Quitting my stressful job but I am in the quarter of a project and still bond in a contract

Question

I'm currently engaged on a contract with another year remaining - the project is very stressful however (with a demanding client, a boss with high expectations and a team that seems to be disengaged and lacking in urgency despite the deadlines) so I'm looking to quit as I can't take the stress any more.

What would be the best way to quit as soon as possible with out ruining my reputation with my boss and the company?

What are the repercussions on my career of quitting a contract job before it expires? — Bernhard Barker, Dec 01 '17 at 11:36
This does not seem to be a question. Can you explain what specific problem you want us to address? — Erik, Dec 01 '17 at 11:44
I've edited your question to try and clarify what you are asking and bring this on topic for the Workplace, hopefully I've preserved your intent but if not feel free to revert the edit or do one of your own. — motosubatsu, Dec 01 '17 at 11:51
@Dukeling This is a duplicate, but not of that question. The user wants to know the best way to quit, not what the ramifications could be — Draken, Dec 01 '17 at 11:52
Possible duplicate of How do I resign without burning bridges when I'm a critical staff member? — Draken, Dec 01 '17 at 11:58
@Dukeling Amazing how you can find these so quick, my search skills are terrible on these sites! — Draken, Dec 01 '17 at 11:59
It depends on the term specified in the contract. You may need to take legal opinion in this case. It also depends on the labour rules in your country. — Sangam Belose, Dec 01 '17 at 12:21
Stress usually comes from within. From your posting, i gather, you are in the project manager position. I would suggest using time management tools to follow, update and review the entire project. Having all this at your disposal, you can evaluate resources and report to your superiors any issue and proposed solutions. Timeline will follow naturally — Strader, Dec 01 '17 at 18:25

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 01 '17 at 11:58

It's going to be very difficult to extract yourself from this contract without at least some impact on your reputation with this boss/company as it's almost inevitably going to impact upon delivery/meeting deadlines.

I would suggest at least giving your boss a chance to resolve the issues (even if you don't really believe it is possible).

The best approach would be to have a 1-1 meeting with your manager as soon as you can and just be honest - explain the issues you're facing and that you don't feel that you can continue in this way. Your boss might be able to take some actions or have some suggestions that will make the situation tolerable for you and if they do I'd suggest at least giving them a shot - it may work and if it doesn't then at least you've shown a willingness to try which should count for a lot. And if they don't work out (or if they don't even try to change it themselves) then you can explain that you are sorry but that it's just not working out and you can discuss an exit plan that would be inline with your contractual obligations (I'm assuming there must be some kind of break clause) and would minimize impact on the project and company.

Quitting my stressful job but I am in the quarter of a project and still bond in a contract

1 Answers1