I have an age old question for y’all: should I give my employer a longer-than-two-weeks notice?
This is my second job so I am still pretty new to this quitting thing… On my first job I gave a two weeks notice and everything went smoothly…
I am currently looking for a new job and have scheduled interviews with several companies. I will likely get an offer early August, follow by two weeks, and leave my current position around August 15-20th.
Several people in my department had quit in the past three months and they all gave two weeks notices (one higher-up guy gave 15 days). However with so many people gone and busy season coming up in September, my manager called me over today and directly ask me if I am leaving with them (I said no, technically telling the truth). He also told me that if I am leaving I need to give him enough notice - he hints at least four weeks.
Actually, before this, the supervisor whom I work directly under, sort of a mentor figure to me, had also told me numerous stories about how they hated some former employees who quit just before busy season and it is a small world and they will never give reference to someone like that etc.
I know that I need to lookout for myself so I am not going to give out notice until I have offers at hand. But I am trying to act responsibly and not burn bridges behind me.
The longest notice I think I should give is three weeks. However…
I doubt they will be happy even if I give them three weeks notice.
In my industry, I won’t really need reference from them in the future. And even if I do, I have plenty from the the people who quit before me.
They probably won’t fire me on the spot, but there will be some inevitable cold shoulders once I give notice (as they shown to a friend of mine who is on his last week now). I am not sure I want that for three weeks.
TLDR: So I guess the question really is - should I suck it up for three weeks just out of the goodness of my heart? Is there a way to not burn bridges and also have my two weeks notice? What exactly are the downside of giving longer-than-two-weeks notice anyway, what can happen?
When I worked in the auto industry, any salary employee that gave notice was terminated immediately. They were escorted out of the building, and were not allowed to clean out their desk. Their supervisor would clean out the desk, and fedex the personal stuff later.
I’ve been warned multiple times not to give more than two weeks notice but I do it anyway. Why? Because I feel for the employers and understand there are just really bad times to leave. My coworker left with two weeks notice at my last job and it really fucked me over, because it was the worst possible time she could quit. I basically had to take over her job on top of my own (when I had no experience doing her job) and it was insane. I think her hands were tied and I’m not blaming her for doing what she had to do, but still.
For my last job, they had four months notice. For the job before that, about six months - though my leaving wasn’t even a certainty at that point. In both cases they were appreciative of knowing well in advance what was going on, and in both cases the additional time allowed the transition to go much smoother for everyone concerned.
So it might blow up in my face someday, but so far it hasn’t. I’d say do it with the understanding that you could lose your job immediately.
Professionally, you don’t owe them anything over than 2 weeks, and that’s more of a professional courtesy than a binding arrangement. They can try to guilt you into staying longer, but you have a business-relationship with them and so can feel free to remove any emotional factors from the situation.
From what you’ve described, it looks like if you leave before busy season (how long is it, anyway?), you will have done some damage with that relationship. I know it would make me mad if I was left in the lurch because an employee left right before business was going to pick up, especially if we were short-staffed already.
Also, while I understand why you said what you did, re: not leaving with them, it’s obvious that you knew his intent and were looking to avoid answering the meaning of the question, on a technicality. As your boss, that would really aggravate me. In fields that are small, actions can come back to bite you on the ass many years down the road, and that would definitely resonate with me for a long time - that, while we were short-staffed and about to be slammed at work, and even after I asked you if you were leaving, so that I might be able to adjust accordingly, you would lie to me? Yeah, I’d be brutally honest to anyone who ever asked about you.
Basically, you don’t owe them anything, but barring that four-week notice (which I think could be a slippery slope), I don’t see a way that you can placate them. If you won’t rely on them for future recommendations, I’d say do what’s best for you.
It depends on your new job. If they want you ASAP, why annoy them for the benefit of the people you are leaving. They’ll understand two weeks, but maybe not more. if they are flexible it is a different story.
I can understand why they’d want you longer if people are streaming out the door. Maybe they’d do better fixing whatever is making people leave. Not your problem, though.
I’ve seen people escorted out if they said they were going to a competitor (which is why it is now standard practice not to announce where you are going.) You’ll know if the other people who left got the boot. If they need you, they’d be stupid to give up two weeks of work out of spite. In any case, bring as much stuff home as you can before you give notice, and, if you are really worried, pre-box it the day you give notice.
And of course if your boss has gone out of his or her way for you you might be more willing to go out of your way for him. If he is a jerk, two weeks is plenty. If someone is spiteful enough to give a bad reference for giving the standard two week notice, he won’t be a good reference period. But any manager gets used to people leaving. If you take it too personally you’ll go nuts.
Sorry, I disagree about this. Unless I had a special close relationship with an employee, I’d never ask them if they were leaving and expect an honest answer.
If the employee said yes the manager would start recruiting and might boot the person out the door the moment they found a replacement. It might not happen, but any person would be crazy to trust any boss. As far as they are concerned, you’re a lifer until you aren’t.
The OP’s answer was right on the money.
If you want to give two weeks, that’s very kind of you, but before you make that call, you should make sure of all the following.
Can you afford the financial hit if they release you immediately?
Is all your personal stuff is already gone from your desk, your personal emails are all forwarded to your non-work emails, your personal info and resume stuff is saved somewhere other than your work computer, and that if you have a work-assigned cellphone, that all your messages and texts and browsing data is cleared?
Have you gotten anything personal out of kitchens or lounge areas?
Do your coworkers know you are planning to leave so if you get escorted out or released or fired instantly, they don’t think you are a threat or a criminal?
If you can honestly say yes to all of that, then you’re prepared for your nice-employee geature to backstab you, and can be pleasantly surprised if it doesn’t.
My firm has not yet preemptively fired anyone who gave notice and has always let people work until the last day they say they would work. A far as I know, one guy in my department gave a 5 weeks notice last year and there wasn’t any problem. But yes I went back to my hiring agreement and my company is at will, so this could happen. Thanks for the heads up.
Yes my timing isn’t very good either, and it is also my main concern. I don’t want to leave my co-workers high and dry. But I have to take care of my own interests. Finding the right balance isn’t easy.
I think it varies depending on your line of work and individual situation. 4 weeks seems like a bit much to me. I think that 2 weeks in most cases is adequate time for employers to find replacements. Do you live in the USA? There are ( as we all know) a lot of people looking for work in this country.
TLDR, but 2 weeks is fine. Your employee handbook probably trumps all, so be sure to read that. I go t burned once giving a months’ notice. Still pissed.
I am an auditor - I work for a firm that audits employee benefit plans for various companies. The busy season actually begins late August and ends mid October. Which is also why a lot of people in my firm quit in the past few months - to avoid leaving so close to busy season and to adjust to new firms for the upcoming busy season. I am sort of the last-one-left. So my timing really can’t be worse and I do understand how my “lying” about it doesn’t help either.
But when I say I don’t need their reference, I mean first of all there were a lot of people who left the firm in the past few months, include a partner and a manager, and they could give me all the reference I need for the times that I work here. Secondly, the new position I am hunting for is actually commercial auditing, a different branch of audits, so the chance of me running into my angry ex-bosses in any professional setting is pretty slim.
I guess I am just trying to not be an a*****e and still do what’s best for me.
Yes I am in the US. My firm is actively hiring people but new people aren’t coming in faster than people heading out at the moment… let’s just say the rumor is the firm is restructuring next year and it’s not going to be pretty.
I’m not saying he was wrong in giving the answer. Hell, that’s the best / only answer he can / should give. I have no doubt that as soon as I tell my boss that I’m looking to leave, my boss will start interviewing for my replacement to beat me to the punch.
I was talking about “burning bridges” and any residual animosity. He wanted to know how the superiors would react to his inevitable departure from the company.