LEAVING A TOXIC JOB

#LeavingAToxicJob As an individual you get to decide whether the environment is toxic or not as you are the one who gets to experience it. My concern is about not sabotaging your future once you decide this place is not for me. Remember you are not a tree, you can move away from an environment you deem undesirable for a number of reasons. Around March 2000 I joined American insurer AIG Zimbabwe in the farming claims department in Harare, my claims manager was Ms Tendai Chingovo, she was the most transformational leader in my career. I learnt two important concepts from her, you don’t work for a company but you work for yourself and if you do a good job someone will notice. That someone can be a client, a competitor or a manager from another section. In Shona we have a saying, ukapinda basa chasara kubuda, loosely translated it means once you get employed the last thing is to exit. A few signs will show when you are not happy at a job, Sundays you are usually unhappy on the prospect of returning to work on Monday and when you go on leave, you don’t look forward to coming back to work. You can’t just simply quit and go and sit at home but it’s about trying to hang on as much as possible. After I left Zimbabwe in 2007, I got a job in Centurion as a clerk, I had been a middle manager in Zimbabwe. I thought I was going to be gone in less than a year and instead I spent a cumulative period of 13 years, here is how I did it. By end of 2007, I discovered it was not easy to get another job as many established insurance companies won’t employ foreigners. For the first two years I tried to seek promotions and the feedback I got from my HOD was that I needed to change my personality. I stopped applying for promotions, I was not going to be who I am not because there is nothing wrong with who I am. Each interview was denting my confidence further, I stopped applying for promotions. Luckily we got paid a performance based salary and I started concentrating on my personal goals. By mid 2008 after the disputed elections in Zimbabwe my family decided we were going to stay longer in South Africa and I started concentrating on earning as much as possible. I took each day as it came. I had multiple personal goals including building our home in Zimbabwe and changing a career. I had passed my insurance fellowship exams back in 2005, end of 2009 I started an accounting degree. Even though I was working a demanding schedule, the desire to transition into something else really motivated me to study even when I came back exhausted. By 2011 the HOD was transferred but the culture he had fostered still remained. I was asked by my manager to act as a supervisor for two months and I agreed, I got very good feedback from management and staff I managed. My manager suggested that I continue acting and start applying for management positions again, I decided against that and never applied for promotions again. At one time I got interviewed at a competitor and before they sent me an offer, they requested for my payslip, they sent me an offer with around R10 000 less what I was earning, I decided to stay. For me the lesson I learnt is not being bitter each day but being hopeful for something by having a clear goal and taking each day as it came. My message is don’t focus your energy on the negative because that will consume you and turn you into a bitter person. My suggestion is set up quitting targets, maybe you want to go stay home or downgrade to a job that pays less. Between now and then concentrate on paying off as much debt as possible. Maybe you want to start a side hustle concentrate on that. Always be pleasant to your co-workers as they become your family, chances are a lot of them will become your customers if you start a business or you might meet them in the industry as you move from one company to another. I have also discovered that you can learn many things even in a job or environment where you are not happy. Good luck,God Bless🙏🏿