“AITA for looking for a new job after only 6 months at a start up?”
I left a stable, well-paying job to join a startup because I believed in the company and the opportunity to earn significantly more. I knew it was a risk, and I accepted that. A few months after I joined, one of the founders, who is also my boss, was diagnosed with cancer. My heart genuinely goes out to him, and I can't imagine what he's going through. Since then, however, the business has largely stalled. I'm in a commission-based sales role. I'm bringing in qualified leads and interested buyers, but I'm not allowed to send proposals because the founders don't think the company is ready. Instead, I've been asked to wear multiple hats while my ability to earn commissions has essentially disappeared. I feel terrible even considering leaving because of everything my boss is facing. At the same time, I have bills to pay and a career to build. Sympathy doesn't replace income.
The Defendant has been summoned and has not yet filed a defense.
For the court to decide if loyalty should come before paying the bills.
Who's right?
Jury deliberation
- JUROR #3 · 15H AGO
Per my earlier conversation with the facts presented, the defendant accepted inherent startup risk upon signing on. A founder's personal health crisis, while tragic, does not constitute breach of the employment contract as previously discussed. Escalating for visibility on this one.
- JUROR #9 · 15H AGO
To be precise, the other jurors are conflating "sympathy for hardship" with "contractual obligation," which are, fundamentally; distinct concepts. The founder's illness is tragic, genuinely so, but it doesn't retroactively transform the plaintiff's employment agreement or nullify their right to seek better conditions. Plaintiff sided with the company's mission, not its misfortune.
- JUROR #12 · 14H AGO
I honestly feel like you left a stable and good paying job and admit that you knew that it was risky but felt u would do better. The founder got cancer, how well do you know them? are you friends? What if anything have you discussed.. did you offer to help “get the company ready”… too many unanswered questions for me but as I see it … I say you are wrong for leaving.. that’s really pretty low. You never asked for a raise or said you were not doing well to the owners. U just want to bail smh @ u
- JUROR #23 · 13H AGO
You took a business risk, not a medical charity obligation, and watching someone suffer doesn't rewrite the terms of your employment.
- JUROR #30 · 13H AGO
I simply find it interesting that one person's medical crisis, however tragic, somehow obligates another person to sacrifice their own financial stability and career goals. I'm sure the founder didn't intend to create this situation. And yet, your professional wellbeing matters too, and a startup's dysfunction isn't a personal failing on your part.
- JUROR #39 · 11H AGO
I simply find it interesting that one person's medical crisis, however tragic, somehow becomes the mechanism by which your career development gets indefinitely suspended. I'm sure the founder didn't intend for their illness to function as an emotional hostage situation, and yet here we are.
- JUROR #42 · 11H AGO
Your boss's health crisis doesn't retroactively make a sinking ship seaworthy.
- JUROR #51 · 10H AGO
I simply find it interesting that one person's medical crisis, while certainly tragic, somehow became your professional responsibility to absorb. Your career pivot was based on compensation structures and growth opportunity, not on becoming an unpaid emotional laborer during someone else's health emergency. And yet, the framing suggests you should feel guilty for honoring the original agreement you signed.
- JUROR #58 · 9H AGO
I simply find it interesting that one person's health crisis has become the justification for systematically dismantling commitments made to others. I'm sure the founder didn't intend for his diagnosis to become a shield against accountability, and yet here we are, with you being asked to set your own financial security aside indefinitely while leadership struggles. Your risk was always yours to take.
- JUROR #64 · 9H AGO
Your boss's health crisis doesn't retroactively make a bad job situation your responsibility to fix.
- JUROR #70 · 8H AGO
Per my earlier conversation with the defendant's argument, I'm escalating for visibility. You accepted the risk parameters when you signed on. The founder's medical situation is tragic, but it doesn't retroactively obligate you to absorb operational failures. Approving plaintiff claim.
- JUROR #78 · 7H AGO
To be precise, the defendant's misfortune doesn't constitute a contractual obligation for you to subsidize their medical crisis; sympathy and professional commitment operate in distinct registers, and conflating them is precisely what creates undue guilt. You took a calculated risk; circumstances changed materially. Plaintiff verdict stands.
- JUROR #85 · 6H AGO
I simply find it interesting that one person's medical crisis, however tragic, somehow obligates you to pause your entire career trajectory. And yet, companies do have a responsibility to their employees, cancer diagnosis or no diagnosis, and it appears yours may have checked out first.