In 2011, I joined UBS and Handed in my Resignation Three Days Later

Close to ten years ago, on a Monday, if my memory serves me well, I started a new job at UBS. A job in the legal department, with a nice title (Executive Director) and a good salary. Three days later, on a Wednesday, I handed in my resignation. Why?

First reason, I was tired. Not tired physically, obviously, in the sense that I needed to sleep more, but tired in my head. After 15 high-intensity years straight, with big-ticket arbitrations, the complex and high-pressure Clariden Leu merger, the 2008 Financial Crisis, etc., etc., I needed a break. Second reason, I immediately felt that it was not a good fit. This is not directed at UBS that is a good bank, as far as I can tell. It is about structural aspects. In an organization like UBS or other behemoths of this calibre, employees generally are, with few exceptions, just a number, not even a footnote in the company's history. For some persons, this is fine, for others, this is difficult. Personally, I find such structures not very appealing. Being now a solo practitioner for five years, where running with the pack is not an option, you see what I mean.

What experience am I trying to share with this post?

First, when you feel that you need a break, take one, it is unlikely that you will regret it. Personally, I will never regret having spent five months with my sons, at the time seven and ten years old, around the clock, preparing lunch for them, taking them to the dentist, etc. Like most full-time working dads, I had never played this role in our family before. It taught me a lot, not least about myself. If I regret anything in this context, it is the circumstance that I did not take such a break longer than five months. 

Second, if you feel that a workplace is not a good fit, and you have the possibility to change, do it. I am mindful that not all persons do have this privilege, but if you do, make use of it. The likelihood that you will regret such a decision is, again, very low. In contrast, being stuck in a job that you do not enjoy, that you experience as placing a heavy burden on you, is in all likelihood having a very negative impact on your quality of life, at least in the long run. And life is too short to make compromises in this regard, if and when you have the possibility to make relevant changes. Again, I am mindful that, unfortunately, not everyone is in such a privileged position.

Philipp H. Haberbeck, Zurich, 13 March 2021 (www.haberbeck.ch)