Transcript


00:12
Hello, everybody. Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of Work Mom Says “Don't Be An Idiot!” I'm Lori Jo Vest, and today I want to talk about giving notice from an employer. When it's time to go, you have made your decision, and you're giving notice. Do you always have to give a two week notice? No. 


Depending on where you're employed, how your employer treats you, if they are a very professionally run organization, a two week notice is totally appropriate and I would actually recommend it in those situations. If you like your job, but you were simply leaving to look for the opportunity to get a promotion or more money or maybe you were moving. In those situations where you don't want to burn a bridge, a two week notice is a really good thing.


When you give a two week notice, you get to take those two weeks and make it easier for your employer to fill the position with the next person. I've actually offered—depending on, you know, what size the company is and where you fit in that corporate structure—I've actually offered to find my replacement and I've done that at several places because that really does put you in a good place with the employer.


I mean, it shows that you still care, that you are highly professional and that you don't want to leave them in a lurch. Right? That's really, really appropriate. So yes, when you are leaving an employer that's been good to you or even just moderately okay, go ahead, make that a two week notice. Prepare the next person for the position, finish up your projects, do a really good job wrapping it up.


02:10
Here's why. A two week notice can be really helpful. I'm going to tell you a story here, true story. I was working in a creative department of an advertising agency, writing social media copy and blog articles and email copy, things like that. And I was a worker bee and I really enjoyed it because I was, you know, in my late 40s in the creative department of an advertising agency and I just had a blast. Creative departments are typically a little more raucous than other departments in the agency. They're a lot more fun and you have creative minds, so the antics can be absolutely hilarious. 


But I was kind of tired of being a worker bee and I wanted to move into more of a, you know, higher level of responsibility, make a little bit more money. And so I went out and I found this really, what seemed to be a really cool little digital shop that might be a good place for me to land. So I actually reached out on LinkedIn to the owner and we had lunch, and then I think we may have had another meeting at the office. And before you know it, I was hired there to work. And the owner was incredibly charming. He was about maybe a few years younger than me, maybe in his 50s, and very stylish and charming and funny and handsome and I mean, his clothes always dressed to the nines and just really had it together. So it looked.


03:38
But as I continued to work there, I experienced some really, really strange behavior from his team. I found out that he was actually- that about 10 years earlier, he had broken up his marriage publicly with a new creative director he had hired. So he hired a woman, broke up his marriage to be with her, and kept her as his head of creative at the agency.


So my first day on the job, she told me, hey, by the way, I'm in a relationship with the owner. And I just immediately knew that was probably not a good sign. When you have got the owner of the company in a relationship with someone on the staff, unless you're talking about a company that maybe the founders were married, that kind of thing, that's typically okay because it's a family business. Those can be really good to work for. They can also be really horrible to work for. But this was a, you know, gentleman that owned the company and he hired a woman and then started having an affair with her, publicly broke up his marriage and started a new relationship with his VP of creative. Okay so I find that out on the first day and I'm disappointed because I know that really points to a lack of boundaries with the leadership team and can be an indicator of trouble. 


05:05
Well, then he asked me to do his social media and we had a couple of meetings and I started taking some stabs at what I thought might be appropriate. And his first piece of criticism he began with, if I was the client and you were the agency, I would fire you. Whoa. Okay. Well, that's a really good way to start a feedback session with an employee that's been with you for about three weeks. It was horrible. And then, you know, more weeks go by and I'm noticing more crazy things happening, and there's a lot of drinking in the office and there's just a lot of drama and it was crazy. 


So what really got me was the day that he came up to my desk. I had a young woman on my team that was in her 20s and she was a social media strategist. Beautiful young woman, just gorgeous. Married, two little kids. And what I knew was she was married and had two little kids and there was no talk of her getting a divorce or being separated, none of that. And this owner of the company comes up to my desk and he rubs his hands together and says, she—and he points to my young team member—likes older men and just gives me this really creepy look and walks away. And I am shocked because… What? Why are you telling me that somebody on my team that works for me is a potential target for your inappropriate sexual behavior in the office? He was in relationship with the VP of Creative. What are we doing here? 


There were a lot of other things that happened. And I literally told my husband one day, oh my God, I'm not going to make it. I can't work here. This is so stressful. I was just, you know, talk about Sunday scaries. I had the Sunday horror show. I mean, I would just get so anxious, you know, starting Sunday morning that I would have to go back. And I came home one day and told my husband, you know, I just, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I got to get out of there. And it had only been about nine months. 


07:25
Well, since I had given a really great two week notice and had done all I could at the other agency, they called me. My husband had actually suggested, you should call them and see if they'll take you back. And I was like, oh no, they're not going to. They've already hired somebody. And I knew that, and they don't need me. And you know, that's not going to work. And the very next day my phone rang and it was that agency saying, hey, can you come back? The person we hired didn't work out. We'd love to have you back in the role. What do you need and when can you show up? How long do you need to give notice? And I said I don't need to give notice, not in this crazy place. Nope. 


And so I went in on a Sunday night and I, you know, left notes on some of my co workers desks and I sent—got home, you know, got all my belongings, got home that Monday morning, left my key on my desk and everything, wrapped it all up, got home—sent an email to the CEO and just said I'm done. And you know, it's been a very difficult time and I do not fit in your culture, so thank you, bye. And you know, I was polite but honestly with the type of behavior and the type of people that worked there, I wasn't worried about, you know, references. I was never going to use them as a reference. They don't show up on my resume, my LinkedIn, nowhere. Nobody knows I've worked there. Unless you dig pretty far back into my history, somewhere on the Internet you may find it, but I just- it wasn't appropriate. 


09:02
So when we say you should give two weeks, you should always give an appropriate two week notice and behave to the highest levels of professionalism. If you would ever want to go back to that employer in any capacity, absolutely you should. And if you're working in a place that's kind of a toxic shit show and the owner may be using the staff as his dating pool or you know, you've got drinking all day long or you've got sexism or racism or inappropriate behavior, don't worry about two weeks because in a lot of cases people that support that kind of behavior at the office will make those last two weeks a living hell for you. I've seen it happen and you don't want that. So when you're in a toxic relationship… bye! Work through the day and head out. Otherwise give a nice two weeks notice.


I hope this was helpful. So that's all I've got for you for this episode. Short and sweet. My name again is Lori Jo Vest. If you are watching this on YouTube, please hit the subscribe button. I would love to have you on my list and give me a like and maybe a comment. That would be awesome. I'm really trying to get my YouTube presence up and get some great content out there. Or you can also visit my website at workmomsays.com where I have a contact form and I am also an open networker on LinkedIn, so reach out to me there if you have any ideas for guests I should have on topics I should cover. I would absolutely love to hear from you. So that's what I've got for you. I'll see you again soon.