#tellthemtostickit
So you’ve tried absolutely everything to get out of your work rut. Your 9–5 is a grind and the routine is killing you, slowly. You’ve downloaded every self-help book on Audible. You’ve hit up fam, friends and randoms for job opps in and out of the company. You’ve applied here, there, everywhere. Days are passing. Nothing is working. Not. a. thing.
It’s time to just step up and tell the proverbial ‘them’ to stick it. Yolo, you could suddenly realise that you’re nobody’s chump. That you don’t have to stay in a mindless job to pay the water bill to shower each workday just to continue this spiral of professional hell. Then you could march into the Boss’s office and politely but firmly quit it. (Keep it classy, though — there’s nothing cool about burning bridges.)
Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly told her previous employer to stick it in the classiest of ways. She lined up a power gig with a rival network after a certain Presidential viewer took aim and Fox did next to nada to curb sexual harassment in the workplace. After the flak shot her way by the likes of Donald Trump and then fellow Fox host Bill O’Reilly, Megyn could’ve hit back in an all-out social media war with the White House and her former network.
Instead Megyn took the high road, choosing not to diss Fox and its loyal viewers, including the US President. She not only came out with more cred, her value shot up. Despite 12 years at Fox and an apparent offer of more than $20 million a year to keep her, Megyn’s thanks-but-no-thanks move to NBC was smart and lucrative (she was lured over by a three-year contract reportedly worth $69 million).
While it hasn’t quite worked out for Megyn or NBC (that celeb-boycotted morning show! those crazo offensive comments! those lacklustre ratings!), at the time she became the highest-paid anchor at her new network and the third highest-paid across all networks. Despite her ultimate firing by NBC, there’s no denying Megyn’s 2017 success in showing Fox and its Presidential friend the finger when they tried — and ultimately failed — to crush her.
Once in a while, you need to make a point — for you, for your colleagues, for those in your industry.
Or, forget keeping it classy. Once in a while, you need to make a point — for you, for your colleagues, for those in your industry. It takes one seriously strong person to stand up and make it known that certain shit is not OK. That you won’t be overlooked for that promotion despite the fact that you are — on merit — the best person for the job; that you won’t accept not being paid parental leave for you or your partner; or that you won’t pretend that the company is not deliberately making your job so hellish that you are compelled to resign so they can save on a payout.
So, vow never to return then commit and do it with flair. Madonna is the ultimate in telling them to stick it. The Lady is for real. Before she became the Queen of Pop in the early ’80s, she found a gig at Dunkin’ Donuts in New York’s Times Square. It wasn’t for her and she didn’t last long. True to Madge’s renegade form, squirting jelly filling at customers earned her the boot.
While it could be argued she didn’t jump and instead was pushed, Madonna was fired precisely because she pretty much told them to stick it (in a way that only Madonna could). She left on her own terms in a blaze of glory. And anyway, as she probably knew, the best was yet to come. Bigger than Beyoncé, Madonna is the best-selling female recording artist of all time, with total record sales of more than 300 million worldwide.
Most of the time, of course, telling them to stick it is harder than it sounds. (The fact there are far more online searches for ‘resignation’ than ‘childbirth’ means loads of us are just waiting for the words, the moment or the courage to cut the cord). You may be risk averse. Maybe in your circle there’s no trailblazer to test the waters and show what’s next. For all you know, this is a certain path to the welfare queue.
And for many, there’s nothing super horrendous about your firm or boss. It’s more a case of you’re at the point of no return. There may be zero support or prospects for promotion but there’s no need to truth bomb unless you’re up against a menacing colleague, asshole supervisor or toxic company culture that permits all sorts of shitty things. It’s cool to be pissed but if you’re just burnt out, choose a respectful way to exit stage left. Follow three simple rules and you should be good: leave on a high — the firm’s lasting impression of you should be of professionalism, dignity and grace; know what to leave out — don’t rant in writing cause this stuff sticks, and gets forwarded; try to find something nice to say — you gotta have learned something, right?
Phrases like ‘it’s time for me to move on’, ‘I’d like to take my career in a different direction’, ‘this culture is not the right fit’ and ‘I’m keen to explore new challenges’ reframe ‘this job sucks’, ‘you losers can’t run a firm’ and ‘this is one poisonous company culture’. Reputation is everything. Don’t say anything you’ll later look back on and cringe.
Remember, there’s no need to even say the words if you’re not up for it. The key way to tell them to stick it is to start planning to get outta there. Fast. Get into the mindset to leave.
