Ask the cubicle expat: Can I quit my contract gig after a week if something better comes along?
October 31st, 2007
In honor of the last week of my work-from-home permatemp gig with A Very Big Corporation, I bring you this question…
L. writes: “I just started (as in, this week!) as a contract editor at a Big-Name Company That Shall Not Be Named and — wouldn’t you know it? — I just got a job offer for something full time with amazing benefits. Yes, it is my ultimate dream to go freelance full time someday (hence my writing to you), but I feel torn. I need the insurance the other company is offering me, plus the annual salary and other benefits are definitely worth writing home about. Thing is, I feel guilty. I know this is only a short-term, three-month contract. But can I really quit and give two weeks’ notice after only having been here a week? Any advice? I don’t want to burn bridges, but something better has indeed come along.”
L., yesterday after handing off one of the projects I’ve been working on since July to my officemate, I sighed, “I can’t believe that come next week I’ll no longer have to juggle freelance writing assignments with this 30-hour-a-week contract. If I wasn’t so exhausted, I’d be doing a soft-shoe. I mean, four months is a very, very long time to commit to one gig.”
My officemate, who has been with the company since the twentieth century, gave me a blank look.
On the commute home (I had to go in for the handoff meeting), I called my beau: “Honey, four months is a very, very long time to commit to one gig, is it not?”
“Actually most of us are terrified to not have a full-time job,” he reminded.
I’m not sure how or why this came to be, but the thought of knowing where I’ll be reporting to work six months down the line scares me more than killer bees, fiery car crashes, man-eating rodents, brain-eating amoebas, Dick Cheney, and FOX news combined.
As this is not the visceral reaction you had upon being offered a cushy full-time gig, L., I say go for it. If the Big-Name Company That Shall Not Be Named wanted to ensure they could keep prized workers like you for the long haul, they’d offer more than temporary contracts. No one could blame you for feeling non-committal about a non-committal employer. Screw the bridge. Even if it catches fire, you’ll still have your cushy staff gig with benefits to wake up to each morning.
Entry Filed under: Ask the Cubicle Expat
3 Comments Add your own
1. Tiffany | Gimme Bliss | October 31st, 2007 at 7:42 am
Isn’t that funny how some folks are decidedly pro-9-to-5 and others are confirmed anti-9-to-5-ers? For years I’ve tried to be a 9-to-5 girl, but the repeated illnesses, tooth grinding and feeling of general malaise have taught me that it’s not for me. And as Stuart Smalley would say, that’s…OK.
It’s immensely comforting to know that there are others who would rather accept a little risk and feel normal than take the security and work for brain-eating amoebas, much less dream about them.
Thanks for validating the legions of us who suffer from clockwatchaphobia.
2. Anne | November 1st, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I agree - screw the bridge! Reminds me of a little tale from a friend I was just told. She stormed out of her job after being literally screamed at by her manager and having 100+ files piled on er, reassigned to her overnight. A decade later - the same company needed her talent and skills in a different position and she was hired - her service and benefits levels started up where she left off (meaning 4 weeks of vacation versus the 10 days a newbie would’ve received).
Good Luck, L!
3. Amy T | November 4th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
I’m all for following your gut, consequences be damned. But personally, I always have to watch out for grass-is-greener syndrome.
If you’re really committing to the full time job, you might want to set aside that dream of being a freelancer and see what the workplace can offer you. Obeying the chronic urge to flee and operating with a foot out the door from the beginning may threaten to compromise your experience there.
Good luck!
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