Do NOT Burn Bridges at Work
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You should never burn a bridge at work and in your career.
Let’s keep it simple: a massively valuable piece of career advice for you — never, ever burn a bridge at work. Not when you're quitting. Not when someone else is. Not even when you're sure you'll never see or hear from or work with that person or company again. Just don’t do it.
The temptation is real, but resist it.
It’s normal to run into tough situations in your career. You’ll have jobs you can’t stand, bosses who cause you to quit, coworkers who drive you nuts, and maybe even company cultures that are massively toxic. Whether you’re leaving voluntarily, being pushed out, or watching someone else leave the building, the urge to make a pointed remark, writing a flaming social media post, or hit send on a spicy “reply all” goodbye email can feel powerful.
But an absolute truth is that that moment of satisfaction is not worth the potential long-term cost.
“You cannot possibly predict where your career will take you, or who will have influence over opportunities you want down the road.”
You can’t begin to predict the ripple effects.
The reason you don’t burn bridges is not just about being polite for politeness’ sake. It’s because you cannot possibly predict where your career will take you, or who will have influence over opportunities you want down the road.
Maybe someone you worked with ten years ago ends up at your dream company. Maybe they’re asked for an informal reference. Maybe a hiring manager casually reaches out to mutual connections. And when that critical time comes, they may only remember that time you flamed out, made a lot of noise, and lit some sh*t on fire on your way out the door.
And as a result, you’ll never even know that you didn’t get the callback, the recommendation, or the chance. The universe will never even present it to you. This example is just one of a myriad of difference scenarios and possibilities that could be caused in the future timeline of your big splash.
“Many things that can impact your career and opportunities down the road, like informal back channel conversations, happen behind the scenes.”
The silent sabotage of a burned bridge.
Many things that can impact your career and opportunities down the road, like informal back channel conversations, happen behind the scenes. Quietly but powerfully. Hiring decisions are influenced by impressions, stories, and reputations that linger long after you've left the building.
One sharp email. One bitter tweet. One gossipy comment in a meeting. It might feel justified or provide a jolt of adrenaline in the moment. But mark my words, at some point down the road you may come across a bridge that you’d like to cross again and will find yourself having to face the reality that you unwittingly and shortsightedly, burned it to the ground.
“There’s no upside at all to burning a bridge other than a very short-lived emotional victory.”
Integrity is a long game,
The point here isn’t about being passive or tolerating bad behavior. It’s about wisely choosing professionalism, maturity, and self-respect, even when you're frustrated. Especially when you're frustrated. Holding your head high and moving through tough moments with grace doesn’t mean you endorse all that went down. whatever that may be, It means you understand the value of your reputation, and you’re playing the long game.
There’s no upside at all to burning a bridge other than a very short-lived emotional victory. The jab you land today could end up being the knife in your back five months or years from now. So just don’t do it.
“The jab you land today could end up being the knife in your back five months or years from now. So just don’t do it.”
Bottom line: walk away, don’t blow it up.
Leave jobs. Change careers. Speak your truth when it's necessary, respectfully, directly, and privately. But don’t torch people or relationships on the way down or out. You’ll never know what that might cause to come back on you down the road.
Realistically, in most cases you will never come to that bridge again. But if you ever do it could mean the world at the moment that you left it intact.
Related Blogs:
Self Awareness: The Art of Not Sharing an Opinion
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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