Gave Notice / Smiling / back to W*rk for now

[Manji]

Never stay too...

Congratulations.
Always remember old Indian Proverb-
Never stay in front of Boss (too long)... or behind Donkey !

Thanks.
Manji

 

[megacorp-firee]

... Question for everyone -- Why do people give more notice for retirement than they would to quit for a new job? I have not made the jump yet, but I am getting there. I am puzzled by the amount of notice retirees give and employers demand.

cuz there are a lot of details to take care of ...
pension if any
healthcare, if any
not burning any bridges - get your replacement on board and running
wrap up current 'stuff'
let them know not to give you any new stuff that takes a long time
gloat
...etc.

 

[Nords]

My first post Congratulations Cuppajoe! Question for everyone -- Why do people give more notice for retirement than they would to quit for a new job? I have not made the jump yet, but I am getting there. I am puzzled by the amount of notice retirees give and employers demand.

There are at least two members of this board who kept their ER plans quiet, expecting to give their employers the absolute minimum notice.

They were pleasantly surprised to be laid off with generous severance packages a bit before they were about to announce their ER plans...

So I'd hold off your announcement to the absolute last possible moment.

 

[DangerMouse]

There are at least two members of this board who kept their ER plans quiet, expecting to give their employers the absolute minimum notice.

They were pleasantly surprised to be laid off with generous severance packages a bit before they were about to announce their ER plans...

So I'd hold off your announcement to the absolute last possible moment.

I found out when I gave notice that my position was on the chopping block and if I would have stayed until the end there was a generous severance available. However, for me the thought of going through the motions for another 9 months and knowing how it was unlikely any severance would be too generous (maybe $10k?) I decided to go now. That more than anything told me I was done.

BTW make sure that they are working to takeover your duties. I gave 5 weeks notice, finished 2 weeks ago - so 7 weeks later they have still not managed to find a replacement so I am helping them out, which has entailed me doing 20+ hours a week. Thankfully I leave for Australia this week, so after that they are on their own.

 

[FIYes]

We are required to give 30 days notice for retirement and that is what I intend to give when the time comes---but no more. My reason for not giving more is that I expect my boss will become quite unpleasant toward me once the annoucement is made. Too bad, but that is just the way it is.

 

[citrine]

Congratulations!!!! I love hearing about more people leaving the rat race!

 

[CuppaJoe]

We are required to give 30 days notice for retirement and that is what I intend to give when the time comes---but no more. My reason for not giving more is that I expect my boss will become quite unpleasant toward me once the annoucement is made. Too bad, but that is just the way it is.

Hope you will be pleasantly surprised and your boss is nice about it but if s/he isn't maybe it just means something like they don't want to do without you.

 

[FIYes]

From CuppaJoe Hope you will be pleasantly surprised and your boss is nice about it but if s/he isn't maybe it just means something like they don't want to do without you.

I agree with the bucket of water theory---once I or anyone else leaves the space will fill up and in couple of weeks folks will be saying "remember ol __"
Of course, the irony is when I take a few days off my boss invariably finds a reason to be out of the office while I am out.

 

[rogersteciak]

I'm guessing, but there could be a few reasons for more notice of retirement VS leaving for a new job:
1) No external time pressure. When you get a new job, there's often an employer waiting on you to start work. Everyone understands that tey won't wait forever. When you give two weeks notice before retiring, it's natural for people to ask" "What happened? Did Bill snap? Is he really being pushed out?"
2) It's "different": You only retire once, and many of us have a lot of regard for the company we're leaving, especially if we've been there a long time. You want to give them every chance to execute a smooth transition.
3) Maybe a little bit of vanity. When you retire, you are generally at the most senior point you've ever been. Most of us like to believe that the company will have a tough time replacing us. Of course, the truth usually is that there are 10 people waiting for your job, and 6 people down the chain will be doing handsprings when you leave as they get a new job one notch farther up the hierarchy. In six months, it will be "remember ol' Jimmy? You know,the guy who always ate at his desk?"

My belief is that when you FIRE, you don't need another job financially (and you may not want another job either). So you can take your time to leave if you want because if the employer snaps and walks you to the door, you don't care. (Believe it or not, some employers have a policy that if you don't want to work there, they walk you to the door right away so that you aren't a "bad example" to the other employees.)

In the book The Black Swan, this kind of financial independence is referred to as "f*ck you money" because you are financially able to say "f*ck you" to situations you want to turn down for any reason. If you want to leave slowly, you leave slowly (assuming your employer doesn't mind); if you want to leave quickly, you leave quickly; and if your employer doesn't want you to leave at all, that's your employer's problem.