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Employees and employers alike have the right under at-will employment laws in almost all states to end their relationship without notice, for any reason, but the two-week rule is a widely accepted standard of workplace conduct. Now Sue Shellenbarger writes at The Wall Street Journal that employers say a growing number of workers are leaving without giving two weeks' notice.
Some bosses blame young employees who feel frustrated by limited prospects or have little sense of attachment to their workplace. But employment experts say some older workers are quitting without notice as well. They feel overworked or unappreciated after years of laboring under pay cuts and expanded workloads imposed during the recession. One employee at Dupray, a customer-service rep, scheduled a meeting and announced she was quitting, then rose and headed for the exit. She seemed surprised when the director of human resources stopped her and explained that employees are expected to give two weeks' notice. "She said, 'I've been watching 'Suits,' and this is how it happens,' " referring to the TV drama set in a law firm.
According to Shellenbarger, quitting without notice is sometimes justified. Employees with access to proprietary information, such as those working in sales or new-product development, face a conflict of interest if they accept a job with a competitor. Employees in such cases typically depart right away—ideally, by mutual agreement. It can also be best to exit quickly if an employer is abusive, or if you suspect your employer is doing something illegal.
More often, however, quitting without notice "is done in the heat of emotion, by someone who is completely frustrated, angry, offended or upset," says David Lewis, president of OperationsInc., a Norwalk, Conn., human-resources consulting firm. That approach can burn bridges and generate bad references. Phyllis Hartman says employees have a responsibility to try to communicate about what's wrong. "Start figuring out if there is anything you can do to fix it. The worst that can happen is that nobody listens or they tell you no."
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Tuesday June 28 2016, @11:07PM
Amazing story. Super happy for you that you found good work at a good place - it is a very difficult thing to find. Even if you aren't there anymore, you were lucky you had it.
(Score: 2) by ledow on Thursday June 30 2016, @08:42AM
Still at the new place, still being treated as a qualified professional, unlike the place in the story above.
The previous workplace were sued by five separate other members of staff for constructive dismissal within a year of it happening, the bosses were eventually sacked and almost everyone who worked there doesn't any more. I think I got out just before everything hit the fan, and they couldn't pull anything on me that would stick so they didn't try.
And, still, occasionally one of my suppliers (who works at both my old and new employers) turns up and tells me all the stories. "You remember when you put in X and Y so you could do Z? Well, they just bought it all over again for no reason, and they still never completed that project they insisted you had to do, and we're having this problem and this problem with them". One time they couldn't even get into their access control system because they didn't know the password and they had to pay a callout to reset it all. I checked, and the password was right there in the documentation I handed over to them, headed with the product model name and "access control".
I've kept a copy of the audit summary. My new employer never asked for a copy but I was brutally honest and furnished them with one while they were asking for my other details, to reassure that my side of the story was true. They took a copy but it's never, ever been mentioned since. But I've had pay-raises already.
My old boss (the good one) stays in contact and we meet up at events and share information and stories. We always have a good laugh about what that old place have done recently, and he's actually hired several people who were fleeing from there since.
But it's still a point of my professional pride that I passed the audit, fixed all the reported problems, delivered on all my promises, and left them in the position that I said I would.