It's not about you: How to quit and stay friends

Alexandra Savina

Anyone who has ever experienced dismissalknows that this is a painful process that can be compared with parting with a partner. You can resign differently: the authors of the Harvard Business Review, for example, identified seven dismissal styles - from the widespread “according to all the rules” (the employee speaks about everything in advance, clearly identifying the reason) and “grateful” (the employee helps the company to cope with the transition period) to “impulsive” (the employee simply doesn’t come to the office once) and “burning bridges” (in addition, the person tries to annoy the organization).

There are a lot of examples of high-profile layoffs: a few years ago, Goldman Sachs manager published a column in the New York Times “Why I’m leaving Goldman Sachs,” where he criticized the bank and the culture that had developed in the company. But it is not always worthwhile to burn bridges - you may need recommendations from your previous duty station, or you may even have to work with old colleagues, for example, in another company. We tell how to make such a separation as comfortable as possible for both parties.

Notify in advance

According to the Labor Code, when dismissing at will, an employee must notify the employer of this no later than two weeks. True, there are exceptions - for example, during the probationary period, the gap is reduced to three days, and if the manager leaves, he, on the contrary, increases to one month. The law does not oblige to be in the workplace all the days after the dismissal (for example, you can go on vacation), but this is not just a formality: it takes time for a company to find a replacement, and for an employee to transfer cases.

To get even with the tails, different people need different times. For example, Laszlo Bock, the former head of the HR department at Google, announced his intention to leave the company in July, but he worked there until the end of the year so that the transition period would be as calm as possible. Of course, this is an exception to the rule, but it’s still worth giving the company time to look for a replacement and put in order the working affairs. The higher your position and the more workflows are tied to you, the greater this gap should be. However, warning about your retirement in advance, you need to prepare for difficulties: colleagues who will soon become former may be difficult with you - because you are no longer part of the company.

It is worth thinking about whether the dismissal will interfere with the internal processes of the company - for example, if there is an important project ahead of you, which largely depends on you. Although, of course, there is no “ideal” time for dismissal.

Make it in person

No matter how great the temptation is, it is always better to inform about your dismissal personally, and first of all to the immediate supervisor, in order to show yourself to be a polite employee. Better that than if she or he finds out about your plans from someone from colleagues with whom you secretly shared your plans. It’s better to first discuss how to announce your decision to the other colleagues with the employer - perhaps he will consider that it will be better for the team if it doesn’t know about the changes for a while.

Complete the case

This is obvious, but still: do not force your colleagues to independently understand your unfinished business - you yourself would hardly like it too. Try to complete all the tasks you are working on, even if the last two weeks in the old place you absolutely do not want to do anything and mentally you are already holding a new position.

If it is physically impossible to finish the work in such a short time (as most often happens), leave detailed instructions for each of the tasks that will be easy for your colleagues to understand. You can also write a memo with frequently asked questions for who will replace you, or invite colleagues to contact you during the transition period.

Prepare yourself a replacement

One of the most difficult tasks that will arise in front of your manager is to find an adequate replacement for you and introduce a new employee. If you are worried about who will continue the work you started and how, in such a situation, you can offer help — for example, to say which of the company's employees or other candidates you know you think could cope well with your responsibilities or if necessary, take part in interviews.

The head probably does not know all the nuances of your work - so you can help him in this situation. If you already know to whom your duties will be transferred, try to maximize the employee’s knowledge - this will make the dismissal as painless as possible for the company (unless, of course, you follow the “burn bridges” scenario).

Thank colleagues

In many companies, it is customary to declare your dismissal with a farewell letter - this is a convenient, but perhaps impersonal approach. A polite gesture is to thank those who helped you in their work and thanks to whom you gained valuable experience, in a separate letter or in person. “Even in the worst situations, there’s something you like and colleagues that you enjoy working with,” says Daniel Gulati, author of the book “Passion and Purpose Young Business Leaders”. In addition, it is useful to exchange contacts for parting, especially if you continue to work in one area: you never know when you need advice or recommendation from a colleague.

Stay polite

Even if you hate your current job and are happy to finally say goodbye to your boss and colleagues, do not rush to dance a victory dance in the workplace. Other employees remain to work at their previous positions and, quite possibly, they themselves would like to be in your place, but they still do not have such an opportunity. “Your colleagues will surely be happy for you, but you shouldn’t make them feel bad because of the current job,” said Lisa Sugar, founder and president of Popsugar, Inc. “And vice versa: you shouldn’t throw mud at the company where you currently work - most likely, it will reach your manager and will have a bad effect on you first. Even if you hate your job, your boss and everything connected with them, remain polite and don’t ruin everything after yourself. "

Daniel Gulati believes that in difficult situations - for example, if a manager took your dismissal to heart, gets angry or accuses you of treason - you need to evaluate the possible consequences of actions: "It’s unproductive to waste time and energy to change his mind about you" .

Be consistent

All the secret sooner or later becomes clear - especially in a closed office space. You should not come up with different reasons for your dismissal for different people - for example, the “official” for a manager and real for close colleagues: it’s better to consistently stick to one version. "Learn the main lesson of all politicians: there is only one story told in a certain way - stick to it," says Len Schlesinger, a professor at the Harvard Business School. "Then no one can say that he heard something else."

Be ready to talk about the reasons for dismissal, but respond as tactfully and politely as possible - this is a good opportunity to give the manager constructive feedback. Lying and hiding for a long time where you go is also not too effective: sooner or later, colleagues will still know about your future plans and it is in your power to delay this moment.

Separate yours and others

We think that you already understand which data in your hands belongs to you and which data is the property of the employer. It is useful to copy all personal files and information in advance - especially if your company does not have to work for two weeks and you may be asked to vacate the workplace on the same day when you file a letter of resignation.

Financial data, lists of clients and partners, and other information that may be of interest to competitors belong to the company - we think it is not worth explaining why it is impossible to send this information from working to personal mail in the last week before leaving (this is not only unethical, but also be fraught with problems with the law). IBS CEO Sergey Matsotsky notes that employees often consider the information they collected and the list of clients they brought as their personal property — but they forget that in part they managed to do so thanks to the collaboration with the brand.

Work at the same pace

After you have submitted your letter of resignation, it is most difficult to retain motivation and continue to work as before - especially if you already mentally imagine how you are starting new duties. But no matter how tempting it is to come to work later or dine for an hour and a half, try to work at the same level if possible. You have already given this company a lot of time - and you probably don’t want the remaining two weeks to eliminate this impression.