This was such a great read. I've always left jobs giving them at least a month notice. I think that's just ingrained in me because I don't want to "burn any bridges" even though some of these jobs were pretty chaotic and crappy workplaces and I honestly didn't want to keep any bridges alive after leaving. Your former co-worker seems like such a cool badass which is wild because they have every right to just up and leave without notice. It shouldn't be considered a rebellious act at all.
Same! I've given so much notice, but I've also walked into work and had my boss hand me my last paycheck and tell me to leave because I'm being fired. And the part of the story I didn't tell (I wasn't there to see it, I only heard about it, so take it with a grain of salt) is that I think this co-worker even went back to our old job years later. So even the idea of "burning bridges" can feel overinflated or very heated in the moment.
I used to think giving two weeks notice was a law in the same way that turning the little light on in the backseat of the car was illegal. It's this weird thing that was passed down from the older generation and just stuck somehow.
I think a big part of giving two weeks’ notice also has to do with wanting to maintain a good enough relationship with your employer to get a recommendation for a job in the future, which I guess is null if you already scored a new job. This past summer, I quit with zero notice for the first time from a food job that was causing a repetitive stress injury and didn’t feel worthwhile to give them notice. It felt liberating to be able to do it for once :)
I don't disagree, but sometimes I wonder how this is the system we've ended up with: needing to placate business owners and managers simply for the right to work and support ourselves. It's not like employers give us references to call former employers to see if they're a good place to work, and there's no controlling what your employer will say about you: even if you quit with plenty of notice, they can still say bad things about you. It just feels like a tenuous social norm that doesn't actually guarantee anything — and I'm glad to hear you quit a job that was actively harming you!
I would always give ample notice to employers out a sense of self-importance; they were always good at letting me feel like the place would crumble if I didn’t give 110%. Accepting that you can walk away from a company at the drop of a hat requires also accepting how unimportant you are to the company. Tough to swallow, but a necessary step in having a clear-eyed relationship to work.
That's a bit of nuance I think is critical to engage with: I think we all hold some belief of how valuable we are to a company, and that's not to minimize yours or anyone else's contributions, but so many companies treat workers as disposable. It's not that you're not important—it's that companies don't believe you to be important. Thank you for this comment and making room for the discomfort! That's really all I aimed to do — just consider what it means to challenge something that feels so ingrained.
Thank you for this. Been in a great company for 3 years and gave them my everything. A new VP of my department took over as well as number of higher ups. They’re all very corporate (I work for a start up that’s about 6 yrs old) , and have changed the culture I used to love. I covered for my boss who went on maternity leave while simultaneously caring for my dying father. Upon her return we discussed my long awaited promotion. Her and the new VP wrote me up a job description and everything. Only to pull the rug from under me and give me no good reason for deciding I wasn’t getting it. They instead hired someone on the outside to take a different but similar role. After that they gave me the lowest raise possible while telling me I exceeded I reaching all the goals we set for me this year.
That was the last straw, and I decided I’m not giving them a 2 week notice. I find myself still looking it up though as I have never, ever in my 20 plus years done that. But I feel like I’ve been so mistreated after all I’ve done for them that I can’t forgive it. And honestly whatever bridge gets burned isn’t one I ever cared to cross again anyway. I’m doing this for my dad, and for me.
Thank you for posting this, it continues to confirm my decision once I find a new job.
This seems to be an unpopular opinion here, but I’m going to say it as food for thought anyway. Employers don’t typically “fire” employees on the spot for no reason. You won’t normally walk into work and unexpectedly not have a job and you have been fired. Most companies know, especially in the litigious, cancel-culture society that we live in today, that such a move could be more problematic. Besides, if you’re coming in on time, doing your bare minimum work and not causing problems, why would they? Typically, if you are going to be fired, you have been through a process involving write-ups, Human Resource involvement, growth plans, that your poor attitude has made other people have to figure out instead of getting their own work done. You aren’t fired from a company unexpectedly. Companies do, however, downsize and make changes to structure to make the company grow and be successful. Sometimes that means removing portions of the workforce that they can no longer afford, for whatever reason. This is being laid-off, and the company doesn’t make you leave empty handed. They will typically pay you something like 2 weeks of pay for each year of service you have been at the company. They will typically write you recommendation letters and help you find a next job. Additionally, the company pays into a pot for unemployment, which can help you make money from them while not working for them. They don’t send you out the door on your butt. That being said, your team is the one affected by your departure, not the company. The people you have worked with have to fill in the gap you leave. Your boss has to request a requisition to hire someone in your place, which takes time. You’re right, the “company” could probably care less, but your teammates are the ones that suffer. They are the reason you act professional and let them know you are leaving in two weeks. At least give your boss time to get a requisition approved to fill your hole. Also, networking is a huge part of being successful in any industry. Knowing people and having them talk positively about you behind your back is how you improve your situation and move up. Once your name comes up in a negative light, it’s a hard spotlight to get out of.
This is only accurate if your boss is treating you equally as bad as you would be treating them to be fired on the spot. If they are treating you awful, then yes quit without notice. But you not having basic empathy or common courtesy to give GOOD employers at least two weeks would be similar to you being a good employee who's never been in trouble and them suddenly firing you for no reason. You would feel lost, confused and pissed off. That's how good employers who treat employees well feel when not given a notice. Why would you not want to treat someone with basic respect and professional courtesy who treated you that way? Can you not imagine yourself as a manager one day? It's a guarantee you're not receiving a letter of recommendation or reference for a future job.
Reason #1: So you’ll get a good reference next time you send out your resume. Also employers talk, and you especially don’t want to get a bad reputation in a smaller town.
This was such a great read. I've always left jobs giving them at least a month notice. I think that's just ingrained in me because I don't want to "burn any bridges" even though some of these jobs were pretty chaotic and crappy workplaces and I honestly didn't want to keep any bridges alive after leaving. Your former co-worker seems like such a cool badass which is wild because they have every right to just up and leave without notice. It shouldn't be considered a rebellious act at all.
Same! I've given so much notice, but I've also walked into work and had my boss hand me my last paycheck and tell me to leave because I'm being fired. And the part of the story I didn't tell (I wasn't there to see it, I only heard about it, so take it with a grain of salt) is that I think this co-worker even went back to our old job years later. So even the idea of "burning bridges" can feel overinflated or very heated in the moment.
I used to think giving two weeks notice was a law in the same way that turning the little light on in the backseat of the car was illegal. It's this weird thing that was passed down from the older generation and just stuck somehow.
That's wild! I was shocked to read how this custom has been so ingrained we believe it to be law.
I think a big part of giving two weeks’ notice also has to do with wanting to maintain a good enough relationship with your employer to get a recommendation for a job in the future, which I guess is null if you already scored a new job. This past summer, I quit with zero notice for the first time from a food job that was causing a repetitive stress injury and didn’t feel worthwhile to give them notice. It felt liberating to be able to do it for once :)
I don't disagree, but sometimes I wonder how this is the system we've ended up with: needing to placate business owners and managers simply for the right to work and support ourselves. It's not like employers give us references to call former employers to see if they're a good place to work, and there's no controlling what your employer will say about you: even if you quit with plenty of notice, they can still say bad things about you. It just feels like a tenuous social norm that doesn't actually guarantee anything — and I'm glad to hear you quit a job that was actively harming you!
I love holding the discomfort of this idea!
I would always give ample notice to employers out a sense of self-importance; they were always good at letting me feel like the place would crumble if I didn’t give 110%. Accepting that you can walk away from a company at the drop of a hat requires also accepting how unimportant you are to the company. Tough to swallow, but a necessary step in having a clear-eyed relationship to work.
That's a bit of nuance I think is critical to engage with: I think we all hold some belief of how valuable we are to a company, and that's not to minimize yours or anyone else's contributions, but so many companies treat workers as disposable. It's not that you're not important—it's that companies don't believe you to be important. Thank you for this comment and making room for the discomfort! That's really all I aimed to do — just consider what it means to challenge something that feels so ingrained.
Thank you for this. Been in a great company for 3 years and gave them my everything. A new VP of my department took over as well as number of higher ups. They’re all very corporate (I work for a start up that’s about 6 yrs old) , and have changed the culture I used to love. I covered for my boss who went on maternity leave while simultaneously caring for my dying father. Upon her return we discussed my long awaited promotion. Her and the new VP wrote me up a job description and everything. Only to pull the rug from under me and give me no good reason for deciding I wasn’t getting it. They instead hired someone on the outside to take a different but similar role. After that they gave me the lowest raise possible while telling me I exceeded I reaching all the goals we set for me this year.
That was the last straw, and I decided I’m not giving them a 2 week notice. I find myself still looking it up though as I have never, ever in my 20 plus years done that. But I feel like I’ve been so mistreated after all I’ve done for them that I can’t forgive it. And honestly whatever bridge gets burned isn’t one I ever cared to cross again anyway. I’m doing this for my dad, and for me.
Thank you for posting this, it continues to confirm my decision once I find a new job.
This seems to be an unpopular opinion here, but I’m going to say it as food for thought anyway. Employers don’t typically “fire” employees on the spot for no reason. You won’t normally walk into work and unexpectedly not have a job and you have been fired. Most companies know, especially in the litigious, cancel-culture society that we live in today, that such a move could be more problematic. Besides, if you’re coming in on time, doing your bare minimum work and not causing problems, why would they? Typically, if you are going to be fired, you have been through a process involving write-ups, Human Resource involvement, growth plans, that your poor attitude has made other people have to figure out instead of getting their own work done. You aren’t fired from a company unexpectedly. Companies do, however, downsize and make changes to structure to make the company grow and be successful. Sometimes that means removing portions of the workforce that they can no longer afford, for whatever reason. This is being laid-off, and the company doesn’t make you leave empty handed. They will typically pay you something like 2 weeks of pay for each year of service you have been at the company. They will typically write you recommendation letters and help you find a next job. Additionally, the company pays into a pot for unemployment, which can help you make money from them while not working for them. They don’t send you out the door on your butt. That being said, your team is the one affected by your departure, not the company. The people you have worked with have to fill in the gap you leave. Your boss has to request a requisition to hire someone in your place, which takes time. You’re right, the “company” could probably care less, but your teammates are the ones that suffer. They are the reason you act professional and let them know you are leaving in two weeks. At least give your boss time to get a requisition approved to fill your hole. Also, networking is a huge part of being successful in any industry. Knowing people and having them talk positively about you behind your back is how you improve your situation and move up. Once your name comes up in a negative light, it’s a hard spotlight to get out of.
This is only accurate if your boss is treating you equally as bad as you would be treating them to be fired on the spot. If they are treating you awful, then yes quit without notice. But you not having basic empathy or common courtesy to give GOOD employers at least two weeks would be similar to you being a good employee who's never been in trouble and them suddenly firing you for no reason. You would feel lost, confused and pissed off. That's how good employers who treat employees well feel when not given a notice. Why would you not want to treat someone with basic respect and professional courtesy who treated you that way? Can you not imagine yourself as a manager one day? It's a guarantee you're not receiving a letter of recommendation or reference for a future job.
I also suspect that women in particular struggle with the guilt of anything less than "OMG as much notice as humanly possible!!!1!!!"
Reason #1: So you’ll get a good reference next time you send out your resume. Also employers talk, and you especially don’t want to get a bad reputation in a smaller town.