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Should an employee have to give a two weeks notice before leaving?

Should an employee have to give a two weeks notice?

  • yes

    Votes: 14 51.9%
  • no

    Votes: 13 48.1%

  • Total voters
    27

99percenter

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If an employer wanted to get rid of an employee, they would tell the employee not to come to work the next day. So is it fair that the standard notice an employee is expected to give is two weeks?
 
If an employer wanted to get rid of an employee, they would tell the employee not to come to work the next day. So is it fair that the standard notice an employee is expected to give is two weeks?

I could be wrong but, even in America, doesn't an employer have to pay at least 2 weeks severance for an employee fired without cause?

Secondly, it's only natural and respectful, in my view, to give your current employer notice you're leaving so that they can have some time to replace you and so that you retain a good reputation with an employer you may need a reference from or perhaps even a job from sometime in the future.
 
It's more of a courtesy than anything.
 
It's more of a courtesy than anything.

I think in most major companies, severance is not a courtesy, rather it is part of HR policy.
 
To my knowledge there is no law requiring two weeks notice for employees. Plus, employers have leverage over employees because there are so many in need of jobs.
 
Secondly, it's only natural and respectful, in my view, to give your current employer notice you're leaving so that they can have some time to replace you and so that you retain a good reputation with an employer you may need a reference from or perhaps even a job from sometime in the future.
Exactly. It's about what's in the employee's best self interest present & future. Leaving on good terms is smart, prudent, and future-proofs yourself from any reputation problems that could otherwise result from a lack of courtesy.

Granted, if you don't want to give 2 weeks notice, don't. Unless a contract is involved, there's nothing stopping people from making decisions that can come back to haunt them. Hell, it's not even necessarily something that can occur within the same company, or the next company... people often migrate within the same industry to various companies. Unless there was some way to magically make others forget that an employee just quit without notice, there's nothing anyone else could do to equate firing with no-notice quitting. It's simple reputation management.

In the end, it's more like 'care vs don't care' instead of 'fair vs unfair.'
 
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I think in most major companies, severance is not a courtesy, rather it is part of HR policy.

I meant the two-weeks notice, not severance.
 
If an employer wanted to get rid of an employee, they would tell the employee not to come to work the next day. So is it fair that the standard notice an employee is expected to give is two weeks?

Non issue. I've given two seconds notice, a couple times. If you need a reference from the jerk you're quitting you might need to go through the motions but otherwise, if you're quitting for reasons internal, flip the bird and walk. If you're quitting a decent position for a better one, yeah, give them a couple weeks notice.
 
Non issue. I've given two seconds notice, a couple times. If you need a reference from the jerk you're quitting you might need to go through the motions but otherwise, if you're quitting for reasons internal, flip the bird and walk. If you're quitting a decent position for a better one, yeah, give them a couple weeks notice.



You should never burn your bridges...It could come back and bite you in the ass...
 
If an employer wanted to get rid of an employee, they would tell the employee not to come to work the next day. So is it fair that the standard notice an employee is expected to give is two weeks?

I have never seen this standard written down. Where did this ridiculous tradition come from? I once put in a two week notice and it didnt' work out. My boss pretended he didn't know for the whole two weeks. It was to the point where I wasn't sure if he even knew. On my last day he approached me and told me not to leave. I ended up staying a few more weeks. It was a roller coaster ride and I ended up leaving without notice anyways. It was a loss. I don't recommend giving a two week notice. It just creates tension and encourages negative discussions. I fail to see how the employer benefits from receiving a two week notice. I fail to see how the employee benefits from a two week notice. Well. It does give the employer two weeks to convince you to stay. You can ask for a raise before giving your two week notice. If you get the raise, then it is appropriate to give a two week notice. If they refuse the raise, then it would be more appropriate to tell them at the end of the day when you leave. If they refuse the raise, it means they don't want you around. If you already know that they don't want you around, you probably don't even need to wait until the end of the day or wait around to ask for a raise. Do them a favor and leave ASAP.

This is coming from experience. I quit a job once and I was fired from a job once. In both cases I should have quit without a two week notice. Hindsight is 20/20. If you aren't happy and/or your employer isn't happy with you there is only one thing to do. Leave and do it quickly.
 
Leaving on good terms is smart, prudent, and future-proofs yourself from any reputation problems

If you are leaving that means something was wrong. How can you leave on good terms? The terms were obviously bad or you wouldn't be leaving. A break up is never clean. I hear this a lot but I don't grasp the sentiment. Leaving or being forced to leave is going to hurt somebody's feelings. I don't see how that can be avoided.
 
It's already burnt. Duh. You're leaving.
The not burning bridges thing... in the form of a two-week notice... is for YOU, not your employer. Yeah yeah yeah, everybody knows you left for a reason, but it's a "wink wink nod nod" scenario where smart people play the game and don't give prospective future employers a reason to choose someone else.
 
If you are leaving that means something was wrong. How can you leave on good terms? The terms were obviously bad or you wouldn't be leaving. A break up is never clean. I hear this a lot but I don't grasp the sentiment. Leaving or being forced to leave is going to hurt somebody's feelings. I don't see how that can be avoided.
I've left plenty of jobs where nothing was "wrong" or "obviously bad" and absolutely left on "good terms." I simply found a better opportunity where my current employer couldn't offer the same salary or benefits or advancement or <insert any other type of feature that appeals to a worker>. I was up front, professional, and protected my own reputation by giving the standard 2 week notice. I've also seen my former co-workers at various industry-related events, and there was never any awkwardness or what you characterized above as a "break up" not being "clean."

I'm a little surprised that you've never seen or experienced the above yourself either. I see people do this all the time, and quite honestly was under the impression that it was closer to the rule and less the exception.

Oh, and I've also had people give me their 2 weeks notice as well. In none of those cases, was I anything but happy for them. They were always professional, and I was always supportive. Sure it's more work to hire/train someone new, but that's why it's called "work." I don't understand the premise that someone's feelings will be hurt either. I can see how that COULD happen, but certainly don't see why it would have to.
 
What? Huge contradiction in your comments.

You think that's a contradiction? Finding something better doesn't mean that what I had was "wrong" or "bad." I hate analogies, but if you see that as a contradiction, this is the only way I can think of to explain it:

If I was driving a 2008 Nissan, and it worked perfectly fine... but won a Lexus somehow... I'd drive the Lexus, but that wouldn't mean that the Nissan had something "wrong" with it or was "obviously bad." See what I mean?
 
You think that's a contradiction? Finding something better doesn't mean that what I had was "wrong" or "bad." I hate analogies, but if you see that as a contradiction, this is the only way I can think of to explain it:

If I was driving a 2008 Nissan, and it worked perfectly fine... but won a Lexus somehow... I'd drive the Lexus, but that wouldn't mean that the Nissan had something "wrong" with it or was "obviously bad." See what I mean?

It's a good analogy because I did misunderstand your situation. Have you ever been fired? Being fired tends to up your self-preservation mode by about 500 levels. Not everybody is nice.
 
It's a good analogy because I did misunderstand your situation. Have you ever been fired? Being fired tends to up your self-preservation mode by about 500 levels. Not everybody is nice.
Ok, good. I'm glad that helped, because otherwise, I never would have been able to convey where I was coming from. heh

I had my position eliminated when a company closed a satellite office I was working out of, and while yeah... it definitely bothered me, it might not be the same as what you're asking me. I had a pretty hard time adjusting right afterwards for a few days, but what can ya do, right? **** happens.:shrug:
 
Only if you want a good recommendation....
 
People rarely get to choose the kind of recommendation they get. You have no control over the actions of the other party.

How does that refute or negate my premise?
 
How does that refute or negate my premise?

Should you give a two week notice or not?

Just because you quit without notice doesn't mean they will lie about you.

Just because you give a two week notice doesn't mean they will tell the truth about it.

It seems that you are implying that the only reason to give a two week notice is to save your reputation. Your reputation is your reputation. Every place I ever worked made it very clear that we were on an at-will employment basis. I could leave when I got sick of the place. They could fire me when they got sick of me.

Some people lie. Some people tell the truth. You can't stop it. Staying at a place when you have already given them the finger creates unnecessary tension. Bad things can happen during those two weeks.
 
I could be wrong but, even in America, doesn't an employer have to pay at least 2 weeks severance for an employee fired without cause?

Secondly, it's only natural and respectful, in my view, to give your current employer notice you're leaving so that they can have some time to replace you and so that you retain a good reputation with an employer you may need a reference from or perhaps even a job from sometime in the future.

I more or less agree with this.

But my reason for giving 2 weeks notice is singular...reference.

I don't give a rat's buttocks about the company, nor should I.

They would fire me in an instant if they thought it would help the company...as they should.

This is business, not personal.

Waaaaay too many times I hear of people feeling loyalty to a company...nonsense.

Employers love it when you feel loyalty...it means they can get you to work harder for little in return. Politicians do the same thing...only they call it 'patriotism'.

Never work for the company...always work for yourself, IMO.
 
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