Don’t give 2 week notices. The only incentive you have is if you are leaving on good terms you can use them as a reference or maybe come back if the circumstances work.
The downsides far outweigh the benefits. They could terminate you, cut your hours, get mad that you’re quitting and give you bad references.
I think is different in different markets, in my actual job, during the interview I said that I would need a month I’m advance to give to my old boss, to close projects and prepare my junior for my leave. After being accepted my new boss told me that this stipulation weighted a lot in the decision to hired me, because they knew I would do the same. I’m an actuarie, our jobs are kinda complex, and someone leaving the company without any notice can complicate everything a lot.
This is the way to do it - also, it’s nice to have some vacation stocked away in case they do get mad and fire you before the end of the 2 weeks. If you don’t get fired, it’s like getting a bonus check once you start your new job.
Getting fire is the best case, almost everywhere but in the US. In Brazil every month the employer have to deposit 8% of your salary in a savings account that pays 3% interest rates annually. If you are fired without legitimate cause, they have to pay 45% of the value of that account to you, and you are free to liquidate that account. Government bonds today are paying way eay more, so you can just buy bonds and get a 400% value on the long term.
I was pretty high up in Actuarial at a fortune 500 insurance company. At my old company, if you went to a competitor, your account was shut off that day and none of your unused time off was paid out.
You don’t owe your company anything they won’t reciprocate. The company will continue to operate no matter who leaves under whatever circumstances - don’t fuck yourself for a faceless corporation.
If you know your manager is very employee-centric and you have a great relationship, maybe approach it with caution, but otherwise, your interests should always come first.
This is what I mean, in Brazil if they do that they have to pay a lot of money, I guess in other parts of the world with basic workers law works like that.
fuck the reference… tell your new boss your current job doesn’t know you’re job hunting and thus can’t list them as a reference… problem solved!
Agree but with caution, I know a couple hiring managers who pull the “oh if they’ll job hunt on their current one they will do it to us” kinda clingy relationship shit.
Bitch, it’s a job, we’re not friends. HR isn’t there to help you, your manager isn’t there to help you, and in all except the rarest cases the founder or manager doesn’t give a shit about you.
I work in a professional environment where it’s not unusual to give months notice because you appreciate the people you work with and don’t want to leave them hanging.
in this same environment I have witnessed people getting fired on the spot with zero notice, zero reasons, zero sympathy. I have also seen people give a month notice only for mgmt and HR to fire them on the spot and then tell their team the person quit.
take my advice, don’t give a two weeks notice for your employer. give it to your trusted colleagues and quit on the spot for your employer.
I don’t get it. If you get a notice, they should. We have labour laws requiring both the company and you to give notice, 3 months. That’s for anyone that hires someone, but exempt for what’s called a “temporary hire”, like interns and such. If you have a temporary hire for more than one year it’s automatically considered a “permanent hire”. It means that whenever a company uses consultants or practice workers the risk goes both ways, and most normal workers get economic security. (Perhaps it only works well because other labour laws though, such as rights to be sick, have kids, etc)
Labour laws should be beneficial for workers, and if they aren’t, the giant hyper capitalist megacorps you foster with that approach aren’t worth any protection at all since they are a burden on the planet and society, not a benefit.
You don’t typically get a notice.
Yeah I know that’s why I’m saying why would they expect that ever
What you just described is a system that mistreats your workers. Those temporary hires, if they lose their jobs, they can’t put food on the table. But if the company loses a temporary worker, it’s not going to be troubled, they’re just going to go hire another person.
That all being said, if you’re working under contract and your company has robust protections for retaliation by employers, some of the risk of telling them in advance goes away. That’s great, but there’s still some remaining risk. Many bosses will be vengeful, bitter, and they may sabotage your work however they can for the last few weeks or months. And you won’t be able to stop them, because you’re leaving, so even if you filed an internal complaint, it wouldn’t go anywhere.
Temp hires are kids in school and trainees etc that would almost always have a 3 month contract that then get full time work when they know it will work out. Some elder care companies I know kept hiring new workers constantly and it did not go over well for any of them. Shut down by unions and most old people switched away from these, also the communal overseers removed them from the hiring pools and from recommendations as a choice of provider. All workplaces I have quit, have treated me well, mostly using the time to transfer skills and documentation to a replacement and then saying I don’t have to come in when it seems done. Two times they gave me instant “garden leave” with full benefits which means I get full pay but don’t have to work and if I have other work I can get double salary without having to pay penalties. I also am in a union that by law has to be asked automatically to come in and manage the transfer, those are people that have seen hundreds of layoffs and leavings that can give each party a sense of what is expected, and raise issues or irregular things like you describe to the correct authority. I have not seen any abuse of this law (law of labor safety) from a company or heard of any abuse of the law in my entire forty years of life. It’s because it is taught in schools and taken very seriously by even small businesses.
No! My permanent record!
I mean - it kind of is? I believe a company is allowed to ask another company if they’re eligible for rehire - and they record those things in their HR systems.
This is true. The other company can ask HR to consult the big book of grudges to determine if there are indeed grudges.
They do keep records, but rarely share them.
If your prospective employer says that they didn’t hire you because of what a previous employer said about you, and that previous employer doesn’t have rock solid evidence, then you can sue for lost wages, defamation, and get a nice chunk of money.
When people called the store I was managing to get info on past employees, the only thing we would confirm was the time range they worked for us,
Given that person already found a new job, if they plan to keep it for long, the previous company’s record won’t be useful anymore.
I’ve spent the last year trying to make it work with one of my guys.
At first, I told him the rest of the team was having trouble connecting with him. He would wander off without telling anyone where he was going or what he was doing, which gave the impression that he wasn’t working. I explained that optics matter, because we’re all in this together. If we can’t count on each other, it makes it harder for everyone. He appreciated that conversation, but things didn’t improve.
He continued to show up late or call in sick, often on days when he knew we’d be busiest. I talked to him again about reliability—how it’s the most basic form of respect. Not just for your workplace, but for yourself. When you say you’re going to do something or be somewhere, it’s vital that your word means something. If you can’t be counted on, how can anyone rely on you?
I didn’t just tell him this. I lived it. I showed him with kindness and consistency how important those basic values are.
Last week was the busiest week our team has ever faced. It was also one of the most critical in terms of proving what we could do together. I prepped the team ahead of time and told them how proud I was to step up to the challenge with them.
On the first of the two most important days, he was late. The first 15 minutes were the most crucial of the entire day, and he missed half of them. I wasn’t angry. I handled it myself. But when he arrived, I told him how stressful that time was for me, and I reminded him again how important these two days were. He said he understood. He said he was sorry.
The next morning, I was 15 minutes into busting my ass alone. I texted him: Where are you? Nothing. Radio silence. No reply that day. Not a single call or message.
The next day, he told me he was sick and had a doctor’s note. The note was timestamped 3:45 p.m., and it said he was cleared to return to work that day.
I just stared at it for a moment. I didn’t get angry. I didn’t yell. I just said, “Okay,” and continued working. We worked in silence for most of the day.
Later, he said casually, “I heard you were upset yesterday morning.”
I replied calmly, “I was. Yes. It was stressful.”
He shrugged and said, “Sorry about that.”
I didn’t respond. I just kept working. Then, just before I left, I turned to him and said this in a calm but measured tone:
“Let me clarify something. Yesterday, I was upset because it was stressful. I’m not upset today. I’m disappointed today. I wanted to be able to say to the rest of the team that I could rely on you when it mattered most. But I can’t say that. I can’t defend you to the team when they feel like you leave them to figure it out on their own, because you left me when I told you I needed you the most. I’m not upset. I’m deeply disappointed.”
He tried to defend himself with the doctor’s note, but I raised my hand to stop him. He waited for me to say something else, but I didn’t. I let the silence speak, then walked out.
I’m sharing this because I saw this meme and it made me feel sad and reflect. I know it may be counter to the fun of the meme, but I thought the point was worth sharing.
Sometimes, jobs are crappy. Sometimes you work for people who don’t care but still expect you to. In those cases, I understand the temptation to stop caring or to burn bridges that don’t seem worth crossing.
But here’s my advice:
Respect—not because others have earned it, but because you are worth giving it to.
Hold yourself to a higher standard, not for them, but for you. Elevate yourself because it’s worth doing. Be better to yourself.
And when others who also respect themselves find you, they’ll recognize that quality in you. That’s when you find people worth teaming up with. That’s how you build something greater, something that’s not just productive, but meaningful and fun.
Do your guys benefit from all that team building? Or do they just get the same minimum wage no matter what while all the benefits of team efficiency go to the owner?
I hear you, and honestly? You’re not wrong. There are too many places where all the talk about “team” ends up being just a way to squeeze more out of people without giving anything back. That kind of exploitation deserves to be called out, and I’m with you there.
In our case, I do think our company tries to be generous in a lot of ways. But no, my team (and myself) don’t get paid more based on performance. So when I talk about respect, reliability, or rising to a challenge, I’m not saying the system rewards that. I’m saying you do.
What I wanted to share was really about a different kind of return on investment: the kind that lives inside you. Growth. Character. Reputation. Confidence. The way you carry yourself. The way people start to trust you without question. All of that sticks with you, no matter where you go or who signs your paycheck.
Being great doesn’t mean being a doormat or ignoring unfairness. It means choosing a higher standard for yourself, even when others haven’t earned it, but because you are worth that standard. This mindset has helped me build a career I’m proud of, even in imperfect systems.
Thanks for the push back. It helped me realize I needed to say this part more clearly.
Lol. “Being exploited builds character”
I really appreciate where you’re coming from, does the company respect him? It’s clear you do, but if a person’s time is not being respected through compensation then this might be an unrealistic expectation. Respect is a two way street.
You’re 100% right that respect should be a two-way street. I said “should” be. It often is not. Especially when it comes to systems like fair compensation, time, and effort. No argument there. If a company or a boss is disrespecting your time and well-being, that needs to be addressed, period.
What I was trying to explore in my story is a different layer. Something personal and internal. Though respect should be a two way street, it is still a street worth walking alone. That even in imperfect systems, even when others don’t “earn” your respect or see your effort, there’s still a kind of power in choosing to show up with integrity. Not because they deserve it, but because you do.
Choosing to be reliable, communicative, and accountable, even when others aren’t, helps shape who you are. It builds character, trustworthiness, and personal dignity. It teaches you to lead yourself. That’s the kind of respect no one can take from you, even when the outer rewards aren’t there yet.
It’s not about obedience. It’s about owning your path.
It transforms your mind and, in turn, your life. It is a path worth walking.
Thanks again for engaging with the nuance. I really value conversations like this.
… Are you serious? You should respect people who don’t respect you in turn because it “builds character”?
No, that guy in your story had it right. If this is representative of the culture you work in, I’d do the absolute bare minimum too. This is such blatant ‘hard work’ propaganda it’s actually kind of nauseating. Holy shit, take a step back and realize you’re helping your team get taken advantage of, and guilt-tripping them when they don’t comply with your corporate masters. You’ve progressed way beyond drinking the kool-aid, now you’re one of the guys holding the children hostage to get their parents to drink it.
Fuck’s sake, you’re the problem in that story.
I can feel how strongly you feel about this, and I get it. A lot of people have been burned by workplaces where “teamwork” is just code for giving more while getting less. That kind of exploitation needs to be called out. People have every right to protect their time and energy in those environments. I support that fully.
But that’s not what happened here.
In this story, I wasn’t defending a corporation. I wasn’t demanding loyalty to a job. I was calling someone up to a standard I hold for myself and offer to my team, not out of obedience, but out of integrity. I’ve never talked down to this guy. I’ve treated him with patience, honesty, and consistency. I’ve modeled the values I believe in and asked him to rise, not for the company, but for his own sake. Because that’s what respect actually looks like in action.
You called me “the fucking problem,” accused me of guilt-tripping people, and painted me as some kind of corporate enforcer. That’s not just inaccurate. It’s unfair. And I’m going to push back on it.
Not out of ego. Not out of anger. But out of self-respect.
I believe we should challenge broken systems and still choose who we want to be in the middle of them. I believe in calling people higher, not because they owe it to a job, but because they owe it to themselves. And I believe that treating people with dignity, even when they lash out, is still worth doing.
So no, I’m not going to return the insult. But I am going to stand up for myself. Because this, right here, is what it looks like to respond with strength, not submission. With clarity, not cruelty.
You don’t have to agree with my take, but I hope this helps clarify it.
Whenever I have an employee that I really need to get rid of, I call them in and say… “We need to formulate an exit strategy for you”. I leave it up to them. Want to resign today or in 2 weeks. Accepting your fate gains you a good recommendation for future employment. (Hoping that they will get a job with a competitor and continue to be inept)
Yeah that’s a good way to handle that sort of thing, and you did the right thing. However, and this is just a personal thing, and may not be applicable to your situation:
I have had adhd my entire life and worked around it. It has its problems with changing activity, and many people have this symptom with it. When I got medication and the problem was mitigated, I realised that my entire life I heard and was deeply ashamed of me not respecting others because of my chronic lateness. Now that I understand I wasn’t physically able, I can see that all the pain from hearing that I’m not respectful, when I’m truly sincerely am, did not help. The issue was never respect, it was a clinical defect in my frontal lobe. In my country we have “work therapists” they’re not for work, they’re for practically finding out if you have problems with productivity (even home stuff). One of these helped me realise and I was “cured”. I really thought I just suck. And nothing I did could fix it, and I would be truthful when I told others I get it and want to improve. And I was sincere in trying everything. I empathise with that guy probably because I was like that and I know I always held my job and coworkers high in regard and did my absolute best, but it came out as being disrespectful and disingenuous. Just needed to get that off my chest, cheers!
What you shared lands really close to home for me. I’m right there with you. My ADHD is the “leave‑your‑keys‑in‑the‑fridge, miss‑the‑turn‑you‑take‑every‑day” flavor, and when you layer in a hefty dose of imposter syndrome, it can feel like the whole world sees “irresponsible” when I’m just wrestling with my own wiring.
Over the years I’ve had to build some pretty extreme guardrails to keep myself on track:
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The 15‑minute rule. I aim to arrive everywhere a quarter hour early. It buys me a buffer for the inevitable “where did I put my badge?” scramble and lets me start calm.
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Alarm orchestras. My phone is a symphony of labeled reminders: “Leave NOW,” “Send daily status,” “Prep tomorrow’s kit.” If it dings, I do the thing right then (no bargaining, no “I’ll remember in five”). Future‑me is not a reliable assistant.
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Immediate action. If a task pops into my head and will take less than two minutes, I do it on the spot. That tiny rule has saved me from a mountain of forgotten follow‑ups.
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Radical transparency. This is my most important rule for myself. I tell my team straight up: “ADHD is my software; here’s how I patch the bugs. If you spot a glitch, flag me.” People are surprisingly supportive when they understand the why so I tell everyone.
None of these tricks erase my problems, but they translate good intentions into results the team can feel. And every time a coworker says, “I know I can count on you,” even when I am too harsh in judging myself.
Your story is a powerful reminder that what looks like disrespect can be a neurological hurdle. I hope anyone reading our thread pauses before labeling someone lazy or careless. Sometimes the most respectful thing we can do for ourselves and for each other is to seek understanding, build systems that work for our brains, and keep rooting for one another’s progress.
Thanks again for sharing. You’re not alone, and the fact that you care this much tells me you’re exactly the kind of teammate people want in their corner.
Haha you really need lots of framework to work like a normal being but there are benefits too, thank god. Your alarm symphony made me think of one thing that revolutionised this problem for me, a special alarm. It will not shut off until I scan a qr code on my bathroom mirror. After struggling with it so many years it was so fucking unbelievable to finally get something to work. I didn’t even have high hopes since I tried so many notifications, alarms, different types of smart captcha things, but then just physical movement to another place that cannot be cheated just made a huge difference, because once I walk through a doorway, it’s like my brain switches to a new activity automatically. Cheers!
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There’s nothing more satisfying than quitting in person so you can look your boss in the eye and tell him he is a piece of shit, making them so mad they threaten to call the cops on you for trespassing as you are literally walking out the door lmao.
I don’t mind giving a 2 week notice normally, but at this particular job one of my coworkers put her notice in and they fired her that day. They immediately lost their 2 week notice privileges from me with that slick move.
I love how companies expect you to give them 2 week notices, but how many of them give you any notice before laying you off or firing you? None- that’s how many. They literally value their own profits over human beings, fuck them.
It should just be standard to eliminate the 2 weeks bullshit. Telling someone they will be fired in 2 weeks is not a smart move. They could do all kinds of damage to the business with their access. IT is a great example.
We just need to normalize quitting with no notice. Companies still survive with employees going on 1-2 week vacations. They will be fine with no 2 week notice bullshit.
Unless it’s in your contract, of course.
I think this is smart, businesses should always strive to lower their employee-hit-by-a-bus factor as much as possible instead of relying on a social nicety. I think that would also reduce a lot of the pressure to not call out sick or take PTO.
The whole point of my submission was too many times you try to do the right thing but the clown who is your boss simply terminates you immediately. You don’t get to work the 2 weeks. You don’t get paid. And you are screwed for 2 weeks until you start your next job
Two weeks is bullshit. Not a law nor rule.
I had a job I loved, although it was owned by a complete asshole. I got a new job, at nearly double the pay. I agreed to give 2 weeks notice, even though it was going to cost me a lot of money, which I needed (this was my first good paying job, and I was broke).
Rather than understand that I was doing him a favor, my asshole boss decided to torture me for my final two weeks. I put up with it for a week, then told him I was done on Friday. I was essentially paying out of my pocket to give him 2 weeks, but I wasn’t going to pay him to abuse me, so I just left him standing there with his mouth agape.
I took the weekend off, and started my cool new new job on Monday (and it was a cool job, one of the best I’ve ever had).
It’s very satisfying when someone who thinks they have all the power suddenly realizes they don’t.
Two weeks is good practice especially as you move into more professional roles. Depending on the role additional notice might be preferred or even required since some roles in some businesses are critical enough to potentially impact business continuity if you leave unexpectedly
For a shitty retail job though? Give a few days notice so the schedule can be updated and leave it at that, barring other obligations
I gave a month’s notice at a job I was leaving. I was moving on, it wasn’t a shit job but I was ready to move up and they weren’t promoting me to the types of jobs I wanted. No hard feelings.
Until I have my month’s notice. I had been there 3 years and assumed we would take a week or so to hire someone, then I could train them on the job the last 2 weeks. It sure would have helped me when I started.
I wish I’d giving 3 days. They had no interest in including me in the new hire process (this is a small business, only 2 other people above me, owner and accountant) and basically it felt like they were waiting on me to leave so they could bring in their new pick.
Now I did end up working for that company in the position I wanted part time for a couple years after that, so I guess just not showing up would have been way worse, but I found that time period incredibly stressful and still don’t understand the motives.
I gave two weeks notice once, and fired on the spot. My manager claimed since I was quitting I probably do a shitty job the last two weeks so why keep me around.
So I dont give notice no more no matter the job.
This also happened to me once too. I was working at Amazon as a picker, and they unveiled a new tool that lets you put in electronically if you’re planning to leave. One morning, I put in that I was planning to leave in a month. Before lunch that same day, I was suddenly fired.
Never show your hand!
In my area there is an actual law regulating this. You can leave earlier, but you won’t get payment for the last period if you do so, unless your employer agrees to pay it out anyway.
if it means you don’t get paid for hours you didn’t work then seems fair enough, if it means they can avoid paying out your time off or other benefits then fuck that
Not only “fuck that”, wage theft is illegal. Not getting your last paycheck is very easy to prove and you can sue for way more in damages.
That’s true there is areas that have this law. I think mostly it doesn’t exist in most.
They wouldn’t have given him 2 weeks if he was fired.
Fuck them
Grew up in a village and this movie hit so close to home it’s actually disturbing
What movie!
The character drama with Brendan gleeson opposite Colin Farrell set in an idyllic small town in Europe that serves as a contrast to accent sparingly used violence emblamatic of violence on a much larger scale that’s hinted at but not shown featuring a mishmash of strongly acted and intriguing supporting characters?
In Bruges.
My asshole boss got what he asked for. He was hired in 2023, +15workers quit during his first year in charge, and by surprise 2024 was record breaking bad year for the company. I guess things can happen when you don’t respect the ones bringing in the revenue.
this is the old baseball analogy. Fire all the players or fire the manager. If everyone quits it’s not the players but an asshole manager
