First post. When to give notice without screwing company

Julie1458

Confused about dryer sheets
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Apr 15, 2021
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Patterson
Hi folks. What a great community! I've been enjoying the collab here, thanks to all.

52 yo. Target retire may 2025. Very conscientious employee, don't want to screw my company, my team. When should I come clean on my intention to peel out of there? RSU hits March 2025, was planning to do then (I cannot wait, literally).. How does that sound? My dept is really lean and can barely keep it together so feels like I should give more time but don't want to tip.my hand and possibly lose RSU, I dunno if that's a realistic outcome ( maybe I'm paranoid?)? I'm a director and have weight within the dept so know the sh*t will hit the fan (and no I don't think that highly of myself) but feel it's a sink swim situation where we are so pressured with inadequate resources. But then a part of me is thinking that's not my problem if the company sucks.
I'm sure MANY of you went thru the same. Would love some guidance from this amazing community.
Much gratitude.
 
What's wrong with me? Others recommended the same but I have a pit in my stomach about it.
 
I'd start making moves to make the transition easier without stating your intention.... up to them to take the hint and be prepared. Subtle hints but wouldn't expressly state it or give formal notice until the day you'd be willing to walk (or be walked) out.
 
Well, I do know one guy who gave 5 YEAR's notice and it went well, but he and the company were pretty exceptional.

I left the office one week after giving my notice. I spent that week documenting everything because, like you, I didn't want to leave my coworkers with a lot of problems to solve in addition to their own work. Others may be able to tell you how it went when they gave longer notice periods but you may be shown the door immediately or they may keep you on but you'll be somewhat out of the loop. Remember that when people leave for other reasons the traditional notice period is only 2 weeks.
 
I would give two weeks notice.

Whenever you give notice, be prepared to be walked out the door that minute. If you think you are highly valuable, also be prepared if they ask you to stay longer. Think through in advance how much longer you would be willing to stay, at what rate of pay, under what conditions, and for how long. Be sure to have a firm time limit in mind.

Some folks have good experiences giving longer notice, while others have horrible experiences after giving only two weeks. It will depend on the company and the people involved.
 
I gave 1 month notice to my company when I left once, not to retire, but because I wanted to give them time to fill my position, but that was just me at that time. I also had a month of vacation built up at the time, so that had something to do with it also.

Saying that, the company I was with was exceptional to me. Today, most companies would not think twice of laying someone off immediately with 2 weeks or 4 weeks pay & HC, if one is very lucky. I hear it all the time.
 
What's wrong with me? Others recommended the same but I have a pit in my stomach about it.
It is understandable. You are conscientious!

Only you have sufficient knowledge of you company and culture to know what to do. As stated, no single tactic has worked for everyone.

Having said that, I gave six weeks of formal notice. But my boss had been tipped off to some of my advance moves. Which worked out ok as they really did not have the option or desire to fire me as no one could perform my role. But I also made clear I would not change my mind.

So I had a busy six weeks, wrapping up things and hiring my replacement, who was able to start right when I left. Integrity intact. No hard feelings. I was there 19 years.

One thing I did to make sure I would leave on my terms is to scheduled a two week post retirement trip, starting the Monday after my last day. I was still fielding calls on the way to the airport. And I had quite a few over the next few months. But I held to my timetable.
 
Depends if you're a key contributor/upper management or rank and file. For rank and file, my company used to say: "Two weeks? Two hours should be enough to clean out your desk". We didn't want any "dead men walking" or martyrs hanging around.

A senior manager like yourself, maybe a month's notice would work. With two weeks notice they may beg you to stay a bit longer to facilitate a transition.
 
As a lower level manager at "Megacorp", I gave 3 months notice but I agree with others, 2 weeks is good enough. Why did I give 3 months? Well I had seen others do it and once their notice had been given their workload dropped 90% and they coasted to retirement. Worked for me too..
 
Don't make the company's poor management your personal problem. If they ran the business better, your department would not be so lean. Also, they should have a plan in place for each key person in case that person leaves. If they don't have a plan, then shame on them. Don't make that your personal problem.

Give 2 weeks and never think about it again. That is the custom in the US. Everyone knows that.
 
Wait until after the RSUs and then give notice. Two weeks is enough, but if it makes you feel better, you can give a month. Many employers try to squeeze the leaving employee for additional time -but then don't use that time productively to find a replacement. Also for some, the time between giving notice and actually leaving is stressful.
 
Don't make the company's poor management your personal problem. If they ran the business better, your department would not be so lean. Also, they should have a plan in place for each key person in case that person leaves. If they don't have a plan, then shame on them. Don't make that your personal problem.

Give 2 weeks and never think about it again. That is the custom in the US. Everyone knows that.
Exactly. Unless your contract specifies otherwise (I assume not, or you would have mentioned it, but check just in case), then 2 weeks is what I would do.

If 2 weeks is going to be a hardship for them, then they should have had you sign a new employment contract, specifying those conditions. If they didn't, it shows they aren't concerned about it, so why should you be? As you say, they are running things lean and making it tough on people, so they don't seem to care too much about the employees. Look out for yourself.

Use the words "my contractually obligated two weeks notice".

As others have said, put in some extra effort to document your work to make it as easy on the ones left as possible, then go enjoy your retirement.
 
It is very situational depending on your relationship with the employer and the employer's culture.

The way that I approached it was that I told my boss that I was leaving but that I was somewhat flexible in the timing and that I wanted all of us to feel good about the my leaving... for them to feel that I left on good terms and for me to feel that they treated me fairly. He said that he was fine with that idea and told me to work something out with HR and the practice leaders that I worked with. I started discussions with them and within a few days a plan was in place and I ended up leaving about 2-1/2 months later.
 
Give 2 weeks notice. Everybody is expendable. Believe me, if the shoe was on the other foot, they would not hesitate to let you go.
+1
The company will continue to operate long after you're retired.
 
Think about your company and see how they've handled previous resignations. If their practice is to walk the person out the door on the day they resign, then you should assume that will happen to you and time your resignation for the day you actually want to leave.

Likewise, if you've never seen them effectively use someone's notice time to plan for their absence, you should not assume they'll suddenly figure out how to replace you when the time comes. Unless you've seen an active succession planning process, giving them several months of notice just means they'll wait until two weeks before you leave to realize it's actually happening.

The one time when I think you have to give more notice is when there are commitments around something only you can do. If you've already said you'll give a presentation at a conference or teach a class in April, it's not nice to retire in March and leave other people in the lurch.
 
Agree with others, if there is a required time frame in your contract, follow that. Otherwise two weeks is plenty.
Wait until after March if RSUs are in your account.
Then give notice and go enjoy your retirement!
 
This comes up repeatedly, and the answers from those who've been there are almost universal. But it's not unusual to think you're doing your employer a favor by giving more than two weeks notice - it's a mistake more often than not, but only the OP has any idea how it might actually play out.

There’s nothing wrong with giving 2 weeks notice no matter what position you hold. If they counter with 3-4 weeks, that’s up to you, but no way you should agree to more than 4 weeks max.

We’re all conscientious, but we ALL overestimate how indispensable we are to our employers. No one is. CEOs, C-suites and others up and down the org chart are replaced on short notice every day - and their companies go on just fine all the time.

I was a senior manager, and gave more than 4 weeks notice - it was a big mistake. My boss who’d never said an unkind word about me, even held me up as a positive example to my peers, glowing Perf Appraisals every year, made my lame duck period unnecessarily awkward. I guess he never expected me to retire at 57 yo, nor did any senior manager.

And as others have noted, if your company gets into financial trouble, they won’t hesitate to let you go - with no notice in many cases.
 
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Two weeks. Longer makes you dead-man-walking, and no matter what, they will find a way to go on without you.

They are badly managing the current situation by having low staff. Not you. You have been put in this shoe-string position to grind with less. IOW, you are the one who is already being "screwed."

The other way to look at this, if you were taking a position elsewhere - let's say you got head-hunted for the role and salary of your dreams - you'd give two weeks. Your new employer might go for 3, but 2 is absolutely standard unless you have a contract.

For some reason, when we leave a job for our own retirement, we feel we have to stay longer than if leaving for a better career opportunity? pffft
 
Wait until you have rec'd bonus, vested, etc., then give notice. Notice period is your call at end of day. Consider how your company has handled RIF's. Interesting you didn't mention your boss in original post. Is department lean because you haven't fought for resources? Could you beef it up before departing with extra heads or upgrading talent? What can you do now to minimize the transitional pain when you go?

Long story shorter: I had a global team and tried giving 90 days notice and my boss didn't allow me to tell anyone. After 60 days transpired, I extended notice period another 30 days. He still didn't tell anyone until I had 3 weeks left in extended notice period. Thus, my team and peers perceived I gave 3 weeks notice. It affected my relationships as I didn't want to disparage the boss. Be ready for anything. Do what you can to protect yourself first.
 
It's a systemic problem within the org to do more with less. It's been an ongoing struggle. Last year my boss asked me if I "needed to work" (financially bound to a salary), and I said not really. My husband's salary covers expenses so she knows I am not starving.
 
Wife will give 30 days to get all her PTO paid out at full rate. They will not get a moment more.
Her "raises" have been laughable as of late and they have done nothing to retain her.
Sounds like your boss is eager to take advantage with that question.
 
I tried to be nice. Gave long notice despite everyone here saying 2 weeks.

It was a mistake. Although my boss and team appreciated it, The Corp didn't care. Not only that, they gave me some stressful post-separation problems after I left. (I can't really discuss those, but they were extremely stressful and purely a product of The Corp's heartlessness.)

The Corp will be OK after you are gone.
 
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