When to quit?

Samiantha101

My husband and I have pretty much decided that I am going to stay at home with my kids after number two. I kind of have struggled with this decision and I keep going back and forth on it. If I were to quit, I would likely re-enter the workforce in 18 months once my dh retires from the military. I probably won't stay in the line of work I am in now. I don't have a high powered career and will likely have to start at the bottom once again.

If I were to quit, I keep going back and forth if I should quit now, towards the end of my pregnancy or return after ml for a short time.

I would love to have a couple of months where it's just me and my dd. If I were to quit, I would probably make the 9 hour haul back home to visit family for a couple of weeks too.

I am also contemplating the idea of quitting a couple weeks prior to my due date. This would be a nice option to save a bit more money.

My last option is to return after my ML for awhile. The reasoning behind this is because I have only currently been with my employer for about 7 months. This would put me in over a year, and I believe this would look best on my resume. I am on my husband's insurance, not collecting benefits, etc from my current employer. I wouldn't have to pay anything back. I just don't want to put anyone out by my brief return.

If you ladies were in my shoes, wwyd?

Virgo17

Do you want to return to the same employer?  If you plan to return to the workforce after such a short period of time, to me, it might not be worth it.  Or maybe you could stay on at your current employer part-time and resume full-time employment at some point in the future.

If you plan to look for work elsewhere, I would definitely put in notice before going on leave.  

Samiantha101

I will be relocating to another location of the country when I re-enter the workforce.

I definitely don't want to leave anybody high and dry. They had plans on using a temp during my ML. She actually has already started in another department doing similar work. My position will be filled by the temp until either I return or they hire somebody for the position. I guess what I am trying to say is that they won't be without the manpower, unless I quit now.

If I do decide to quit before my leave, how much notice should I give? Two weeks?

2chatter

I see your point. I would probably return to work for at least six months if the resume gap is concerning. I'd rather plan for it and handle it that way than waffle or come back only briefly - the six months gives you time to transition your replacement, hopefully someone permanent, and also builds your time there.

On the flip side, if you are just going to job hunt and are not looking for a career, I know tons of people who have really moved around a lot and changed jobs a lot and have gaps - they have no issue finding new work. Between the baby and the move, I think it's an easily explained gap. In some industries a two year gap would be no big deal to land another interview....

Samiantha101

catbenatar said:

Ok, well think about it this way. Most employers like stability. If I had to start a job search after using a temp for 3 months, I'd be thinking "Wow, it would've been nice to do this 3 months ago." At the end of the day, I guess it's not your problem. I just think it's a professional courtesy to be honest if you're definitely not coming back.

Eh, I wish I were more decisive, because I currently don't have any definites in place.

djm31012

In my job , it would depend on the time of year.  If I were having a baby due in December, I would never quit before maternity leave whether I knew I wasnt coming back or not.  The bulk of my pay comes in my bonuss which gets paid out in February. If I worked all year, you bet your bottom I am getting that bonus even if I am on ML.  I agree with PP, that as long as you are willing to give them a few weeks notice after you come back to help with the transition or interviewing new candidates, etc.....then its no big deal to me. 

ETA: your manager also has no idea when you decided you wanted to quit. Maybe you had every intention of working, came back and tried it, and it just wasnt working for your family so you have decided to stay home. That actually happens ALL the time. I would not lead with "I decided back in September to resign, but waited until now..."

Mustardseed2007

The only thing I'm going to add is you have to consider that they may release you as soon as you give your notice. I think most of the responses here are considering that you will be hard to replace or they will want to have you train your replacement, but this may not be the case depending on your job and your company. Even if you ate hard to replace some companies would rather not have you hang around, even if it seems like it would be to their detriment on the surface. 

I would just be prepared for the day you tender your resignation to be your last day, or something close to it.