computer where I've recorded all our hardware information, assets, computer specs, purchase and warranty info, model numbers, etc.I have some docs in a self-hosted documentation tool called BookStack. I like it, but it seems she doesn't want to use a service, she wants everything in Word and Excel files in the cloud folder. So Airtable is no good, BootStack, MySQL, nope.
I have accounting information all laid out nice in an Airtable database which I link to from a doc in our cloud folder. She was confused by seeing a link and didn't even click it.
I really don't want to be stuck here for 6 months training laypeople to do IT work, writing endless user manuals for service providers, and changing formats of everything I've written for the last 8 years to make it conform to style choices.
What should really be expected of the IT person when they leave? I've heard everything from "hand over the passwords and walk" to "as a cornerstone employee it's your duty to not leave the company vulnerable at all." In some corporate high-level jobs, an exit strategy for important positions can take a year or two.
And believe me, there is no benefits while leaving. My vacation and sick pay is already cut off, my cell phone stipend is cut off, there is no severance. Heck we didn't even get a holiday bonus this year. So I'm being practically demanded to stay to do all this, while every benefit is already cut off simply because I've had "the talk" about wanting to leave. We don't even have an official last day.
This whole thing is driving me nuts right now. I consider them friends and I'm happy to have worked here 8 years so I don't want our relationship to blow up at the last second and lose any kind of reference I might have here. I'm sure they are in a bit of a panic, but what they are asking is months of work and to somehow distill 25 years of IT and web dev experience into one little "functions" black book that any layperson can follow to do my job. And there is no explaining to them otherwise.
On top of that, since they don't believe they can find a replacement who does everything I do for a reasonable price, they instead tell me I have to find my own replacement and to "use my circles" to track down a technical person.
I know a lot of responses here might be "just leave", but these things are easier said than done. I don't want their business to suffer, nor our relationship, nor my reference with them.
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None of this is your problem. State clearly that you are not a trainer and all handover documentation is complete. Tell them that they have until you leave to bring in a qualified IT pro and if they have questions that aren't covered, you will hand hold them within reason until you leave, but that's it. Training others is not part of your job description, you weren't hired to be a professor. Make a point of stating "this is outside my job description and skill set" and also point out that "deciding to be offensive and claim that what IT does isn't hard doesn't make sense when they also claim that the simplest things are beyond them.. they can't have it both ways."
Plain and simple... not your problem, at all. And there is literally nothing that they can do to make it your problem. These are terrible people, just enjoy knowing the disaster that they will face.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
I really don't want to be stuck here for 6 months training laypeople to do IT work, writing endless user manuals for service providers, and changing formats of everything I've written for the last 8 years to make it conform to style choices.
So just... don't. What can they do? Clearly they can't fire you. Nor can they make you stay. They have nothing. You have documented everything, they have that documentation. You hold ALL the cards here.
They can maybe force you to do a little training, just make it reasonably difficult and give them things that they are required to know ahead of time (list the Network+ type stuff) and refuse to go on if they don't properly participate. They will all give up and stop guaranteed.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
How much responsibility do I have to rewrite documentation just to change its format to please everybody?
Zero, none, nada. You can walk out the door today, no strings attached.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
Instead they are looking for IT service companies to remotely manage everything + be on call for those emergencies when they happen. But everything else in house should be able to be handled by my expert layperson procedure guides.
That's the logical thing. An MSP should always be cheaper if hired well. Of course, if you are way underpaid and could not possibly be replaced, maybe they can't do it cheaper than you, but certainly it should be cheaper than replacing you with another body in the seat.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
They are trying to force me to stay until all documentation is written just the way they like. Because if I left, if would put their company in a seriously vulnerable state because they "don't know anything about my job and what needs done" or how to troubleshoot and fix stuff if there is a problem.
This is neither here nor there. They can't make you stay, they can't do anything about it. This is not up to them in any way. What if you were hit by a bus? Clearly they don't care about the survivability of the company if you get sick or injured. So that they claim that they need this before you leave is not just not your problem, but provably untrue.
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It sounds like you have documented all the things, so wash your hands of it and walk away. If they refuse to give you a replacement to train, that's on them. If whatever manager can't or won't read your documentation, then they suck at their job and are most likely a grade A pile of shit. You shouldn't feel the slightest bit bad about leaving.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
What should really be expected of the IT person when they leave?
Nothing. Literally. IT isn't exempt from normal laws, it's not a unique job. Anything they need before you leave, they needed before you left. If things are okay today, you can quit. If they aren't okay today, they should be taking you to court over whatever bad thing is going on.
All of this handover stuff is your boss' responsibility from day one. If it hasn't mattered till now, it can't matter now.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
And believe me, there is no benefits while leaving. My vacation and sick pay is already cut off, my cell phone stipend is cut off, there is no severance. Heck we didn't even get a holiday bonus this year. So I'm being practically demanded to stay to do all this, while every benefit is already cut off simply because I've had "the talk" about wanting to leave. We don't even have an official last day.
Wait a min - you're still on the payroll as a normal employee, and they have stolen any sick/vacation time you have left?
I'd sue them. They didn't fire you, you have simply given notice. You're not out the door yet. I'm not sure what they've done is legal.
As for the stuff they want - walk into your bosses office and say - I will be happy to set aside doing any other work outside of creating these documents for the remainder of my two weeks notice, unless you want me to continue fixing things that are broken, then I'll work on this documentation while not fixing broken things, again, until the end of my notice. After that, we can have a contract rate of $100/hr to continue working on said documentation, pay expected weekly. Work accomplished by midnight on Wednesday is expected to be paid Friday by 10 AM, etc, etc...
You're leaving. Make sure they know that.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
I know a lot of responses here might be "just leave", but these things are easier said than done. I don't want their business to suffer, nor our relationship, nor my reference with them.
No, not really. They are equally easy because telling you to do it is literally as easy as you calling in and saying "Im' done, bye, don't ever call me again."
Literally, that easy. You don't want their business to suffer? Why not? You are describing how awful these people are, and you want them to stay in business? That's not right.
Why do you want a relationship with them at all? These are terrible people. You need them out of your life.
You don't want them as a reference. These aren't ethical people, you can't safely use them as a reference regardless. Walk away.
All of your reasons for staying are false ones, there is no reason to stay.
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The big issue here is you told them that you were leaving. BIG mistake. Two weeks notice, that's it. You set yourself up for "nothing good can come of this."
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@Dashrender said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
And believe me, there is no benefits while leaving. My vacation and sick pay is already cut off, my cell phone stipend is cut off, there is no severance. Heck we didn't even get a holiday bonus this year. So I'm being practically demanded to stay to do all this, while every benefit is already cut off simply because I've had "the talk" about wanting to leave. We don't even have an official last day.
Wait a min - you're still on the payroll as a normal employee, and they have stolen any sick/vacation time you have left?
Yeah, this is a crime. These people should be shut down. Staying at all, helping them at all, are very bad things to do.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
I consider them friends .....
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This makes no sense. This is not how friends act. Random strangers here on ML care far more about you than the people you've known eight years and are calling friends. You need to seriously evaluate this emotional reaction. This sounds more like Stockholm Syndrome. They abuse you, and you see it as friendship. They are trying to enslave you, and you feel bad for them.
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In no way do they see you as a friend, they see you in a polar opposite way. No one thinking you were anything even remotely like a friend, or even just a neutral person, would ever be okay treating you the way you describe. These are your enemies, not your friends.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
In some corporate high-level jobs, an exit strategy for important positions can take a year or two.
Those are executive jobs in key man positions with....
- Salaries that exempt them from employment laws (generally seven figures and higher.)
- Partial ownership in the company.
- A contract that states this at the time that they are hired.
If all three of those things are not true here, then you are stating something completely irrelevant. Has nothing to do with your situation.
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
What should really be expected of the IT person when they leave? I've heard everything from "hand over the passwords and walk" to "as a cornerstone employee it's your duty to not leave the company vulnerable at all."
Just walk is the ONLY answer. Anyone saying otherwise is out to scam you.
It is the job of your boss to ensure that you can walk at any time without seriously impacting the company. If your BOSS hasn't done that, ALL responsibility for problems is on them, not you (unless you intentionally did something secret to screw them, which is not the case here.)
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@guyinpv said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
'm sure they are in a bit of a panic
A panic that they and they alone created, that they could eliminate at any moment if they wanted to, that they are falsely trying to make you feel to manipulate you because they are scum that couldn't care less about you but feel that they could trick you easily and will try to do so.
It's only a panic to the point of "they could just hire a replacement person and/or an MSP and problem solved, no panic."
It's like standing in the kitchen panicking about starving to death, but could just reach out and eat the available food anytime that they wanted. So many IT pros and MSPs looking for work or customers, this panic is just an attempt to get free label at your expense. It's a manufactured panic to pressure you and nothing more.
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Wow. This is not your problem at all. Sounds like you have already documented. If they don't want to put a transition plan in place, that is out of your hands. You always have the right to quit, giving notice is great and socially accepted and probably best to do, but even that is purely voluntary. And that's really only for leaving when it is something like retirement or taking a new job. If you had a family emergency or whatever, you don't even have any expectation (or potential) for that.
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@scottalanmiller said in Finally leaving my job, and it's just as annoying as I thought it would be:
Two weeks notice, that's it.
(emphasis mine).
After reading through the thread, that is the answer.
If you are going to take the high road and stick it out a little longer, then pay attention to your pay check. If it stops coming, you stop working and contact a lawyer or whoever you need to contact to get the rest of your pay.
Set an end date... Today (edit: You are obviously prepared to leave now, so why prolong it?).
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And if they took away things like sick days or vacation, that just means that now 1) you owe them SO much less work since they are no longer paying you what you had negotiated and 2) you can take unlimited sick and vacation (unpaid) without notice due to how they negotiated your drop in pay.
Also, you have EVER right and reason to simply say you don't accept the new terms and are not returning. By lowering your salary without agreement, they violated the two weeks rule and you have ZERO obligation to return, at all. And they can't give you a bad reference for it, because you can sue them for liable BECAUSE you can simple "not agree to the new terms" and it isn't even you quitting, it's them firing you!
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@guyinpv I think you should stick on board for another 3 years while you help transition out of the role.
What other options do you really have?
