How much time to give for notice?

[Milton]

I have a very nice job, and am well-payed.

Lucky you! But please see here.

 

[MRG]

The new wave corps of the world -- the ones you hear so much about, you know them -- have no pension and no benefits for insurance after retirement. Retirement is something someone else does. You are supposed to make megabucks early on and handle it yourself. If you are late on this pyramid game, you lose.

When I did my exit interview the HR person said she'd write in retirement as my reason for leaving. It wasn't on the form. Only 12K employees and no retirement selection.

 

[jjflyman]

You need to carefully re-read FireFool's entire post. It's considerably more nuanced than the dogmatic nonsense posted above.

I stand by my post. 1 week notice of retirement is bulls**t

 

[MichaelB]

We can disagree without being disagreeable. I would suggest a couple of you visit your local library and brush up on your Dale Carnegie. https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034

 

[Mdlerth]

Saint Someday, patron of ER

I decided that I would give notice when I got back from a 1 week vacation after completing a very important project that went well. When I got back I found out I was one of a large group that was let go from Megacorp while I was away. Loyalty is really just a one way street nowadays in large corps..


(Of course I didn't mind as I got a few extra months of compensation, and went on unemployment for a few weeks also...........)

Awesome. That is a blessing that can only originate from "clean living".

When I give notice... well, I'm afraid my sins will catch up me.

 

[Tallman4123]

My contract required a notice of no less than three weeks. I gave three weeks. If the contract had required three months, I would have given three months.

Many people are emotionally committed to their work and to the people they work with. I certainly appreciate that commitment and admired many of my colleagues who clearly felt that way. I can understand why those who are highly invested in their work would want to provide longer than required notice, so as not to leave the company and their co-workers in the lurch. However, I believed it wasn't in my best interest to provide an extended notice.

While I enjoyed my work and my co-workers, I ultimately did what i felt was best for me and my family.

 

[Rustward]

I stand by my post. 1 week notice of retirement is bulls**t

You can stand anywhere you want to. If it is at will employment, either side can terminate at any time without even giving a reason.

If you want some guaranteed notice, you need to use an employment contract with some carrot for giving the specified notice, and some penalty for not giving the specified notice.

 

[jjflyman]

You can stand anywhere you want to. If it is at will employment, either side can terminate at any time without even giving a reason.

If you want some guaranteed notice, you need to use an employment contract with some carrot for giving the specified notice, and some penalty for not giving the specified notice.

Of course you CAN do it, but if somebody has been employed someplace for years and years, it is only ethical to inform the company of impending retirement so the company can start a replacement process. It's what grown ups do.

 

[Dawg52]

I was a business partner so I let my retirement plans be known almost 2 years ahead. But if I worked for your average megacorp I think 1 month should be plenty.

 

[MichaelB]

Of course you CAN do it, but if somebody has been employed someplace for years and years, it is only ethical to inform the company of impending retirement so the company can start a replacement process. It's what grown ups do.

Why don’t you make your point without belittling the members with differing views.

 

[JoeWras]

When I did my exit interview the HR person said she'd write in retirement as my reason for leaving. It wasn't on the form. Only 12K employees and no retirement selection.

It is really amazing! What disturbs me most is that the "new way to go" is to wait to be asked. Not just at my mega, but I hear this from friends at other megas, tech or not.

"I'm staying until they ask me to go so I can get some package."

Be careful, the package may be on the front porch, lit on fire...*

* - cultural reference of old halloween prank

EDIT: On re-reading this, I realized I might sound like a jerk to anyone awaiting a package. No, power to you if you know one is coming and your corp is giving good ones. What I mean is it is sad that we've gone from a culture where retirements were celebrated, to one where people just wait to get retired with some hope and prayer of a bonus. Some rely on this. It is just too bad it has gone this way, especially as the packages are now drying up.

 

[kgtest]

Six months is generous. Three months would be fine. I think one month is cutting it a little close.

all relative.

A cardiologist, who sees a patient once a year, would need to give a year's notice that next year patient needs to see another doctor.

That's just one situation of many. Sad we lost a member to this topic.

 

[MRG]

all relative.

A cardiologist, who sees a patient once a year, would need to give a year's notice that next year patient needs to see another doctor.

That's just one situation of many. Sad we lost a member to this topic.

Actually a nuerosurgeon who had a yearly appointment with me sent his retirement notice to me with a 30 days notice.

 

[scrabbler1]

Actually a nuerosurgeon who had a yearly appointment with me sent his retirement notice to me with a 30 days notice.

Similarly, my dentist who retired in the fall of 2013 gave me about 6 weeks notice before he retired. My 6-month checkup would have been in October, just after he retired, so I was able to schedule a final appointment for September. The following April, I began visiting another dentist.

 

[GravitySucks]

A

 

[FireFool]

Giving only 1 weeks notice of your retirement like FireFool did seem extremely classless.
I see no circumstance to give such short notice. That is just plain wrong.
To leave your employer with such abruptness seems very immature. I'm glad I don't have employees like you working for me.

That's quite o.k. - no one has to put up with me working for them anymore.

It really was more that I saw once notice was given by people at my level that they were no longer included/heard in the decisions/opinions that are effectively their jobs. Showing up and not being able to earn my pay is not how I operate. It was bad enough for the one week, it would have been pure hell if longer.

There also was a bit of what goes around, comes around - I treated my employer just a bit better than the way they treated their employees. If it mattered to the corporation there'd be some incentives/compensation for giving longer notice. As it is they have ZERO in the way of any retiree benefits. Employment at will goes two ways - no regrets on my part (and they're surviving just fine too without me).

edit/addition:
I also might have given longer notice if I had any trust in the HR organization - that trust was lost years ago. Once some date/age driven events came to pass I wanted out as quickly as possible - I just didn't trust HR to give notice before those events. Life's short, why waste it at work.

 

[braumeister]

it is sad that we've gone from a culture where retirements were celebrated, to one where people just wait to get retired with some hope and prayer of a bonus.

The difference is that in the old culture, retirees had generally:

• reached the age of 65
• planned for it

Not too often the case now, I think.

 

[GravitySucks]

I stand by my post. 1 week notice of retirement is bulls**t

My mega gave 90 day notices on layoffs so I gave 90 days notice.
A friend's company used to layoff with that mornings notice. Paid for the whole day. I would have given them one day notice.
Why should an individual give more than a company?

 

[Aerides]

I think also many of us, especially over the past 10 years, saw other folks' retirements get forced very early. More than once I had to tell people their jobs were eliminated - people over 55. People who had no intention or plan to ER, who were good at their jobs, with above-average performance reviews. And they were well-paid, tenured folks, with about zero chance of getting the same salaries elsewhere in those years.

The recession made a lot of MC's just cut to the bone. RIFs used to have some sense to them before that - you could look at who was RIF'd and go "well yeah saw that coming....". Not so in 2009 - and that culture of cutting stayed in a lot of MCs even longer than it should have. For everyone left, it created a new sense of not wanting to let your leadership team have even a hint that you might be ready to go in a year or two - lest you be cut in a month.

When (other) employees would hint around with me about such ideas, I was quite blunt and told them to never say that out loud to anyone else unless they were really ready, and of course that I'd help them if they were.

In many industries and MC's, it is a luxury to be in a position to stay till 65 (or heck, 55) and retire on one's own terms. Sadly, more often, it's a matter of hanging on as long as you can, and at least getting something decent when pushed out.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

Now that I think back on it, I gave the big bosses a one month notice. But, my immediate boss, I gave only a week, even though he probably was told. I figured if my immediate boss knew he could possibly try to make life tougher for me. The other thing is, I'm sure he would of not been happy, and I would rather put up with one week of misery than two or four.

What's interesting is my bosses boss went on vacation my last week, so neither I nor my immediate boss saw him. In the end, I left on time and never gave it a second thought, even though it was a little scary. Having a paycheck taken away, especially when you do it yourself, is a little scary, but I got over it real quick.

It would seem my immediate boss knew I was leaving, but the facts don't support that. Either way, there was nothing he could do, and if he found out I was leaving it wouldn't change anything.

 

[badatmath]

I have observed many people start "threatening" to retire well in advance. The use it as a tool to get out of work they do not want to be assigned to. Then when "the" time comes they have delayed. It is definitely working for them so far as they are happily coasting along.

 

[travelover]

I have observed many people start "threatening" to retire well in advance. The use it as a tool to get out of work they do not want to be assigned to. Then when "the" time comes they have delayed. It is definitely working for them so far as they are happily coasting along.

It works both ways. At Mega, there were hints that there may be cutbacks, so you'd better take the weekend assignments and last minute late night meetings and not complain, lest you be put on "the list".

 

[Montecfo]

I am definitely in the mode of cutting disagreeable (but tangential-at least so far) tasks out of my usual duties. My big concern is we do a big layoff at the end, as that always places me and my team at center of the storm in terms of delivering or facilitating delivery of the news. But is I leave, more of it falls to others.

I would much rather be termed myself than have to do that. Have done too much of it.

It is certainly awkward to be contemplating retirement when the CEO is trying to get people motivated to take the latest hill.

 

[Milton]

"Termed"

I would much rather be termed myself than have to do that.

Was that a simple typo - should read "terminated"? - or a new euphemism in HR-speak?

 

[Milton]

I think also many of us, especially over the past 10 years, saw other folks' retirements get forced very early. More than once I had to tell people their jobs were eliminated - people over 55. People who had no intention or plan to ER, who were good at their jobs, with above-average performance reviews. And they were well-paid, tenured folks, with about zero chance of getting the same salaries elsewhere in those years.

The recession made a lot of MC's just cut to the bone. RIFs used to have some sense to them before that - you could look at who was RIF'd and go "well yeah saw that coming....". Not so in 2009 - and that culture of cutting stayed in a lot of MCs even longer than it should have.

This book - published in 2006 - suggests that the corporate culture of mindless mass layoffs actually preceded the last recession by decades.

It's a good book, worth reading: especially by any employee who still believes in loyalty to megacorp. See generally review 1 and review 2. And see also this 2001 title: