FIREd like a boss! I walked out the door and didn't tell anyone!

[gamboolman]

recelwee

Congrats on your soon to be retirement.

 

[rmcelwee]

Not sure I get this. It sounds like March is still your retirement date. Did you originally plan to work until March and then take leave as a lump sum? Is there anything the company can do to screw you over and deny you benefits that won't accrue until March?

Yes, March 1 is still my official retirement date because I turn 55 on Feb 26th. If I wait until March 1 I not only meet the age requirement but also get my healthcare paid for that month.

Yes, normally people are paid for their vacation in a lump sum. I will use my vacation instead of cashing it out.

Can they screw me over somehow? Probably. Not sure how but there is always a way.

 

[donheff]

Yes, March 1 is still my official retirement date because I turn 55 on Feb 26th. If I wait until March 1 I not only meet the age requirement but also get my healthcare paid for that month.

Yes, normally people are paid for their vacation in a lump sum. I will use my vacation instead of cashing it out.

Can they screw me over somehow? Probably. Not sure how but there is always a way.

Maybe cancel your leave for work exigencies and then fire you before you turn 55 if you don't return? If all you did with HR is notify them of the March 1 date, I would be careful about what you do after your current two weeks vacation is over. Don't give them any excuse to fire you.

 

[Bamaman]

Congratulations. Nothing better than getting the last word in.

 

[Bogie]

Retirement

My last day of the year I retired was Oct 1. They credit 2 days of vacation on the first day of each month so I worked that one day in October and they credited me with 2 days of vacation for which they payed me when I cashed out my unused vacation time. So I got three days of pay for working one day. Ha

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

My DW just got a call from one of the c-suite bosses to tell her that her boss (VP position) is being let go next week. He has worked for the company for nearly 30 years. Employees are nothing but a commodity.

Even worse, she was told that she would probably fill his position...which is not a good deal since she has already been working too much. Oye.

 

[JDARNELL]

Even worse, she was told that she would probably fill his position...which is not a good deal since she has already been working too much. Oye.

Thank you sir may I have another? If you want something done give it to the busy people. No good deed goes unpunished. Beatings will continue til moral improves.

The list goes on and on.

 

[street]

I hope all works out for you and they don't take advantage of you for exiting.

I gave ~1 year notice of my departure. I can say I was treated with no hard feeling and treated equal till the day I walked out. I did mention to them when I gave that long of notice (which they wanted) that they didn't throw me under the bus. I'm not sure that helped but I could have made it pretty uncomfortable for them with things I knew from the past. I would have used some of those events and brought them out for public awareness if I was treated like a dog.

 

[doneat54]

Congrats. I retired 5 years ago from a [mod edit] megacorp and only years later began to realize just how truly unhealthy it was. You are free now and you earned it....

 

[skyking1]

OP, much congratulations. Now you can get busy on the new farm and I am excited to hear about your progress. Keep us posted

 

[pacergal]

ugh, night shift is horrible for your health!
Welcome to your (soon to be) Retirement
I have always felt that unless your job requires it, best to give two weeks notice, because, you never know. The company will take advantage if they can get away with it, not all, but most.

 

[WhenIsItTime]

I told you it was long and confusing...

Shift #1 - Me (supervisor) and seven other guys.
Shift #2 - You (supervisor) and seven other guys.

I and my seven guys will work all night and give turnover to you and your seven guys when you arrive in the morning. You will work all day and give turnover to me when I arrive that night. We will work nights like this for six grueling soul crushing weeks. 12 hour night shifts are not fun.

Normally, six weeks later, I move to dayshift with my seven guys and you move to nightshift with your seven guys. EXCEPT, my boss calls me in and says I am staying on night shift with your seven guys and you get to stay on dayshift with my seven guys. No reason, no explanation, nothing. This means I lose all scheduled vacation (because my work days have changed) and work three months straight night shift.

Occasionally at the end of the year one of the seven guys from Shift #1 (definitely not the supervisor) will change places with a guy from Shift #2. This might be due to a personality conflict or something. It is rare.

At first I wasn't sure your exit approach was cool, but after reading the long story I have no problem with it. Sorry you got treated like that. I think a lot of this type of bad management is behind the great resignation. Whether folks are retiring or just quitting in response to bad management, I don't blame them.

 

[Dtail]

It's often not in the company's interest either.

I used to tell people giving their notice "two hours should be enough to clean out your desk". We didn't want any 'dead men walking' or martyrs trashing the company for weeks on end. Everyone got a hefty severance: one month for short timers--up to two years for long termers.

Having said that, if the OP was financially able when they demoted his job, I'd have walked out right there and then. Why hang around to put up with that crap?

In my area of work, once one submitted their resignation, they were walked out that day.

 

[statsman]

I was kicked out (along with many others over a period of 10 years) about two years before I was ready. Be grateful you can pick the time of your choosing, even if the company short-changes it somehow by a few weeks.

 

[MC Rider]

Being self employed and most if not all my work comes through 1 internet portal or another, I guess all I have to do is change my status to on vacation. And set the end date a few years down the road. What bonus?


OK, I will tell the clients I work with most and like.

 

[mebden]

In my area of work, once one submitted their resignation, they were walked out that day.

And If I give a 2 weeks notice they tell you to leave right away so I will just not show up when my time comes, and they can call me and ask why I'm not at work. Big Corporations could give [mod edit] about you as your just a number to them and lots of megacorps attitudes are what can you do for me not what can I do for you. Thats why people walk away

 

[friar1610]

Just another example that providing more notice is not in your interests.

This was a real surprise to me when I entered the private sector from a career in the Navy. I had been used to situations where, if at all possible, you met your relief and spent a few days to a week of “turnover” where you showed him/her the ropes, introduced him/her around, etc. So when I decided to leave my first civilian job I gave 6 weeks notice figuring they would try to hire a replacement and I might be able to assist in the transition. They did nothing until the last week when they tried to get me to give them another month to do what I had allowed them 6 weeks to do. I didn’t.

When I left the job I had when I retired the same thing happened. Shame on me for thinking the second company would do things any different than the first!

 

[TheWizard]

I wouldn't have even thought about slipping away incognito. Instead they threw me a couple of parties and a dinner. I got gag gifts and got to hug a lot of necks. It even made the front page of the newspaper. It was a great 38 year career. I even consulted for them for a few years after. My practice has always been to burn no bridges regardless of how the other side has acted.

Same here
It's sad that so many people seem to have jobs they hate and bosses who are intolerable...

 

[youbet]

Maybe cancel your leave for work exigencies and then fire you before you turn 55 if you don't return? If all you did with HR is notify them of the March 1 date, I would be careful about what you do after your current two weeks vacation is over. Don't give them any excuse to fire you.

You're absolutely correct donheff.

I watched a similar incident unfold at the MegaCorp I toiled at. An individual dictated to HR and management how he would use accrued vacation and leave time to bridge his way to a departure from Mega most beneficial to him. They disagreed. He didn't care, stayed away and was terminated for "three day no-show." It then took him months and a lawyer to get things back to where they would have been had he just followed the usual (and reasonable) procedures.

 

[rmcelwee]

You're absolutely correct donheff.

I watched a similar incident unfold at the MegaCorp I toiled at. An individual dictated to HR and management how he would use accrued vacation and leave time to bridge his way to a departure from Mega most beneficial to him. They disagreed. He didn't care, stayed away and was terminated for "three day no-show." It then took him months and a lawyer to get things back to where they would have been had he just followed the usual (and reasonable) procedures.

It sounds like the guy you are talking about was a dumb-ass. I am not. If my vacation is not pre-approved I will go to work. To do anything else would be completely insane.

 

[teetee]

...
also meant that all my vacation for the last three months of the year was cancelled. Christmas party at my house - cancelled. Trip to see my parents at Thanksgiving - cancelled. New Years with friends - cancelled. There was absolutely no reason to do this. Shift changes for the past 32 years since I have been there are ALWAYS done at the beginning of the year, never in October. There was also a guy who was let go a week after I got to the shift. So no only was I on a shift with a bunch of strangers but it was also severely undermanned.

Needless to say, I got the last laugh (I think)...

With the pandemic, missing out family and friend gatherings during the holidays may not be the worst thing that could happen.

I think you got the best of both worlds.

 

[Jim59]

Same here
It's sad that so many people seem to have jobs they hate and bosses who are intolerable...

Not everyone is the same. I have had a great career, no problems with any bosses I have worked with. However, I retire soon, WFH almost 2 years. I’ll go in and see or video call those I want to say goodbye to whilst wishing them all the best. A fairly quite departure.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Yes, retiring on good terms with a company has been very different the past 2 pandemic years. No parties, no fanfare, just a very nice thank you email!

 

[CRLLS]

I am so glad to hear a few more-tempered responses. Making the "last day" the same as the first day of qualifying for retirement benefits is not a good plan, no matter how much you hate the job. Too many things can change during that time. None of them good to you. Giving notice of 2 weeks is the minimum common courtesy. Not only for them, but for your reports & your own self too. If it were me, I would give notice only after meeting the retirement requirements.

 

[rmcelwee]

I am so glad to hear a few more-tempered responses. Making the "last day" the same as the first day of qualifying for retirement benefits is not a good plan, no matter how much you hate the job. Too many things can change during that time. None of them good to you. Giving notice of 2 weeks is the minimum common courtesy. Not only for them, but for your reports & your own self too. If it were me, I would give notice only after meeting the retirement requirements.

I tried my best with maximum common courtesy and gave them six months notice. Their response was to screw me over.