Is this a mean move on my part?

Thread title was supposed to be “dick move” but we’re not supposed to curse in titles soooooooooo…

OK, so this might take a bit to explain.

My current job is a temp job at a call center. I needed money, so I took it and the job itself isn’t so bad. I mean, it’s boring, but I’m not pounding floors and dealing with a ton of bullshit hard work all the time and dealing with angry customers for less than what I make now. It’s my boss that’s a total prick. He’s always behind his employee’s backs, he listens in on our calls at least once a week, he tells us some things that other managers don’t tell us, etc, etc. Since my hours are 10-7 and my boss leaves at 5 (if I’m lucky – there’s a half-joke ‘round the office that he actually lives at work and doesn’t have a home), I sometimes have to talk to the night manager. The night manager’s a pretty great guy, super helpful anytime I need him, and so on and so forth. People always go to him for help if he’s available. So I figured, my hours take up my entire day and my boss sucks so why don’t I ask if I can change managers and hours?

I did ask about it and he said he’d see what he can do. Turns out there are some new contractors coming in and he can switch me with one of them. Awesome, right? Yep! I’ll start the night shift and be under his management next week, out from under the oppressive thumb of my old boss and with hours that will allow me to actually go somewhere during the day if I need to. As it stands, it’s too late to go anywhere by the time I get home (it’s an hour drive). I’m not the first one to ask him this, either. A permanent worker who has been there for a few years moved from the prick boss’s team to the night manager’s team for the same reasons, although she has nicer things to say about the prick’s general personality.

But now there’s a wrench in the plan. At the same time I asked the night manager for a position on his shift, I shinnied up my resume and started poking around for jobs again. I got a call Monday about a permanent position, went to an interview about it Tuesday, and got a call two hours later asking if I could schedule a second interview (which is going to be an hour and a half long!). There’s no reason not to take this new job – apart from being permanent, my job won’t solely involve talking on the phone and solving repetitive issues all day and it’s not an hour away from my house. So now that the night shift manager has asked around to trade a new contractor for me, I might have to leave him and go to this new job. I’ll be leaving a pretty great guy a worker short and he will also have done at least some work for me for nothing.

Basically, what I’m asking is, I'm not overthinking this too much, am I? It really is that much of a dick move, isn't it? If I’m accepted into this new job I’ll have to take it, I'm really excited by the prospect of moving on to something else that seems a lot better, but I really don’t like the idea of having someone do something nice for me and then me turning around and going “hey, thanks, but I’ve got this better thing over here to go to.” I guess it’s worth mentioning that there are some other employees very dissatisfied with the prick boss and probably aren’t too far from doing what I did, but still... any thoughts?

Aw, shit, I meant to put this in off-topic.

EDIT: And I have, turns out mods don't need to change boards for us anymore. Cool!

Is dick a swear word? Objectively "Career moves" almost always fuck someone over in the process, that's just reality. You probably shouldn't dwell on it too much if at all though.

I think it would be dumb to throw away better employment opportunities, and it's not like you exactly foresaw it. Id say just be honest with him, two weeks notice if you can.

It's an unfortunate situation, but if you do get the new job, if you talk to the guy and tell him you understand and appreciate that he's gone out of his way to move you to the new shift etc, but you've got a better opportunity that you feel that you need to take, I think he'd understand.

And if you do end up leaving, maybe somebody else on your current shift might want to take the place they were opening up for you.

I'm pretty sure you're in the clear. Every call center supervisor/manager should be aware that just about everybody can't wait to find a better job and might leave at a moment's notice. Bummer that he the night manager just did you a solid and let you change shift or whatever, but I'm pretty sure it's the kind of business with a lot of turnover, so I highly doubt he's going to be personally insulted.

It's a call center man. You get an opportunity to do something better, grab that opportunity with both hands and don't look back. I doubt anybody there would begrudge you for doing so and i'm sure it happens very frequently there.

Once you find out you do have this new position,if you do get it, the nice thing to do would be to thank the night manager and apologize/explain if you want to go above and beyond.

But even then nothing you did or are doing is wrong in the slightest.

The fact that you feel bad means you're a good guy but you got to do what's best for you. If this new permanent position makes more money, has a career ahead of it and most importantly, fulfills you more; there is no question. If you're concerned about getting fired for asking for time off to go to this job interview and then not getting the job, then that's a different situation. Fuck it, I'd still take the risk.

Do it! They may be nice guys (or pricks even), but you don't owe them anything special. In fact, that is the reason they give you money, so that you're square.

I don't know what the laws are in your state/country, but as long as you respect them (notice, if required, etc), then there shouldn't be any hard feelings.

As long as you explain it to him straight up, apologize (just as a nice gesture) and give them two weeks notice, I think you should be cool. Gotta think about your own career, and as long as your not majorly screwing someone over, it's not bad.

Employment is a two-way street, and that means when you need to move on, you move on. I'd talk to the night manager about it, ensure that he understands your position. You don't want to ruin a business relationship unnecessarily, and as long as he doesn't feel like you're flipping the bird and ducking out he'll probably even be glad for you.

If you want to leave, try to leave gracefully, but definitely leave.

This

Thank you guys for the responses!

Yeah, I'm definitely taking the new job, but every time I think about it, there was - still is - this nagging thought about leaving that manager after he did me a favor.

Unfortunately, I've already told the new place that I could start pretty much as soon as I'm hired, which means I really need to tell the new manager that I'm going to a second interview ASAP. I didn't even think about the two week notice thing. Shit.

Jobs are jobs, and that only. As you said this was temporary so when you found a permanent job you were gone. The night guy will understand as business is business. You need to look out for what is best for you, not the company or the manager, even if you like them and are good to you. A good manager would want you to improve your situation as well.

Not that this really matters now, but supervisors listening in on calls is pretty much standard practice at call centers. That's part of their job.

Also, you shouldn't quit your current job until you are guaranteed a position at your desired new job. Just because they called you back for a second interview doesn't mean you will be hired.

@substance_d said:

Very much this

Hey man it is just business. Its not personal.

I mean, it's a little bit of a sour note, but nothing near the point of being dickish. That sort of situation is par for the course really.

And yeah, definitely don't quit your current job unless you're for sure offered the new one.

This is just how the world works. If you get hired for that new job, you're going to get that job and quit your old one. Just don't be a snob about it, and it will be business as usual.

P.S. Don't forget about the two weeks' notice.

If he's as reasonable as you make him out to be, I'm sure he'll understand why you would leave your current job for a better one. Just make sure you thank him again for what he did.

One of the best qualities of a good manager is that they actively want their employees to succeed, not only for the companies sake but personally as well. This guy sounds like a good person, and good people like to see others, especially those they care about, do things that make them happy and successful. Will this be a burden on him, of course it will because having to find a replacement sucks, but I'm pretty confident there will not only be no hard feeling but he will totally get it and probably encourage it.

Also second on two things: A) listening to calls is very much standard and B) DON"T QUIT till you know you have the job. A long inteview while promising is by no means a sure thing

@believer258:

It's your career and life dude. You need to do what's best for you. If the boss is as good a guy as he seems he'll understand. If not, he'll get over it soon enough.

I don't think that's a dick move. You found a better job opportunity and you want to go for it. Yes, this person did you an awesome favor, but this other side is offering you a more awesome job from the sound of it. Sucks that you forgot about the two weeks notice thing though, but it's ok. As long as you remember to take that into account the next time this happens, you should be fine. And try to relay how you feel to the night manager person should you get this other job. Be as genuine as possible. If he's really as nice as you say he is, he'll probably understand your situation and realize you truly appreciate what he did for you.

But as others have said, don't quit your current job until you have a verbal and written agreement and everything else at your possible new job. Otherwise, you might find yourself without anything in the end. A truly terrible situation.

I'll echo what others have said about not quitting until you've secured employment at the other place. If the night manager is as cool as you say I imagine as long as you give a two week notice he'll likely understand. I used to be a manager at a shitty place and whenever someone gave their two week notice I understood that it was a terrible retail environment with a large turn-over rate for employment. Best of luck either way!

Your colleagues will understand (likely also envious), your managers will be disappointed for a few days (hours?) tops and will quickly find a replacement. They've experienced identical situations before and this is the exact reason they are being paid more than you. The first time I quit from a long term position really opened my eyes to this.

You have as much agency as you allow yourself in these situations. So long as you're not moving onto nothing, go for it.

@believer258: Do the best that you feel you can at your job, treat people fairly if they deserve it, but never ever put the job before yourself. Just because you were hired that doesn't mean you owe your workplace anything more than the work both of you agreed you would do. Never feel guilty about taking a better offer when it presents itself. From personal experience I can tell you that rarely anything good comes out of some misguided some of loyalty or honor towards your job - unless it's a really, really really great place with amazing people. Just think about it - you're feeling a bit guilty because someone basically changed your shift, which as a past manager myself I can tell you is a trivial matter. Go on to bigger better things man.

Tossing my lot in with everyone here. You do you. Let them worry about staffing that job. They'd surely lay you off in a heartbeat if it meant a better profit for them.

The absolute best you should do, is go in with a "I just got offered a better job for $X, did you want to beat it?" but honestly a call center job isn't going to lead anywhere and any other job you could have will likely improve your resume and lead to better jobs in the long run.

There is a reason it's considered polite/expected to leave 2 weeks notice, so they have time to find a replacement. Anything beyond that, like choosing to stay in a worse job so they aren't screwed, is you living a worse life so other people can be happy. Don't do that for random employers.

I agree with pretty much everyone else here. I'm sure your current employers might not be thrilled but ANYONE can understand why you'd want to take a job that pays more money.

Lol, he's not going to remotely give a shit. If anything it's one less problem for him to worry about. That's if he actually had any intention of trying to solve it in the first place, which he probably didn't.

"I'll ask around" is usually not-very-secret-code for "Christ, anything, just stop fucking asking me about this already".

I think that while it will inconvienience him, he will totally be fine with it. Call centre jobs are usually nothing more than a temporary gig for most people, and if you throw away a great opportunity simply to not upset someone else, that's a pretty silly move in my book.

@believer258: it's not a prick move along as you give the guy 2 weeks notice. If you just ditch him asap than its kinda prick like.

Your day shift boss doesn't sound like a prick, just a guy who is maybe too direct. Complaining that he listens to "one call a week" seems like a pretty silly complaint, like how many you take a day dude?

On the to subject at hand though... First assuming you even get this nebulous other job, no, there is nothing wrong with taking it. Just put in two weeks notice and let them know you can't start for two weeks. If you don't get the new job then no harm no foul. It is a call center, trust me, they are used to "churn" being an issue and it won't shock them if you quit for a better job. If they really are nice people they will probably congratulate you.

Just give a two week notice. Back when I was hiring people (I've since sold the business because retail, even at an ownership level is soul-numbing), I would not hire someone that was willing to leave their current job with no notice. Because I know they would do the same thing to me when a better opportunity came around again.

Management knows that call centers, retail, etc are not careers for most people. It's never shocking when someone decides to move on. Don't think about it too much. Just don't burn any bridges or screw your current co-workers. Put in the best work you can during the rest of your time with them. Nothing wrong with quitting when a better opportunity presents itself.

@believer258: At a certain point, you gotta look out for number one. This is a job we're talking about, so hopefully night-manager will understand. I don't think it's dickish, but simply bad timing; and even if it WAS a "dick move", should that really stop you from changing your job to something you might actually enjoy? I think not.

I'd say you are not doing anything wrong. People leave jobs all the time and if this new job is better for you it would be silly to not pursue it.

Look out for number one, especially in terms of employment.