I have read through similar questions about not burning bridges, but most of them reference a scenario where the applicant wants to: "Retract acceptance" or "reject offer". My question deals with actual parting of ways after beginning work.
So, in the form of an example:
Person X and Person Y recently met through a mutual colleague.
X and Y got along really well and decided to attempt working together. Y has been working freelance and is seeking to expand his business by bringing X into the picture.
X received a decent offer from Y and they decided that they will "give it a try". The structure is in the form of contractual work.
After spending a little time on the actual work (work-place training mostly), X has realized that he isn't enjoying the work at all and that it deviates from his preferred "stack" (a "stack" is a term used in programming to define the "set of tools" a programmer uses), as well as preferred "work".
X is also concerned that Y may have higher expectations than can be reasonably assumed (this being Ys first hire, Y may be unaware of how long it takes to up-skill an employee).
Lastly, X is worried that he may get "locked in" to this type of work for a long duration, as Y has been doing it for quite a few years, although Y has mentioned that they may branch out into other (interesting) projects.
Based on the example:
- How can X strategically decline/leave working with Y without offending Y to a point where they can no longer participate in any future mutual opportunities?
Points to keep in mind are:
- This is Ys first hire
- Y may not be used to workplace rejection
- X and Y share mutual interests in certain fields
- X and Y have what one would call a "professional friendship"
- The issue concerning "not enjoying the work" is besides the point, as the actual question is about parting ways amicably