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I’ve realized that my current job isn’t a good fit due to a toxic work culture, high stress, inadequate compensation, and leadership issues.

I am 100% certain that I will be leaving; it’s just a matter of time. To clarify, I’m not in an at-will employment situation.

I’ve started looking for a new job and I am currently interviewing with other companies. Additionally, someone in my network has mentioned that he may be able to offer me a position at his company.

I’m considering informing my manager of my decision so that we can reassign some of my tasks. This could help reduce my stress, protect my mental health, and avoid complications if I start a project and then leave unexpectedly. It might also address some of the bullying, as my impending departure could reduce their leverage. I believe this approach would benefit both me and the company. Do you think this is a reasonable plan, or should I consider a different strategy?

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    Why would you consider doing this? Do you think it will change the toxic work environment? It won't and you will be forgotten quickly once you do leave. Such employers are a revolving door.
    – Pete B.
    Commented Aug 12 at 11:05
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    @PeteB. my understanding is the OP wants to possibly reduce their workload, and thinks their manager will collaborate with him. Asking to redistribute responsibilities will only benefit the worker, never business, and might ring alarm bells for the OP's manager. To user152970, carefully document the bullying, and any episodes of harassment and go to HR. I realize that for many this is not the thing to do, i.e. “HR is not your friend”, but at least there will be some kind of record of the work's environment.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Aug 13 at 11:20
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    @Mari-LouA You seem like a nice and reasonable person. Projecting that reasonableness on a toxic manager is not a wise choice IMHO. This person can reduce the workload by doing less as he is leaving anyway.
    – Pete B.
    Commented Aug 13 at 11:40
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    @PeteB. But the OP isn't leaving, not yet anyway. The OP would like to but they haven't found a new job. Working less might actually worsen the rapport at work and with coworkers, people notice when you stop pulling your weight. This isn't an easy situation and as such there is no easy solution.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Aug 13 at 11:47
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    Do you have a legally set notice period? If so stick to it.
    – WoJ
    Commented Aug 14 at 11:24

8 Answers 8

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Never do this, particularly in a company which you yourself describe as having a toxic work culture and leadership issues. You're just setting yourself up for having no job at all, whether or not you are formally in an at-will situation.

Yes, in an ideal world things would work the way you describe. But it isn't an ideal world and your employer sounds a long, long way from being an ideal employer so look after yourself.

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    This is always true, and especially in the current job market. Judging from OP's other post, I'm guessing they're in software engineering. It's brutal out there: I know good engineers who have taken months, or even a year, to get a new position. You don't have the new position until you have it, and "may be able to offer" won't pay the proverbial rent. I absolutely understand the mental health aspect, but now more than any time other than maybe the dotcom crash of 2000, you need to ask yourself how much the stress of this job compares with the stress of possibly being unemployed for a year.
    – yshavit
    Commented Aug 12 at 0:52
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    I wouldn't go as far as to say "never". It does depend on your personal relationship with the team and manager, the current job market and likely many other things. I have had a case before where I let my manager know I would be leaving... about 8months in advance. Had no issues at all - in fact I was even (temporarily, of course, on account of the planned departure) put in a team lead position despite them knowing. But I agree that typically you don't want to do this.
    – user622505
    Commented Aug 13 at 3:28
  • @yshavit It's always curious to see how different various economies are in this regard... Where I'm from any barely capable engineer can basically hand in their resignation and have a new job in hand before the time they eat dinner the same day.
    – fgysin
    Commented Aug 14 at 9:54
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Give notice when you have the new job fully lined up, with commitments to pay and start date. (You will negotiate start date to allow for giving your current employer appropriate notice.)

Spend the notice period transferring knowledge and skills to whoever will be taking over your responsibilities.

Then leave knowing that you have done the ethical/responsible thing and don't worry about it. It's the company's responsibility to make sure they can survive losing an employee.

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    It's also the company's responsibility to ensure your notice period is long enough for you to pass on all relevant skills, training, information, etc. as needed.  So they shouldn't need any advance warning — nor will they expect it.
    – gidds
    Commented Aug 12 at 0:37
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    @gidds: at my previous job, they gently rebuked me for not informing them in advance - they kind of actually expected it. But my experience was stronger than their expectations :)
    – virolino
    Commented Aug 12 at 6:12
  • This. If you give notice before having the new job lined up, and they fire you immediately instead, you are shooting yourself in the foot. If the same happens after you've secured the new position, well, they are shooting themselves in the foot.
    – crizzis
    Commented Aug 13 at 8:05
  • Don't forget to add in any remaining vacation. The vacation will assist with your buffering time between the new job and the old one.
    – Thomas Matthews
    Commented Aug 14 at 0:36
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    @keshlam And also your countries laws. In my country vacation can only be cashed out in absolute emergencies even if both parties agree. An absolute emergency would for example be if you have two people capable of operating a critical machine and both resign at the same time with tons of vacation to take.
    – Yanick Salzmann
    Commented Aug 14 at 7:56
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I fully agree with the other answers. I just want to share my own experience with this.

I've done this twice (communicate I planned on leaving before having a job lined up). Neither of those cases were positive for me. I do live in an area with strong employee protections, so they couldn't get rid of me before I was ready, but the relationship with my managers was not improved by doing this.

The first time, they were pretty understanding, but from that point on I got assigned all the tasks that nobody else wanted to do. That made my last few months there pretty miserable (more so than it already was).

The second time, my manager kept complaining to me that he didn't know when I was leaving and that he needed to know because of scheduling issues. Again, this made my last few months there not great. I'd say that it negatively impacted my relationship with that manager, who I was on good terms with before this.

There is just no benefit to you to mention it before handing in your notice. The best case scenario is that nothing changes. I totally understand where you're coming from though. Personally, I wanted to ensure a smooth transition for my coworkers, but if there's no benefit to you personally, just don't do it.

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  • As you note, in the second case it didn't smooth anything for your manager, because it just put everything into purgatory. Presumably it robbed him of an excuse that your departure was sudden and unexpected, if he went ahead scheduled things that relied on you, and you then gave the final notice.
    – Steve
    Commented Aug 13 at 18:03
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You wait till you have a fully signed alternate job and then you give 2 weeks notice (or whatever your contract says, for all the pedants out there).

Anything else is unprofessional and dangerous for you. Don’t give in to the temptation to be spiteful.

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    I would not say unprofessional (in the good company culture, it would be kind of gentleman-y), but it is definitely dangerous.
    – virolino
    Commented Aug 12 at 6:13
  • Professional is doing the expected norm. You are talking about being “extra nice” which sadly often causes problems in a normative environment. Like waving someone to go at an intersection when it’s not their turn by the rules of the road - you risk complications. Do the normal thing, that’s professional.
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Aug 16 at 20:22
  • "the expected norm" - you have to be very careful, because there are several "expected norms". There are the norms in which companies (almost) never communicate the real information (e.g., why a candidate is not accepted, proper feedback during the year etc.), and there are the norms where the companies expect the employee to give absolutely all information they have, so the company can protect themselves and turn the information against the employee. As long as it is not a lie, employees should keep information confidential to the best of their abilities - just like the company.
    – virolino
    Commented Aug 19 at 6:25
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Assume your manager has only their own interests at heart. If you tell them you're thinking of leaving they will immediately start the process to replace you.

I have been in a similar situation and I've told my manager I was thinking of leaving. They gave me a speech to try and convince me to stay but, by the next morning, everyone in the company had been told that "noThanks was quitting".

It's much easier to just wait until you have another job lined up before letting anyone know you're planning to leave, even unofficially. It sucks to walk away from projects you just started but it's part of the game and managers/employers know it.

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I’ve realized that my current job isn’t a good fit due to a toxic work culture, high stress, inadequate compensation, and leadership issues.

You have no, even moral, obligations to inform your employer before your decision beyond terms written in your contract. Period.

So check the period between you informing your employer (direct superior, HR) and actual end of the contract.

Account for that when negotiating new position. After getting all set inform your current employer that you are leaving within [period set in contract].

Really, all your obligations are written in the contract. Nothing less, nothing more.

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In your circumstances, I would strongly recommend against it.

I have told my immediate manager of my intent to resign once. He was a personal friend and colleague for many years, and it was a high pressure, but not toxic, environment. It was a risk, but it meant we could work out an exit schedule that worked better for both myself and the team. So I don't agree with the respondents that say it is never right, let alone never moral.

In your case, you specifically cite a toxic work environment, mental health stressors and management bullying. You should stick strictly to the contracted relationship and not give them any further leverage to exploit against you. You have little reason to trust this management team, and many reasons not to.

Confucius, that expert in bureaucratic violence, has good advice for working under toxic management.

"The Master said, 'When the Way prevails in the state, speak and act with perilous high-mindedness; when the Way does not prevail, act with perilous high-mindedness but speak with self-effacing diffidence.'" -- (Analects 14:3, Lau translation.).

The Way does not prevail in your management team. Keep quiet, define your own limits of what is reasonable, take notes on anything truly egregious or illegal, and look for a new job. When you have the new job in hand, politely resign.

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I’m considering informing my manager of my decision so that we can reassign some of my tasks. This could help reduce my stress, protect my mental health, and avoid complications if I start a project and then leave unexpectedly. It might also address some of the bullying, as my impending departure could reduce their leverage. I believe this approach would benefit both me and the company.

Quite the opposite. Neither party is (or should be) interested in helping the other here.

so that we can reassign some of my tasks. This could help reduce my stress, protect my mental health

Why would your employer care to reduce your workload on the promise of you leaving them soon anyway? What benefit would they get out of this? If anything, it benefits them to give you more work, as much as they can get away with, since they have lost interest in your longevity as an employee and no longer care about burning you out in the long run.

avoid complications if I start a project and then leave unexpectedly

Why should the company's difficulty in handling your absence be your problem? That is, in and of itself, a toxic workplace behavior; and you're actively enabling it by trying to behave in this way.

It's not your responsibility to manage your own staffing. That's quite literally what your employer does. It's in the name. They employ you.

It might also address some of the bullying

Your idea is to go to a bully (your own words) in a toxic workplace and give them even less of a reason to be invested in you. And you think this somehow will reduce the negative interactions and expect them to do the honorable thing?

I wouldn't even tell a good employer in advance because it unnecessarily burns bridges. Them being a bully does not make me more likely to want to freely offer information that would negatively impact me.

as my impending departure could reduce their leverage

Au contraire, it reduces your leverage. The company no longer has to consider how to keep you (which negates the cost of constantly onboarding replacements for any employee that leaves), which frees them up to make decision that no longer factor in your wellbeing, as long as they can legally get away with it.

They stop caring about burning you out or ruining your opinion of them, which gives them more freedom, not less.

I’ve started looking for a new job and I am currently interviewing with other companies. Additionally, someone in my network has mentioned that he may be able to offer me a position at his company.

Employment relies on contracts, because without a contract you have no leg to stand on when your assumption/expectation falls through.

There is no conceivable benefit from telling your current employer that you're going to leave them for someone else. Tell them when you've already signed a contract (or have a legally binding offer letter from your new employer).

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