Handing in your Notice

[Nightcleaner]

If you were unhappy in your employment and handed in your notice are you expected to work it.
Would your employer secretly on not so secretly want you to leave straight away because of the Damage you might do being unhappy?

 

[savatage1973]

If you hand in your notice, it is expected that you are obligated to work out that notice--regardless of your reason for leaving--that is "professionalism". But don't come to work every day with an obvious chip on your shoulder, or bragging about the better opportunity that you just snagged somewhere else. Just do your job and make every effort to make any "transition" easier for your employer and your co-workers. You may need them later as a reference, or should the grass not be greener, might want the option of coming back. And never threaten to turn in your notice--either do it or don't--the idle threat thing is just total BS and you look like the A-hole and is duly noted.

As for damage--don't do it--that is just "juvenile". Some employers may escort you to the door the minute you turn in your notice--usually for security/financial reasons (or they may just be A-holes), but that is not on you--that is on them, and does not reflect badly on you. ALWAYS take the high road.

 

[dcmfan]

Where I work we have the option of giving the employee "pay in lieu of notice" or we can let them work their two weeks. I someone gives us their notice, though, we expect them to be willing to work that entire period.

 

[gadget73]

Some places will just give you the pay and send you home for fear of sabotage, but I expect those are companies that have been burned in the past. The place I work doesn't do that, but in the last 10 years I can recall only two people who put in their notice and actually did the full length of it without any BS. One of the guys that didn't show up was supposed to get a transfer to another facility but when he didn't show up that bridge got burned. Pretty dumb if you ask me, dude was moving halfway across the country for his wife to care for her parents and due to general stupidity he ended up doing it without a job waiting.

Last place I worked, I basically had the keys to the kingdom. I worked IT and I had the high level passwords for all of the systems. About an hour before the end of my last day the password suddenly changed and I got booted. I understood what was happening and messaged my supervisor and gave a full list of every system I had access to. He'd forgotten about a couple of them.

 

[hjames]

I worked 4 years for a large CATV system in MD _ was a Head-End tech - Sat dishes, modulators, etc - we pulled all the signals together and made the whole wideband stream that fed downstream to 180,000+ paying customers. We did a big facility update - rewired the headend and added some new features. After all that, I started hearing rumours about poor quality of my work (it had not changed, I'd been Employee of the month a few times). Turns out the owner of the system wanted to sell out, get out of the biz, and figured if he dumped the Engineering staff, accounting could show a higher profit margin "on paper."
I found a job at AP Network News downtown (DC) and turned in 2 week notice. Then I started hearing rumours that I was going to sabotage the system. Drive nails into the transmission line just outside the headend - to kill the signals feeding out to the customer. Someone was trying to destroy my good reputation. No idea why.
Of course, that wasn't my style at all - but people can get vindictive and petty when you show you are in control (since I turned in notice) instead of me simply working until it was convenient for them to just cut me lose.

 

[RobRoy]

I've worked for 17 companies in my IT career, but that is because most of them were contracts. They all ended differently. I was fired from one, but it was a weird backhand compliment. That is, they got rid of all the contractors, but kept me because they liked my work. Then one day someone completely unrelated to my team found an anti-mormon article I had downloaded off the internet (this was around the turn of the century, BTW. The internet was a pretty new phenomenon. I did not know that folder was public.). The company I worked for had a lot of Mormons at the top. They walked me out the door to the protests of my manager.

One job ended because they were laying off after a big court case decision. But most of the time a contract simply came to an end and in every case I worked until the end. The only times I was allowed to leave early with pay was if the work had simply dried up and there was really no reason to hang around. That happened twice.

The fun thing about being a contractor is that a job ending is just part of the job. So when one ends early it's not "freak out" time. It's simply, "find the next one" time. And you do.

 

[Nightcleaner]

Thanks: Some interesting replies

How this question arose I was shopping today. Guy on the checkout whom i got to know through shopping in the store a long time. Said Ive Quit I handed in my notice.. I said are you unhappy he said yes. I said What you still doing here. If you have your mind set I am moving completely to another town and I am going to do Agency work. I said what grave digging and emptying bins. Municipal workers here are all agency workers. The council no longer employ anyone. He said I don't mind. Good luck to him. But I was just surprised he was still sitting there in a job hes unhappy with. Do you know its easier to get a job if you have a job. Its like having an automatic reference in its self. Looks like your trying to better yourself IMOP.

 

[savatage1973]

Good luck to him.

Well--so far, he's "doing the right thing" by working out his notice. Yes, its easier to find a job if you have one, but if relocating, that is no longer a factor. And if he is truly unhappy, there is no reason to "torture" yourself forever. I have known people (including myself) that have completely changed careers and started fresh in something new.

I have a PhD and spent 12 years working in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry, then bought a bar, worked at a couple restaurants and trained (rather successfully) as a chef, and now I own a construction company. Go with what works--that's all I can say. Whatever makes him happy, and good luck to him in whatever he pursues.

 

[ZebraBlvd]

The ONLY time I have ever submitted a Notice of Resignation I was immediately escorted out of the building. Which I expected, since I had put in the notice an "Effective Immediately" statement. The reason for my departure is too long to explain here. And it would be boring. But I will say that not only I resigned but 5 of my IT cohorts within a 30 day period. We had a combined total of over 65 years of service with the company. Which really sucked, because everyone of us loved what we did.

 

[savatage1973]

Just an anecdote--the most insane "parting experience" I ever had was with a chemical company (which stall remain un-named) where I turned in my notice and it was totally ignored. I had had enough of the current departmental policies (not with employees, but in general) and was ready to move on. I already had an assistant trainee, so I was basically transferring knowledge of my job to them anyways.

I turned in written notice, and it was totally ignored. Then one day, I just didn't show up. My phone started ringing off the hook to find out where I was--because I never missed work. I referred them to my notice and told them that I honored it and my trainee was up to speed on all the on-going projects. Apparently my direct boss had not forwarded my resignation to his boss (who was the one that called), because it might look unfavorable on him. He begged me to come back and offered to "fix" some things (including re-assigning my direct boss), and I refused, because I already had another job that I was starting the following week. I think (but not sure) that my boss got canned over that one. Let's just say that I hold environmental, public and employee safety above divisional profit margin, and leave it at that.

But it was a crazy experience for sure.

 

[Bobcat]

Simply put, have your personal belongings safe at home and everything in order when you turn your resignation in as though they might immediately escort you to the door.

 

[blhagstrom]

For the “unhappy” employment situations, I resigned effective immediately.


Business is just business.


I see no reason to sabotage a business while leaving.


Company policy may be such that they would escort you out once notice is given. Company policy can be very odd.

 

[peerson]

I resigned once. Gave the guy two weeks notice. Had a much better Union job waiting. That two weeks cost me about ten seniority slots. I wish I had just quit and walked out. But, I didn't want to leave the guy high and dry since he was kind enough to give me a job when I really needed one. In the end, I guess I am glad that I did the right thing.

 

[55Redneck]

Back in the early 2000's I took a job in our small town working the yard and driving the delivery truck for our local building supplies. I was there for a little over a couple of years without one raise I might add (everybody there made the same wage except one old timer). I was coming back from the city with a load of cement, brick, and block when I hear this giant BOOOM!!! I just about sharted myself as it was summer and I had the window rolled down so it was loud. One of the rear duallies blew and that's when I discovered all the back tires were retreads. I limped the truck back to the shop on the shoulder with my 16,000+lb load and made it back ok. The next day the boss and I go down to talk to the local tire guy and Mr. boss man is trying to order more cheapo crap retreads. I gave my two week notice the next morning and after two weeks I was back working for myself installing tile again. No way was I going to risk my life on retreads with an overloaded truck anymore for the 10 bucks an hour I was getting paid at the time. New tires didn't cost that much more than the junk retreads, I still shake my head over that one. You can bet if Bossman had to drive the truck it would always have new tires on it.

 

[toxcrusadr]

All depends on where you work and the nature of the business. I once worked at a contract chemistry research lab, they hired a jerk as my boss, and after a year or two I ended up quitting. I gave a 30 day notice because we were doing complicated projects for customers and I wanted to have things in order, for my coworkers and the clients, if not for the jerk boss. They let me work till the last day and get all the projects handed off.

 

[Donal64]

Most every job I've had, I've gone in with the idea of staying there forever. Always gave it my best shot. Never came close. Usually stayed till it just wasn't worth it to me, to continue going in to work. That's when I would turn in my effective immediately resignation. I remember one job I did give notice, and I did work it. Then wound up taking that employer to small claims court to get them to pay money I had coming. I got paid.

 

[RickeyM]

Years back I worked at an automotive repair center. In the shop you had two levels of workers. Tire & Battery installers and Mechanics. After years of installing tires I got promoted to Mechanics. Exhaust/shocks/oil changes. Our dept. had the lowest number of come backs so yes, we were good. About a year later they couldn't keep any tire installers. The manager called me in the office and said because of poor performance (BS), they were putting me back on the tire line. Instead of being a man about it and saying the move was temporary and needed me to train some guys he came up with this BS about poor performance. Strike one. Then the company had a moral survey and the results were so bad they sent a guy from corporate to see why. Well, our confidential meeting had a snitch and the manager found out exactly what was said and who said it and he retaliated. He cut the part timers down to one or two days a week and made the full timers make up the slack. I walked into the bosses secretary's office and said put me down for to weeks vacation. I said I wasn't coming back. They didn't believe me. In those two weeks I found another job. Give me the shaft twice and I'm not waiting for it a third time.

 

[blhagstrom]

Years back I worked at an automotive repair center. In the shop you had two levels of workers. Tire & Battery installers and Mechanics. After years of installing tires I got promoted to Mechanics. Exhaust/shocks/oil changes. Our dept. had the lowest number of come backs so yes, we were good. About a year later they couldn't keep any tire installers. The manager called me in the office and said because of poor performance (BS), they were putting me back on the tire line. Instead of being a man about it and saying the move was temporary and needed me to train some guys he came up with this BS about poor performance. Strike one. Then the company had a moral survey and the results were so bad they sent a guy from corporate to see why. Well, our confidential meeting had a snitch and the manager found out exactly what was said and who said it and he retaliated. He cut the part timers down to one or two days a week and made the full timers make up the slack. I walked into the bosses secretary's office and said put me down for to weeks vacation. I said I wasn't coming back. They didn't believe me. In those two weeks I found another job. Give me the shaft twice and I'm not waiting for it a third time.

LOL.

One toxic place I worked at was a horror. Everyone was under the gun so CYA was the job of the day, everyday.

I landed a new job, took my 3 weeks vacation and 2 weeks sick leave, took care of some personal business for 3 weeks, started the new job while still on leave at the old job.
At 5 weeks, took lunch break, went to old office, manager out that day.
Left my badge and parking permit on his desk with a sticky note, "I quit".

 

[hdewees]

At our company it depends on the individual and situation - some people get walked out the door immediately and others get to stay their 2 weeks. Depends on what the management thinks of the person - will they do damage, etc.

I gave my employer 6 months notice to retirement and they have been Really nice to me. In theory I could do some damage but why? I only need to give two weeks notice but I wanted them to open a position to replace me./ I've got 5 months to go and I will still go a good job and they know it.

My last job I got laid off and they said I could work for 8 more weeks or just take the pay - thinking I might find another spot in the company. I took the pay (and 26 weeks severance) They had security in the building and someone actually super glued the CEO's office door shut. And this was at a major computer mainframe mfg. company -

 

[jcamero]

I've always given 2 weeks notice, and honored it. I never quit a job I hated, just went after a better opportunity. I talked briefly with my boss about retirement plans. He thinks I should give ample notice before leaving, I said, "how much notice does a company give before firing someone?" All tongue in cheek. I figure 2 weeks before retiring should be fine.