A friend of mine recently found out she got a new job, and we had a long discussion last night about the merits of giving two weeks notice in today’s day and age. Her argument was that companies are laying people off let and right without giving any notice, and in addition, her state (Texas) is right to hire just like Virginia, so if she gives the two weeks notice at her soon to be old company, they can walk her out the door right then, and not have to pay her a cent. She said the professional courtesy of two weeks notice has long since passed, and decided that she wasn’t going to give it.
This image came up when I searched for job frustration. WTF.
I did some research on the whole issue and the internet seems to be pretty much in tune with the whole, “It’s part of standard courtesy to give two weeks notice.” In fact, some people argued that you should give upwards of three or four weeks notice when leaving your company.
Then I found these two articles.
Ready to Leave? Why You Shouldn’t Give Two Weeks
Should You Give Two Weeks When Quitting?
They basically laid it out for me as a he said / she said, and then explained how the money worked. The writer of the first article definitely has a point – I’ve been walked out of jobs when I gave my two weeks before because they didn’t want me having access to their propriety data. I’ve also been told once that typically the company policy is to walk you out, but because of my position, and the institutional knowledge I held that if I would stay on another two weeks that would be great. I ended up only staying for another week, and that’s all I got paid for, while when I got walked out – they actually did pay me for the last two weeks I would have worked.
In all my research, it basically came down to this:
If you think you might run into your coworkers again or need a reference from them, you should give your two weeks notice. If you don’t mind burning the bridges – you shouldn’t. Either way, you typically leave yourself open for loss income if they decide to walk you out and not pay you.
In my friends situation, she was concerned about that loss of income, as well as the fact that her new job could not start for two weeks. That two weeks without money won’t put food in her children’s mouths, so she decided that giving two weeks was more of a risk to her than not.
In other situations, when I gave two weeks and go walked out, I started the next job two weeks early, and essentially got double paid.
I still think it’s good practice, but I’m leaning towards it happening less and less in today’s workforce.
What do you think, is giving two weeks an antiquated notion in today’s work force?
Stephanie is a 27 year old living outside of Washington, DC.If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed. Thank you, and have a wonderful day!
I think it all depends on the relationship with your company and position within the company. If you have a fairly basic job that is fairly easy for someone new to pick up then you can peace out. If you like the company you are leaving or think that you might end up working there again or with them again in another roll then give your two weeks. If you have a tougher job to pick up then training your replacement is common courtesy and might take the 3 to 4 weeks.
It’s the polite and professional thing to do, and being polite and professional never goes out of style. And trust me, it’s a small, small world. Walking out the door without giving notice will always be out there, whether you ask for a reference or not. I was interviewing someone the other day, and I really liked her. I mentioned it to someone who knew someone who used to work with her 10 years ago, and that person called me and told me something that she did that stopped me in my tracks. I checked with other references, of course, who I’m sure never would have brought up what I was told, but when I mentioned that I’d heard it, they all agreed that it was a pattern. Long story short, we didn’t make her an offer. My policy is that it’s a dick move to not give notice – it’s immature, it hurts the people you worked with and it gives you a bad rep, no matter how great it might feel at the time.
Karen,
I agree with you that it’s professional courtesy to give two weeks notice, but in my friends situation – she knows that most of the time company policy is to walk you out the door. In that case, should she give two weeks notice the day that she needed to quit, and then have them walk her out?
I agree with both Karen and Matthew. I thought that one article’s advice to clear out and be ready to be walked out just in case, especially if you’ve heard about it happening to others, was sound thinking. In that case I would quietly clear out my crap, make some backup plans for the potential two weeks without pay, and only then then go ahead and extend the courtesy of notice. If they’re going to treat you like a disgruntled employee, there isn’t much you can do but demonstrate otherwise.
I do find it ‘amusing’, for lack of a better word, that some co’s do that because they don’t want you to have access to the proprietary info….ok, fair enough. But if you’re giving 2 weeks notice, you’ve probably been thinking about leaving for a while and already have a new job lined up……soooooo, if one wanted to steal said info, they’d have done that long before…just sayin’
@Terry – RIGHT! If you’re handing in your two weeks you’ve already got the info. Ridiculous.
Chloe – yes, in this day and age with how things are trending, esp with the walking-outs…and as I often say, hope for the best but plan for the worst.
Well, it does sound like the corporate world is trending towards douchebaggery, but that’s not really news. In that case, as ever, it’s up to the individual to do the right thing (with precautions) and hope for the best.
another question to ask your friend is how much vacation time does she have accrued that her old company owes her? That can probably float her for those two weeks.
Not enough to float her – also, apparently in Texas they don’t have to pay you out for vacation. Who knew?
What kind of job doesn’t let you bring your teacup pig? That would seriously lead to job frustration for me. Pssh.
Seriously though, I really think it depends on your job and your industry more than it just being a standardized rule. My mom just quit her job because she was moving out of state, and her employers were literally more than accommodating, as they told her they’d just fire the new hire if she wound up changing her mind. She gave her two weeks’ notice, but wound up staying three weeks to help train her replacement while she waited for all the escrow nonsense with her new house.
I think it would be nice for your friend to draft a very polite and apologetic letter explaining extenuating circumstances that aren’t allowing her to give the customary two-weeks’ notice. That way she’s not exactly burning those bridges while she protects her potential income. I’m a big fan of the little white lie though, and some people might not be.
I personally always gave two weeks notice because I have a guilty conscious, and I have always been in a position that they *needed* that notice. If you’re doing it out of spite, then it’s definitely wrong, but no one can judge you for make a decision based on what’s best for your family. I hope things work out for your friend. And she’s so lucky to have found a new job, the market sucks right now!
I think 2 week notice is adequate. I would always give notice, but no more than 2 weeks.
I was unable to give a full two weeks notice, since I was on vacation at the time, and on the second day of my vacation, I found out I was six weeks pregnant. I was immediately put on bed rest by my doctor since it was a very high risk pregnancy. I informed my supervisior of my situation, and informed her that I will not be able to return to work as previously planned because of my medical conditon. Four years later I found out that this Company deemed me as UNREHIRABLE because I did not give two weeks notice! By the way I worked almost ten years for this company.