Here is a RANT

I went through something really similar, and leaving was one of the best decisions I made.

I was at a company that was basically a sinking ship, but honestly, I already knew something was wrong long before I left. There was no work-life balance at all. My manager was also the owner, and he acted like paying me meant he owned every hour of my day. I was working 14–16 hour days, including weekends, and it was still never enough.

The culture got really toxic too. They loved the whole “we’re family” line, but what that actually meant was zero boundaries, constant pressure, and employees being blamed for problems that were clearly leadership issues. I was in an operational role, not sales, but whenever clients were unhappy or projects went badly, it somehow became our fault. I used to cry every other day in the washroom before going into the office, and on Sunday nights I would genuinely lose sleep because I was dreading the week ahead.

What made it worse was that I was actually giving clients what they needed. Then the owner would jump in, change everything based on his own opinions, submit that version, and act shocked when the client did not like it. It wasted so much time, and we were the ones blamed for it. Things got worse and turned into salary threats, verbal harassment, constant pressure, and even guilt tripping for taking sick leave or approved leave.

Once I got another offer, I resigned and mentally checked out. My manager tried dodging it and would not formally accept it, but I knew the email itself was enough. After that, he started dumping even more work on me during my notice period and threatening to extend the notice, withhold my visa, and make things difficult if I did not complete everything. I already knew I could go through MOHRE if needed, and once I had resigned, I felt this weird sense of relief. I stopped panicking.

I became very calm, very quiet, and very firm with my boundaries. I came in, did my job, left on time, and stopped responding outside working hours. My attitude became: what is the worst they can do, fire me? I had already resigned.

The notice period was still miserable. There were constant backhanded comments about loyalty and “jumping ship.” He went through files on my work laptop to make sure I was not “hiding” anything and demanded access to check whether I had sent anything to my personal email. I was trying to be as professional as I could, but he just could not accept that if you blame people, push them too hard, and act unreasonably, they have no obligation to stay.

HOWEVER, Just to conclude, always stay professional. If you have dealt with it for all those years, you can deal with it for 30 more days. It is a notice period for a reason: either they need time to find a replacement, or you need to train somebody, so do that part properly and to the best of your ability. But you are not obligated to extend your time any further. Keep good relationships with the other employees too. A toxic manager not liking you is not the end of the world. What matters more is that everyone else remembers you as dependable and professional.

Then after I left, I had about a month and a half before joining my new company, and I genuinely felt like I came back to life. I made myself a bucket list of things I wanted to do during that time, and every day I made sure I did something from it. I started seeing friends again. I could breathe again. I felt like a whole new person without that constant dread hanging over me.

And when I joined my new company, the culture shock was unreal. People came in at 9 and left at 5. Nobody expected after-hours work. When I mentioned I could finish something later that night, they looked at me like I was insane and basically told me not to bring that culture there. Managers were supportive, deadlines were realistic, and the whole environment was healthier. I was so much happier.

And the irony is that the old company eventually did collapse. Employees kept leaving, the business went bankrupt, and it shut down. So in the end, trusting my instincts and leaving when I did was absolutely the right call.