The Big Quit
Something is changing…
Being a social worker in a time when our work place landscape has shifted significantly, has piqued my curiosity about how we approach change. “The Great Resignation”, “The Shecesssion”, “Quittok” are just a few of the new phrases that are now embedded in our society and their creation serves as a place mark in our history. My cofounder, Nicole and I, found ourselves at the very forefront of this movement, having both resigned from our salaried positions within the last year.
Nicole and I have compared many notes about the benefits of staying and leaving our jobs. For us, the benefits of leaving far outweighed the nebulous reasons for staying. In my opinion we have been conditioned to believe that having a full-time, salaried job, with “benefits”, was the only path to success. Five years ago, it would have seemed foolish for most to leave a “secure” job for one that appeared to be less certain, but that notion has changed. With droves of workers saying, “I quit”, loud and proud - I’d like to share how it happened for me.
How this came true for me…
I worked for a non-profit, community mental health agency for ten years. I provided psychotherapy to a predominantly under-served population. We served people who could not afford therapy except through their government-run health insurance, with therapists, the majority of whom were young and inexperienced. Through my tenure, I was on a quest to educate, guide, train and supervise those young therapists, to ensure that the clients we served were getting quality services. I felt like it was an obligation - that if I didn’t do it, no one else could do it the same way. But I was not alone in that large agency with over 600 employees. Management, Directors, and Chiefs had what they felt was their own self-serving obligation, and in the end, their intentions did not align with what I felt was a good work/life balance. My job, at times, felt like I was battling those on top for what was in our employees and our client’s best interest. There became less room for creativity, innovation, and real support for the humans who worked there - and felt more like I sat with my hands tied behind my back - waiting for direction to come from above. This inertia became so unbearable that the benefits of working for a large agency appeared less and less beneficial. Touting 6 weeks of paid vacation per year, health insurance, 401k matching investments, paid disability and life insurance, was and still appears to be the reason so many stay. My sense of well-being wasn’t buying it. In November, 2020, I took what I thought was a leap of faith, and started my own practice - without the benefits - and I couldn’t have a better sense of well-being.
The freedom this decision has provided me is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. The freedom to shop for my own health insurance and do cost analyses to ultimately find a plan that FAR EXCEEDED the benefits I had in my full time job, has given me more incentive to take care of myself. The freedom to treat my clients in a way that enhances their life and my own has given me a true sense of abundance.
How this can come true for you!
As our society embraces the “quits”, a concept that used to be associated with losers and loafers, we also embrace the idea that this is a form of expression that says, “we can do better”. It’s okay to want more. As we think for ourselves, and not being told what is best for us by our employers, we can work on trusting ourselves and that we know what is best for us.
