Many employees have faced a situation where they just can’t stand their job any longer. Whether it’s because of tension between their boss or co-workers, feeling undervalued or simply being burned out, some people are inclined to go ahead and quit without giving proper notice. While it may seem tempting to say “I quit!” and storm out in a blaze of glory, this is never a good approach when resigning from a position – and here are some reasons why.
You Don’t Want to Burn Bridges
You never know when you may encounter an employer, a co-worker or one of their contacts in the future. You also never know if you might need their help or a favor again. By severing ties in an unsavory manner like quitting without notice, you’re not going to do yourself any favors later on down the road, and there’s always a chance that it may come back to haunt you.
And with there being a significant amount of churn within many industries, you could end up running into the same people again when applying for another job. The bottom line is that you’re creating unnecessary obstacles for yourself in the long run if you quit without notice.
It Can Hurt Future Opportunities
Another side effect is that you’ll never be able to put down that employer as a reference when searching for future jobs. Even if you were an excellent employee and had great rapport with everyone, you’re basically throwing away a perfectly good reference by quitting without notice. And because referrals are the number one way to get hired, this can ruin future job chances.
It Can Damage Your Reputation
These days, word gets around like never before. With social media and streamlined communication, one bad decision can give you a bad name that lingers around indefinitely. In turn, you can gain a reputation for being flaky or unreliable and not someone that other companies are going to want to hire.
It Adversely Affects Your Co-workers
Although you may think that your employer is the only one who is being impacted by quitting without notice, the truth is that you’re often affecting many people including your co-workers. By not giving your employer adequate time to find a replacement, you can definitely put them in a bind where they’re short-staffed. In turn, your co-workers may end up being put in stressful situations as they are forced to pick up the slack, which is likely to create resentment.
To put it simply – it’s definitely not OK to quit without giving notice. It’s an irresponsible way to handle the situation and can lead to a host of negative consequences. For that reason, you should always give proper notice, which is usually two weeks.
If you’re looking for more career advice and job search tips, check out our blog for some great insights.
