Tomorrow is my last day. It is definitely a sad but happy time. I’m glad to move on to a new job and learn new things, meet new people and have a new adventure. I’m not glad to be leaving my friends at my current job. I’m also sort of sad that I didn’t get to finish off two projects that I think are really important. I’m trying to let that go….
This week has been very interesting for me. I’ve been letting people know I’m leaving. It’s been amazing to hear from some people. I got several very general congratulatory emails. Then I get emails like from the one regional person I’ve worked with a lot. She emailed me today with a sweet and complimentary note. It almost made me regret my decision. I also spoke with another regional person who was very upset I was leaving. He also was quite complimentary about the work I’ve done. It was great to hear that the work I’ve put in and the ideas I’ve put forward have been noticed and appreciated.
I have my exit interview tomorrow. I’m half hoping I don’t get asked two questions – why I’m leaving and what they could have done to keep me. I know the answers – the question becomes do I want to share the answers. Being a very blunt and straight forward person I will in all likelihood share the answers but I am trying to think of a tactful way of doing it.
Why I’m leaving is 85% health (handicapped unfriendly environment compared with handicapped friendly environment), 10% need for something new, 5% lack of say in what is produced. This is the hardest part for me. I like the people I work with but some of them can be a bit disparaging. When I put forth an idea or even produce something, it would be severely criticized. That has increased a lot in the last few months. This makes it very difficult to have a positive attitude towards work.
What could they have done to keep me – well once I got to a point where I could see a better place for me, not a lot. Had they helped more with the handicap issue, offered me more money, given me a bit more control in output on certain projects – I might have thought less about leaving and more about staying… though I can’t say for certain that I would have …
Tomorrow will be emotional I’m sure… but then I will have the weekend to rest, relax and shift pace… before I start my new job….