Why I Quit My Job — Lynne Hayes

I’ve quit my job four times. It might be a generational thing. It might be a personal thing.

But it’s a ME thing.

In our last podcast, as we discussed the ebb and flow of engaged and disengaged behaviors at a job, it reminded me of my career journey, as young as it is, I saw a lot. I felt confused, conflicted and often quickly disenchanted with the job title hovering below my name.

There were good days, and money and health insurance and essential components of a comfortable life, but it was never what I wanted to do. Some will say it's privilege, timing, angst, assumptions about work ethic, #Millennials, trust issues, authority issues, ADD, ungratefulness...the list goes on.

But here’s the thing, it’s none of those.

“I’ve been lucky enough to figure out that working FOR me, is the BEST for me. ”

There's no job hopping stereotype because every job has been a strategic move and exploration of figuring myself out through the structure of a 9 to 5, a structure that we now find to be antiquated with every timesheet entry and meeting-that-could-have-been-an-email.

I was finding that one area of my current position unlocked another set of talents, and I wanted to do that, following that curiosity and building a skill set and exploring where it would take me, and eventually, it took me out of the 9 to 5 structure altogether.

This isn’t for everyone, and I respect all those that find themselves in their work in an office. I respect hard work, and providing for loved ones, funding your dreams, understanding the nuances of a big corporation and helping start new initiatives that will help others someday. Those are awesome things.

If you’re wondering, I do miss the workplace some days.

Things I miss:

Human Interaction
Free Printing
Rapid Fire Brainstorms

Things I don’t miss:

“Just checking in on…” Emails
Desperation Coffee
4 p.m. Meetings

So why am I here talking about generational issues in the workplace? What area of expertise do I hold as a former employee and now entrepreneur? Am I just a young punk adding "consultant" to a LinkedIn profile?

No. I'm doing this because I know what it feels like to sit at a desk and wonder if it’s just me - knowing that the institutional workplace is broken, and along with many others, I'm trying to make it better by adding my voice where I can.

And I can add it with my mom. If you haven’t figured it out, Lynne Hayes is my mom. She holds the experience, wisdom and sound advice where, speaking from experience, I can say has helped me through daily struggles and workplace epiphanies with a level of grace and truth, sometimes the hard truth, but all teachable moments that have gotten me this far, and everyone deserves to have that support.

That's why I quit my job, to create my own, and help others find the way that works for them.