I was all alone on a Sunday night in the dark office lined with gray cubicles when I suddenly started to panic.
I can’t seriously be quitting my first job after less than three months. What is everyone going to think? What if I can’t find another job? What exactly am I going to tell my boss?
Despite all the worries running through my mind, I knew I had to do it. What I didn’t realize at the time, was that this was about to be one of the proudest moments of my adult life.
Yes, quitting was one of my proudest moments!
The next morning, my boss escorted me into his glass office and told me to have a seat. I was shaking. “I can’t work for someone who talks to Liz the way you do,” I told him. Rick would regularly stand over my co-worker Liz’s desk, yelling at her and belittling her for everyone to see and hear. The entire office was well aware, and nobody was doing anything about it.
“I know, I know. I’m working on it,” he responded. He seemed earnest, and in some ways, I’m surprised I didn’t feel more empathetic. But in that moment, my anxiety subsided, and a wave of certainty fell over me. “That’s just not good enough,” I said. “It’s abusive, and I won’t tolerate it.”
My certainty in that moment assured me I was doing the right thing, and it was prompted by three clear signs.