I’ve been noticing that one of my most popular posts involves navigating the waters of quitting a job without notice. And, if my blog stats and referring keywords are any clue to what’s on my reader’s minds – there are a lot of frustrated and angry workers out there.
So, I want to tell you that writing a resignation to your employer in which you ultimately stick it to them is ultimately a good idea.
Yet, not in the way you think.
Lousy employers are just that – LOUSY
No matter what you tell them, the won’t change. They don’t have to – at least, that’s what they think. Good employers don’t have to worry about people quitting their jobs with no notice or writing nasty resignation letters.
Workers don’t leave their employers – if they’re good. Only unless one feels they’ve outgrown the position or the organization – in that case, an employee will leave.
Photo Credit: timesnell @Flickr
Yet, sometimes even then – they come back.
Great jobs or great employers have a shelf life that is entirely up to the people who work within them. A business is not a business by itself. It thrives on the people who want to be there and enjoy being there.
Unfortunately, crap employers don’t operate that way. Even if you thought you’d be doing them a favor by telling them about their mismanagement, self-defeating business tactics or how the boss sucks worse than Sam Zell – it won’t change anything.
Comeuppance for a former employer is (selfish) wishful thinking. Sticking it to them is only a case to boost their ego – not yours. No matter how justified you feel in the end – such words will fall on deaf ears.
Nonetheless, it is good news that you can craft a letter telling an employer the 365 ways they suck. There are people who have been suffering horrible jobs and bosses for ages and can’t declare a single reason why their employer is the demon spawn it really is.
Therefore, if you do create such a such a letter, you are certainly giving yourself more than enough permission to quit. You are articulating what you do and do not want in a job, in an employer or in your professional life. Such a letter, if already written, absolves you from putting up with any more crap for the sake of a paycheck.
I could mention how burning bridges isn’t worth it, but people who think about crafting such resignation letters aren’t concerned with the consequences of doing so (if there really are any consequences). By that time, they’re more consumed with “correcting” an employer’s trespasses against them instead of moving on with their life.
In short, the letter writing exercise in itself is cathartic, the act of sending it is just plain nuts.
A nasty resignation is poorly demonstrated vengence for folks who aren’t worth it in the first place. If you are interested in sticking it to a (soon-to-be-former) boss – the best revenge is living well. And, being free from their insanity.