Quitting Etiquette

February 18, 2005 10:49 AM

Today I tendered my two weeks notice at my job of 4 years. I spoke directly to my manager on this matter and have told no one else (at work). What is the proper etiquette regarding telling my co-workers?

Should I leave it up to my manager?
To tell the truth if it is left up to me there are very few people I would tell as I preffer not to draw attention to myself. My offic has about 100 people in my location.

posted by evilelf to work & money (10 comments total)

Tell the ones you like, and the ones you don't give a fark about....Well I wanna say, "FUCK THEM!", but you may run into them later.

Say a nice polite good bye to as many people as you can.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 10:56 AM on February 18, 2005

Definitely let people you work with that rely on your work to get their job done as soon as you can so they'll know you're leaving so they can plan their projects accordingly.

When I quit, I told the boss and a few people I worked with on a daily basis. Within a day or two people I didn't know would be wishing me good luck. On my last day I sent an email to as many of the people I could think of saying thanks for working with them and my contact information. Only my closer work friends actually did contact me after I left. But I was trying to be as gracious as possible.

Many of the folks you're working with might be good references or networking contacts down the road.
posted by birdherder at 11:05 AM on February 18, 2005

It's up to you. You certainly don't have to tell anyone, but it's considerate, as birdherder said, to tell anyone who might be waiting on something from you.

However, word tends to spread fast, and depending on the office, a lot of people may come up and ask, "Wow, you're leaving? How come?" In that case, it's nice if you have something to say besides "I hate this place and my boss is a jerk!" (if that's even the case)
posted by Sibrax at 12:01 PM on February 18, 2005

I'm in the same boat, although maybe a little further along (out of here in one week, now.) I was under the impression that it is your manager's job to tell everyone, and that in fact you aren't supposed to say anything until s/he does. That may just be museums, though, or nonprofits; I don't know.

In my case it was awkward, since I work with so many volunteers who kept saying things like "See you in 3 weeks!" but my boss did eventually tell the staff in a meeting and get the email out to the board and volunteers. Meanwhile, I told people on a need to know basis - people who were counting on me, people I work with very closely - and swore them to secrecy, which meant, of course, that maybe one clueless guy was surprised by the announcement, but everyone looked shocked, and protocol was observed.
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:27 PM on February 18, 2005

I would also wait for the manager to make an announcement, but maybe you could ask him or her what the proper etiquette is? Just an email saying you don't want to leave anyone in the lurch, but you're unsure about the protocol, so should you send an email around (or make an announcement, or tell people individually) or will the manager do so.
posted by occhiblu at 12:36 PM on February 18, 2005

By the way, I would advocate waiting because it's possible that your manager needs to inform higher-ups, and it's probably good form to make sure *they* know before it becomes office gossip.
posted by occhiblu at 12:37 PM on February 18, 2005

In the jobs that I've left, I co-ordinate any announcements with my manager. There are some people, notably teammates and close client contacts, that I want to tell personally before the big announcement is made.

Different approaches for different jobs, I guess. But talking it over with your manager is recommended.
posted by flipper at 1:20 PM on February 18, 2005

If the news comes from your manager people will think they let you go, if it comes from you they will think you decided to leave. I'd tell those that you care about.
posted by pwb503 at 3:45 PM on February 18, 2005

Etiquette? Why do you care? You're outta there!

Tell the people you like, the rest will hear by word of mouth.
posted by Doohickie at 8:15 PM on February 18, 2005

I guess retiring is a little different that changing jobs during one's career...but I had a co-worker who got up from her desk one Friday and never came back. We thought she was on vacation for a while, but after a week or so we asked our supervisor who told us 'oh, she retired.' She was intensely private and didn't want anyone to make a fuss.
posted by fixedgear at 3:00 AM on February 19, 2005