Woman Explains Why She Doesn't Believe In Giving Employers Two-Weeks' Notice When Quitting A Job — ‘I’ll Give You The Same Immediate Notice You Would Give Me’
Give them the same respect they give you.
@jasminemm / TikTok It used to be that it was common courtesy for a worker to give their employer at least two weeks’ notice when they decided to leave, but with workers deciding they would do the bare minimum on their way out, many companies have adopted the practice of terminating the employee immediately upon receiving notice.
The change has largely been a result of the growing distrust between workers and employers, who fear that allowing an outgoing and potentially angry employee access to confidential and proprietary data is too risky.
This leaves workers between a rock and a hard place because they are expected to give notice but might forfeit two weeks of pay while doing so. That is the exact reason a woman named D’Shonda who appeared on the ‘Women of Tmro (WOT)’ podcast said she didn’t believe in giving a job two weeks' notice.
In the TikTok video uploaded by podcast host Jasmine Milan, D’Shonda said, 'I don’t believe in the whole two-week notice thing.'
She asked the hypothetical question of why a person leaving a job was required to give the employer a heads up, but the employer doesn’t extend the same courtesy. “If you were going to fire me or lay me off, you would let me know that same day,” explained D’Shonda.
From there, she explained that she would give an employer the same level of respect that they gave her and detailed the lack of loyalty that organizations have for employees that they let go without warning.
D’Shonda went on to say that if companies expected two weeks’ notice from outgoing employees, they should be willing to pay people they are letting go for another month. She cited "children, elderly parents or grandparents, disabilities, families, and housing insecurity as some of the reasons that firing someone without notice can be detrimental."
She closed by saying that she wanted to feel the same respect and loyalty from a brand that they want her to give them, saying in no uncertain terms, “And if not, y’all are going to get the same immediate notice that you would give me.”
Podcast host, Milan, reiterated the message, saying that she hoped it would reach every human resource (HR) office across the globe and inspire them to give employees the same considerations and courtesies that employers would like.
The employee-employer relationship has always been lopsided.
One would think that businesses and the people who work in them would be on equal footing since they need one another, but more often than not, that is not the case. Employees are exploited and go unpaid for work they do subject to termination for simply taking planned days off.
Until companies and workers can come to a place of mutual respect and implement policies that protect both the business and the employee, the distrust and disdain between them will grow and flourish.
It is understandable for an organization to request time to fill the void in their workforce when an employee leaves, but they should also understand that people are just important. They should be afforded the same two weeks to get their lives in order when a job decides to fire them.
NyRee Ausler is a writer and author from Seattle, Washington. She covers issues navigating the workplace using the experience garnered over two decades of working in Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.