What to Know Before You Quit Without Notice - Algrim.co

What to Know Before You Quit Without Notice - Algrim.co Quitting a job on the spot is equivalent to quitting without notice. This is the act of leaving your position without giving a proper amount of time for your employer to find ample replacement for your duties. This isn’t the ideal way to leave a position due to the fact that this action leaves your employer without an employee to handle your previous responsibilities. Leaving without notice can have some consequences in your career. But it might not have as many consequences in the moment. Table of Contents Why You Would Leave Without Notice Is It Illegal To Leave Without Notice? Consequences To Leaving Without Notice Alternatives To Quitting Abruptly Why You Would Leave Without Notice Many employees leave without notice when they are feeling frustrated and upset with their management. This is the number one reason why employees leave without notice. In common circumstances, the employee has mentioned their frustration on many occurrences. And feels as though this is the last course of action. The most common reasons employees leave without notice are: High frustration with their work environment. Poor management and response to employee complaints. Poor management and their ability to train employees properly. Inability to be transparent to employees. Inability to respond to employee frustrations. Is It Illegal To Leave Without Notice? No. Unless you have an employment contract that states otherwise, you are employed “at-will”. This means that both yourself and the employer have the ability to terminate you at any given time. Because of this, it means that if you decide to leave without notice, you are simply leaving your employer in a poor position. And this is not illegal but can have certain consequences. Consequences To Leaving Without Notice There are a few consequences that you should think about before you decide to leave abruptly. The impact it could have on your career. If you’ve been employed at this company for longer than three months, it will leave a gap on your resume. And that will be difficult to explain to future employers. The impact this could have on your references. Clearly, this employer won’t be able to be a professional reference for you. They won’t be able to write you a letter of recommendation, either. The fact that you have to coordinate your last paycheck. In most circumstances, you’ll still have to communicate with either HR or the manager directly to receive your last paycheck. By law, they are required to give you your last paycheck. Unless there is some type of legal stipulation put into your employment agreement, this is required by law. The impact this could have on your colleagues. This is one people don’t often think about. Your colleagues, even the ones you appreciated, won’t take kindly to you leaving abruptly. And that could have an impact on your personal image, as well as your colleagues, being references for you in the future. You may have to coordinate closing or transferring any benefits. If you have any IRA accounts or 401K accounts that are managed on behalf of your HR department, this will be something you’ll have to coordinate. I wouldn’t expect your HR department to be the kindest to you when you decided to leave abruptly. By law, they will have to coordinate your benefits. Alternatives To Quitting Abruptly If you are feeling like you simply can’t handle the work environment any longer, there are a few alternatives to walking out immediately. You can decide to quit the job and leave on very short notice. This would provide your employer with a week's notice versus two. While this still leaves them in a tough position, it is more beneficial than walking out, today. Here are some alternatives to think about: Take a few vacation days. Maybe you are simply burned out from the work environment. Will a few vacation days help you? Is this something you can speak to another manager about? Is it a single employee who is bothering you? Is this something that can be fixed? If so, communicate about it. If you simply can’t stand being part of the work environment any longer, consider leaving on short notice (one week) versus providing your full two-weeks notice.