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A similar question to this one, but obviously with different personal circumstances, I'd be grateful of people's ideas on this:

The basic situation

I've worked for around a year for an employer developing software for them, and recently the workload has at least tripled, with promises to hire extra people going unmet. In the last few weeks, it's become a very blame-cultured environment, with the pressure from management to deliver the product we had scheduled for 6 months time in the next 2 weeks.

If I were to write a completely honest resignation, it would be along these lines:

Dear [CEO's Name],

I am writing to give you notice of my resignation from my post as [job title]. Since we recently received new deadlines, the work environment has been highly pressured, at a level that I don't consider maintainable.

During the past few months, you've acknowledged several times our desperate need for more staff, but have taken no action to recruit these staff, leaving us overworked and underpaid for our efforts.

As the newest addition to the team, in these high pressure times, I've been made out to be less competent than I am by my line manager, who admitted to me that his only option was to put blame on me, rather than take it himself.

After a few weeks ago, it was suggested that we faced the possibility of termination if our new, unrealistic, deadlines were not met, I started looking for new work, and I have now formally been offered a job with a larger, more established company, as part of a team, rather than in a department of one.

I wish you the best of luck in the future, and will work hard to make the transition ahead as smooth as possible.

Regards etc.

So, as the main question, how much of the above honesty should get through?

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Owen C. Jones
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    stay away from any bitter remarks, in general. I would not say things like "but have taken no action to recruit these staff, leaving us overworked and underpaid" , seems like friction – Caffeinated May 11 '15 at 22:13
  • Oh , I didn't realize it was a pseudo-letter :P – Caffeinated May 11 '15 at 22:14
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    I think your message mostly looks professional, concise. The paragraph about your line manager may be seen as a parting shot and it seems a little inflammatory. I would probably remove it. Don't burn a bridge unless you really don't ever want to work there again. – Jane S May 11 '15 at 22:15
  • Yeah, to be clear, the above is what I would write if I could just vent my spleen. My aim is to just resign, but I feel that I should maybe give at least some constructive criticism?

    @JaneS It would be fair to say that I don't ever want to work there again, it's been hellish! ;)

     – Owen C. Jones May 11 '15 at 22:17
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    Nonetheless, venting your spleen tends to get around the market. I have seen some horror stories. Just state your issues in a non-combative way, don't focus on "you didn't" or "my manager blamed". State the what, not the who if you must. Really, just leave and don't worry about it any more as it's no longer your problem :) – Jane S May 11 '15 at 22:19
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    @Owen I understand exactly how you feel in that situation. When you see something that's broken, you want to fix it. You've got to keep in mind that it's not your job anymore to fix that company. Let it go. Now it's just one of a million dysfunctional teams that you're not on. – Rag May 12 '15 at 00:22
  • @BrianGordon That's a damn good point! – Owen C. Jones May 13 '15 at 10:33
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    Incidentally, I disagree strongly that this is a duplicate to the really pathetically short, non-detailed question people have marked it as a dupe of. I'm asking how far I should take honesty, and the other question is "Should I tell my boss I'm leaving because of them" - I'm not leaving because of my boss, but because the company progress is bad, and my line manager behaves oddly. – Owen C. Jones May 13 '15 at 10:35

3 Answers3

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In writing, I think you should amend your letter to:

Dear [CEO's Name],

I am writing to give you notice of my resignation from my post as [job title]. I have accepted another job.

I wish you the best of luck in the future, and will work hard to make the transition ahead as smooth as possible.

Regards etc.

The letter should also contain some indication of how much notice you're giving and what you think your last day will be. It's also traditional to say something nice; "I have learned a tremendous amount" is an excellent fallback when all you have learned is how not to do things.

The snipes at the line manager and the broken promises are gifts your company may not value as much as you expect them to. If you feel you absolutely cannot leave without sharing this information, save it for the exit interview or the conversation when you hand the letter over. Putting these complaints in writing cannot help anyone and I don't recommend it. Offering them unasked is also likely to result in them being ignored (making your effort pointless) or considered "sour grapes." If you are asked, in an exit interview or when you tell the CEO you're leaving, then perhaps you can offer them. But do so with caution and not in writing.

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Kate Gregory
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    I think this is a good plan. I don't really want to leave without making any criticism, because I'd like the CEO to be better aware of the things they may want to address (the existing team is very adept at keeping them in the dark) – Owen C. Jones May 11 '15 at 22:33
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    Owen , think twice of it. the CEO most likely won't take it in the way you expect – Caffeinated May 11 '15 at 22:44
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    Owen, the question you should ask yourself is: How can this criticism benefit you, and how can it cause damage to you? I can't see any benefit for you, but lots of possible damage. – gnasher729 May 11 '15 at 23:46
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    I would avoid saying another other than formalities at the HR exit interview as well. Just leaving that place with some class is the strongest message you can give-- anything else is noise. – teego1967 May 12 '15 at 01:10
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    If this was a larger company, I would say air your concerns to HR at your exit interview, but since this sounds rather small, there really isn't anything you can do by commenting. It will just come off as complaining. – Bill Leeper May 12 '15 at 02:51
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    I'd upvote this except for the last paragraph. In my experience, making criticisms in the exit interview isn't useful. Best just to move on. At the most, just say the workload has become unmanageable and leave it at that. – GreenMatt May 12 '15 at 18:35
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    @GreenMatt reworded a little – Kate Gregory May 12 '15 at 18:38
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    @GreenMatt, how about, instead of the OP stating that the work is too much to handle, instead state that they have found a much more attractive opportunity elsewhere, and leave it at that. Personally I would never cite my own lack of capability as the reason for leaving. – Michael M Oct 30 '15 at 18:59
  • @Michael.M: While I get what you're saying, the situation the O.P. described isn't one in which he lacks capability, but one in which the workload, stress, and blaming has increased to intolerable levels. Since he was seeking a way to be honest, I was suggesting a way to be honest about the parts that would not involve (direct) finger pointing, since that could backfire (with poor references, for example). – GreenMatt Oct 30 '15 at 19:50
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    @GreenMatt, I understand what you and the OP are saying. I'm just suggesting not citing any negatives at all. In my experience, focusing on the positives of the job I am going to is always better than even mentioning negatives I want to escape from, on many levels. e.g.1: Ppl already know why it sucks where the OP is. Maybe he wants 1 or 2 coworkers to join him? I have found that by explaining what awesome opportunities await me, others have wanted to follow and I was in-line to give a recommendation. e.g. 2: After I left, ppl never blamed me for being someone who focused on negatives. – Michael M Oct 30 '15 at 20:27
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    @Michael.M: If that is the advice you want to provide to the O.P., then please submit it as an answer. Otherwise, you're making a mountain out of a semantic molehill here. Furthermore, this isn't really the place for such a discussion (chat is, but don't bother, because I'm not interested). – GreenMatt Oct 30 '15 at 20:47
  • You're more generous than I am. If company was screwing me over that badly, I'd want to just leave and let them fail on their own. I'm not telling them anything I've already told them while I was still working there, so why should they listen to me if I'm on my way out the door?? It's a waste of breath. Resignation letters should be "Dear Boss, I quit, effective . Sincerely, me." – J.D. Walker Mar 30 '18 at 14:43
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If you have been in an unprofessional environment, the best way to handle it is to be the professional one. I would NOT vent my spleen, simply state in general terms why you feel the need to leave, do a clean handover and leave at the end of your notice period.

Making things personal using such phrases as "you did" or "my manager blamed" serves no purpose and can be perceived as taking parting shots. You may have decided you don't want to work for this company any more, but you don't know what the future will hold, some of the people who work there may be at places you apply to in future. Just state your resignation, and get on with your new job :)

Jane S
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There's no need to ever write anything inflammatory in professional communication. Or, for that matter, to say anything inflammatory. Whenever I'm on the verge of an emotional response, I ask myself the key question "what will responding in this way bring me?" And the answer is always "zilch." You've already done the best possible thing in your situation, which is to find a new job.

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