How to Resign When You Can't Give Two Weeks' Notice

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I worked in a facility where my boss was a social worker and had difficulty understanding medical issues. She was given the customery two week notice and decided to have me escorted out of the facility that afternoon.After working there for two years.
She had no nurse for about three months after that and had to rely on other nurses in the facility to help.
You never know which way an employer is going to take this so I would advise giving more time where you can. I still get good references from HR as she is no longer there.
I had upgraded to a ADON position and I was not going to let the opportunity go by me.

CM of New York of NY 9:47AM April 22, 2010

I agree with Rocky if you work in a place that treats people poorly. Those businesses often are also restricted in providing references for employees beyond dates of employment and salary, so it doesn't really matter. If you've established a professional network for references, those professionals will vouch for you and the message being sent by people walking out the door should have an impact that something is wrong - whether that is within a specific department or across a larger area of the company.
The two week window is a courtesy and should be given in cases where you personally feel a courtesy is due.

jk of NJ 8:05AM April 22, 2010

I agree with the above post. I gave 10 hours notice. I basically sent an e-mail to my employer the night before and that was that. "I resign from my position effective immediately". Of course there was a crazy nurse on my floor that was harassing me for many months. I reported her to HR/my supervisor etc and they did nothing to help the situation. I found another job and voila!

Sara Sudry of NY 7:31AM April 22, 2010

The answer to "why?" is that it's in your best interest to care about your professional reputation, whether or not you think it's fair.

Alison Green of DC 11:28AM April 20, 2010

When there is absolutely NO guarantee of employment anywhere anymore, why should an employee be so courteous when employers frequently lay people off with no notice at all?
If I have to suddenly leave a company for a legitimate reason, I'm not going to be apologetic about it. The employer most likely won't offer me ANY notice when they're shoving me out the door with one hand and yanking my employee ID off of my belt loop with the other.
I understand that some employees will become vindictive and try to damage or steal company property, and that employers want to minimize this risk, but if my employment record has been trouble-free, the professional thing to do is to give ME notice that you have to let me go.
When I start seeing employers offer the same kind of professional courtesy that they expect from employees, I'll most certainly reciprocate. Until then. . .

Rocky Carr of NC 8:03PM April 19, 2010