I just want to share a quote and lesson to you folks out there who are still in the working world on what to do when it's time to move on to another working place...
"Leave in peace, not in pieces." ~ Author Unknown
Last time, whenever I made a decision to move to another workplace, I always remind myself with the quote above. Even to my ex-colleagues or students (I used to teach a batch of students on programming in my first IT job), I told them never ever to burn bridges should they decide to leave and I always leave them this quote above.
You never know when you need help from your ex-company / colleagues and so on. I've always made it a point to maintain relationships with my previous companies. Granted, I may not have a lot of experiences in moving around companies, throughout my 9 years of working in IT line, I've only changed jobs 3 times.
Days ago, I received a Letter of Demand from one of my previous companies stating that I need to settle an X amount of money in lieu of my short notice of resigning from the company. I got the shock of my life as:
#1: I tendered the resignation in February 2008 and it has been over 2 years, and only now I get this letter?!
#2: I've already paid up the amount in lieu for the short notice before I left.
#3: I even have a photocopy of the cheque I issued to the company together with the HR manager's signature acknowledging that they have received my payment.
#4: As my BFF pointed out to me via MSN (I chatted with her on this issue), the company will not let me go had I not pay up the outstanding amount and they definitely will not release my last salary as well.
#5: I'm a full-time mummy now.. a SAHM.. how the heck am I going to pay that money? (Believe me, at one point, I even thought of starting Ben on kneading and stamping out cookies dough and entertaining thoughts of selling cookies to pay off the amount)
(*Image taken from Google search)
So anyway, back to this case, I tried calling the HR staff to clarify the situation (and to point out that they indeed are making mistake) but I could only get to their voice mail. Frustrated, I asked for help in Facebook. I had a large number of ex-colleagues who are on Facebook as well, and true enough, within minutes, one of the section heads replied asking me what's wrong. I shared with her what happened, she even tried to contact the HR staff for me and soon, I managed to contact the HR staff and in the end, clarified the whole situation.
The case has been closed, the HR staff sent me an email (as black and white) to acknowledge that they have indeed received my money years ago and requested for me to ignore the demand letter. I could make a big issue out of it (after all the emotional stress and trauma they put me through, of having to dig through my boxes of paperworks and documents to find back the photocopy of my payment slip and all with an active and curious toddler around) but again, this quote came to mind.
Do not burn bridges. Leave in peace, not in pieces.
So, dear friends who are still in the working world, when you are in a situation where you are / about to / have decided to make a switch to another place, do consider this quote. You never know, one day a helping hand will come back to guide you when you need it the most!
