Table of Contents
- Disappear Without Telling Your Boss
- Damage Property
- Steal Data
- Yell at Your Boss
- Create a Viral Video About Why You’re Quitting
- Rant About Your Former Employer on Social Media
- Try to Convince Other People to Quit With You
Quittinga job is usually simple. You tell your boss you’re going to leave, you fill outsome paperwork, and you turn in your employee ID. It’s hard to make a mistakewith those basic steps. Where people sometimes mess up is in deviating fromthat script.
Whateveryou do when you quit a job, don’t:
1. Disappear Without Telling Your Boss
Yourcompany might specify the amount of notice you should give before quitting. Ifit doesn’t, it’s standard to give your boss two weeks to find a replacement foryou. But most importantly, make sure you tell your employer you’re no longergoing to work for them. Don’t just stop showing up for work. Failing tocommunicate your intention to quit is highly unprofessional, and it’s upsettingto your boss and coworkers, who won’t know why you’re not at work and may fearyou’re in trouble.
2. Damage Property
Temperscan run high when you quit a job, especially if tension has been simmering atwork for a while. Some people try to take out their anger at their formeremployer by tampering with their work computer, spray painting a wall, orotherwise vandalizing the office they’re quitting. Absolutely do not do this!Damaging work property is no joke and can get you into very serious legal trouble.Find a healthy way to release steam, like going jogging or venting to a friend.
3. Steal Data
Justas you shouldn’t damage physical property, don’t harm your former employer bystealing trade secrets, leaking guest information online, or downloading internalpublications you shouldn’t have access to once you quit. You can face severelegal consequences for these actions, not to mention that they’re extremelyunethical.
4. Yell at Your Boss
Quitting doesn’t mean you get to be disrespectful to your boss. Don’t curse out your boss or throw a tantrum when you quit. Don’t say why your boss is the worst person to work for. That’s not appropriate business behavior, and it can have far-reaching consequences for your career. Your boss (or some of his or her close colleagues) might work for another company someday and might be in a position to hire you or offer you a promotion. Don’t burn any bridges.
5. Create a Viral Video About Why You’re Quitting
MarinaShifrin gother 15 minutes of fame when she quit her job through a video. In the clip,she dances at her former workplace and notes some things she didn’t like abouther former employer. Viral videos like Shifrin’s are entertaining, but youshouldn’t try to emulate this strategy. Employers will probably be reluctant tohire you after this kind of stunt because they’ll suspect you might embarrassthem online or otherwise bring unwanted drama. Plus, once you put a video likethis out on the Internet, there’s no stopping it. It’s almost impossible toremove a video that’s been re-posted on hundreds of sites, no matter how muchyou regret it.
Writing a long social media post about your former employer’s shortcomings might seem safer than filming a video—but it’s not really. Anyone could copy and paste your thoughts anywhere online, and someone could forward a screenshot of your post to your old boss. Adjusting the privacy settings only affects who sees your original post, not what they do with it or who they show it to. To be on the safe side, don’t publish negative comments about your former employer on social media.
7. Try to Convince Other People to Quit With You
Yourformer employer won’t appreciate it if you try to get other people to quit. It’sfine to tell former coworkers that you like your new job, but don’t attempt topersuade others to join you. Just focus on moving forward in your career, andlet bygones be bygones at your previous workplace.
