Giving your two weeks’ notice can sometimes feel like a relief because it means that you are moving on to a new opportunity, and possibly quitting a toxic workplace. The only problem is if your boss makes a fuss and refuses to let you leave, which then makes things difficult.
This is what a man faced when he handed in his notice, only to have it ignored by his manager. She kept pretending like he wasn’t going to leave, and eventually, he had to escalate the matter to human resources. It made no sense why she was acting that way.
More info: Reddit
RELATED:A good boss knows how to value their employees and let go of those who are no longer a fit or want to leave
Woman in glasses and blazer holding a notebook, gesturing stop, depicting boss pretending never gave notice situation.
The poster shared that he had handed in his two weeks’ notice letter directly to his manager and taken a photo of it, but, despite that, she pretended like it didn’t happen
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Alt text: Employee shares frustration with boss pretending never gave notice during busy season despite training investment.
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The manager kept assigning him work, and when he confronted her about it, she told him that he couldn’t just abandon the company after they had trained him
Boss pretending never gave notice, scheduling a performance review despite employee’s resignation plans.
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The poster decided to cover his bases and sent an email to human resources and his boss about his resignation, along with photo proof of it being handed in
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The human resources team told the man that his boss had pulled this stunt with people before and that they would handle the situation
The poster shared that he had gotten a new job and was starting soon, which is why he wanted to hand in his resignation. He gave his two weeks’ notice letter to his manager and even took a photo of the moment as evidence. His boss seemed to acknowledge his decision as she talked to him about the company’s transition plans.
Later on, things became more absurd when the OP’s manager kept acting like he hadn’t told her he was going to quit. She tried to pretend that everything was normal, and assigned him new projects, scheduled him for meetings, and also spoke about a performance review. This left the man confused and worried.
To understand the manager’s behavior a bit more, We reached out to Peter Duris, the CEO and co-founder ofKickresume. He shared that “the boss was being totally unreasonable. I think it may be a combination of several factors. Firstly, the man shared that it had happened before to another ex-employee. If the manager got away with it once, it’s not too surprising she’d try it again.”
“It also seems that she felt the team really needed this employee’s contributions. Maybe this team struggles with retention, and this worker’s leaving would have left them short-staffed. With it being the busy season, losing someone would have made things worse. Still, none of that excuses how she handled it.”
“Just imagine how differently this could have gone. He could have given his notice, and she could have asked if there was anything the company could do to keep him. If he still said no, she should have accepted it and moved on. If things ended on a more positive note, maybe he would have even been happy to recommend someone from his network to take his place,” Peter added.
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After the poster shared his baffling experience online, netizens told him that he should contact his higher-ups and also inform them about what was going on. He decided to do just that and sent an email to the HR team and added his manager on it. He shared all of the evidence of his two weeks’ notice being handed in with them.
Luckily, his resignation was acknowledged and proceeding as scheduled, so he didn’t have to worry about that. Peter explained that “the worker in the story took very sensible steps to protect himself by following up with HR, his manager, and his manager’s boss.”
“It’s clearly against company policy to stop someone from handing in their notice, so if you’re in a similar situation, the HR department is there to make sure that everything is being done by the book. I’m sure the manager’s boss wasn’t pleased to hear how she was running her department either.”
“It’s also wise to back up your case with evidence, like this man did. If you’ve handed in your notice and it’s being ignored, hold on to any relevant emails. It helps to have tough conversations over email when you can, or at least follow up in writing after you talk in person. That way, you’ve got a clear record instead of getting stuck in a he-said-she-said mess,” Peter added.
Eventually, the poster’s boss came to terms with the fact that he was leaving and begrudgingly spoke to him about it. All of this must have certainly proved to him that he had made the right decision to leave the company.
Have you ever experienced an awkward situation when trying to resign? Do share your experiences in the comments section.
Netizens shared many creative ways that the man could force his boss to acknowledge his resignation
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