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I have been suffering from depression for some years now until I feel I almost want to give up on my job. I have to evaluate my mental condition year by year and keep pondering the point of time to resign. The main reason which caused depression is the overall poor quality of students the university recruits every year coupled with the fact that I am teaching out of discipline so students are pretty much struggling to understand the task requirements etc. I am not going to state in details why I feel depressed.But, I did consult the counsellor who also thought I should leave.

The time has now come for performance review discussions. I have somewhat decided, for my personal well-being, to set the deadline for myself and that is by the end of the next academic year (no matter I can secure an academic position elsewhere by then or not). I am just not too sure how I should put the point across to my boss and whether I should do so. I feel so heavily depressed that I am feeling sick already just by running through the students’ list in the system.

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    What is your job? And by the end of the next academic year do you mean June, in 5 months or in 13? Or some other system?
    – Azor Ahai -him-
    Feb 2 at 13:23
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    is there any possible bad outcome in case you tell him? you are quitting anyway, so consequences like e.g. getting fired are not threatening. I would always try to be honest if your boss did not actively make your life hard. Having a person quit without notice is always very stressfull for the people having to look for a replacement on short notice, so if they didn't really do anything bad to you, it would be fair to tell them
    – Sursula
    Feb 2 at 13:35
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    Virtual hugs Dinamite. Hope you feel better.
    – Boba Fit
    Feb 2 at 14:38
  • Are you on a contract? What happens if you tell your boss now and your boss replaces you this year rather than next year? Do you have money/resources if it takes a while to find another position?
    – mkennedy
    Feb 3 at 0:50

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There are three concerns; yourself, the boss, and the students. In as much as it is possible you want to be fair to everyone. I'll have to make some guesses here, but I'd suggest that you should be the first concern in this case as your situation isn't currently a great benefit to the other parties. Your boss will find a way to replace you on short notice and it their job to know how to do that. I'd normally put the students first, but they might be better off with a prof who knows more about the subject.

You say you have talked to a counsellor. I hope you are still doing that and taking their advice.

Given that situations can change, don't make a firm decision before it becomes necessary to do so and don't put yourself into a situation that you can't change if needed. So, as this is an unusual case, I suggest that you keep your plans to yourself, but continue to evaluate them as well as seeking a better position. Good luck.

I've been in some tough situations myself and stayed longer than I should have done. Good luck.

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