How to Resign Your Job Gracefully

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My manager gets really upset when anyone resigns or leaves. So yesterday when I went to talk to him early morning, I put it to him very nicely that I wanted to resign my job and leave because I wanted a slight change in my job responsibilities and career path. He told me he wouldn't accept my resignation, and that he wanted me to think about this again. I went back to my office, and he came back to me and said he would be willing to take away the responsibilities in my current job that I didn't want and I could keep my title and my office, if I would just stay. I went back to his office three times politely declining any changes/offers, but he kept sending me back to my office saying that I should think about this a little more. Finally at the end of the day, I went to tell him that I wanted to give my resignation letter, and found that he had left early. So I couldn't give my resignation letter, and I've to wait till I get into the office today to give my letter which means my two weeks notice gets postponed by another day. A strange response from a person who usually asks people to leave the very same day that they give their notice. Maybe when I give my resignation letter today, he'll ask me to leave.

IT Manager of WI 7:44AM April 22, 2010

I agree that the current employer should receive two-weeks' notice. I also have a rule of thumb that if the job is temporary, then the employer should receive one-week's notice so there is adequate time to find a suitable replacement.
In some cases, the new employer may need someone who can start immediately and in those situations, I can understand not giving two-weeks' notice. However, I think in a situation such as this, the employee should do his/her best to ensure that the old employer is covered (such as helping to find a suitable replacement, etc.). I have seen cases where the situation was so bad that employee was out of there as soon as a new offer came along. While I don't condone burning your bridges behind you like this since you may need a good reference some day, I can also understand the employee's not wanting to stay in a bad situation.
I live in a right-to-work state with at-will employment law. I have seen many people lose their jobs who in my opinion didn't deserve it. Also, in this state, your employer can terminate you if he doesn't like the way you parted your hair one day and doesn't have to give you a reason. My personal opinion is that employers who are in the habit of doing terminations like this do not deserve two-weeks' notice since they have a revolving-door mentality anyway.

DDTPLS of NV 4:32PM January 07, 2009

I know for a fact that my company does not allow two weeks notice, as soon as someone resigns with notice, they want the employee to leave that day, no two weeks, no two weeks' pay. I cannot afford to not be paid those two weeks but at the same time feel bad about not warning anyone or even attempting to give notice. Is there anything I can do in this situation?

Just a few more weeks now... of FL 11:29PM December 08, 2008

Until now I have NEVER heard of requiring more than a two week notice to anyone. I have just found out the hard way. I have recently gave my current employer my two week notice I was leaving as they are selling the business I work at for them which I have been at for eight years and six of the eight years their manager of the year. I just found out that in the employee handbook that was just re-written beginning of this year and I signed for (since you have to anyway) it states employee must give THIRTY DAYS NOTICE or forfiet their PTO time, previous handbook was 14 days. Since I had 150 hours accumulated I have letting them keep over $1,500.00 of my earned PTO time. The rich man just keeps getting richer, and I keep getting poorer!

Study Everything of IN 8:57PM October 15, 2008

I had a very hard time doing the Face to Face Thing. I know it is Suggested but ... it was Extremely Hard for me,Since I really liked the Owner I was Renting from. So I typed up a 30 days Notice,Resignation Letter and Put it in with that Week's Rent Check. I agree that if you can do it face to face,that is best but it's not for everyone. The Opened up any Discussion(s) and because I signed a Lease, it put it in writing.
I personally Do Not feel E-mail is Wrong either. It's very Non Intrusive and gives you the Benefit of saying the Things you need to say and then letting the other Person Respond. THere's Nothing wrong with using Modern Tech.

Susan Easley of VA 1:37PM August 08, 2008

The last company I left, I gave a months notice. I didn't really want to stay a month as I was excited about my new opportunity, but I needed to give a month. Why? Because I was the only one in the company who did most of what I did and I needed to train others to be able to do it.
I worked hard, kept longer hours than my normal "long hours". I documented, I trained and I organized. I helped select my replacement and even after I left, I took calls for weeks with questions. One year later, I still take questions should they arise.
I did all of it because I had great admiration for the owner. My direct boss wasn't as great but I was dedicated to that company for 7 years and I worked hard. I didn't want my actions at the end to be all that they remembered. Two weeks was not enough notice and my new job appreciated that I didn't want to leave them in a bad way. My actions ended up speaking volumes about my characted which I never actually considered. I received a great letter of recommendation and have been asked to return on several occassions.
Even if you have a bad boss, people notice the way in which you leave a company. It's rarely your previous boss that helps you get a job so would you want your co-workers to speak poorly about your character? It's always something to consider.

HR Goddess of IL 11:01AM July 29, 2008

C. Hansen: That's terrible, and I don't doubt that your decision to leave was the right one for you. I'd just point out that giving notice isn't about the company *deserving* notice -- it's more about protecting your own reputation, so that you don't burn bridges and so that future employers who call for references don't hear "she left with no notice" (which is generally a red flag). Fair or not, notice has become standard and expected, and a lot of future employers may consider violating that practice a big deal. At a minimum, it forces you to have to explain it in the future.
That said, there are times when you simply need to get out, today, and it sounds like this was one of them.

Alison Green of DC 11:30PM July 28, 2008

Having just gone through this, I took a different approach.
My decision to leave was based upon a number of factors, but if I look at root-cause analysis, my decision to LOOK was predicated upon a lack of professional respect for my talents and for the value that I brought the organization. In the last 3 weeks that I was with the company, I worked 18 days straight and accrued over 242 hours in actual time - 3/4 of this was billable time. I also performed so well that I captured another 62k in billable project-based revenue and was instrumentl in closing a sale on a 250k deal.
I had an agreement (verbal) with my boss that I was "paying forward" for vacation time that I was about to use but had not accrued. I found out 1 week before vacation that I would not be given any comp time - unapproved. My Boss elected to "give" me 2 days of time back, which he then did not approve when I submitted it.
There were a host of incident like this, not just these.
When I decided to leave, I was sitting on the fence as to how much notice to give - I had always given 2 weeks plus - essentially whatever was needed to ensure a smooth transition and as little business disruption as possible.
However, looking back on the previous month it was clear to me that I was not valued - neither as a person with family, etc. nor as a seasoned professional. It was clear to me that I was seen as a disposable resource to be ground up at my employer's leisure. They attributed it to "growing pains" - but in all honesty there was a theme and a trend there that I was uncomfortable with.
I decided that if I gave 2 week's notice that they would contnue to abuse my trust. I was angry enough about my previous (and still recent) experiences that I was unwilling to allow that to happen.
So it was quite a surprise when I walked in Monday morning and terminated my employment, effective immediately. My Boss proceeded to tell me I could not quit - literally, and that I was going to work for at least another 2 weeks on a project that we hadn't officially closed yet, and which they needed me for. When I told him I wasn't there to negotiate my exit strategy, he got aggressive and started berating me. Finally, he got so frustrated that he just resorted to yelling at me - my last data point with the company was him telling me it was my job to come up with a better exit strategy, and to get the hell out of his office and go back to my desk and think things through.
If I had any doubts about my decision, they all disappeared in that exchange.
Regardless what you and others may think, not everyone deserves 2-week's notice.

C. Hansen of WA 10:58PM July 28, 2008

Almostgotit, I think it depends on both the employer and the employee. I've had employees give me six months notice (such as when planning to leave for grad school) and stay totally engaged and focused that whole time. And of course, I've had employees give two weeks and check out mentally earlier than that. So like everything, I think it depends on your own context.
As far as advice for employees, the main thing is to know your employer -- watch how they've handled it with others, and expect this to be a good indicator of how they'll handle it with you. Some employers "earn" long notice periods and employees who keep kicking butt through their final day ... and some don't.

Alison Green of DC 9:29PM July 28, 2008

Any shorter and you are being unfair to your employer. But any *longer* and you may have an increasingly difficult time feeling invested in anything but closing up shop in an orderly fashion and getting out. Nor will the employer be very invested in *you,* once you've announced you're leaving. This is demoralizing for everyone and could even sour your relationships with this company just when you need to protect your strongest references there. Try, then, to go out on a strong, professional note, with just enough time to make that possible without dragging it out!

almostgotit of TN 5:46PM July 28, 2008