Give them more notice?

[robaday]

Hello,

 

I have been working for a humanitarian org for the last five years. I have performed well there and if I felt things could change I'd probably stay, but for a range of reasons they can't offer me the longer term development I need at my age.

 

l am going to take a career break and travel for an extended period. But I know that some huge projects are coming up during the period I hand my notice in and I am wondering if I should give them a longer notice to account for this? I am quitting and do not want to negotiate coming back "at a later date". I had intended to give them notice according to my contract, but I am worried that the workload during that period may cause them issues.

 

I still have a lot of respect for them, I simply have reached a point where I need to look after myself.

[MsJayne]

The fact that you're working in the humanitarian sector tells me you are a very decent human being. Give yourself a break, you cant be fully involved in helping other people if you're feeling distracted. Trust me on this, there will be many a humanitarian crisis you can work on when you feel rested and more enthused. Do something for yourself and don't feel you're letting the side down. There should be more people like you in the world.

[Tayla]

Give notice as stipulated in the contract.

 

Once you are relieved of the position, then you can review how it was wise to follow the contract.

 

I made the huge mistake of thinking my former employer cared...what a wake up call when they pulled the plug with not so much as a thank you for years of service. I did leave with my dignity intact. I thanked them and took the high road.

[rester]

Earlier in my career I thought it would be the right thing to do to give more notice than the typical two weeks. That idea has since been debunked by every employer I've worked for.

 

The first specifically stated that they don't want more than two weeks notice because if the employee has quit, they believe the employee has already mentally checked out and will not do a good job with their remaining work.

 

The next company I worked for pulled me off every project, gave me a few days to tie loose ends up, and had me leave after one week into my two weeks notice.

 

My current employer locks employees out of their computers and has security walk them out after only 2-3 days.

 

You could always offer more than a couple weeks but I wouldn't be surprised if they turned you down.

[Buddhist]

Once you've signalled that you are no longer interested in working for them, they just want you to vacate the position as soon as possible. Many employers even waive the notice period in favour of having you leave and pay you out. They actually don't want an employee who is going to leave working there because they know you have no vested interest in doing the work well.

[spideywoman]

my two main experiences have been quite different than those posted above. and i have just witnessed a third by a colleague / subordinate quitting. in all three instances, working for US companies in the US and outside of it, extra notice outside of what was stipulated in the contract and under labor laws was much appreciated.

 

the last time i quit was after 10 years at one company and like OP, i had several projects coming up and knew my absence would cause problems. because i had a good working relationship with everyone involved, and i wanted to do the "right thing," i gave them one month's notice as opposed to two weeks. i already had another job lined up so didn't really matter to me. and yes i had seen that company escort people out of the building the minute they quit and i half expected that to happen to me as well. it didn't. not only did they want me to stay on, they asked for my help in finding and training my replacement. at my farewell party i asked one of the company lawyers why i wasn't kicked out and he talked me through the whole legal / HR process. they escort people out who they think might be harmful to the company in one way or another. they deemed i wasn't.

 

the one that just happened with my colleague _ she gave almost eight weeks notice. being her manager i, too, thought this chick is just going to check out so she should just leave now. she was a pretty ditzy person to begin with but still hardworking. you know what? she totally surprised me. she kept on working until the very last day and didn't slack off. so as a manager i greatly appreciated the advanced notice because it gave me time to put all my ducks in a row including setting up a freelance contract for the person i want to hire in her place.

 

as for you not wanting a job with them in the near future, sure, that might be the case now. i wasn't interested in going back to my previous company either but i did sow the seeds of respect when i did what i did because if i want a job there now, they would bend over backwards to help me. and plus, not everybody stays where they are _ many people will move on to other jobs, too, and if they remember you rather fondly, that's a bonus.

 

all of this being said the concept of company loyalty is not what it used to be in my dad's generation. you don't have to do anything other than what's stipulated in your contract and if you do, no one will fault you for it. but if you feel it will be appreciated and don't have anything to lose, i don't see why you shouldn't give them more notice.

 

good luck.

[GemmaUK]

You have to make this your choice yourself and not with the projects input so you would be wise to not open up the offer of more of your time until maybe a week or two nearer to your end date.

 

Literally give it some time - see how the land is lying with the projects coming up.

If your heart is in the place where one more push from you could make something happen and you would feel good about that - then yeah - I think I would extend and I have extended my notice a few times in the past - but I have also extended my probationary period and chosen not to become permanent when they wanted me to so that I could leave in a week - and I did leave.

 

You do humanitarian work - beware of caring too much so that it could put your own sanity and future on the rails.

The other hand too is if you really feel you would like to kick off the projects and would in yourself feel better for doing so - then do it.

 

Don't make anything known - you have to decide for you. You is most important here. If we are not right/healthy/happy we can't help as much as we would like nor as much as we think we ate doing.

You can do your best but sometimes your best is getting up, dragging the duvet downstairs and watching tv. That is OK too if that is the best you can do. (I will be doing some of that this weekend - am proper poorly!). Your best comes in many different levels but the constant is to look after you.

[robaday]

I have had some great feedback thank you so much appreciate it!! All feedback has been considered. I will stick to my contract which is a month - I want the money and can at least start the project and hand over.

 

I have given a lot of myself to the job and have produced my best work there so I have a lot to be grateful to them for. However, I have become cynical and am regularly frustrated so I know it's time to move on to something where I can get that hunger back again.

 

it is a big project, a huge one, but there will always be big projects and I have procrastinated too long hoping things would change

 

Thanks again!

[michaelm700]

Diddo, your empathy is admirable. But it really is best for everyone to just give the standard time expected. They will survive.