3. Setting a departure date
The article says that if you are “in a professional or clerical position, two weeks are appropriate. If you are in a managerial position, three to four weeks is appropriate.” That’s a joke. You could give four week’s notice. There is no guarantee of a good reference.
There are critical situations today where the day you announce your resignation is the day you leave. This may not be up to you. The company may not want you at its offices as you are a potential threat to its systems and security.
As head of security, I would not want anyone around who has access to company networks and application systems.
You may want to give two week’s notice, but from a security standpoint, you are out the door that day. Locks are changed. Passwords and IDs are terminated so you should have no access to files or other confidential information. That is the reality of today’s workplace.
Did you know that many denial-of-service (DoS) attacks are initiated by disgruntled employees? If the company you’re working at doesn’t have that stringent of a policy, they are leaving themselves open for attack. That’s definitely not adhering to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act or any compliance policy that focuses on secure environments.
4. Tying up loose ends
Making sure you turn in all IDs, keys and corporate credit cards is standard.
You don’t want the liability of being blamed for anything that happens after you give notice. Clear out your desk and office of all personal effects a day or two before you announce your departure. You just may be escorted to the door as soon as you tell your boss of your intentions. There is no going back to your desk.
Many companies are so paranoid today. They don’t want any employees hanging around after they submit their resignation.
Leaving contact information depends on the individual situation. You may not want to be contacted after you depart, or in most cases, companies will not give out your contact information. No one is going to forward leads or loyal customers to you for fear that they are losing potential business.
New best practice: immediate departure
Here is a true story that just happened where someone was leaving for a better opportunity and was debating this exact issue of “giving notice.”
My advice to her was to clear out her office the day before, give a clear resignation letter and have everything ready to turn over and leave the day of her resignation. She was in charge of critical information and computer systems. There were many legitimate reasons why she left (pay, workload, lack of recognition and the company’s loss of business).
It was a wise move to leave. She left on a Monday.
Two days later, the servers crashed and the company got a subpoena for a lawsuit. If she would have stayed, she could have been blamed for the crash and potentially held up to be a witness in the lawsuit. It could have jeopardized her new opportunity if she went the “old school” route. She was really thankful she resigned the way she did.
So much for giving two weeks’ notice. The potential liabilities aren’t worth it.
• Follow-up: Employees debate ethics of giving two weeks’ notice
Carlinism: A person leaves the day they resign. Otherwise, they leave the door open for lots of liabilities.
More at this link: http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=1757
I would give two weeks notice if the place I was working for was decent, and if co-workers were also decent. It is a rare thing nowadays.
I worked 10 years for a major telecom outfit - got laid off with zero notice. I did get offered a 90 day severance package, all I had to do was agree not to work in the field for a year.
The CEO did get a million $ bonus that year - dumping 20% of your workforce will make the profits look good - for a while.
I do project work now and ask for/get very good money. No office politics or anything else - come to work, work and then leave. Allows for some nice vacations as well.
Your #51 contains some great information. Thanks.
I work in security. I've always given 3 weeks notice. Then I usually get asked to leave about a week in. Still get paid for the last two weeks though. Fair enough for me.