This is just an observation for those who are currently on the fence, and I know there are quite a few of those. People are either getting higher pay and better benefits or enjoying a much healthier culture. For the lucky ones, it's both. If you know somebody who left and isn't happier, please share, but I don't think people like that exist.
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That’s the truth. Not only is everyone who has left (for whatever reason - regardless of whether they retired or were let go) happier, but they also start to look healthier and younger. It’s as if they were released from a poisonous cult and were unable to see the level of toxicity until they escaped and began to feel better and see clearly.
Overall, it's a wash for me. I miss the wages and some the people. All of the jobs I applied offered 15-45% lower salaries than my final year at EM, but now I'm employed at a start-up that allows me to work remotely. Generally, the atmosphere is more collegial and cooperative than the backstabbing environment in Annandale.
I don't miss the worthless bureaucracy and pointless meetings. I don't miss the company propaganda and the bullsh!t that is fed down from managers who are too spineless to look you in the eye and admit the truth. I don't miss safety meetings (or department meetings) that are packed full of tripe to "give early career folks exposure" (yes, I was told that) and safety messages that treat you like kindergarteners. My new company treats its people like adults, trusts your knowledge and experience, and doesn't want you to waste time on cr@p that doesn't add value.
And you know what ? Stuff most of the people that I thought were friends and I left behind at EM. Apart from 2 out of the 20-25 to whom I said "goodbye, good luck and keep in touch", i might as well have dropped off the face of the earth.
I don’t regret leaving EM. I retired. Now everyday is a weekend, ha!
I regretted coming to XOM within months of my arrival. The culture is very poor. I couldn’t go back to my old company. I developed health issues and had kids on their way to college. Previous post is correct in that it’s like being in an abusive relationship. But I was paid handsomely so I put up with it. However, it has taken a toll and it changed me. I didn’t like what I see in the mirror. So I decided to leave.
I have talked to a couple who went to Facebook and they went when Facebook was at an all time high. They're seeing a shift and it's not pretty. I'd be careful going to tech in this current environment
Very happy I don't have to answer to no-nothing department head's anymore, and my perceived performance doesn't hinge on whether or not they woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
Everyone that I have talked to that has left compared working for Exxon as being in an abusive relationship that you didn't realize you were in until just before you left. Not a single regret so far and in the Moncton GBC they sold off 400+ people to HCL so lots of people for a sample size to base off of.
I left and am truly enjoying going to work again. Whether the grass is truly greener on the outside, at least it’s not completely dead.