# Managers: How bad do you feel when an employee quits? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2009, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426 "2009-11-13T09:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/21 "2009-11-14T11:38:32Z")
I’ve only been a “direct manager” in voluntary situations, where anybody with half a brain know that people will eventually leave. When people left because their “real life” demanded it (finished college, moving, got a promotion in their paying job which involved not being available in the hours we needed) I’m sorry to see them in the “awww, gonna miss you” way; when they left because some other manager had managed to piss them off beyond words, I wanted to strangle the other manager; when the one leaving was a jackass I made sure the door didn’t hit them on their way out. My experience as an employee (and as a voluntary worker) has been that the bosses who make a huge fuss about you leaving are the ones who were making your work impossible. The decent ones may be happy or sorry, but they act like human beings before, during and after your resignation. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/22 "2009-11-14T13:36:16Z")
_Da da da da, da da da da, hey hey hey, gooood bye!_ ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/23 "2009-11-15T02:12:56Z")
Once back when I was a manager, one of my employees came into my office and turned in a resignation letter. I read it, we talked for a few minutes, and I gave him back the lettter, and I told him that I would not accept his letter, I told him that he cant quit. We talked for a little while longer, I asked him what he was unhappy about, I told him that I would make some changes for him, and then he left my office and went back to work. True story. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/24 "2009-11-15T03:11:24Z")
I always felt that if you took the time to hire a person, then train them, it was more than just a job. There is a 2 way commitment. laying people off or canning them is a failure on the bosses part too. I would do whatever I could to keep an employee, retraining, moving them to different departments or whatever I could do. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/25 "2009-11-15T04:23:13Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > I’ve been a manager for 20 years. It’s got nothing to do with emotional attachment. It’s about managing. If you get a resignation letter, you suddenly have a shitload of work to do that you didn’t plan for. You have to figure out how to transition everything this person knows and their work in progress to other people, and you’ve got two weeks to do it. You have to decide whether you can absorb the loss, or whether you have to replace the person. If the latter, maybe you need to write a requisition, get it approved by your management. Prepare a final performance review. Start the recruiting effort, review dozens of résumés, interview a bunch of people, make an offer, get turned down, make another offer… I think it’s pretty much a given that a manager feels inconvenienced by the whole transition process when someone leaves. > [@Susanann](#): > > Once back when I was a manager, one of my employees came into my office and turned in a resignation letter. > > I read it, we talked for a few minutes, and I gave him back the lettter, and I told him that I would not accept his letter, I told him that he cant quit. > > We talked for a little while longer, I asked him what he was unhappy about, I told him that I would make some changes for him, and then he left my office and went back to work. I probably would have said something like “that’s fine. Just so you know, I don’t plan on coming to the office anymore or doing any more work so I guess you can decide whether or not you want to keep sending me paychecks.”😃 ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2009, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426/26 "2009-11-15T05:08:25Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > _Da da da da, da da da da, hey hey hey, gooood bye!_ Err, do you mean “[Na na na na](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na_Na_Hey_Hey_Kiss_Him_Goodbye)”? Just trying to save you from embarrassment the next time you are trying to gloat. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/managers-how-bad-do-you-feel-when-an-employee-quits/517426.md?page=1)