back

by helloplanets·3y ago·view on hn ↗
Nonsense.

If you say that for millions of people quitting a toxic work or personal relationship turns out worse, expecially if it's as bad as the author described, you should back it up with an actual statistic. If there is no such thing, talk about a direct experience instead of using a platitude.

1 comments
I think it's reasonable to be skeptical. There's a similar lack of evidence that it works out better for people who quit their toxic jobs when those jobs are also how people pay for the necessities of life.

I'm expecting to quit my job within the next month to try to build my own company. I live pretty frugally (though in an expensive city/country) and have at most a year of savings, if I completely wipe out my government retirement savings accounts.

If it doesn't work out, I could very well end up homeless or dead. But if I stay at my job I could also end up dead (whether by heart attack, suicide, or the rest of my life flying by in an unfulfilling haze of work).

This article resonates with me, but I'm also not going to pretend I know definitively that leaving the job is the better option for me.

(In my case, I wouldn't even say my job is toxic, just taxing)

My two cents as former (and currently writing business plan for a new company) small scale entrepreneur : If like it seems your main problem with your current work is stress and overworking, full time company building without big net safety will probably be worse.

The empirical advice a give a lot in indy gaming development and that is validated by even successfull studio founders : if you think an office work take your energy and time and don't let you enough physical and mental energy to create your product wait trying not to starve without a stable income.

Something to consider : look for a new job less mentally taxing (one trick working for lot of people is to take one with work different from the one you will be doing in your company) even if less payed. Ideally look for part time job. They are great when you want to create company because by definition you have a maximum work time negotiated. Create the company before entering and put it in the contract 'I also have a side company i won't close and continue working on my free time'. If it seems hard to negotiate wait trying convince someone to pay for your product/service ^^.

It may slow a bit the startup process but not having to worry about paying your rent in three month can make you gain a lot of mental energy at the end of the year.

> If it doesn't work out, I could very well end up homeless or dead.

Or you could just get another job.

edit: I think I misunderstood you; you're right, I can certainly get another job when my bank account and lines of credit run completely dry. That doesn't leave me in a better spot than I'm in right now (possibly worse), but at least I have that runway to take a risk right now, with a chance of establishing a decent lifestyle business.

I originally thought you were suggesting getting another job right now; I'll leave my initial response below:

It's unlikely to be better at another job, even moreso without taking time off to decompress first

I've worked for ~7 different companies in 10 years (although several of those were from acquisitions and spin-offs) which exposed me to a number of company/team cultures and work styles, and looking at the full package, my current job is the best.

I'm sure there's a chance the next company could be better, but "the grass is always greener". Working full-time for a company doesn't suit my personal work style very well, and has historically proven exceptionally difficult for me to do for extended periods of time in a sustainable way. I haven't found a company yet that will let me just take time off whenever I need it, which might realistically be one week out of every month.

Sometimes easier said than done.
You should look into the financial independence / retire early movement too. If you have a year saved up already, you're probably at least decent with money, so it could be very viable for you to take six months off (er, "to build a startup") then snag a new job at your leisure, save for 10 years, and retire