Re: Ethics of Jumping To Another Contract Job

[Laura Lemay <lemay -at- lauralemay -dot- com>]

Combs, Richard wrote:
> No. The _wording_ of the contract determines _what_ you're bound to do,
> not _whether_ you're bound to do it. If you're a party to the contract,
> you're bound by it (assuming it's legal). 

As others have mentioned earlier in this thread, most contracts have 
some sort of release clause where the client can dismiss you at any time 
or you can leave at any time (or with some number of days of notice). 
Every contract I've ever worked, W2 or 1099, has had a release clause,
some more advantageous than others.  I've negotiated some to be at least 
equal for me and the client.

But there's what's right per the legal letter of the contract, verus the
much squishier notions of ethics and reputation.  In the letter of the 
contract it may be just fine to exit a contract early.  But will that 
tick off your client so that you'll never get hired again?  Will they 
give you a bad reference?  Will word get around that you skip out on 
jobs?  That's a harder problem.

I once had a contract that turned really bad.  The job description 
changed four times in the first month I was there.  There was a big war 
between engineering and docs over who owned  the job.  Nearly every day 
there were long meetings in which minutae of how documents were to be 
produced were argued over again and again.  Some meetings turned 
literally violent thanks to severe personality clashes between group 
members (not with me). The contract was open-ended, but I stuck it out 
for six months before quitting.  When I left both the engineering and 
docs managers expressed surprise that I had stayed that long, apologized 
for things being so messed up, and congratulated me on being so 
professional in the face of insurmountable odds.  One of the managers is 
to this day one of my best references.

Legally, I could have left at any time (and it would have been much 
better for my sanity if I had left the moment I figured out that things 
were very wrong).  Ethically, and in the long run, it was far better for 
me to stay.

In Richard's case, if it were me, I would definitely stay.  There's too 
much potential for reputation risk by leaving.  Bird in the hand, etc.

Laura

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Laura Lemay     Killer of Trees     lemay % lne.com    lemay % gmail.com
http://www.lauralemay.com                     http://blog.lauralemay.com
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