Quitting is a massive step for anyone. It takes a lot of guts to finally move on from your job and set sail for greener pastures, a healthier workplace environment, and—hopefully!—a better paycheck. But sometimes things don’t end as cleanly as you’d hoped.
Redditor u/Alkuna shared an intriguing story about their old job at a craft store. Even though they’d already given their two weeks' notice and quit, their floor manager still tried to manipulate them into working later. Scroll down for the full story, the OP’s reaction, and what the internet thought of the situation.
Bored Panda reached out to the author of the post, redditor u/Alkuna, and they were kind enough to share more about what happened and gave some spot-on advice for anyone thinking of quitting. Read on for our full interview with the OP!
When workers quit their jobs, they want the process to be as smooth as possible. Unfortunately, that's not always the case
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One internet user shared how their manager tried to force them to work even though they had already quit
Image credits: DC_Studio (not the actual photo)
Image credits: nateemee (not the actual photo)
Image source: Alkuna
"She didn't like losing power. The fact that I was leaving on my own terms made her a bit crazy"
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
According to the author of the post, their manager called them when they were right in the middle of packing. “I came to a dead stop and had to wait for my brain to reboot. Then I got really irritated. At the same time, however, I felt like I was free to stand up to her and mouth off. Because what could she do to me? I was no longer her subordinate,” u/Alkuna told Bored Panda that they felt a “roller coaster of emotion,” being both “irritated and wickedly gleeful.”
The OP opened up to us that their former manager had always been a bully and an extremely toxic colleague during their time at the company. “I actually had to report her to the company hotline because she actually demanded that I work off the clock,” the OP said that she had told them something along the lines of, “Go home and spend a few hours making a list of things you are going to do to improve your work ethic.”
One of the bigwigs at the company had then told the manager off. However, the OP leaving their position “set her off” again. “She didn’t like losing power, and I suspect that even though retaliation was a major no-no, she had probably been thinking of ways to harass me. The fact that I was leaving on my own terms made her a bit crazy.”
Bored Panda was curious about what advice u/Alkuna would give someone who might want to quit their job for better prospects elsewhere, but might be too scared to do so. The OP was happy to share their thoughts on this and suggested that workers come up with a solid plan before handing in their notice.
“Research jobs that are available around the time you are going to quit. Depending on how bad your situation is, you may have to weigh carefully whether you have time and resources to face unemployment, or whether lean times are worth it for your mental health,” the redditor said.
“Consider this: having a job is important. So is having your appendix. But if either of those goes toxic and negatively affects your health, don’t be afraid to cut them out of your life.”
Some bosses believe they can get away with anything because their staff might not have other options
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In the post author’s opinion, bosses and managers “have had far too much power over employees.” This, in turn, has made them feel like they could get away with outrageous demands, considering that it’s difficult to find a new job for some.
“I’ve heard/read stories where delusional bosses try to make an employee choose between a dead-end, minimum wage job, or their education. Then they would be shocked when the employee chooses the education. We as employees have been told over and over to extend ourselves with no extra pay, on some vague promise (lie) of future promotions/pay raises,” the OP opened up to Bored Panda.
“Then they are surprised when the employee gets fed up and quits, leaving the foolish company in the lurch. In my case, the demand was completely over the top and yet also completely believable considering the build-up towards this point. It also helps that stories about bosses getting comeuppance or embarrassment are popular, since not everyone has gotten their own taste of triumph, and the workforce is frustrated by years of similar nonsense,” they explained why their story—and similar posts—resonate with so many readers.
The redditor told us that they definitely didn’t expect to get flooded with so many comments after sharing their story. “I figured I would get some laughs, some facepalms, and a few ‘man that manager was an idiot’ comments.”
The Reddit user shared how flabbergasted they were that their floor manager would even try to guilt-trip them into working after they quit. The thing was, the OP couldn’t do this even if they wanted to—they were moving out of the state with their dad.
Realizing that arguing with their manager was proving to be a huge waste of their time, redditor u/Alkuna decided to shut things down. They started laughing, reiterated that they had already quit, and highlighted that they didn’t have to take orders from their former supervisor anymore.
A lot depends on how your manager approaches leadership at work
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Though everyone makes mistakes and has ‘derp’ moments at times, it doesn’t seem like the floor manager was all that good at inspiring and motivating her staff. She seemed to rely on intimidation.
There are two common styles of leadership, transactional and transformational. The former is all about management exercising bureaucratic authority and power within the company to punish and reward their employees. Someone who embraces this style of leadership would, for instance, withhold someone’s pay.
Transformative leaders, on the other hand, do what they can to support their coworkers and want them to grow. They’ll focus on motivating and encouraging their workers, and have genuine empathy for them as people. This builds trust, helps solve future workplace problems easier, and contributes to an overall positive workplace environment.
Eventually, some of your staff will want to jump ship. They might be looking for a job with better pay, benefits, opportunities, and values. They might want more purpose and managers who don’t make their everyday life hell. Or they might have become too complacent and feel like they’re ready for a new set of challenges. Whatever the root cause, how you quit is just as important as the fact that you’re quitting.
In short, no matter what you’ve imagined you’d do in your daydreams and power fantasies, it’s best to leave on a positive note. You don’t want to burn any bridges because that might backfire. Your former colleagues might leave you a bad recommendation or try to get revenge on you somehow. Or you may have to reapply to your old job if things get really tough! And anyway, it's better to negotiate a severance package if you can, instead of slamming the door behind you.
That’s not to say that you’re supposed to be a spineless sponge at work. Far from it! Enforcing healthy boundaries is the secret to any successful and long-lasting relationship. But diplomacy will always get you better results than aggression, rudeness, and shouting matches (no matter how warranted). Being firm but friendly, confident but polite is often the way to go.
If things are civil in the workplace, two weeks' notice is usually enough
Image credits: Alena Darmel (not the actual photo)
How much notice you give before leaving the company will depend entirely on your contract, your circumstances, and your relationship with your coworkers. The most common standard is giving two weeks’ notice.
However, as Indeed points out, if you know for a fact that your company has a lengthy hiring process, you may want to extend that notice a month (or even more). This is especially true if you’re leaving on a positive note and genuinely got along with everyone else.
There are some circumstances when it’s fine to leave as soon as possible and you’re not obliged to ‘stick it out’ till the end. For example, you’re not obliged to stick to the standards and regulations if you’re working in an unsafe or hostile work environment. In those cases, you may also want to get in touch with your union or even a legal representative.
Indeed adds that you can also leave without notice if you have serious personal health issues, a family emergency, or if you’re working in an unstable, toxic workplace. If your boss is known to frequently fire their staff, there are very few job openings for you, but you manage to land a sweet position elsewhere, definitely take it and jump ship ASAP.
The author of the post discussed what happened with some of their readers
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