Category: Work

 Photo of a beautiful spot in Ukraine by Maksym Tymchyk on Unsplash

Zero day notice. Same day notice. Resigning and walking. Notifying your boss that you quit on the day you quit.

I’ve given zero-day notice 3 times. This blog is about why I found it to be the right choice those 3 times. I’ve been told I write long articles too (yes, I know!) so I’ll keep this moving along.

Time #1

I was working for an institution that was famous for quick & sudden firings, Western Governors University. On June 2, 2010, they fired 14 employees, one every 15 minutes, between 9 – 12:30. No severance. Their famous line was “Your position has been eliminated.” 

WGU was fire happy like this

The institution was an At-Will institution in an At-Will State. I define that as employment can be terminated for any reason without notice.

The At-Will clause applies to both the employer and the employee. Notice that? The employee is employed at the employee’s will. Folks often miss that.

I was being retaliated against for being a whistleblower. I was in a horse race; they would fire me or I would quit. I was not sure which would happen first.

I consulted with two Human Resource experts over my zero-day plans. Both of them advised that given the institution’s reputation for firing and the at-will status, it would be acceptable to give zero-day notice in this instance. One even said that I’d be a champion for those that were previously fired because they might have wished to walk out on their own terms.

I calculated my departure day ~3 months in advance. 

The unanswered instant message

The day arrived. At 9 in the morning, I sent my boss an instant message. “Hey, it’s important that I meet with you today. Can we find some time?”

No response. 9-10 goes by. 10-11 goes by. 

This is just like her. Ignoring me was her management style. 

Her schedule showed a “Leadership” meeting from 11 – 1 (ironic! 😂). I wait and continue to complete my work.

By 12:54 I really cannot wait much longer. I intend to give verbal notice but I can’t get to her to deliver it.

So I click send on an email written to her and Human Resources simultaneously. 

Three minutes goes by.

Then my instant messenger goes off. “Oh Heather!”

My boss begs for a phone meeting. I put her off until 3:30 p.m. Guess who’s too busy now? 😏 

I communicated the status of my projects by email. Because this institution runs on the Amazon 1:8 leadership model, I had 8 or less direct reports and I did not have much on my plate.

Once our phone call happened, it was a stilted meeting. I can feel that she wants me to state an reason for leaving suddenly (i.e. “I’ve been diagnosed with cancer, so I’m starting the treatments tomorrow”). That might absolve her of her guilt.

But I don’t give her a reason. I know I don’t have to. My employment was at my will.

I shut down the work laptop for last time at 6 p.m. 

I never looked back.