Editor's note: Inc.com columnist Alison Green answers questions about workplace and management issues--everything from how to deal with a micromanaging boss to how to talk to someone on your team virtually torso odor.

A reader writes:

I've been in a fairly toxic workplace for two years, and in i week I'g finally washed with my contract and am moving on to greener, and saner, pastures. This is all well and good, except I'grand leaving behind a small team of people whom I've grown very close to while I've managed them.

And I know things are about to become much, much worse for them at work. The company is in problem financially, which we all know: Information technology was used as an excuse to downsize; move us to tiny offices; increase unpaid overtime; non give raises, bonuses, or paid exit; etc. We've all pulled together to make that work because nosotros love what we do. We used to have a actually incredibly bad owner, who recently sold the company to her partner and fled: Nosotros're withal uncovering the mess she made of things.

Our direct manager equally well is feeling the pressure, and with the prospect of me leaving, has started to make some changes to the workplace that I feel volition exist detrimental to the work, the culture, and the team I'thousand leaving behind. Add together to that that I found and hired my replacement, who I'm now worried is going to get burned by all this, and I'k feeling incredibly guilty and dislocated.

Do I accept a responsibility to stick my nose in all this mess that is going to come raining downwards or does my leaving mean I can't have anything to do with information technology? Is there some fox to just washing your hands and moving on?

First, it'south normal in a situation like this to feel guilty that you're jumping off a (possibly) sinking transport and leaving people behind. Merely these are adults who are getting plenty of signals themselves about what'due south going on. The downsizing, the smaller offices, the halting of paid leave, the fleeing owner--your co-workers may not accept however information you practise, just they take enough to understand that the situation isn't secure or stable. Anyone who is shocked by further downsizing in that context and didn't come across it coming was almost willfully not paying attending. So you don't need to struggle with whether you lot need to audio an alert for them--the situation is already warning them. They may not know the specifics that you know, just they know the situation isn't practiced, and they're making their own calculations accordingly.

And that'due south good, because y'all really can't share confidential information that your job makes y'all privy to. This is the nature of some jobs; you signed up for a role that would expose yous to internal decision making, and yous agreed to keep it confidential. That stuff is non always easy, particularly when you're learning near things that will impact your co-workers, but in that location's no exception in the confidentiality provision for "when it becomes hard."

What you can practise is talk to people in ways that don't violate your confidentiality obligations, especially since your own departure provides an obvious context. So if a co-worker expresses dubiety to you about whether he or she should be job-searching, you tin point out that in an unstable situation similar your company is currently in, information technology's always smart to line upwardly options. And particularly for the people you manage, I could fifty-fifty argue that part of the task means having a final talk with them about their career plans earlier y'all head out. Ask questions, heed, and give communication. Just don't violate your confidentiality obligations.

You lot can also strongly advise your director to be as transparent equally possible with the staff about what's going on. You can directly her to information about managing downsizing well--there'due south a lot out there that argues that being open and transparent is the key to recovering from periods like this. She should read it, and you should push her to. (Whether she does or not is ultimately up to her, merely yous tin can strongly propose it.)

Similarly, regarding your managing director making changes that you see every bit detrimental, all you lot tin exercise is give the all-time counsel yous tin can. Brand your example for why these changes would exist harmful and offer alternatives. But from there, it'southward up to her. You've washed all you can practice, and you shouldn't beat yourself upwardly for not existence able to somehow stop her.

Want to submit a question of your own? Send it to alison@askamanager.org.