I’m traveling with my family for Spring Break this week, as I have done for years. The weeklong school hiatus in March leaves me with one of two options: either juggle kids at home while working or find something to keep everyone entertained. I choose the latter.
I’ve been fortunate to have jobs with enough flexibility that I can take this time off. I know that easily might not have been the case (and even wasn’t the case for colleagues with some of my former employers).
Recently, a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employers can dock PTO of salaried employees that don’t meet quotas. Monstrous. And not entirely different from the rise in unlimited PTO that usually benefits the employer and not the employee. Employees end up using less PTO with unlimited policies or feel like they’re “always on.” That was true of my experience with unlimited PTO: I usually ended up working a bit.
To any companies that feel the need to dock PTO: gross. One more indication that they don’t care about people or their well-being. One more reason to quit and find something better.
This week (in part because I’m on vacation and didn’t want to write a full essay), I’ve compiled a playlist of “quit songs.” I asked for contributions from people I know who have quit jobs recently, so the playlist has quite a variety.
Enjoy these songs for motivation and validation to leave that crappy employer behind. And if you want to listen to the entire thing on YouTube Music, you can click here.
“Fuck You” by Lily Allen
“Never Going Back Again” by Fleetwood Mac
“Bulletproof” by La Roux
“My Rights Versus Yours” by The New Pornographers
“Movin’ Out” by Billy Joel
“I Don’t Fuck With You” by Big Sean
“Not Ready to Make Nice” by The Chicks
“We’re Not Going to Take It” by Twisted Sister
“Uprising” by Muse
“Baby Blue” by Action Bronson
“Working Class Hero” by Ozzy Osbourne
“Sixteen Tons” by Johnny Cash
“We Gotta Get Out of This Place” by The Animals
“Bang the Drum All Day” by Todd Rundgren
“You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore
“So What” by P!nk
“Won’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who
“Break My Soul” by Beyoncé
“I Disagree” by Poppy
“Titanium” by David Guetta
“you should see me in a crown” by Billie Eilish
“Take This Job and Shove It” by Johnny Paycheck
“Leave Me Alone” by I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
“Never Forgive You” by Sol Fei
“You’ll miss me when I’m not around” by Grimes
“Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen
“Dog Days Are Over” by Florence + The Machine
If you’ve quit your job and decided to go solo, you can check out my free eBook: 17 Smart Tools Solopreneurs Need to Start, Grow, and Scale.
You can also follow me on LinkedIn for more insights about work, Threads where I’m a bit spicier, and my blog where I share tips for solopreneurs. Or, catch up on the personal side of my life here.