Current Events > Is 2 weeks notice necessary when quitting?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Curious what people think based on feedback from other tangetally relatex topics.

Necessary? I don't think so
Good practice? Depends on your relationship with the company

If they've been good to you, then don't be a dick imo. If they're awful, then fuck em

It is not technically "necessary," it is only a courtesy. On one hand, your employer can and will fire you without two weeks of notice. On the other, if you enjoyed your time, then it would be a dick move to leave them without notice.

depends on your contract, might be legally required

you give them your 2 week notice and they fire you 3 days later

Only if you feel like it

is signaling before changing lanes necessary?

watertank posted...

depends on your contract, might be legally required

What

Solution_45 posted...

you give them your 2 week notice and they fire you 3 days later

I remember when a nice guy who was important to my company many years was walked out then and there with security.

I wouldn't be surprised if Republicans tried to make quitting your job without notice a crime.

I say just quit, usually when I'm at that point it's because of horrible conditions and the mental effect it's having on me.

No but do have consideration for when you want to quit without doing so.

Do you get two weeks notice when youre fired? No. So, no.

why are Americans so anti-courtesy?

Beveren_Rabbit posted...

why are Americans so anti-courtesy?

Why are you so anti-showering?

Career job, yes 100%.
low wage, Retail, fast food, or some 24/7 job Id say no they would replace you in a heart beat and continue to operate regardless if youre there or not. Not saying Ive ever done it before, but really those jobs are there to use you up.

Beveren_Rabbit posted...

why are Americans so anti-courtesy?

From what I understand 2 week notice is actually an American thing.

Necessary? Absolutely not. Professionally advantageous? Some of the time.

You can walk out and never contact them again if you really want to. It's a courtesy, and it helps to be on decent terms with your previous employer when you're looking for a new job and need references.

Beveren_Rabbit posted...

why are Americans so anti-courtesy?

I mean it's maybe partially that.

But there's a lot of companies that when you put in your two weeks they let you go right there and then. Some people don't give a two weeks because of that.

I give a month usually

The company wouldn't give you a two weeks notice if they were firing you, so there's no obligation to pay them that courtesy.

The only reason I do it is if I like my managers and want to make things easier on them or if I don't want to dump a bunch of problems on my coworkers.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

and need references.

Such a dumb concept... references.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

The company wouldn't give you a two weeks notice if they were firing you, so there's no obligation to pay them that courtesy.

Yes but that shouldn't be the DEFAULT approach. They should have had it coming if you drop them like a bad habit. If you just walk off a job that treats you well and respected you then you're being a d-bag.

personally I'm against it. Just let them quit already!

and it didn't do much good in my situation. a woman gave her 2 weeks then was just sort of in and out of work the next couple weeks, her office looking like a pigsty when she left. I spent the next few days coming in early just to clean it out.

edit: she was retiring, though, so she probably didn't care anyway :D

WingsOfGood posted...

Such a dumb concept... references.

Not dumb at all. You're going to be giving this person money in exchange for a job you need done... you want to have an idea that the person is capable of doing the job and is reliable before you start giving them money.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Not dumb at all. You're going to be giving this person money in exchange for a job you need done... you want to have an idea that the person is capable of doing the job and is reliable before you start giving them money.

That is an illusion which has made companies basically never hire anyone.
References do not infact stop you from hiring bad employees.

WingsOfGood posted...

What

in the butt

Infact, reference thing literally exists to intimidate employees to treat employers as high and mighty in fear they might give them a bad reference.
This is the real reason. It is exploitative.

Also used to negotiate paying less to qualified people.

They can literally fire you whenever they want. The idea they need a giant safey net is ludicrous.

I've always been against the 2 week notice practice. It makes no sense to continue investing in a company that you're leaving. The defenders of it will try to spin it as if you're inconveniencing the company, but the truth is that the person who has to uproot their life and start over from scratch somewhere else is the one being inconvenienced. the multi million dollar company will be just fine, i promise lol.

Solution_45 posted...

you give them your 2 week notice and they fire you 3 days later

I just literally went through this lol. I started my new job yesterday, so last week was my final week at my former job. I came back from the holiday break on tuesday and they let me go on tuesday. I even had a conversation with my manager about my "intentions for the week" and i told them that every person intends on working a full week so that their final paycheck reflects a full 40/80 hours of work, and that it's incredibly inconsiderate when companies let their employees go early, screwing up their last paycheck. Literally like 2 hours later i got the notice to head to HR to start checking out. Fucking irritating pieces of shit lol.

The sad part is that other employers that you interview with will fully expect you to give your current employer the 2 week notice, and will dock you 'points' or whatever from their grading system if you don't. My recommendation is to lie to them and say you're going to give your current employer the notice, and then don't, if you can get away with it.

Solid Sonic posted...

Yes but that shouldn't be the DEFAULT approach. They should have had it coming if you drop them like a bad habit. If you just walk off a job that treats you well and respected you then you're being a d-bag.

I agree.

I've only left one job without prior notice and that's because my new position wanted me in within a week and I would have only worked 2 more days anyway.

Plus it was Call Center work so meh.

On the flip side however, I had been working at Best Buy for 2 and a half years. Got along with my managers and everything, and got laid off on the spot so

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

Plus it was Call Center work so meh.

Call centers are definitely the sort of job where I would think about it because the whole thing revolves around an easily replaceable workforce. Bodies are interchangeable in a job like that so you're no different than the person whose seat you filled or the one who will fill it next.

Generally no reason to. You work. Your boss pays you for your time. That's the entirety of the agreement.

If you have a career and can't provide any other references beyond your immediate boss, then you don't have a career that needs references.

Gobstoppers12 posted...

Not dumb at all. You're going to be giving this person money in exchange for a job you need done... you want to have an idea that the person is capable of doing the job and is reliable before you start giving them money.

Nah it's still dumb because people are only going to cherrypick the references that have good things to say about them. Or even better, they'll just have a family member or friend lie on their behalf.

It's an antiquated concept from the boomer era and I can say I've only been asked for references once from any job I've worked.

SnipeStar posted...

The defenders of it will try to spin it as if you're inconveniencing the company, but the truth is that the person who has to uproot their life and start over from scratch somewhere else is the one being inconvenienced. the multi million dollar company will be just fine, i promise lol.

This. If a company really can't replace one person leaving, imagine how much that worker had to do, imagine how they worked sick, never got to take vacation, etc. It's a clear sign of being poorly ran, justifying the quitting in itself.

It's why I don't draw a distinction between career jobs and retail jobs. No more two weeks notice.

It's "necessary" if you want your departure to be considered on "good terms".

Turtlemayor333 posted...

This. If a company really can't replace one person leaving, imagine how much that worker had to do, imagine how they worked sick, never got to take vacation, etc. It's a clear sign of being poorly ran, justifying the quitting in itself.

The whole "YoUrE iNcOnVeNiEnCiNg ThE cOmPaNy" is such a dumb take; okay then, if the company doesn't want to suffer this "inconvenience" then tell them to stop making their employees miserable enough to quit.

SnipeStar posted...

I've always been against the 2 week notice practice. It makes no sense to continue investing in a company that you're leaving. The defenders of it will try to spin it as if you're inconveniencing the company, but the truth is that the person who has to uproot their life and start over from scratch somewhere else is the one being inconvenienced. the multi million dollar company will be just fine, i promise lol.

That awkward moment when you don't realize multi-million dollar companies aren't the only employers in existence

One_Day_Remains posted...

That awkward moment when you don't realize multi-million dollar companies aren't the only employers in existence

that awkward moment when you don't realize that you aren't rebutting anything.

If a company is hindered by a single employee leaving, then it's a poorly managed company, regardless of its size.

RchHomieQuanChi posted...

Nah it's still dumb because people are only going to cherrypick the references that have good things to say about them. Or even better, they'll just have a family member or friend lie on their behalf.

It's an antiquated concept from the boomer era and I can say I've only been asked for references once from any job I've worked.

Actually I don't believe they asked for them in the boomer era.

It is a fairly new thing designed to maximize labor exploitation.
Just think how ridiculous interviews are today.

SnipeStar posted...

The whole "YoUrE iNcOnVeNiEnCiNg ThE cOmPaNy" is such a dumb take; okay then, if the company doesn't want to suffer this "inconvenience" then tell them to stop making their employees miserable enough to quit.

I was ready to walk away from my last job several times, having seen many people before do it regularly (as an IT person I was required to shut down accounts when people were terminated) but it had nothing to do with the company. They were very nice and respectful but I just loathed what I was doing and I was constantly feeling underwhelmed by my role. The only thing that kept me there was my need for professionalism but the thought of just going to lunch and never coming back was a constant presence in my head. I finally separated amicably in October, although I'm still unemployed because the job I did accept hasn't actually onboarded me due to my government clearance still being in process.

It's worth pointing out that there is the rare occasion where a 2 weeks notice can actually work in your favor.

When I told my last employer that I planned on leaving and gave my notice, they wanted to see about moving me to a different department (I had finally landed a legit Service Desk job and they were entertaining the idea of moving me to the IT team with a pay increase) simply because giving them my notice made them aware of my value.

Of course, they wanted me to see about pushing back my start date at my now current job (lolno) and they ultimately never got back to me so I just left. Yeah, 9 times out of 10 you don't want to just take the counteroffer because they'll find some way to screw you down the line, but you can always use the counteroffer as leverage in negotiations with other employers.

Solid Sonic posted...

Yes but that shouldn't be the DEFAULT approach. They should have had it coming if you drop them like a bad habit. If you just walk off a job that treats you well and respected you then you're being a d-bag.

It absolutely should be the default approach if they wouldn't do the same for you. Why the hell would employers get two weeks but employees don't? If anything, it should be the other way around as people matter and companies don't.

It is if you want to have good references.

EmbraceOfDeath posted...

Why the hell would employers get two weeks but employees don't?

Because of at-will employment law. You know it when you signed the employee handbook and it's state law. It sucks but it's reality.

They can fire you without warning, you can quit without warning.

yes. you don't wanna find out what happens if you don't

If its the law, yes
if you want a reference, yes
if you otherwise had a good relationship with your boss and dont want to be a dick, yes

otherwise no

Umbreon posted...

They can fire you without warning, you can quit without warning.

Again, you CAN. Don't go around making a habit of it and being proud you told a perfectly reasonable company that they could stick it up their ass when they were fair to you.

It's common courtesy to do so. It gives the company/business enough time to find a replacement, transfer work to another employee/department temporary, etc. It also helps to keep a healthy relationship. Every employee who has worked under me that at least gave me a 2 week notice, I always gave them a positive feedback when used as a referance

Solid Sonic posted...

Again, you CAN. Don't go around making a habit of it and being proud you told a perfectly reasonable company that they could stick it up their ass when they were fair to you.

Right. If a company was fair to you, I would be willing to give them two weeks warning.

If it's minimum wage or the company was giving you bullshit though? Fuck em.