To burn the bridges, or not?

Your company not treating you well, and you have finally decided to call it quit. You handed in your resignation letter but your project manager tried to persuade you to stay because she needed your help in the project. It was another last minute project. You said no, because you’re too tired of it. But the fact is, you’re too pissed off with the company and how it is treating you. You’re too pissed off that you are the only one working so hard and yet, you are the one who is underpaid (most people think they are underpaid).

So, what’s next?

Option (1)

Screw them all! You will show them who is the boss and pray hard that the project will fail! When asked to do knowledge transfer, you will try your best not to pass on everything. Hopefully, that will know your importance and feel sorry for themselves for not treating you better. But you wouldn’t care anymore. You will just go on and tell your friends how bad this company is and how much this company will miss you.

Option (2)

Try your best to help them as much as possible before you leave. Pass on your knowledge to the people and make sure the transition is done properly. Help out the project during your time there if they need your help. Make sure all your previous works are done properly and will not be creating more problems to the team.

I know most of you will say second option because that’s the best course of action and also the more sensible one. But how many of us are actually doing that? Not many. That’s human nature and it’s only natural that we will hope the “bad guys” get what they deserved to get.

But it’s not the right thing to do. The second option is definitely a better thing to do. You will not know what might happen in the future. The company treats you badly, not your manager and not your team. You might cross path with each other again in the future and it is best for you not to burn the bridges. Do something good, and people will remember you for it. Do something bad, and people will also remember you for it ….and the memory tends to last longer.