2 weeks notice
 

Why is it when we leave a job we're supposed to give a minimum 2 weeks notice but when it comes time to let someone go, they tell him at the end of the day on Friday, not to come back on Monday? 10 years ago, when business loyalty was more of a two-way street, I could almost understand people doing this but this fear of "burning our bridges" basically has us by the balls and I'm sick of it. I think re-writing the business etiquette handbook is a long overdue process.

What the hell are you talking about? If you've done well for a company and have been a good employee but have now found a new opportunity why wouldn't you want to leave on a strong note? Two weeks notice is a matter of courtesy, not just to the company but to the people you've been working with. If you just walk out they have to pick up the slack while the manager frantically tries to find a replacement. What could have been a smooth and friendly transition has now become a source of anger and resentment. You can forget any future references they might have provided. More importantly, setting your network on fire doesn't make sense - what if one of them went on to a new position where they could influence the hiring for your dream job? You're damaged goods now.

The Friday afternoon boot is sad but it makes sense as well. People are generally let go for one of two reasons: they suck, or the company is just downsizing. If they suck bad enough to get fired, giving them two weeks to be bitter and angry while still having access to company files, products, and clients would be bad news. If the company is downsizing the Friday let go accomplishes the same thing, but more importantly it helps alleviate the panic and depression for the remaining employees that comes from seeing a peer lose their job through no fault of their own. People see themselves in the former employee's shoes. The weekend can give some perspective and release some pressure.

You say giving two weeks is a matter of courtesy, I'm saying why can't they extend the same courtesy to you when they let you go. If you walk out on them they might be hurting, but when they tell you Friday, you're officially unemployed come Monday, I don't think they care if you've got kids to feed or bills to pay or how bad you'll be hurting. Letting someone go like that is like the movie "The Time Machine" where people just get randomly taken and everyone sits still and hopes they won't be next. It's a shitty thing to do to people.

I gave 2 weeks notice at a job some years ago. They told me at the end of the first week that they were going to pay me for the second week and I could just stay home. They weren't mean, and I understand the reasoning (it was a DOD contractor as well) but it still hurt. I left on good terms, but it made me feel kind of crappy, kind of like "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out." I had gone from entry level grunt to supervisor and DOD instructor in 3 years, but was just as easily let go.

Eh, it all happens for a reason, but it felt pretty crappy. But, I was young and unseasoned in the corporate world. :)

As lookout said, if someone is let go, they often feel disgruntled. This is bad for a company. The fired employee may decide to steal things, delete important files, ruin relationships with customers or partners of the company, put viruses on the computers... the list goes on and on. We'd all like to think we're above that, but the reality is most people will want to lash out - even normally nice ones that don't harm an ant.

The first thing that happens in most companies when someone is informed they are let go is all network access is removed. This is probably one of the most important things for the company to do to protect themselves. And usually security escorts them to the door.

Most decent companies will do some sort of severance package - like a couple weeks of pay at least.

I left my last job in July. I originally tried to quit in April, then in June. Finally, I was able to finish the sentence "I am giving you my two week's notice" and nobody spoke to me for those last two weeks. I think they were angry at me for leaving. I still feel uncomfortable about it, and wonder if they would give me a bad reference. Hmmm.

I worked construction most of my working life. I alway tried to give as much notice as they gave me.

In almost all cases of downsizing, the whole company knows it's going to happen at least a few weeks in advance, they just don't know who. And most places also give severance packages of some sort, like aimeecc said. In Texas it's the law, actually, if you're laying off a large enough number of people.

Not giving notice is just stupid. It completely ruins the business relationship and you never know when you'll need that manager/supervisor/coworker/company's goodwill. No, it's not fair that companies will fire someone with no notice. Get used to it.

The thing that bothers me are the damn exit interviews.
There are only 3 reasons I leave a job.

Moving
Job sucks
more money

And why the hell would you ask me if I was sexually harrassed when i am just about to leave the job?!!! Should that be something you'd want to know long before then?

I've given 2 weeks notice and had the company ask me to leave immediately but still pay me for 2 weeks. They are scared when high level IT people quit. They don't want someone disgruntled screwing everything up. At Siemens they offered 2 weeks of pay for every year of service to those they laid off when they bought our company.

I just applied for a new job in a different department (which I feel confident I will get) and I gotta say.... I plan to give my two weeks notice, but it won't make a LICK of difference because my Department heads are awful at cross-training people... so they're going to be in some hot water finding people to fill in for me while they hire someone to replace me!

(Still, that being said, I did once leave one position without two weeks notice--I'd attempted to give my notice over and over as I'd returned to college and had a 2-hour drive to get backto the place I'd worked over the summer. They kept putting me on the schedule and then calling me to fill in for employees who called in sick... so I finally just stopped showing up. I definitely regret doing that, but what the heck was their issue with just ACCEPTING my notice? It's not a joint decision!!!)

It doesn't always happen that way Rexmons! I was given 2 weeks notice on my last job so I could wrap everything up for them and finish out my projects because quite frankly, no one else could do it. I moved on and wrapped everything up in one week. I left on good terms but I wasn't working for corporate either. No matter how bad it gets I won't work for corporate ever again.

Contrasted with:
An employee today that I liked very much, that has been here for 17 years, was fired with no notice and was told not only to not come back, but getting paid for the work done already during this pay period is tenuous. The owner won't deal with it because he has personal problems right now (mentally disassociating). The accountant decided to abruptly quit paying this person today. So no job.

I am so pissed right now about this. This was completely mishandled by a person who doesn't run my teams but likes to call the shots, irresponsible idiot. No one wants this employee's low paying fu**** job either. I don't have anyone to replace her. Certainly no one with 17 years experience and completely reliable. I'm dealing with this recent debacle right now...
:)
17 years and one day...we aren't paying you anymore. It reminds me of the guy in "office space" that they put in the basement....oh we quit paying you a while back, sorry. That's not how I do things. Lots of changes tomorrow. Oh yea...You were fired sometime last week.

Not one virtuous bone.....
:rolleyes:

My exit interview at Siemens was funny. The guy who was the reason I was leaving the job was the one giving me the exit interview. He asked if I wanted to make comments, so I said, "Sure" and made a few about his poor management skills, inability to motivate his people, and his lack of understanding in the field in which he was managing.

well, that is one quick way to get sued. it is more than a little illegal to not pay someone for the hours worked up to the point of termination.