<rant>
We had an employee quit today. He wasn’t my employee, but instead a co worker and member of the IT “team”. He emailed his letter of resignation and informed the company tomorrow would be his last day. Seeing that he was joining a consulting firm, he would make himself available at an hourly rate of $125 per hour.
Nice, huh?
A 2 week resignation window is a courtesy. It’s not a courtesy to the company, the company moves on regardless. The courtesy is to your co-workers, the ones who pick up the pieces, the ones who are trying to meet deadlines and expectations and push forward and stand tall. The ones who spend not just 5 days a week, but often parts of nights and weekends monitoring and assisting and helping with operational support rather than doing the things we would much rather do, such as spend time with our families or read or watch TV or sleep.
This courtesy extends to your team, your brethren, those who you know are impacted by your absence. Would you just take a vacation without telling anyone? Of course not. Would you refuse to answer an emergency call or email while absent? You *could* – especially given the reason for your absence – but isn’t that part of being a *professional*?
My daughter took a trip to the emergency room a week ago today. I surveyed the issues with her, realized she most likely would be OK, told my wife I would be there as soon as I could be, and finished up my tasks for the day knowing I wouldn’t be available for a few hours. Am I a bad parent for doing this.. especially in the name of trying to be a good employee? Who knows.. perhaps I am. When we sign up for our jobs, *this* is what we sign up for. The days of 9-5 are over, but that’s not a bad thing, is it? Isn’t the fact that we had an opportunity to have an education, an occupation, a career, and a retirement what our fore-fathers worked so hard for? In full disclosure, my boss told me point blank to “go!” when he heard about my daughter, but can’t we instead take the appropriate time, prioritize, and take care of our responsibilities in an organized fashion? Maybe my outlook will change in 20 years, but today.. that’s how I feel.
That’s a lie, that’s not ONLY how I feel. I feel angry, dishonored, stressed, and embarrassed to know that this person was considered part of the “team” all these years. I’m so angry I wanted to.. to.. to WRITE something! (I wonder if this is how Kevin Bacon felt in footloose?)
It’s just so disheartening when a co worker walks out on you. It’s just so selfish. You put in so much time, and sacrifice, and slave, and others just take it for granted.
So this is my angry note to the world. Those who are professional get it. Those who want a legacy, and want to earn respect.. you don’t need to read this, you already know the answers. For the rest of you, just grow up.
</rant>
