Trapped in job

[944fan]

Not really sure why I am posting this but just wondering I guess if anyone else finds, or has found, themselves in a similar situation and what their story is.

I have worked at my current company for over 4 years, been promoted twice and am now in a management position. The company is very small and has its fair share of cash flow problems but we are doing ok. Because it is a small company there are certain people who if they left would have a very major impact on the operations of the company, myself being one of them.

I know no-one is totally indispensable but there is a lot of domain knowledge and expertise that only really exists in my head. We operate in a regulated environment and have to change things each year to someone else's timescale. This is my responsibility and there is no-one else who can do it currently - it also takes a long time to get that knowledge.

I feel like I am wanting to move on, but I feel completely trapped, in that if I left the company would be in danger and would struggle to continue. The reasons I want to move on are down to the market and business area we are in and the sometime insurmountable problems it causes. I feel like I have done all I can, there is also a potential that we may be taken over by another firm and I don't entirely trust their motives.

I don't think there is anyone in my team who could, or would want to, step up into my position so they would loose all my knowledge and have a department completely un-managed until they bought in an outsider.

I know that probably all sounds like I am being big headed but I can't be the only one?

[essayer]

I was in a very similar situation as you last year and eventually made the move and don't regret it for a second. The company I left has carried on fine.

I found a good driver was to document absolutely everything that I knew so that my successor or management would have a decent resource of information. I had a few texts from my boss a few months after I left asking a few techie q's and after that haven't heard anything.

Realistically once you've decided to move on then you should. Sticking with a company which is not really going anywhere will not do your career any good. They will always hire someone else; and in the reverse situation I can guarantee they would not show you the same loyalty (as you mention re. takeover etc)

[dingg]

You have a greatly inflated opinion of yourself

many members of your team could fulfil your role given the opportunity

no one is indispensable as you say

time to move on just go and forget about the old job IMO

[Pickled Piper]

dingg said:

You have a greatly inflated opinion of yourself

many members of your team could fulfil your role given the opportunity

no one is indispensable as you say

time to move on just go and forget about the old job IMO

This. Don't kid yourself. Move on.

pp

[Mobile Chicane]

Pickled Piper said:

dingg said:

You have a greatly inflated opinion of yourself

many members of your team could fulfil your role given the opportunity

no one is indispensable as you say

time to move on just go and forget about the old job IMO

This. Don't kid yourself. Move on.

pp

And leave their former colleagues in the st?

No thanks.

Document everything, have as long a handover as possible, and be available by email should any questions need answering after you've moved on.

This is my approach, and it's done me a lot of favours. The world can be a very small place at times...

[944fan]

Thanks for the replies. dingg - that's pretty blunt.

I don't think I have an overly inflated opinion of myself. It is my boss and colleagues who keep reminding me how fked they would be if I left. My company have shown me some loyalty and promoted me in to a position that an external firm wouldn't have done without the experience so feel like I owe them something at the very least I owe it to other people I work with.

I am on a 3 month notice period anyway but my knowledge has built up over a few years.

I have been trying to pass on my knowledge as best I can anyway because I spend too much time doing the development and not enough managing, hopefully as I hand over more I will be able to move on with less impact.

It will probably take a while to move on anyway as now I have gone from being a developer to a manager the number of available jobs is reduced dramatically.

[XJSJohn]

Mobile Chicane said:

Pickled Piper said:

dingg said:

You have a greatly inflated opinion of yourself

many members of your team could fulfil your role given the opportunity

no one is indispensable as you say

time to move on just go and forget about the old job IMO

This. Don't kid yourself. Move on.

pp

And leave their former colleagues in the st?

No thanks.

Document everything, have as long a handover as possible, and be available by email should any questions need answering after you've moved on.

This is my approach, and it's done me a lot of favours. The world can be a very small place at times...

its a bit of both, you are not indispensable, but the people taking up the slack will greatly appreciate well documented processes and information around what you do the workflows etc.

Put a few months in to building these docs then start building your exit

[Gwagon111]

I'm also trapped in my current role, but its because of the contract I signed 12 years ago. I agreed to a clause, which said I would have to give a weeks notice for every completed year of service, should I wish to bail. I didn't notice that there was no upper limit on the notice period. To begin with this wasn't a big problem, until I hit 6 years in the job. It got worse year on year, and now I'm approaching 13 years in the job it's a proper nightmare. Who is going to hold a position open for over 3 months, whilst I work my notice? No one in their right mind is who .

[Kermit power]

Gwagon111 said:

I'm also trapped in my current role, but its because of the contract I signed 12 years ago. I agreed to a clause, which said I would have to give a weeks notice for every completed year of service, should I wish to bail. I didn't notice that there was no upper limit on the notice period. To begin with this wasn't a big problem, until I hit 6 years in the job. It got worse year on year, and now I'm approaching 13 years in the job it's a proper nightmare. Who is going to hold a position open for over 3 months, whilst I work my notice? No one in their right mind is who .

I'd say there's two possible approaches to that.

One is to simply say you've got another job and you'd like to agree an earlier departure with them - after all, what advantage is there to them of keeping a demoralised, disgruntled employee with no interest in the company's future success sat in the corner of the office moaning to all and sundry about who they're forcing you to work your notice period.

The other is to go through the fine print of your employment contract to see if you can find anything at all on their side of it which they've not kept to, then use that as a reason for leaving.

[edc]

3 months isn't an abnormally long notice period. I have had such a notice period in my last 3 jobs.

[Muzzer79]

Confused by your post 944fan.

So you're saying you feel trapped because you're indispensable and the company would go to the wall if you left?

That's it?

Do you think if they were in trouble and needed to make a larger salary redundant they'd be so loyal to you? I can guarantee they wouldn't.

If you want to leave, leave.

[crazy about cars]

I can only wish to :

• Be promoted to management level
• Be recognised as an invaluable asset to the company

I guess if you are having better offers elsewhere or don't seem to enjoy then just do what you have to do but try to make sure the handing over is as smooth as possible.

[limpsfield]

edc said:

3 months isn't an abnormally long notice period. I have had such a notice period in my last 3 jobs.

Exactly. I know loads of people on 3 months notice including me. Plenty of companies accept this and are willing to wait.

[Gwagon111]

limpsfield said:

Exactly. I know loads of people on 3 months notice including me. Plenty of companies accept this and are willing to wait.

That's encouraging

[Engineer1]

Even without a 3 month notice period you can use up 6-8 weeks finding a convenient start date taking a holiday between jobs etc.

[oldbanger]

3 months is the norm at my employer. Very few employees are made to stay that long, though.

[98elise]

Pickled Piper said:

dingg said:

You have a greatly inflated opinion of yourself

many members of your team could fulfil your role given the opportunity

no one is indispensable as you say

time to move on just go and forget about the old job IMO

This. Don't kid yourself. Move on.

pp

+1

How do they cope when you are on holiday or sick etc.

In every business there are key people who seem to whole the whole thing together, and there are many more people who working 50-60 hours a week and are always swamped.

I've seen these people take holiday, leave, or leave and not be replaced, yet the business continues to function.

At my last place of work that cut the department by half with redundancies, and i couldn't see how it could function any more, yet it did.

Businesses and people will cope, they always do.

[944fan]

98elise said:

+1

How do they cope when you are on holiday or sick etc.

In every business there are key people who seem to whole the whole thing together, and there are many more people who working 50-60 hours a week and are always swamped.

I've seen these people take holiday, leave, or leave and not be replaced, yet the business continues to function.

At my last place of work that cut the department by half with redundancies, and i couldn't see how it could function any more, yet it did.

Businesses and people will cope, they always do.

Haven't been sick for a few years, the odd cold but work through them. What's a holiday? Haven't had a proper one of those since RIM invented the Blackberry. I took a day off the other week and told everyone I was leaving it at work, the look of horror on everyone's face was a picture.

I think though you are probably right. I think people rely on me too much because they know I will do it, if they are forced into a situation whereby they have to do it themselves and there is no-one else to rely on then they will come good.

It pisses me off that people keep telling me that it would disastrous if I leave, it really feel likes being emotionally blackmailed into staying.

Anyway I looked for what jobs are available and there aren't any in the local area at the minute so it looks like it will take some time to leave anyway and in that time I can prepare everyone as best I can.

[snorky]

how would they cope if you got hit by the No8 bus....if they are stupid enough to have the business dangling on whether one employee stays or not they deserve to be in the st.

[mr mac i]

snorky said:

how would they cope if you got hit by the No8 bus....if they are stupid enough to have the business dangling on whether one employee stays or not they deserve to be in the st.

Use this example to prepare them for your departure; discuss succession planning/ contingencies and ways of capturing the inherent knowledge retained within the workforce as a whole in case something should happen to a key member of staff.

It's amazing how often someone being ill causes problems for companies.