work problems

Our careers expert - and you the readers - offer advice to a new starter who is already disillusioned, and a worker who gets criticised for wasting their talents

A poor boss and a high staff turnover make me want to leave... after only a month

I recently started at a very small office - there are only five of us working for a sole director. I was keen to join a smaller company after years in the financial sector

My problem is the boss's attitude to his staff. In my first week I learned that the longest serving member had only been there for 14 months. Nine people had left (or started and left) during the past year and three of the remaining staff had been reduced to tears.

We all start on a six-month probation period, during which we can be let go with one week's notice, and there is no pension or sick pay. I should have checked the terms and conditions more carefully beforehand, but I was unemployed and worried about being out of a job for too long given my age(54)

It's clear I can't remain for the long term, but everything has come to a head since a member of staff I felt particularly close to was sacked. I'm torn between handing in my notice too, and listing bullying as a factor, or staying put until I can find something else. I don't feel remotely motivated to work at this company, but am worried about how it would look to recruiters and future employers if I left after a month

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Jeremy says

If you chose to leave after a month, I very much doubt that recruiters and potential employers would be seriously deterred from at least asking you in for an interview. I imagine your CV provides plenty of evidence that you haven't made a life-long habit of quitting jobs after just a few weeks. As you admit yourself, you should certainly have checked your terms and conditions much more thoroughly  - and this in itself might cast some doubts on your judgement - but overall I don't think there would be too many penalties attached if you decided to quit immediately. I just don't think you should

You took your current job  without proper consideration because you were unemployed and anxious. You mustn't make the same mistake again. If you're able to do so, it's nearly always better to look for a job while you're still employed - you don't feel so rushed and potential employers find it reassuring.

It's only the sacking of this member of staff that seems to have triggered the thought of an immediate departure. Admirably loyal though that is, it's not entirely rational. You say everything's come to a head, but it hasn't, of cource - you just feel it has. If you walked out now, it wouldn't help your colleague in any way, nor would it do anything to make your boss become a better boss.

So stay where you are but start looking right away. Learn from your mistatkes and take your time. Be painstaking in studying the T&Cs in any draft contract. And if you're quizzed on why you want to leave your present job after such a short time, be sure you have an accurate, factual log of your boss's staff retention record to hand

Readers say

1.  I'd start looking for another job but keep this one as long as you can stand it to keep the pay coming in. In a larger company you might be able to transfer away from the problem laterally, but in such a small firm there's no retrieving the situation. If queried, just make up some anodyne reason for leaving (hours inconvenient, whatever)

2. It's easier to get a job from a job, and people don't necessarily ask much about your current situation. Just say you're working but only have a week's notice (a definite plus, it means you can go after contracts that specify "immediate start"). They'll probably assume you're a temp or on a fixed contract

3. Take advantage of the probationary terms and leave quickly. At this stage, you just need a CV which will get you through the door to interviews. The longer you stay in the current job which you hate, the harder it will be to explain away or handwave over your CV - and the more demotivated you will become.