So many legal questions come to mind when reading that. Where were you working (what location)? Was it a right-to-work state? Did the contract specify a consequence for breaking that clause? Would they have had any case at all if they chose to file a suit to enforce it, or seek damages? And would they have wanted to bother?
I ask because one area where smart successful people still let themselves get bullied is when it comes to contracts. Contracts are legal documents, but they are not law - they are documentation of an agreement that might get the courts to back them. I'm not recommending just breaking contracts all the time, but there is definitely nuance to consider whenever a contract is at odds with your needs.
I had no interest in fighting it though, I wasn't even angry about it, it was just unexpected.
I had agreed to it. I had read my contract, I had understood it when I read it, I had signed it. Even if I could weasel my way out of it, that would feel immoral to me. You're not being bullied for being asked to do something you already agreed to.
Beyond that, I didn't have any interest in burning bridges on my way out. I'm still friends with many of these people to this day.
I loved being a senior developer there, a very high percentage of my time was spent actually coding, always new and interesting projects.
I don't begrudge them. I just an not meant to manage people.
I've seen great engineers be terrible people managers and vice versa.
Also, you should also have the option to become an IC again.
I think your company failed you
I was consistently working 50+ hour weeks to just get done what needed doing. I was in hindsight not ready to be a manager, dealing with employees emotional arguments, dealing with underperforming employees, being pressured to do things I didn’t feel right about, I have never been so stressed in my life.
I went to the hospital thinking I was having a stroke because my head felt like it was being electrocuted. Turns out after a CT scan to be stress activated trigeminal neuralgia. Doctors advice was to try and decrease my stress levels. lol thanks.
Days later my yearly review rolled around. I had my first negative review in my 5 years, telling me that I wasn’t getting enough done. Icing on the cake.
My friend had been trying to recruit me to various gigs for years. I gave him a call that night. I had a new job later that same week. He and I are still there almost 10 years later, through several buyouts, and have had a great work life balance.
On top of everything, I set a start date 3 weeks out thinking after my two weeks notice was up, a week off would be good for my mental health. However, when I put in my two weeks notice, the owner of the company pulled up my contract and pointed out I’d agreed to a 3 week notice. I honored it and got no vacation.
My year as lead developer was one of the most miserable experiences of my life.