Ask HN: Why did you quit your last job?

I was in a very similar situation. Overworked, but got a bit of a break due to family leave. When I came back, I was met with a lot of aggression and blame that I had never experienced at that job before. I was still overworking but not at the same level pre-baby - my wife needed me and my priorities had changed. It soon became clear that I was being managed out of my position and I found another job. Several trusted peers agreed that I was being managed out, but didn't offer any insights into why.

I 100% believe they didn't want me there any more once I had a child. The new job is very family friendly (not overworking), pays more, and so far is very low stress. I'm sure the stress level will go up as I become more integrated in the company, but I couldn't be happier.

It was a badly transitioned acquisition - I could write up a dozen problems, each of which may have been enough to quit. But the straw that broke it all was when, after giving us all zero bonuses and telling us that nobody gets a raise either, the former owner hit us with: "I got my F-U money, but you guys just need to put up with anything they throw at you."

Most people have a collection of reasons that build up to a tipping point of why they leave. I have left 5 jobs, and had 2 jobs leave me (laid off).

First in Highschool I had 2 jobs in the summer working about 60 hours a week, parents made me drop one. I kept the one where management was nice. Other one just seemed angry all the time.

Second was the other HS job when I started college. But the new management had become a jerk and so I left a month early.

Third was from burn out. Too many long hours that were not appreciated. I wanted to take 2 months off to get my head straight but they thought I would not quite. I did.

Forth was at a place that treated me well, but was a bit of a drive, and the pay was slowly going up, but insurance was going up quickly. The kicker was it looked like my future was ADA. So when an offer came, and it came with more money, much shorter drive and Ruby On Rails ... I jumped.

Fifth was a softer exit. I was working for a contracting firm. Well they were a subcontractor and tended to try and squeeze people. But I nedded to feed the family. When the contract was renewed, they did a 15% pay cut on people. Tough times don't you know. Well the company I was doing the work for offered me a decent job, slightly less money but much better benefits.

It'll get better my dude :)

Tomorrow will be the end of the requisite one month notice period for me in a job in the humanitarian world. I have no job lined up, as yet.

I just couldn't take it anymore. I can't count the number of times I walked into 2 of my female colleagues sobbing alone in the office. The office is small so it is common to occasionally be the only one in the office. Management knows about the cause of this toxic culture but I just can't stand it anymore. My mental health is more important than whatever they have been paying me.

Now, while I have been teaching myself programming for sometime, I believe I can find my way in a Ruby code base. I also know some Elixir and Python. I am based in East Africa just in case someone here would be kind enough to adopt a 40 year old degree-less man. Just for the experience, I wouldn't mind accepting a non-paying software role. Well, thankfully, I can afford to pay the bills for a few more months.