Do You Want A Big Party at Work When You Leave?

[Walt34]

It varied where I worked. Some had a big bash and roast at a restaurant, others, like me, just rode off into the sunset. I did get the traditional flag that had been flown from the Capitol, a plaque with a detective badge on it noting years of service, and some other trinkets. During the last few weeks I just made sure everything I'd worked on was closed out, and on my last day I cleaned out the last of the personal stuff from my desk, went over to supply, turned in all the issued gear, drove to the maintenance shop and turned in the car, and got a ride home.

I was home by noon and that was it.

 

[freebird5825]

I've looked on Google and UrbanDictionary.com, and I'm getting confused by their definitions... What does this acronym stand for?

MMAO for the secret acronym cipher.

Just kidding...TETO = To each their own...

 

[Achiever51]

When I left MegaCorp after 31 years, my department staff held a pot luck for me in our conference room and invited the people I worked most closely with over the years to an open house. It was very casual and low key and I deeply appreciated it.

Five years later, when I retired from my second career (as President/CEO), my board threw a formal luncheon in my honor. It was stuffy, stiff and frankly uncomfortable. I wish they hadn't bothered.

 

[Michael Moore]

Three of us who had worked together for 25 years retired over the space of 4 months, so we had a joint dinner party after the last one left (I was the first to go). This was organized by our co-workers (NOT management but rather people who were actually sorry to see us go ) and held on a Friday evening at a nice restaurant in the Berzerkely marina. With the three of us going it was a big enough draw to pull in lots of the people who'd retired over the previous 10 years.

Having three "honorees" means that no one feels any pressure to stand up and do an extremely long spiel (which happened at the single-retiree in-office catered lunch event I went to a few weeks ago). 4-5 minutes per person and some comments from the other folks worked out fine.

Parties really need to be after hours and away from work so people can have some fun and aren't feeling pressured to get back to the job. And having the party after people have been retired for 1-4 months gives them a chance to relax a bit and come to grips with things so you don't have a lot of choking-up due to the emotional stress of it being your last day.

cheers,
Michael

 

[Goonie]

My preference: to walk out at lunch and never come back.

Rita

Same here!!! I told my boss and all of my co-workers, that I did NOT want a retirement party...emphatically!! My co-workers understood the reasons for my request and they stood behind me on it. I was told by one of my buddies in the department, that my boss, who was/is an exceeding large dumb-@ss, on the other hand demanded that there be a retirement party for me, and that it be kept 'hush-hush'.

So I casually reiterated (several times) my "no party" request within easy earshot of the dumb-@ss ....who reiterated to my coworkers that regardless of what I wanted, the party was still on. WRONG ANSWER!!!

My last day was scheduled to be on a Friday, and that was when he was planning the 'surprise' party for. So on Wednesday morning I cleaned out my locker. On my way out to my car with the box, my boss questioned why I was doing this now instead of on Friday. So I told him I'd explain it when I came back in in a few minutes.

I walked back into the building and into his office, tossed my keys on his desk, and told him I was officially done effective immediately!!! I never saw anyone's jaw drop his did...what a look! He told me I couldn't leave until Friday because he had a "big" party planned for me....and all of the 'guests' (HIS friends) were already invited and all of the 'food' was already ordered, and, and, and....Then the idiotmeister told me he had ordered a platter of 'finger' sandwiches and a cheese tray for lunch in the break room.....which isn't even big enough for all of our departments employees, let alone his "guests"....and I just had to be there, or he'd look like a fool. Too late...I looked up fool in the dictionary and saw his picture there!

I had organized and set up ALL of the retirement lunches for the previous 14 years for all of the departments. I always checked with each retiree as to their preferences, and let them know what I was planning so they could make changes in both venue and menu if they wanted....or to have nothing at all. No one ever made any changes, as they knew I always went 1st class. We ALWAYS had a nice "steak 'n' all the trimmings" lunch/brunch at a decent restaurant, and all the employees from all the departments, as well as any special guests who the retiree wanted, were included. The department that the guy was retiring from always footed the bill, no questions asked. This had been the tradition for YEARS, even before I took over the task.

I walked out the door on that Wednesday, and never looked back! I'm told the dumb@ss is still pissed off at me, and all of my former coworkers still laud me for my performance....too funny! About a month after that, I had to go to the main office to drop off some paperwork, and was handed a small box by the office queen and told in a rather snide manner "Here, this is for you". I opened it a few days later, and low and behold, there sat my "reward" for my years of service....a cheap, crappy, POS watch! Not sure what ever happened to it...I put it back in the box and don't know (or care) where I put it! Besides....I'm retired....what the heck do I need a watch for??

 

[Goonie]

BTW...on that Friday (my original official retirement day) I had my own private retirement dinner, in the peace and quiet of my own backyard!!! A nice hunk of prime cut ribeye, grilled to perfection over charcoal, with sauteed mushrooms, a huge baked 'tater drowned in butter, and a nice salad.....and NO 'finger' sandwiches!!!

 

[W2R]

Sounds perfect, Goonie!

 

[GoodSense]

When I left my last job, we had an informal "open house" in the conference room for an hour and people could come say goodbye to me. it was pretty informal, and some coworkers brought coffee cake and juice.

A week later my old boss hosted a party for me at his house. I could decide who to invite. It was great and I got to see everyone I wanted. They also sang songs and played the piano. I loved every minute of it and was very grateful to my old boss.

 

[Rambler]

BTW...on that Friday (my original official retirement day) I had my own private retirement dinner, in the peace and quiet of my own backyard!!! A nice hunk of prime cut ribeye, grilled to perfection over charcoal, with sauteed mushrooms, a huge baked 'tater drowned in butter, and a nice salad.....and NO 'finger' sandwiches!!!

Now THAT's how I want to celebrate MY retirement!

R

 

[M Paquette]

Well, the Management did put together a very nice lunch sendoff for me the day before I retired. That was a relatively informal thing, similar to what had been done for others in the past. Lots of colleagues in attendance (thanks, Dizzy!) and a good time was had by all. After lunch I had an exit interview with an HR person who appeared sincerely interested in discussing any problem areas I had noted. (You know what they say about sincerity. Once you can fake that, the rest is easy...)

On my last day, I brought in the last bits of company gear I found at home, some old, old hardware found in my home office closet (PowerMac 8500/180!), visited with a few people, and then went to lunch at the company cafe with a few friends. We hung out on the patio for a while. At one point my manager dropped by, and rather sheepishly mentioned that he needed to collect my badge and office key. I handed them over and went back to yakking and drinking iced tea. I eventually wandered off to the parking lot and left.

I'd say the whole experience was pretty low-key, low pressure, and about what I expected. Drama factor of zero.

 

[roger r]

I worked at the same place for 25 years and had thought I'd like a quiet out to things. My friends talked me into the big pizza/beer party thing. I was really glad. I'd requested none of the corporate speeches and corporate rah-rah. Just some food and beer at a neighborhood establishement. It turned out to be really nice and I will remember it for a long while. It made the years seem less futile than I often thought. Even though it wasn't the intimate scene, there were a large number of people who had a few parting words, one on one, about how I can helped make their work life easier or better. Twenty five years is no short time and it seemed to add some value to what seemed at times like pure pain and misery.

 

[Goonie]

I should also state that ALL of my old [-]co-workers[/-] friends had already retired out many years prior to my leaving....the last one had bailed out in about '95. Everyone in the old crew ALWAYS watched out for each other.....Not so with the newer bunch, they were all (with only 1 exception) only looking out for old #1, and didn't give a rip about anyone else!

So to not have a gala celebration was no big deal. And the one guy that was the exception, understood completely, as he had done the same when he retired from his former employer before coming to us.

However, I did go around to the other departments a few days AFTER my official retirement date, and talked with the 3 or 4 guys who were old friends and had about the same years of service as me. Had a good time, and accepted their heart-felt 'congrats'. And I still drop by once in a while to chew the fat with those 3 or 4 guys.

Plus when I ER'd, I switched from in the regular employee's Union Local, over to the Union's Retiree Chapter. So I get around to visit with the my old Local's officers, to swap info on employee/employer/retiree issues. Then I try to keep the other retirees updated on the tissues that affect us...like any changes in insurance coverage, or other benefits, the such as that.

 

[Chaos Abounds]

When I ER I just want to walk away. There are only a couple of people who I respect at all here. Most are just a bunch of lazy, back-stabbing knuckleheads who just try to create gossip and friction between co-workers for their own enjoyment. Example: someone made an innocent remark about soul food, someone complained and then all of a sudden my boss is telling ME to look into a possible racial problem among the staff. I always seem to get to do his dirty work. Geez. I think it has to do with their maturity levels. I have cordial relationships with all of them but wouldn't choose to "hang out" with any of them.

 

[Da Nag]

When I announce my departure next year, I'm guessing they'll throw a huge bash...the day after I leave.

 

[olla86]

It's a tradition where I work that everyone (about 75 people) is invited to a pizza/beer party at a local restaurant when anyone leaves (retire, promotion, even leave on good terms). There is typically a humorous but good-spirited roast as well, each event lasts for 2-4 hours.

However, a small number of people have declined but they've agreed to a cake in the conference room with everyone late in the afternoon on their last day. Usually lasts about a half-hour, guest of honor usually says a few words but not always.

Either way, the guest of honor usually gets a gift worth about $100.

Even though I am the site Manager, I will go with the latter when I leave, even though I know it will disappoint some people I have worked with for almost 20 years.

What would you opt for (if you were you) - be honest?

I didn't want it and I had not it,because I am shy and quiet person