Spiceworks Community Digest: Knowing when to hit the road

In the highly competitive IT industry, retention is often viewed as a matter of salary and benefits. However, a recent discussion in the Spiceworks Community reveals that the final straw for most professionals is rarely about money. Most of the time it’s about respect, trust, and mental health.

The Final Straw: When the Pain Exceeds the Paycheck

Community members shared a wide range of breaking points, proving that the decision to leave is rarely about a single issue, but the accumulation of disrespect and impossible conditions.

Undervalued and underpaid

One of the most common themes is that the company simply didn’t value their skills, time, or commitment.

• Rod-IT: “While you may have a bond with the team, this is a job, you attend to make money and pay your bills, if you have an emotional attachment to the people or the place, this makes leaving and feeling guilty harder.”
• John: “For me it was money and the idea that my skills weren’t worth industry standard simply because we live and work in a small town.”
• Ken Lynch: “When I was ‘promoted’ to 2nd shift supervisor without a pay increase. I was told, ‘We don’t want to give you a bump in pay just to take it away in 6 months when we move you to daylight’.”
• rtrauth2: “Imagine being told you are overqualified for a position that pays more money. Then being told by your supervisor, ‘You don’t think you could work somewhere else and make more money do you’?”

Disrespect and lack of trust

For many, the emotional tipping point was a feeling of being disrespected, lied to, or having their professional opinion ignored.

• J-Nonya: The final straw was being passed over for a promotion, then being asked to create the account to FILL THAT EXACT ROLE two days later. “I knew they didn’t value me and started searching for real.”
• conor1368: “When I was screamed at (literally) because a roof was leaking and I wouldn’t let them use the projector that was nearby. Literally walked back to my office, locked the door and opened Indeed.”
• rtrauth2: “During my interview for that position I was told that they would not be outsourcing IT… It became clear to me that what they really wanted was to set me up for failure so that they had an excuse to do just that.”
• SamGates1: “The final straw in my case was when they made me redundant in 2008. Of all the nerve.”

Burnout and heavy workloads

When the workload becomes impossible, and management refuses to support the team, IT professionals quickly reach their limit.

• Suzanne (Spiceworks): “the final straw for me is usually when I realize that I am waking up every morning not wanting to go… If that happens over a long period of time, then the stress isn’t worth it to me…”
• brian9460: “For me, it was Friday night production deployments, with all staff required to stay after a full work day until deployment was successful. Rollbacks were not allowed. Ever. After the 3rd time of leaving at sunrise on Saturday, I had more than enough.”
• Mad-SpiceHead: “staff numbers have grown from 35–>125 and the IT backup I had retired in 2010 and no one has been hired to help me.”

Join the conversation in the Spiceworks Community and tell us what made you decide to leave!