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Family March 13, 2020

Husband praises his wife for quitting her job: 'Not one promise came to fruition'

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When Kimberly Brown realized she needed to quit her job, she had the most important person in her corner: Her husband, Jacob.

"I 100% supported her decision," Jacob Brown wrote in a LinkedIn post that went viral.

Kimberly had spent more than three years at home caring for the couple's four children and working as a wedding and family photographer. But she decided recently to go back to corporate America.

"It was going to be part-time, three days a week, for five weeks and then full-time, remote position and seemed to be a great fit for work-life balance as we were putting our 3-year old son and 8-month-old daughter into daycare for the first time," Jacob Brown told "Good Morning America."

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Things didn't go as planned.

His post, which he has since removed at the request of his wife's former company, read:

"Last week, my wife decided to quit her job.

Her last day was Friday.

I 100% supported her decision.

The company she worked for promised her a good culture, a work-life balance, and time to get up to speed with the work.

PHOTO: Jacob and Kimberly Brown.
Jacob Brown
Jacob and Kimberly Brown.

Not one promise came to fruition.

Instead of good culture, there was extreme micromanagement and degradation.

She was on call 24/7 and chastised for picking our children up from daycare after 5pm.

Instead of ramp up time, she was patronized for not understanding certain terminology within an industry she'd never touched - 2 weeks into the position.

This was not what she signed up for nor was it the company culture she was promised.

Cheers to my wife and all others who have had the courage to take a stand.

I stand with you!

#FailForward"

Jacob Brown said he wrote the post because "I knew there were others out there experiencing the same type of treatment and wanted them to know that there is a way out. Most of the time, people stay in bad situations because they believe it’s normal, it's not."

As for Kimberly Brown, she was comfortable with her husband sharing her experience publicly.

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"I know there are other companies out there, including those whom I’m proud to have worked for in the past, that support a work-life balance and have great culture. I know I didn’t need to settle and I want others to know that they don’t need to either. The right, supportive workplace is out there. I’ll find it and so will they," she said.

The Howell, Michigan, couple said the response was "incredibly supportive."

"I hope this will spark courage in someone who may be dealing with a toxic work environment and decide they want better for themselves," Jacob Brown said. "I am also hopeful that companies that read it decide to provide their employees with a culture they can be proud of."