r/antiwork • u/rdrTrapper • 22d ago
Know your Worth đ Fuck your two week notice
In the US it is customary to give a business a two week notice when quitting. I say workers should give every bit of notice they expect to get from their employer - none.
Why do we do this? In a day where people get fired by email and donât find out theyâre out of a job until their badge doesnât work, tell them at 4:59 on a Friday. Do it at 8:01 on a Monday. Who cares?
When youâre done, go. You donât owe them shit. Theyâre the ones that took common decency off the table.
They canât not pay you for work youâve already done. What are they going to do - fire you?
Most HR departments are only allowed to confirm if you were an employee and the dates employed. Anything beyond that is a liability to them. Itâs not like itâs going on your permanent record. Pack up your dignity and walk out smilingâŠor eat popcorn while muted on calls because you can just enjoy the show. Just do it on your terms.
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u/Ol-Bearface 22d ago
I left my last job with no notice. My last employer has a habit of terminating upon notice anyways. Starting tomorrow at a smaller, much more humanely managed business and Iâm stoked.
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u/Tasty_Bullfroglegs 21d ago
If you give notice and they fire you on the spot you can apply for unemployment benefits in most situations.
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u/Ol-Bearface 21d ago
Yup. I advised one of my crew the same after he was terminated after providing notice.
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u/dominiqlane 21d ago
You can but by the time itâs approved in many states, youâll already be at your new job and wonât receive a dime.
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u/matagetdowngorda 21d ago
They get a 2 day notice. I'm leaving today
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u/TraciTheRobot 21d ago
I gave 4 days notice and my boss brought my only coworker into his office on my last day to talk shit about me because he was mad. LOL
I was offered twice the pay for half the work and an even tempered boss at the new job. Fuck ur notice Tom. Just made me glad I only gave him 4 days to replace me
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u/thecondor612 21d ago
I gave my last job notice and they made me work until the last second of my last day. I had to turn in my laptop the day before my last day so my whole last day I stared at the wall and wondered why I bothered giving notice at all
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u/PrettyRetard 21d ago
Lmao yeah I was a leasing manager and my last week they took away all my privileges on the computer. I was like whatâs even the point of being here? I just sat in my office and listened to music and talked with the other staff or drove around on the golf cart.
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u/TheLateThagSimmons Cosmopolitan 21d ago
On the other hand, those two weeks are typically fun to work if you do it right.
It's the least amount I'll ever work is after I give notice. It's like a two week severance in which the worst part is that I still have to get up, get ready, and physically go to work, but outside of that all bets are off.
All the little rules don't matter anymore because it's an entire space of "What are they gonna do? Fire me?" Unless I do something that actively harms someone like get in a fight, they can't run the whole HR complaint thing in time for multiple notices, warnings, write ups, and finally termination in two weeks.
Hour long lunch? No problem. Minimal output? No problem. Showing up when I want? Leave when I want? Totally cool. Sit at my desk reading Reddit all day? You betcha.
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u/BrayoTheDon 21d ago
They do this because they forecast your expected hours worked for your last paycheck since they have to give you the paycheck on your last day. They are trying to get their moneys worthâŠusually.
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u/erikleorgav2 22d ago
It's like a video I came across.
Someone went to log into their work laptop, and couldn't. Went to call their IT help line, phone locked. Called their supervisor from his personal phone and discovered his boss and their entire team was laid off.
Kind of a rude awakening on a Monday.
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u/PlatypusDream 21d ago
"Wish you'd told me Friday... I could have slept in!"
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u/baconraygun 21d ago
I've been fired a couple times like that. Waste my time getting ready, go in, and they fire me right away. They honestly thought it was kinder to be told in person than over email or phone.
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u/Ok_Spell_4165 22d ago
Because I have 70 hours of PTO and if I don't give 2 weeks notice they don't have to pay it out.
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u/Round_Warthog1990 21d ago
Florida isn't required to pay it out.
My company used to pay it out if you gave notice. Three weeks ago they sent an email out notifying us that they will no longer pay out unused PTO, even if you give notice. Employees are dropping like flies now...
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u/Ok_Spell_4165 21d ago
Yep same here in WI.
While I wouldn't quit over a policy change like yours it would significantly change the way I quit.
I'd put in for vacation and use up the PTO then quit.
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u/NY_Knux 21d ago
I'm betting my entire house that they have absolutely no idea why employees are dropping like flies and are absolutely flabbergasted.
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u/Round_Warthog1990 21d ago
No, they're acting oblivious, like nothing out of the ordinary is happening.
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u/rdrTrapper 21d ago
You might check into your stateâs laws. Not a lawyer and it varies from state to state, but I think there are some that are required to pay it out at termination no matter the circumstances.
But if that is the case, Iâd definitely quo pro quid.
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u/Ok_Spell_4165 21d ago
WI they are not required to pay it out.
The one exception being if company policy is that they will pay it out.
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u/MonsteraBigTits 22d ago
i gave a weeks notice once then changed my mind half way through and told the boss, im actually todays my last day buhbye!!
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u/WistfulDryad 21d ago
Mine was the reverse. I was given a weekâs notice that I would be laid off, so I said cool, todayâs my last day. They didnât like my higher standards for the quality of the parts passing through my station. I wasnât gonna stay and get zapped for another week in sandblasting if they were gonna ok shit parts
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u/nabrudssej 21d ago
Same. I gave a months notice only bc my horrid manager made the schedules for an entire month at a time, and I cared derpy about my coworkers and didn't wanna fuck them over since we all essentially trauma bonded bc of that place (no really, several of us have been diagnosed with ptsd from that job).
Anyway, my manager pissed me off so far beyond belief that a few days into my months notice, I emailed the manager at a different location i was hired at and said "actually can my first day be tomorrow" and she said yes, so I emailed my boss right then and there and said nope. I'm done.
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u/abbothenderson 22d ago
Back when I was teaching I worked at a charter school where it was a bloodbath. Saw them let multiple colleagues go with no notice. Just a âclear out your desk, youâre doneâ. Naturally it was a âright to workâ state. The employer gave no concern as to how those let go would pay their rent or buy groceries. Totally heartless. Since then, Iâve always considered two-weeks notice to be entirely optional. Iâve always given them (because both places I worked at since were decent and had positive work environments), but thatâs just because Iâve been lucky to work at decent places. Given less favorably circumstances, I would absolutely walk away from a job with no notice if they disrespected their workers.
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u/PlatypusDream 21d ago
Right to work means you can't be forced to join a union to get a job.
At will employment means both employer & employee can terminate the relationship at any time, without notice, as long as the employer isn't firing the employee for an illegal reason.
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u/1RobJackson 21d ago edited 21d ago
And when you leave, DONâT GO BACK, no matter what they say. Nothingâs changed. The problem you left behind is still there.
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u/CatchMeIfYouCan09 21d ago
Honestly....I saw a legal paper that was written that if you give notice and they fire you before the 14 day mark on the notice, it's retaliation. A good lawyer can argue this
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u/PressureCultural1005 SocDem 21d ago
my last job my FOH manager was stealing my tips. they def didnât deserve a notice, 2 weeks more to steal my tips. i found out she was stealing my tipouts on wednesday night, simmered abt it on my day off that thursday and then quit on her shift, an opening shift on a friday (we usually got slammed for lunch rush on fridays) 30 mins beforehand. you harm me by stealing my hard earned money, i harm you by quitting as ur best employee and leaving you short staffed on your busiest shift of the week.
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u/pinkpanktnress 21d ago
I just got laid off from my job after inquiring about LOA because of an upcoming surgery Iâm having. Which I now canât get because I no longer have insurance. Never respecting a job/company ever again. Next job I want to quit, I will come to work that morning, clock in and begin to pack up my desk and then leave.
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u/Pissedliberalgranny 21d ago
My old employer told me and our manager we were out of a job four hours into our Sunday shift at his gas station when he brought us our last paychecks.
So many cartons of cigarettes and snacks mysteriously disappeared that afternoon that it boggles the mind.
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u/sarilysims 22d ago
I only give two weeks for businesses I actually like, which is small, local places. So my current job and thatâs about it.
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u/Round_Warthog1990 21d ago
I will no longer be giving a notice when I leave. No job has ever given me notice, so why should I give it to them?
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u/lapsfordays 21d ago
I used to work at T.J.maxx and they were horrible and my manager was a major bitch, I gave my two week notice and realized that was dumb because Iâd never put them down on my rĂ©sume so the next day I called in and said I had Covid and would need the next two weeks off(this was the beginning of COVID when you needed to isolate for 2weeks).
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u/sirslittlefoxxy 21d ago
I give a heads up to the coworkers I like, but I won't give my management the same. My coworkers are actually affected by me leaving, and if we're cool with each other why would I not tell them?
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u/iclimbnaked 22d ago
Just know the type of company youâre at.
Iâve been at a few where yah you might not get notice but they give you atleast 2 weeks often more in pay which to me is better than a notice.
Also you may want to work at that place again. If you do. Def give notice.
If you hate the place or know they fuck people over. Then yah. Who cares about notice.
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u/AmuliteTV 21d ago
This. My previous job was pretty chill and easy, paid okay but I wanted to make more. Great management, great coworkers, customers are customers lol but no complaints at all. Gave that man a 2 month notice, let him know of my departure to the next step in my career trying to avoid the bullshit.
Guess what I landed in? The bullshit lol. Weâre still on good terms and I have been contemplating going back, but Iâm doing my best to do the bare minimum here (thatâs all they deserve, work my pay rate), while looking for work elsewhere and even sitting in interviews while on the clock.
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u/WhatTheCluck802 21d ago
If the company has been decent, a notice period is appropriate. If not, then they can fuck off.
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u/Cogswobble 21d ago edited 19d ago
There are only two reasons to give two weeks notice.
One is so you donât burn bridges. Maybe you work in a small industry or a small town and you might need to work with someone there again.
The other is if your former employer treated you well enough to deserve the courtesy of two weeks notice.
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u/TheBitchTornado 21d ago
I got laid off with no notice, no severance, my health insurance policy immediately canceled, and it took weeks to get my PTO paid out and my last paycheck. PTO was a measly three days- and they nickle and dimed my last paycheck. This is also the company that knocked my pay down right before Christmas by 1.5 hours because I left the Christmas party early, was impossible to reach to get my basic paperwork after getting laid off (including my paystubs), and messed up my health insurance address information so I had to hunt down my insurance broker because I needed to apply to COBRA. I'm still paying for that mistake because I was owed reimbursement by the health insurance company, and it took forever to get resolved and I still haven't recieved my reimbursement. Most hilarious part of this shitshow?
They gave me a folder with a sticky note for the unemployment office and said:
"Oh don't worry, we won't fight you on unemployment"
Wow. How generous đ
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u/MissDisplaced 21d ago
It depends. If your experience has mainly been positive, or if you like your manager, sure, give a two week notice. But no more. If youâve been treated crappy, donât. Iâve done both things. Sometimes a crap place gets mad, and sometimes a good place expects too much in two weeks.
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u/whowhatwhat8 21d ago
I adopted a no-days' notice after one job I had gave me a no-days' notice...then wanted me to finish working the rest of the day with no pay.
And no I did not do it.
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u/Why_Judge 21d ago
I say it depends.
Did the company do right by you in terms of a decent pay, holidays, accommodation if issues arose, severance etc. If so yeah they'll get a two week notice.
They are assholes or overloaded and worked me as a slave? Nah get the fuck, I will jump ship as soon as I get a new position
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u/xchrisrionx 21d ago
Ive never been given 2 weeks notice that im fired. All relationships end in pain, just to varying degrees.
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u/littlemissmoxie 21d ago
I give two weeks notice with the expectation I will be fired at any moment during that time and will have saved accordingly. I do it for my own benefit. I can point to a document that said I did it the âright wayâ and so HR cannot lie when contacted by my next employer.
If you already have a job lined up then go for it. But Iâd rather not have any stains on my record.
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u/Resolution_Usual 21d ago
I gave notice when I left my last job
I emailed and said oops meant to tell you last week that I was putting in my two weeks notice....I then called out sick until my last day.
I hated that place.
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u/Lylibean 21d ago
I was recently forced to face the expiration date of my current job. I had hoped to stay until I retired, but the attorney I work for bent over and showed his entire asshole back at the end of last year (even put his profanity-laden toddler tantrum as notes in our case file system - yes, I kept the screenshots in my personal email).
When I eventually quit (been looking for a job in my expertise for two years, so Iâm not holding my breath), I will just wipe my computer and work phone, leave my keys and company card on my desk, and stop showing up.
The full grown men, who are also parents, and also millionaires, that I work for are worse than toddlers. They know nothing about their personal lives in regard to their own health insurance policies, car loans, mortgages, etc and get big mad and send flurries of emails because they refuse to review the files they work on and expect to be spoon-fed. Basically:
Them: âI donât see Form 20 in the file, youâre fucking worthless and arenât doing your job! Back to basics with you I guess!â
Me: âHave you tried searching the file?â
Them: âYes, and I canât find it!â
Me: âHave you tried searching for âForm 20â in the file documents?â
Them: âOh, there it is, I found it. Can you email me a copy?â
Me: âItâs literally right there in the file, you can see it right there, or download a copy to save if you need it.â
Or, my favorite email I got this week:
Them: âCan you send me a message to remind me to do this thing?â
Me (to myself): It took you longer to type out the message to remind you than it would take for you to flag it as a reminder yourself.
I make a reminder on their calendar, make a âtaskâ in our file system, and send a Teams message. Later:
Them: âI told you to message me about this!â
Me: âI did, three different ways.â
Them: âI meant text me on my phone.â
Me, knowing they wonât pay attention to my text messages anymore than they pay attention to Teams, calendar, and file system tasks: Sigh.
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u/demonkey1 21d ago
Just stop showing up, and when they do get in contact with you say something like well I handed in my notice # of weeks ago.
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u/HustlaOfCultcha 21d ago
I only give 2 weeks notice if it's some sort of benefit to me. Usually that benefit is that I get a couple of weeks of money as I transition to something else and the work is easy.
My last job that I gave 2 weeks notice to had infuriated me to no end. Essentially the first 2 years went fine, then they basically had me doing 2 peoples' jobs (on top of my job) for not a penny more. Then they started treating me worse. After another 2 years of that bullshit I quit. They begged me to stay and I replied that I would at a significant pay raise that they wouldn't give me. Then they asked me why I was leaving.
By then I really had enough and I explained to them that I was working 3 peoples' jobs with no raise (and one of the jobs used to pay more than I was getting paid). They then acted like they were entitled to a 2-week notice. I was even more furious.
Unfortunately, I could really use the money at that time. I then told them specifically how this 2-weeks were going to go and I told them point blank 'I will not work 1 second more than the 40 hours per week and if I get an ounce of nasty treatment from anybody, I'll walk right out the door.'
And the 4th day in my supervisor started to pull her old tricks and I got up from my desk and walked out the door and didn't tell anybody. I needed the money, but not that bad. Fuck 'em..
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u/ThePurpleAesthetic 21d ago
I agree with this now definitely. Covid changed my view of employment & how I manage my work life balance. My mom used to say to never leave a job on bad terms in case you ever had to go back. I see the logic in that because in those days, you literally beat the bavement looking. Having a lifeline somewhere is smart. The only time I walked off a job was when I worked in a hand Surgeon's office for six weeks. I knew the manager & thought she was being a friend getting me a hook up. She lied about everything to get me in there & broke me down saying I wasn't pretty enough to work in the front office. Then when the insurance verifier quit, I was doing her job in addition to mine.
I called in sick on a Tuesday to go to two job interviews. I got an offer on Thursday morning & once I confirmed I could start that upcoming Monday, I packed up my desk & walked the fuck out. I blocked everyone's numbers & had zero regrets. I later found out the manager was fired after the doctor found out about her lies.
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u/thatirishdave 21d ago
Depends on the job and on the tenure, for me. I left a terrible job with no notice after a week. I gave one of the best jobs I ever had a heads-up that I would be leaving to emigrate 4 months in advance, because I knew the hiring & training process to replace me would be reasonably lengthy and wanted to make sure they were able to do it in good time that I could train my replacement(s) on the stuff I specifically did that nobody else knew how to do.
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u/MisterBarten 21d ago
I think it depends on your company and why you are leaving. The last job I left because someone reached out to me and I took the offer. I had no real problems with the company and a good relationship with my boss and my department. Giving notice didnât hurt me at all and I was able to help make it a smooth transition. Then the last week I barely had anything to do anymore so I just spent my time talking to people and on my phone.
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u/damageddude 21d ago
It depends on the job and the company. At my level, even people who are let go, are given 30 days, fully paid as part of their severance, to prepare their transfer memos. Considering we are paid one week for every year you have been there after the 30 days, it's a nice bribe while you figure out what's next.
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u/ViolinistRound3358 21d ago
Yep, I had a coworker tell me several years ago would they give you 2 weeks notice ?? I thought about it for a few days and then decided they don't deserve ANY notice ever !!
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u/DaveKan 20d ago
The greatest 2 weeks of my career was when I found a new job and gave my employer my 2 weeks notice. As I walked back to my desk I was thinking about all the things I needed to get done in those 2 weeks before I left. Projects to wrap up, information to pass on to others, the list kept growing until I realized that I didn't have to do any of that stuff. In 10 work days it was all going to be someone else's responsibility.
I didn't stop working completely but I took a leisurely pace to things. If people came and asked me questions I answered them, if they asked me to do something I did it, but I only worked on one thing at a time. I had no obligation to them anymore, I was free.
On my last day, I came in late, brought donuts, sent an email out saying farewell and stop by for donuts and then left early, it was awesome.
And as an example of how a company will treat you, that next company I worked for, I helped them go from 3 employees to over 50. My work led directly to the company being bought by another company, with huge payouts and stock to the owners (and honestly a smaller version of that to me). And then after 14 years of hard work and effort, in April of 2020, with the pandemic really kicking in, they laid me off on a Friday with no notice. The only warning I got was a meeting request from my boss's boss and the company lawyer that came in 5 minutes before it was scheduled and I was out.
So, I would say give them 2 weeks or don't, but if you do, remember that you get to choose how those 2 weeks go.
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u/JayNoi91 20d ago
Its more of a courtesy extended IF the company is one that worth being courteous imo. If its a toxic cesspool that's tried to bleed you dry and fired people with any notice, I wouldnt even put in a notice, Id just stop showing up and let them figure it out.
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u/boobiediebop 18d ago
I stopped giving 2 weeks notices after being let go with zero notice due to restructuring. Once I gave 2 weeks notice the day I went on vacation for 2 weeks lol. You'll feel better once you stop giving it
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u/coleto22 21d ago
It is better for everyone if both sides are obliged by law to give a 1 month notice. Here in the EU this is mandated by law. It is hard to make someone work if they know they will leave in a month, so many companies pay the month but have the worker leave earlier. Works just as well.
Of course, this means the companies give up power over the workers, so I don't see it happening in USA. Another reason why I'll never work there.
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u/BimboDollBunny69 21d ago edited 21d ago
went from 38-46 hours working 4-5 days then was cut down to only 3 hours for 1 day for over 1.9 years now only so ya want to just quit and look for something way better then this crap i am dealing with right now
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u/MidnightHeavy3214 21d ago
Use to do this till two different jobs fired on a Friday. After that never again
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u/abstractmodulemusic 21d ago
I could maybe see it if you're a lawyer leaving their firm, or a doctor leaving a medical practice, but if you work restaurants, retail, construction etc no need for it.
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u/TheTestacularOne 21d ago
I would currently do that, but my work has been teasing going public, and I have shares invested if they do decide that. Who knows the price of the shares when they actually come out.
It's all speculation at this point, so truly, I don't care, but it would be nice to get something from walking away then nothing.
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u/Sad_Evidence5318 21d ago
Never subscribed to that mindset and after 35 years more and more people are agreeing with me.
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u/pickles_are_delish_ 21d ago
Be really careful about not giving some kind of notice. If you think youâll ever need security clearance, donât leave without any notice. It comes up.
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u/lol_camis 21d ago
Most people want to use their previous employers as a reference on their resume. And don't forget the possibility of wanting to go back to working for them if you need it
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u/Bnic1207 21d ago
If you work in healthcare (at least as a therapist), they expect a 30 day notice.
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u/Princesscrowbar 21d ago
Yeah you donât have to do that.
One time someone at work gave their â4 daysâ noticeâ as if that was a thing đđđ
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u/Thundersnow1_ 20d ago
At my place, the two week notice (and showing up for those two weeks) makes you eligible for rehire in the future. You'd come back to the pay you had when you left, even a year later, including all shift differential pay. You wouldn't get any of the raises given while you were gone, of course, except cost-of-living raises given to everybody. Buddy of mine has left twice, and come back to the same position making more than when he left, because he gave his two week notice both times.
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u/InflamedintheBrain 20d ago
I just quit a job without notice. They emphasized way to much the "at will" workplace during hiring and it was really gross. Any way to convey that message other than what the manager said would have been less condescending.
I mostly quit because they set me up for failure. I told them my availability and they disregarded it to try to see how much abuse I was willing to take? It was really sad. I can't imagine being a manager who is so either incompetent or malicious that people regularly quit after a single shift.
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u/AdSea4874 19d ago
Gave my old job a month notice, then extended it a weekend because they did the schedule wrong for the month and didn't include the last two days for inventory so I said I can stay and help with that.
I got fired two days before so I didn't even help with inventory.
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u/Natehz Communist 19d ago
I worked a temp job for a while. Great job, office work, cozy cubicle in a nearly vacant building (post-covid workplace, you know how it is). It was great. Then arbitrarily the big shots on the top floor decided my job was being liquidated and I was being reassigned to basically working in the mail room; a lateral move in terms of responsibilities, but a MASSIVE downgrade in what I signed up for, quality of life, pay, hours, and coworkers.
I did 3 days of the new terrible conditions, and then on the fourth, a Friday, I quit at 7:01 am via email, two whole hours before my new manager would even come in for the day.
Zero regrets.
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u/SevenHolyTombs 19d ago
I haven't put in a 2 week notice in many years. The last two times I did both employers were hostile and made those 2 weeks miserable. American contracts specifically states at-will employment. They make sure you sign that as well as anything they might get sued for. The days of trust and loyalty between employer/employee are long gone. Do what you need to with them, then broom them fast.
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u/Throwaway787480050 18d ago
Just kinda depends on the situation. My most recent job I gave about a month's notice but was in a good spot. I really liked my team and the job and if I left on the spot, it would have burnt bridges in an industry I'm still in (in fact, my former team is now one of my contractors lol) and would have dumped a ton of unplanned work on people I liked.
I also knew my boss very well (I'm pretty sure she knew I was looking around) and she was fantastic. After my notice, the 3 day a week RTO went away immediately (in the good way) and basically my work hours went from 40 to 10 and only did stuff to help the transition. I literally showed up at like 10AM and left by 1PM twice a week in my last month which was awesome. AND I still have great relationship with everyone.
If it was a job I hated or a terrible boss, TOTALLY wouldn't mind the day-of notice.
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u/HurricaneHugo 21d ago
Because you don't want to burn bridges.
I quit one job for another, then two years later I went back to it after i got laid off from another. If I had quit on the spot, they wouldn't have taken me back.
Also some industries are small and people who you've worked with before might show up in other companies. If they know you have a history of quitting on the spot, they might not be keen on hiring you.
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u/MinimumBuy1601 21d ago
That cuts both ways. If your boss was an asshole at company A and then they try to go to company B where a shitload of folks from company A work...let's just say they may not get hired.
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u/cyanraichu 21d ago
I only do it for the sake of my co-workers and the work itself (I'm a HCW so the impact it has on patients matters a lot to me). You definitely don't owe it to the company, though.
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u/UnluckyAssist9416 22d ago
Give a company 2 weeks notice if they normally pay severance when they fire someone.