Have You Earned A Two Weeks’ Notice?

There has been a lot of conversation amongst HR professionals, business leaders, employees, and others about at-will employment, specifically, the expectation of two weeks’ notice.

An employer may end someone’s employment immediately, sometimes without any advance notice. Yet that same employer may have a policy stating that employees who resign without providing two weeks’ notice will be considered ineligible for rehire.

Sounds familiar?

Is it fair? Is it right? And perhaps the bigger question: Have you created a workplace culture that has earned an employee giving you two weeks’ notice?

Giving reasonable notice before leaving a job is generally considered a professional courtesy. It gives an employer time to plan, transfer responsibilities, communicate changes, and begin figuring out what comes next.

But here’s the question employers sometimes forget to ask: What has this employee’s experience been like that would make them want to help you through the transition?

We cannot talk about the courtesy employees should extend when leaving without also talking about the employment relationship they experienced while they were there.

Was the employee treated with respect?

Were concerns addressed when they raised them?

Did their manager communicate effectively?

Did they feel valued?

Was the workplace so difficult that by the time they decided to leave, their only goal was to get out?

Those things matter.

What happens when employees actually give notice?

There is another question worth asking: How does your organization handle employees who give notice?

If your practice is to immediately walk employees out the door once they resign, why are you surprised when employees decide not to give you advance notice?

Make it make sense.

You cannot create a culture where employees fear that giving two weeks’ notice could potentially mean losing two weeks of income and then complain when they protect themselves by waiting until their last day to resign.

Of course, there are circumstances when an organization may have legitimate business, security, safety, confidentiality, or employee-relations reasons for ending active employment or access immediately after a resignation. That is different from treating every resignation as though the employee has suddenly become a threat simply because they decided to leave.

Consistency matters. So does reciprocity.

In an at-will employment relationship, either the employer or the employee can generally end the employment relationship at any time, subject to applicable law and any contractual obligations.

Yet some organizations operate as though two weeks’ notice is an obligation when it comes from the employee, even though the organization may provide no notice when it makes the decision to end the relationship.

That disconnect deserves some attention. And please understand that this is not an argument against giving notice.

Leaving professionally matters. Relationships matter. Reputations matter.
When circumstances allow, providing reasonable notice and supporting a smooth transition can absolutely be the right thing to do.

But employers should also consider the environment they are creating.

If you want employees to leave with professionalism, consider whether they experienced professionalism while they were there.

If you want them to care about the transition, consider whether you gave them a workplace worth caring about.

If you want advance notice, make sure employees have seen that giving notice will not automatically work against them.

And if employees repeatedly leave without notice, resist the temptation to immediately label them unprofessional.

Look for the pattern. One unexpected resignation may be about the employee. A pattern of employees leaving abruptly may be telling you something about the organization. Because the resignation is often the last chapter of the employee experience, not a completely separate story.

Have you earned it?

So, employer, have you earned a two weeks’ notice? This is the question you should ask yourself.

Not whether an employee owes you two weeks.
Not whether your handbook says they should give you two weeks.
Not whether failing to provide it automatically makes them ineligible for rehire.

BUT whether the employment experience you created has earned that professional courtesy.

So before asking: “Why didn’t they give us two weeks?” Consider asking: “What about their experience made leaving immediately feel like the better option?” The answer may tell you far more about your workplace than the resignation letter ever will.

Because how employees leave is often connected to how they were treated while they were there and what they watched happen to others. If you want employees to leave well, creating a workplace where they are treated well along the way matters.

Two weeks’ notice may be a professional courtesy, but professionalism should not be a one-way expectation. The way an employment relationship ends can say just as much about the employer as it does about the employee.

The FINE Print

You can expect professionalism from employees. Just make sure the organization is prepared to demonstrate it, too.

Until next time,

Lead with intention. Operate in excellence. And always stay FINE!

Your favorite Chief HR Concierge!