We have all had some bad experiences as employees - especially as contract employees. Some helpful things I have learned along the way are:
1. "management" are people too. You can make them angry. They won't always be perfect.
2. The archaic custom of giving notice is as long-gone as severance pay. Don't tell anyone that you are ready to leave a job until you are ready to either work two more weeks or leave that day. You may feel that it is only the fair and polite thing to do when you give your employer two weeks notice, but all they hear is that you are quitting. If they let you work out your notice, some people will see it as "making" you work out your notice. You have to be prepared to go or to stay before you say a word.
3. Never, ever, ever, no, not ever, I really mean NEVER, talk to anyone about how much you are getting paid, how much your next job is going to pay you, how much they are getting paid, ... etc. It isn't anybody's business anyway, and nothing good ever comes from the knowledge.
4. People rarely quit a job that they like without first seeking opportunities within the organization. If you are happy with what you are doing and the company you are working for, money isn't a good enough reason to quit. You'll work toward a raise and/or promotion to get more money. You won't jump ship until you are no longer happy where you are. (Failing to make any progress toward that raise or promotion may be the reason for your unhappiness, but you will be unhappy in any case before you take a job elsewhere.) The moment you indicate your desire to quit, you infect the workplace with your discontent. Even if you are grinning ear-to-ear about the good deal you are leaving for, everyone else sees it as gloating. You might be dancing on air, but it is still negativity.
5. Happy workers are better workers. They are more productive and cause fewer problems than unhappy workers. Happiness is contagious among the workforce. Unhappiness is a cancer. Even workers content with their jobs may be unhappy about having to work with you if you bring your negativity to work. It only takes one malcontent to destroy the morale of the whole organization.
6. It takes two distinct actions to keep a workforce happy (and, therefore productive, ...etc.) One, you have to treat your workers well. Two, you have to fire the unhappy workers. If you don't fire the unhappy ones, you are mistreating the happy ones by subjecting them to the negativity. It has to be done. I used to think that was pretty dastardly, but it (unfortunately) makes perfect sense.
7. There are THREE necessary and logical correlations to 4, 5 and 6. If you are quitting, you are unhappy. If you are unhappy you are a cancer. Cancer must be excised quickly before it spreads.
8. Therefore, the minute you let on that you are leaving, it is already past time for you to go. Period.
We have all been, at various times, the happy employee, the unhappy employee, and maybe also the boss who has both in his employ. The perspective of each is different, so at different times we react differently to similar situations.
When the act of wasting $100million involved direct deposit of part of it into your account every payday, it wasn't such a problem. When they booted your ass, they suddenly became the inept mis-managers who blew millions with nothing to show for it. (Go figure, it is a government job after all.)
