How to quit nicely

[Anonymous]

So I’ve been in this job for years and I absolutely love the kids, but the mom is a stay at home mom and as the years progressed I noticed she’s very aggressive, rude to her kids and the husband, constantly yells at them, makes them cry, leaves the house all day long....the house is starting to become really dirty, their cleaning lady used to come once every week, now once every 3-4 weeks, the dishes are always dirty and oiled up, laundry piled up high, I used to help with laundry, for some reason she doesn’t want me to do it anymore because she wanted the cleaning lady to do it, who comes for 8 - 10 hours on a single day, but the problem is, now she’s only there once or twice a month. The kids are awesome, boys, and you know how it is with young kids, sometimes they fight for toys or turns, and she gets really mad when that happens and yells at us. I mean I think I’m mentally exhausted lol
Ohh and they don’t pay for holidays or days off, which is starting to be annoying because now they started to travel more, and I can’t be without a job for a week or days every couple months.
I started looking for new jobs and found a new job to start in a month, and I was thinking giving this family 2 weeks notice, as that’s what they usually say to do. Is that ok? And how should I quit, I want to be nice about it, what are food excuses without trashing the mom or the house?
She’s nice to me, just really awful to her family and makes me really sick how she non stop yells at them

[Anonymous]

You don’t owe them a reason. Give your notice, tell her how much you have enjoyed the children over the years. That’s all you really need to say. If you feel like you need to say more, maybe say that you are just looking for fewer hours or less children, less of a commute, whatever fits the situation.

[Anonymous]

1) Start saving up so that you can afford to be let go with no notice, line up another job if you can.

2) Give as much notice as you can afford (less than 2 weeks is a slap in the face).

3) DO NOT get into reasons why. “This job is no longer a fit for my needs.”

[Anonymous]

If you've been there for years I think it's really gracious to give 3 weeks if possible. That way you still get a week off in between jobs (which is important for you) and you're taking the high road in giving them lost of notice.

Of course, they might tell you to leave sooner than that but if you already have another job lined up (good for you!!) then that won't be a major problem.

Just be gracious. No need to list the many things that are a challenge. You can just say that you have so enjoyed your time w/ them, you love the kids and hope maybe to stay in touch (you don't really have to do that but it's nice to say) and that you just needed something with more reliable full-time work, inclusive of holiday pay etc... Say you'll help ease the transition as much as possible.

Just take the high road.