BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi all,
I am leaving for a 3-months trip in the beginning of April, but I have not told my boss my plan yet.
Is it better to tell her in the beginning or the end of the week?
I don't want to leave a bad name behind since I may still want to come back to work for her.
Thanks for your advice.
lucky me

Hi there,
Tough situation. I've seen this come up a few times here but I think common answers are "two weeks is standard in the US, and that's really all you're obligated to give. Any more and you run the risk of being let go earlier than you want."

But your trip is pretty close anyway. Would it make you feel better just to get it off your chest? It probably depends on the nature of your work and your relationship with your boss too.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.
Also have a look around this forum for other opinions on similar questions

I'm a fan of 2-3 weeks. Unless you have something in your contract that stipulates longer notice.

I don't know what the rules are where you are, but here, if a company elects to terminate you (whether because you gave notice you were leaving, or for some other reason that doesn't legally qualify as "with cause"), they're obligated to give two weeks notice or two weeks pay in lieu of notice.

I don't think it matters what part of the week you tell them, but if the subject comes up - such as your supervisor asking you to set objectives for the next year, or something - this close to leaving, it's probably best to be up front about it.

Geez, I am very nervous about telling her.

The reason I want to know which day of the week is the best is that I think certain day of the week affects people's mood and decision (my boss', of course). Like Monday is a bit stressful for some people and Friday is pretty relaxed.

I consider it is a 'bad' news for her since she starts to let me to take more responsibility and my credential and experiences are important for her to propose other jobs (I am an Engineer).

So, from a psychologic view, which day of the week is the best to receive a 'bad' news??

On the movie 'office space' they say to always fire people on a Friday because there is less of a chance of an incident. And that movie is pretty much my guide to my corporate life.

I would tell your boss tomorrow (friday), after lunch but not at the very end of the day (too obvious)

But it really doesn't matter much, I think.

'Office space'?? Got to check it out
Thanks for the advice.

Office Space is the best movie ever. And the "less incidents if you fire on a Friday" was exactly the advice I was toing to give.

I don't know what type of work you do - but two weeks is NOT enough time in any professional environment. Give at least a month, if not longer.

I agree with Michael... I'm going to give at least a month notice. The hiring process generally takes that long to get someone else interviewed and in. But I guess it depends on how much you care about your employer and the type of work.

quote:

I don't know what type of work you do - but two weeks is NOT enough time in any professional environment. Give at least a month, if not longer.

I disagree, and this is generally incorrect.
Most professional environments, it is customary to give 2 weeks. If you know you are going to leave sooner, then you should start writing down processes, etc. But you don't need to give any longer than that.

In fact, if you give longer, they can say "we don't need you that long," and send you on your merry way with just 2 weeks pay.

quote:

But I guess it depends on how much you care about your employer and the type of work.

This has nothing do do with "caring about your employer." This is business. And, while I admire the loyalty...once you've been through a layoff you know that the company would not be so loyal to you if it fit their needs. They would give you two weeks, tops, or perhaps walk you out that day. They don't owe you anything, and vice versa. This is a business decision, not personal. They can ask you to stay longer, but please know that if they restructured, or no longer had a use for your position, they would not grant you the same courtesy.

(and, once you have turned in your resignation...you'll start checking out, and they won't really give you anything new to do. A month with nothing to do sucks.)

I am going to agree that this shouldn't be about caring or loyalty. But you do need to make a "business" decision on when to tell your boss.

If you don't plan on working for your boss again, then sure 2 weeks is a perfectly acceptable business practice.

But, if you'd like the opportunity to come back and work for your boss again better give them enough time so that you can finish up the work you were doing or hand if off to someone else.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael C:
I don't know what type of work you do - but two weeks is NOT enough time in any professional environment. Give at least a month, if not longer.

I would probably have to side with annie on this debate. You shouldn't have any guilt about giving two weeks. That's perfectly fine.

On the other hand, halfnine is 100% correct as well. If you want to come back to that job, up to two months might help. Don't just leave thing hanging if you can help it.

The exact amount of time would be very context specific. In my job, a month or two would be deeply appreciated, and not out of line.

I agree with jv but wanted to add a few comments. If you want to stay longer to give your employer the opportunity to hire someone to replace you and have some overlap time to train, etc.- don't bother unless this is specifically asked for. Hiring someone new and training them for the job is your employer's responsibility and especially if you are giving a month's notice they should be able to find someone within that time frame if it is a priority for them. I realize there are exceptions to this and at certain positions I've discussed with my boss that I would be willing to stay longer to train someone but we needed to discuss exactly how long that would be. I've seen employers given 2 months notice and they still hadn't hired someone by the time the employee left. The brand new employee that they finally hired was trained by people who knew parts and pieces of the job and because of that it was a rough go for awhile. In the end, this is the employer's responsibility and they can do with your remaining time as they see fit. They'll either make use of you by cross training another employee who can later train your replacement, make sure you have all of your current projects sewn up, give you tons more projects and basically work you to the bone till you leave or like Annie says, they can leave you sitting on your hands for a month with nothing to do. Its interesting to see how employers handle the situation. It can be telling and often quite surprising.

The most important thing to remember is that it is a business situation and while you no doubt want to handle it with grace and respect you are not indebted to them for anything. You earn a paycheck while doing a full day's work for your employer. Nobody owes anyone anything unless otherwise spelled out in a contract.

I just gave 1 month's notice yesterday, but should have left it another 2 weeks and given 2 weeks notice. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving plenty of notice and offering to train my replacement. I got an email back the next day saying they want me to leave in 2 weeks instead. Loyalty and putting in the extra effort doesn't mean a thing to this employer.

quote:

I just gave 1 month's notice yesterday, but should have left it another 2 weeks and given 2 weeks notice. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving plenty of notice and offering to train my replacement. I got an email back the next day saying they want me to leave in 2 weeks instead. Loyalty and putting in the extra effort doesn't mean a thing to this employer.

I can surely relate to this Mim. The job before my current one, I gave two weeks notice and my boss requested that it be two days instead! That was fine with me because he was horrible (he knew it) and I think he was mainly thinking about damage control and what I would tell others about him! You did the right thing. And you're right, loyalty, consideration, extra effort, and doing the right thing mean very little in the business world generally speaking. It's all about the bottom line $$$...

I gave my current employer five weeks notice. This works for me as I am the general manager and the process of interviewing and training a new manager is not a short one. I will be the one doing the training and may want to work here again in off season times. One of the board members and I are going over procedures and making flow charts as I am the only one who knows how to do everything here. If you are not a key or super specialized in your job then two week it is.

Thanks for the compliment Bush...

Ok, dear fellows,
Let me update my status....

I finally caught her in the office last Friday, told her my decision, she didn't react on that day but instead she backfired 4 days later (which is the past Tuesday). She told me that two weeks notice is not enough, I should have informed her at least one month before hand. And also, I should not just went in to her office and told her my decision, I should "ask questions" (like "what if....") instead. That's the advices from my boss. Well, she agrees to wait for my return, but she can't guarantee that my position will still be available. I told her that when I went in to tell her my decision, I was prepared that I would just be let go, and I understand company's position.


So, final thought:
If you are in a professional environment, better give at least one month notice. In the end, you might still come back to the same field, and you will meet them one day.

Also, ask your boss " what if..(i.e. I will need a long vacation...)" ahead of time casually--> It is really fishy signal to me if I were the boss though....

Wow Lucky, thanks for the update.

Like I said before it depends on the job, IMO. I know its "business" but the way you leave can leave a lasting impression on that employer... the added stress of covering what you leave behind can leave a sour taste and returning to that job... well they don't want to be put in that situation again. It really just depends on what you do, and what you want to come out of it. Professional situations probably need more time... i'm definitely planning on a month. BUt, I don't like the idea of "what if..." questions either. That'll do nothing but raise a flag to an employer. hmm...

quote:

If you are in a professional environment, better give at least one month notice. In the end, you might still come back to the same field, and you will meet them one day.

I'll continue to disagree. I have been in a professional environment for quite some time, and each time I have left a job, it has been with 2 weeks notice. When I was laid off, THEY gave ME 2 weeks notice.

I have a great relationship with all my ex-employers, so the 2 weeks doesn't matter. I will stress that when I knew I was likely leaving, I started documenting as much as I could so that I could hand it over seamlessly. I wasn't there to train another person, but I left everything in hand that was needed. This is good practice, anyway.

Each situation is different, but in most cases, 2 weeks is plenty. 1 month and you run the risk of them letting you go, like what happened to Mim. If 2 weeks turns them off from you forever, despite the fact that you did great work before...is that really someone you want to work with?

Also...if you were leaving for another job, rather than to travel (which...if you are quitting your job you are really under no obligation to tell them what your next move is), often times your new employer wouldn't give you a ton of time to start. And, by general rule, you should try to take a break between jobs...keep that in mind.

Lucky, if your boss continues to be unprofessional about what you should have done, check your contract. If it says, "Please give one month notice," which I doubt it does, then she's in the right. If not, then she is just stressing about what this means for her, which is her perogative, but she shouldn't be taking it out on you.