Um, so don't do this

moira_rose_stan · January 9

So I arrive to the office today to find a handwritten note and keys under the door from one of my team members, stating they took a job unexpectedly and won't be coming back. I'm pretty shitty, that's absolutely NOT the way to do that. They were here yesterday and could have just told me they took a job and needed to start right away, or sent me a MFing text message at the very least. And of course this person was supposed to work this weekend so now yours truly has to work this weekend because I'm Mrs. Manager.

Also, this jerk didn't even have the audacity to spell "inconvenience" correctly when apologizing for causing it. ::knife emojo::

Image result for mr manager

banana468 · January 9

What kind of a job doesn't respect that an applicant is currently employed?

That's really shitty - I'm sorry.

OliveOilsMom · January 9

That is all sorts of rude! I'm sorry!

MobKaz · January 9

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

mrsconn23 · January 9

VarunaTT · January 9

moira_rose_stan · January 9

MobKaz said:

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

Yes, I'm well aware of that and am a firm believer that people need to do what they need to do. However, while I would have been disappointed to learn that yesterday before they left, I would have understood their position and that would have been that. Not only would that have allowed me to collect their keys myself rather than leaving them essentially where anyone could have entered my office between last night and this morning (the note was dated yesterday), but also had time to put some things in motion yesterday/last evening in preparation for this departure. This wasn't the way to handle it.

banana468 · January 9

MobKaz said:

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

There's a big difference though between giving the courtesy of giving your employer time to process our departure and look for a suitable replacement and company restructuring. The other aspect is that the company often has to protect capital assets and if employees are given notice that they will be let go it gives them time to either obtain proprietary information or start to badmouth/network on company time.

A person still wants to be able to build a resume and leave a list of references. That employer could be contacted and while they may legally not provide a positive or negative reference they can state, "This employee worked until January 8, 2020 at which time they left with no notice for a different opportunity." That isn't badmouthing or giving any negative reference and most hiring managers will see directly through the language that reads, "This is a person who is not inclined to work as a great team player."

mrsconn23 · January 9

banana468 said:

MobKaz said:

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

There's a big difference though between giving the courtesy of giving your employer time to process our departure and look for a suitable replacement and company restructuring. The other aspect is that the company often has to protect capital assets and if employees are given notice that they will be let go it gives them time to either obtain proprietary information or start to badmouth/network on company time.

A person still wants to be able to build a resume and leave a list of references. That employer could be contacted and while they may legally not provide a positive or negative reference they can state, "This employee worked until January 8, 2020 at which time they left with no notice for a different opportunity." That isn't badmouthing or giving any negative reference and most hiring managers will see directly through the language that reads, "This is a person who is not inclined to work as a great team player."

Furthermore, @moira_rose_stan and I live in the same metro area and while we live in a growing area, it's still got a 'small town feel'. There's so many connections in unexpected places and industries (trust me, the spiderwebs DH and I have found through work are insane in how we meet people who know people we have close connections with). I'd be very hesitant to fuck over an employer if I wanted to stay in the same line of work here because everyone seems to know everyone somewhere along the line.

moira_rose_stan · January 9

mrsconn23 said:

Furthermore, @moira_rose_stan and I live in the same metro area and while we live in a growing area, it's still got a 'small town feel'. There's so many connections in unexpected places and industries (trust me, the spiderwebs DH and I have found through work are insane in how we meet people who know people we have close connections with). I'd be very hesitant to fuck over an employer if I wanted to stay in the same line of work here because everyone seems to know everyone somewhere along the line.

Yessss. And if this person is staying in our industry, which I joke is sooooo incestuous because people do tend to shift from one management company to another (myself very much included), this is such a terrible look. And on the hiring company as well. No matter how desperately I needed a candidate I would see huge red flags if they offered to just quit without giving a notice to their current employer.

banana468 · January 9

moira_rose_stan said:

mrsconn23 said:

Furthermore, @moira_rose_stan and I live in the same metro area and while we live in a growing area, it's still got a 'small town feel'. There's so many connections in unexpected places and industries (trust me, the spiderwebs DH and I have found through work are insane in how we meet people who know people we have close connections with). I'd be very hesitant to fuck over an employer if I wanted to stay in the same line of work here because everyone seems to know everyone somewhere along the line.

Yessss. And if this person is staying in our industry, which I joke is sooooo incestuous because people do tend to shift from one management company to another (myself very much included), this is such a terrible look. And on the hiring company as well. No matter how desperately I needed a candidate I would see huge red flags if they offered to just quit without giving a notice to their current employer.

YES. My industry as well reads large but one you start to talk to people you realize that the movers and shakers are intermingled. I love my job and employer and have no plans to change and can tell you that if I ever wanted to make a move I would give notice.

I would also understand that if I did give notice, my current employer would probably tell me that my notice day was my last day and that if I was ever terminated / laid off I wouldn't have notice.

MyNameIsNot · January 9

MobKaz said:

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

This is so true. The only reason I give proper notice and advise others to do the same is out of the self-preservation of it coming back around to me. Loyalty to a company these days is just naive.

I work for a company that I like, and generally want to continue working for them. But I harbor no delusions that I'd be out on my ass in a hot second if it suited the bottom line.

climbingwife · January 9

That is really, really shitty. I've had an employee do something to me similar (she sent me a text one weekday morning to say she quit) and it was such a clusterfuck. Also awkward for her, I've run into her a few times at events, and she quite literally runs and hides.

I don't feel it's ever OK to bail on your employer with not notice, short of a dangerous or abusive situation.

mrsconn23 · January 9

MyNameIsNot said:

I work for a company that I like, and generally want to continue working for them. But I harbor no delusions that I'd be out on my ass in a hot second if it suited the bottom line.

I've worked for my company for 20 years this year, and I know they owe me no advance notice if they decide my position is no longer necessary. I also know the place won't fall down around them if I leave. I'd give notice and be able to work out my notice no problem. I've seen people give months advance notice and not be shown the door early.

I definitely wouldn't walk out, because I need my references and wouldn't jeopardize that by being rash in my departure.

moira_rose_stan · January 9

Like I said, I fully support people doing what they need to do and if that entails leaving a job without notice, that's the way it goes sometimes. <--- especiallllllllly if the employer is shitty and/or abusive. And I'm in full agreement that most companies aren't going to give you notice you're being let go or any kind of severance package, so people truly should do what is ultimately best for them.

The bottom line for me is: be an adult and speak to me, even if it's a phone call or a text, and let me know your intentions. We had a good working relationship and there's no reason that I or my other team members deserved to be left this way. And definitely don't leave your keys where someone could have taken them and accessed the office. It's unacceptable.

mrsconn23 · January 9

moira_rose_stan said:

And definitely don't leave your keys where someone could have taken them and accessed the office. It's unacceptable.

That's the most egregious part of the whole thing. They not only put the business at risk, but also you and your other employees personal safety as well. Also, they made themselves a liability IF someone had found the keys and used them for nefarious purposes. You hand the keys over, not try to 'keys on the roof' that shit.

short+sassy · January 9

At first, I thought this was a Prudie letter, lol.

On the one hand, I do see where it is a bit unfair that employees are expected to give at least two weeks notice, but companies often don't. But then yeah, there are good and valid reasons for companies to do that also.

However, there's also usually no good reason why an employee can't just tell their employer/supervisor as soon as they accept a job offer, other than to avoid an awkward conversation. At least a "Hey, I know this might come as a surprise, but I accepted a job offer yesterday and my last day will be XYZ." Even if it isn't a two-week notice, at least give as much notice as they can! It's ridiculous and immature to do otherwise, if the only reason is because they're too cowardly to just say something.

@moira_rose_stan, I'm sorry this happened and that now you have to pay the price because this employee could not put on their big girl/boy panties.

MyNameIsNot · January 9

mrsconn23 said:

MyNameIsNot said:

I work for a company that I like, and generally want to continue working for them. But I harbor no delusions that I'd be out on my ass in a hot second if it suited the bottom line.

I've worked for my company for 20 years this year, and I know they owe me no advance notice if they decide my position is no longer necessary. I also know the place won't fall down around them if I leave. I'd give notice and be able to work out my notice no problem. I've seen people give months advance notice and not be shown the door early.

I definitely wouldn't walk out, because I need my references and wouldn't jeopardize that by being rash in my departure.

That's exactly what I'm saying. To a lesser extent, I would feel bad about leaving co-workers in the lurch, but it's mostly selfishly motivated, not toward doing the right thing for the company.

I think we've been conditioned, especially women, to have this loyalty to team and company that just isn't reciprocal. I've heard so many women say that they'd couldn't look for a new role in the middle of X project or while the team is short staffed, even though they want to. I know there are some men who do this too, but I think these loyalty and obligation feelings really do hold women back from advancing at the same rate as men. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but I do think it's important to recognize that you have to look out for yourself, first.

VarunaTT · January 9

moira_rose_stan said:

And definitely don't leave your keys where someone could have taken them and accessed the office. It's unacceptable.

At the very least, "keys on the roof" those bitches.

Aaah, some old school Knotting.

GBCK · January 10

MyNameIsNot said:

MobKaz said:

So, I agree that not giving a proper notice is a crappy thing to do. However, I have also seen the opposite where long term and productive company personnel are given a tap on the shoulder Friday afternoon and told it is their last day. Loyalty to and from workplaces seems to be a thing of the past. It is absolutely an “every man for himself” world these days.

This is so true. The only reason I give proper notice and advise others to do the same is out of the self-preservation of it coming back around to me. Loyalty to a company these days is just naive.

I work for a company that I like, and generally want to continue working for them. But I harbor no delusions that I'd be out on my ass in a hot second if it suited the bottom line.

I also do it because I want to weed out shitty employers. And someone who doesn't want me to give 2 weeks notice is someone I don't want to work for--lack of respect for professional norms.
I had a one person (a supervisor who is no longer here) who was a bit snarly about me starting in 2.5 weeks, and my old-sup offered to let me go early (at HUGE inconvenience to herself) and I reminded her there was no way I wanted to work here if they got super snarly about that.

(Said supe was a nightmare and I do think it's indicitive of some of the things I am working to change at my company. But, nonprofits, are nutty)

charlotte989875 · January 10

Damn. That’s just wrong. And professionally really stupid.

I will say a guy on my team resigned in the fall (we were going to terminate him before his probation per was over) and he was told not to come back after he put in his time. Had he been out of the probation period he would have gotten to stay on those two weeks, but since he wasn’t. I even think that was a little too much.

(He wasn’t a bad guy or a problem, he just couldn’t do the job).

kvruns · January 10

Yikes that a crappy start to the day. Can it be nerve-wreaking to resign - yes. But you still do it in person!

short+sassy · January 10

To give a little "love" to the company side. Come to think of it, it's not usually a "today's your last day, get out and you get nothing" situation. At least not in my experience. I was once given two weeks notice that I was going to be laid off on X day, though they didn't give me any severance pay. Every other time I've been laid off, the day I was told was my last day, but I was given at least two weeks of severance pay.

The current company I work for does a combination of both. People who are from staffing companies are given two weeks notice in a layoff, but no severance pay. Employees are always given severance pay and sometimes a two-week notice on top of that.

A few years ago, the only other person in my department was being laid off. But they wanted him to teach me the side of things that he did because I was going to be taking on those duties also. He was given the option for to work for two more weeks (and he did) and then get his normal severance pay after that. As an aside, they brought him back on last year. Though now he works in a different building, for a different client.

MyNameIsNot · January 10

short+sassy said:

To give a little "love" to the company side. Come to think of it, it's not usually a "today's your last day, get out and you get nothing" situation. At least not in my experience. I was once given two weeks notice that I was going to be laid off on X day, though they didn't give me any severance pay. Every other time I've been laid off, the day I was told was my last day, but I was given at least two weeks of severance pay.

The current company I work for does a combination of both. People who are from staffing companies are given two weeks notice in a layoff, but no severance pay. Employees are always given severance pay and sometimes a two-week notice on top of that.

A few years ago, the only other person in my department was being laid off. But they wanted him to teach me the side of things that he did because I was going to be taking on those duties also. He was given the option for to work for two more weeks (and he did) and then get his normal severance pay after that. As an aside, they brought him back on last year. Though now he works in a different building, for a different client.

Ours is like that. We went through some layoffs this year. The employees in my group were given notice in May for last days in Sept-Dec, plus there's a minimum 12 weeks severance. (More for higher job grades and longer tenure.) The thing I like that they did was with people who ended on 12/31, they let them leave the Friday before Xmas but still paid them as if they worked through the year and then severance started 1/1. For contractors, they got no pay out, but still also got a long notice.

There is another group I work with that also had impacts, but only had 60 days notice. Everyone has been talking about how short that is. So I say I could be out on my ass tomorrow, and I could, but that's really a bit extreme.

Um, so don't do this

Re: Um, so don't do this

Choose Another Board

Search Boards