We never thought this would happen to us, but we quit a work camping job! We prefer to say we resigned because we aren’t quitters. Haha! This is a topic that wasn’t even on our radar when we started workamping because we thought, “They are short-term jobs, we can make it through anything for 4-6 months.” That wasn’t the case with this job so we’re here to share our experience and answer the question, “Is it okay to quit a work camping job?” We answer some questions we were asking ourselves through the process of deciding to leave, how the meeting went, and the final outcome.
Work Camping at a 5-Star Luxury Resort
This job was at a 5-star luxury RV resort. The resort ALL the luxury amenities: pickleball courts, pool, hot tub, bar & grill at the pool, billiard room, ballroom, library, and card room! The bathhouses were unlike anything we’ve ever seen on our work camping journey! We worked there for 6 weeks. Matt worked on the groundskeeping crew doing trash and brush pickup, weeding, cutting palm fronds, and overall keeping the resort grounds looking immaculate. They had an outside company that did all of the mowing and trimming. I (Laurie) worked in the office assisting the residents and guests with their needs, took phone calls and made reservations, pulled reports, and my favorite part, the mail room! We received 50-100 packages a day plus large containers full of letters and magazines.
Corporate vs Privately-Owned Campgrounds/Resorts
Prior to this job, we were oblivious to the fact that there are some major differences between corporate and privately-owned campgrounds and resorts which means the work camper experience can also be very different. Everyone’s desires will be different, and just because it didn’t work for us doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. We don’t believe all corporately-owned campgrounds are bad to work for. This was just based on our experience. Here are some comparisons of our experience with corporate vs privately owned. These are not the reasons we left at all, just differences we’ve observed and our preferences.
Clocking In/Out
We understand that this is a way of tracking time and holding people accountable. This might sound silly, but we wish we didn’t have to live in a time clock world. The corporate job gave us a half hour, unpaid lunch which gave us about 10 minutes to eat since it took us 10 minutes to get there and back.
Contrast that experience with a job with no time clock that trusts their employees to arrive on time and gives them a 1-hour, paid lunch. This likely won’t bother a lot of people, but we workamp to have a more relaxed lifestyle. We appreciate when owners or managers demonstrate trust in this way.
Dress Code
Every place is different, but our corporate experience took the cake on this one. Business casual was the dress code. I purchased a couple of items since I didn’t have any. We workamp to have a more relaxed lifestyle. I never thought I’d have to dress up for an office again! We have worked at a privately-owned campground with no uniforms or dress code. We have also worked at a privately-owned campground that charged us a small fee for uniform shirts, sweatshirts, and jackets. There was also an employee dress code in place for modesty which we greatly appreciated. It would have been nice to have uniform shirts at the corporate job so I could avoid purchasing clothes.
Micromanagement
This is more based on management style. We have heard stories from other workampers who have experienced this at privately-owned campgrounds, but this has only happened to us in the corporate situation. Matt is the hardest worker you’ll ever meet, but he was monitored by the minute here by upper management, not even his direct manager. Again, this wasn’t even our reason for leaving, but it is definitely a huge difference we have observed between the two working environments. At the private campgrounds, we have been entrusted with a job and have not been micromanaged or monitored. If issues have occurred, they have been handled in a healthy way.
Pay
We were working at a 5-star luxury resort that paid their workers how they treated them…poorly (still have to say it, not the reason we left). I was working in the office around 28-30 hours a week, and 25 of my hours each week went to pay for our site. That was A LOT of money for a site. Keep reading for more info on this one because it is pretty crazy what ended up happening when we met with the manager and gave our resignation.
This was the lowest-paying job we have accepted which is kind of crazy since again, it was a 5-star luxury resort. Contrast this with the privately-owned campgrounds we have worked at – we have been paid a higher wage and at one of them, received a very generous bonus. That campground was by far our favorite experience but it wasn’t because of the money. It was because we were respected for who we are as people and treated as equals. We’re not saying all corporate employers don’t pay well, and we have certainly seen private campgrounds pay very low wages or request site rent. This is just something to pay attention to when weighing your options.
Is it Okay to Quit a Work Camping Job?
This can be controversial. Here’s how we see it. In 9-5 life, there are times when a job isn’t a good fit for either you or the employer. We asked ourselves why is work camping any different? Sure, it is a much shorter term of employment, but as we’ve said before, we workamp for a more relaxed lifestyle. We mentioned at the beginning of this article that we thought we could make it through anything for 4-6 months. There were things at this job that we simply weren’t willing to compromise on as far as our ethics, so we made the decision that was right for us.
Based on the general manager’s reaction to our resignation, he would have a different answer to the question, “Is it okay to quit a work camping job?” He was stern with us that we had made a commitment and had signed a contract. We told him we understood where he was coming from but that this wasn’t a good fit for us so we were standing firm on our decision.
How to Quit a Work Camping Job
We can’t say this enough. Please, please be professional when you need to resign from a work camping job. We gave a week’s notice but would have preferred to give 2 weeks. Another job was waiting for us, and they were pretty desperate for us to get there. We were honest and explained that we wanted to handle everything professionally and leave on good terms. We feel so strongly about this. Please don’t give work campers a bad name by packing up and leaving in the middle of the night. Be the person who is brave enough to face the situation head on and have the hard conversation.
How We Resigned from Our Work Camping Job
Our meeting with the general manager was awkward, hard, and uncomfortable, but we were so proud of ourselves for having the courage to handle it the way we did. We each had separate moments of panic and uncertainty about what to say or do during the conversation, especially when the manager got a little heated, but we were able to tag team it and cover for each other like the best teams do!
The meeting that day did not end on good terms. Things were tense in the office for the following week. There were a few awkward conversations initiated by my office manager, but we maintained our determination to exit on good terms if we had any say in it. Matt’s outdoor team was totally cool with him the entire time. Here’s the best part. On our last day, we were told the doors would always be open to us if we ever wanted to return, that they would love to have us back because of our work ethic, skills, and knowledge. They revealed the greatest secret, that they didn’t think we would stick around. They didn’t expect us to honor our word.
You Won’t Believe This…
Remember when I said earlier to keep reading because it was crazy what ended up happening when we met with the manager? As I mentioned, 25 of my 30 hours a week from my check were going toward our site rent. The total was over $1,200!!! We’ve never even had a mortgage payment that high! During our meeting, he asked us if he waived our site deduction, would we be willing to stay? To say we were shocked is an understatement. To think that I had been working for free (or as they would say, working for our site) when it was something he COULD have given us at no cost (meaning over $1,200 more in income which would have helped us so much) was actually infuriating and made our choice to leave even easier. It affirmed our decision which was centered on our ethics.
Was it the Right Choice to Leave our Workamping Job?
We can say with absolute certainty that we made the right decision to quit that work camping job. We don’t quit easily. We are loyal and keep our word. We value doing the hard thing, but when it compromises our ethics, we draw the line.
We are in our second season working for the new resort, and it couldn’t be a better fit. We have the most amazing manager, fabulous coworkers, a flexible schedule, wages that are such a blessing, and our site is nestled between the most wonderful neighbors anyone could ask for. This place feels like home, and I am so grateful. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! Follow what you know you need as a couple!!! If you want to get started with work camping but aren’t sure where to begin, we have a comprehensive post to help guide you called The Beginner’s Guide to Workamping. We also have a growing workamping playlist on our YouTube channel. We’d love to see you over there, too! We are here to help if you have any questions!