2 weeks

You know what sucks...? The two weeks at your job once you give notice. No hand-off plan here so just twiddling my thumbs and pulling in the paycheck. Week #1 = almost burned.

 

Retiring? Changing careers? Lateral move?

 

Lateral, slightly upward move. 16 months here and not a great fit, was at previous place 12 years. Thanks for asking.

 

I usually messed around with the workers and would be like, "I'll do wtf I want! What they gonna do? FIRE ME?!?!" LOL. In all honesty, I usually worked to my last day the same way I did from day 1. Might be why all my previous jobs still talk to me and want to know if I'll come back. Even the ones from 15-20 years ago when I was a teen haha

 

Unfortunately this experience will not be one that I use for a reference. Even with my sister working here (which was a big draw), the management's approach and my approach just do not mesh. Onward and upward as they say! I doubt that I will make it through next Friday - probably next Thursday at the most!

 

I getcha man. I used to work in porn too

 

@Billy I congrats on the upgrade. In my experience when giving 2 weeks notice, my employer would try to dump all the crappy jobs on me. Kinda made me laugh the last time. Told my boss "Man, that's the worst job we've got, and I've put up with enough for the last 2 years. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I'll get right on it. I'm going to cover what I have to, but all my extra miles for this place ran out a long time ago." He just kinda chuckled and said he had to try.

 

My brother had to give 4 weeks notice when he quit his last job. I didn't ask him how he made it through but at least he was working from home and I don't think they had a ton of projects on the go.

 

I had been at my previous employer for 23 years. By the end I was more than burned out I despised the place esp management.

After being yelled at on a monday morning for something that happened over that weekend on a night shift, not my shift and out of my area of responsability I walked up front to HR, said heres my notice.

Once word got out that I gave my notice no manager would come near me. This was factory work, if a manager saw me walking down one of the lanes, they would look for the nearest conveyor cross over and just about kill themselves getting over it and running away. They knew my field of give a fucks was gone and I would most likely tell them to fuck themselves. I was known for speaking my mind anyway LOL.

So the rest of the that week was spent doing what I wanted, I made up for a lot of missed breaks and lunches LOL.

So friday rolls around the manager that got all pissy on monday with me tells me I have to work the weekend. Nope was my reply. I gave my notice, you work it. You are going to be here, me ya ok put me down to work but I wont be here and wont call in either.

I walked off, did not work that weekend, monday morning rolls around, I say fuck it at 4am, roll back over and go back sleep, ended going in around 10am, collected my tools and said good bye. When I drove down that drive for that last time I felt a invisable weight lift off my shoulders, seriously the best feeling I have ever had in my life, no regrets at all about how I left.

I gave that place 23 years, of nights, weekends, my life. Would come in at 1am if called or stay till midnight after coming in at 6am that day. I gave up a family life I could have had and lost a good woman over that damn place the whole time thinking I needed to be that go to person. In the end I walked away with a broken body that hurts to this day and nothing to really show for those 23 years.

Sorry for the highjack.

 

Those two weeks are the best to me, no longer have to give a shit about anything and all the problems magically become someone else’s!

 

More than likely I'll be putting in my two weeks soon also. Next month will be 4 years total. 3 years full time.

I gave my two weeks at my last employer July 2nd, 2017. Last day was July 15th, 2017. I started at my current employer July 17th, 2017.

We all had way too much to eat on our plates, and none of the safety devices worked on our machines. Osha was called, and investigated. Management paid the inspector a lump sum, and he fucked right off as promised. I put in my two weeks shortly after that.

It felt great leaving that plant for the last time as I had become better at my job than my trainers were. They were flown in directly from Korea, and didn't speak a lick of English. They all seemed to like me, and were very knowledgeable. During my 3 month Employment there I asked once a week about my position in maintenance as that's what I interviewed for, but hired as production. I was cool with this because I had no job beforehand. I snooped around, and discovered that I was 70th in line for maintenance menaing there were 69 other people working in production that were equally, or more qualified than me. Waiting, idling by, killing time.

My second to last day the President of the company and translator were waiting for me at the end of our start of shift meeting. They counter offered a maintenance position at $14 an hour. I asked them to let me think about it, and I'll let them know on my last day. I thought about it, but my new job was 5 miles closer to home, and paid a dollar more. Insurance was good. No Brainer.

They were waiting for me again at the end of shift my 12 hour shift. The President, and translator were eagerly awaiting my response. I respectfully said "Thanks, but no thanks." I explained my reasons, and shook the Presidents hand. As we walked out together I explained that the company was no longer in Korea, and the quality workers here will soon be leaving if things don't change. He agreed, and explained that his hands were tied above him. I shook his hand again as I turned my time card into his hands. His translator helped him say "Noah, welcome here anytime. Good man, you are. Wise beyond you ears." (Not a typo)

The whole time I was smiling, and had my poker face on, but I was thinking "fuck the way you treat your people. Be better."

No one I personally worked with knew I had put in my two weeks except for my supervisor. He had also put his two weeks in on the same day as me so we left the same day, but at different times.

I got so many phone calls from everyone I worked with about "Where are you? Why aren't you here? You were the best we had! How are we going to get anything done now?"

I laughed wryly to myself, and responded to each one with something along the lines of "Well, it's not my problem anymore. I'm moving onto greener pastures. I suggest you do the same. CLICK."

Sorry for Hi-jacking. Y'all know I'm a damned story teller.


Edit: Typo repair

 

When an employee gives notice we generally cut them loose right then with pay. Its better for everyone

Change is good, enjoy the new job

 

Also, want to add at my current job...

98% of the people who are leaving quit, or walk out. The other 2% actually give notice, and fulfill it.

 

Letting them go with pay is generous, and as an employee I would not mind this. My current employer has been known to fire people in their last two weeks. If I were to move on the only reason I'd give notice here is my department is run by really good guy. He's a great boss, and I owe it to HIM to give notice; not the company at all.

 

I'm on the management side, its just so much better to let them go. I don't need the disruption on the floor. When that happens at your employer they aren't actually getting fired, they are just being let go. They've already quit.

Personally, I never give notice

 

The difference is that you let them go WITH PAY. These guys boot them out the door and don't pay, so they go two weeks without income.

 

The last place I worked wasn't great but it also wasn't as bad as a lot of the production guys said it was. There were a handful of them that quit and went looking for that greener grass on the other side of the fence then were back within a couple years.

 

Up to you, but you don't have to wait for someone else to come to you to setup a transition plan for what you are working on. Write up a very detailed email with everything you are working on, what needs to be done and by when. Send it to management and if you know the person who is prob going to take your work over, bcc them.

 

Understood. My point was that they are not being fired. Can't fire someone who just quit.

If you're giving notice to an employer you certainly should have told your new one that you'll be available immediately if they cut you loose. Then you're not out anything.

Some places operate like that as do some people. For me personally, I have a rule about never going backwards.

 

Couldn’t agree more. I’ve only had a few people ever quit on me, but in those cases we expedited the handoff immediately and they were out the door within three days of giving notice. I didn’t pay the full two weeks, but did pay for the full week they were working. They also have banked PTO that gets paid out in the last check as well. Funny thing is, in every case, I was already considering freeing up that person’s future when they came in and provided notice…they just beat me to the punch.

I don’t need the lost productivity that happens from that person wandering around distracting the rest of the group. If they want to meet after work at the bar and lament, then have fun. But not in work hours.

If I’m cutting someone loose, I will do it end of the day BEFORE the end of the week and pay them through the end of the week. But they are out the door at the end of the day and no wandering around saying goodbye.

I also have an unwritten “no return” policy. If you leave, either because of you or because of me, then I don’t need you back. I’ll replace you and our new team will be stronger than it was.

I’ve been at the same company for 23 years, so I’ve not quit/left an employer in a long time. If I ever do leave here (of my own choice), I’ll have already laid the transition plan out before my notice ever goes in. But I also lead my department in such a way that I should be able to walk away at any time and they will continue to function and produce under the systems we have set up.

 

I quit a job at the beginning of May. I had been there 7.5 years and just had enough. 2 paycuts in the last 4 years due to industry issues had me making less per hour as a jman than I was when I was a 3rd year apprentice, 2 month layoffs in 2019 and 2020, inconsistent hours, never able to plan for a weekend because they'd show uo at 3 on Friday telling us to work the weekend and yet it always "work faster, work better, here's 3 weeks of work but we need it done in 2" etc. No promotion possibility, no raises.

When this new job came along, I put my 2 weeks in without hesitation. I worked to the bitter end but it was tough. I had no fucks left to give. I'm in a way better place now. Some stuff I don't like and it's not a dream job, but no job is perfect. The fact that I doubled my pay and don't get dirty or burnt or work insane hours anymore kind of trumps the stuff I don't care for. Lol

 

Kind of along those lines. After I left the company, some of the younger guys still there would call me asking how do I get this press running, how do I fix this etc. For the most part I walked them thru a few things, being a nice guy. Then it hit me, hey I am not getting paid for this.
About the same time there was a production meeting. One of those attending told me about it. Seems production had dropped after I left and down time had increased due to breakdowns. The plant manager was twisting off as usual and one of the folks there said well lets go get Rich back, he can make this stuff run, and the plant manager blew a gasket, said he never wanted to hear my name mentioned again inside that building. LOL.

Fast forward and I had tell those guys that I was no longer going to help them get that stuff running.

I then called the plant and got the plant manager on the line, told him I was starting my own business, it is a mechanical consulting company, so the next call I got from anyone at the plant wanting advice on how to repair the presses, my fee was $2000 to pick up phone, $500 and hour with a 4 hour minimum, and he would get a invoice payable in 30 days. He hung up the phone and I never got another phone call again LOL.

Most folks dont leave a job they leave a manager.

 

Hopefully that’s why so few have left on me, and those that have were ones I was already getting ready to let go.

I also don’t work in a plant/ assembly/ manufacturing business either, so I can’t directly compare with the experience many of you have. Construction (when I was in the field) can be similar, but there are a lot of differences too.

Now I manage the people that plan the construction. More think time, much less hands on time. A different kind of pressure and stress - not harder or easier, just different.

 

Good management will encourage employees to be more productive, bad management will cause employees to be less productive.

One manager I worked for said this, take care of our people, they will take care of the rest.

I left the plant solely due to management, I enjoyed the work, liked the people, the management is what killed it. I was not alone in my thinking.

 

Same. I have past employees that call me wanting to know where I am and if I have anything for them. Kinda cool, especially when I know managers that will never in their life get to experience that.

I do contract work so I'm never in one place more than a year but that gives me exposure to lots of skilled positions and the ability to know who the exceptional employers are.

 

I had been working as a project manager for about 4 years when I was laid off at the end of 2020 due to lack of projects. I liked it and was good at it but my passion was in another aspect of the business that I'd been asking to get into.

Now I'm working for another company in the same industry in that area I'm passionate about and really enjoying it. However, it's a contract position that they've told me will end at the end of the year. I'm hoping they like me enough to extend it or offer me something permanent but I can also see a scenario where they're able to shuffle the people they have later this year after some other work ends, in which case they would no longer need me.

I've also been getting emails from another company in the industry asking if I'd be interested in interviewing for a project manager position. At first they were only offering contract positions but, now that they have employee positions too, I'm really torn on what to tell them.

On the one hand, if my current contract is going to end at the end of the year, I'll feel stupid for turning the project manager interview down if I'm sitting here with no job 8 or 10 months from now. On the other hand, if this contract isn't going to end, I don't want to pull the plug on something I'm passionate about too early to go into something I like a little less.

 

Truth. Even if they stay in the company and just move to a different department. That was my issue.

 

That's a tough spot. If you know the people you work for well enough and are in good enough standing, can you ask them for a candid answer about your future? If they know you want to stay on, and you do the job well, they might give you a bit more job security. Only if you know they won't immediately assume you are planning to leave and cut you loose though.

 

Truth! I treat my employees like human beings, if you get your shit done and no complaints I’ll leave you alone and fight like hell to have your back if the shit hits the fan. I had a boss years ago that didn’t stick up and back his employees. Worst experience ever….