{"id":174,"date":"2022-03-04T16:46:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T16:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=174"},"modified":"2026-06-29T13:44:06","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T13:44:06","slug":"ive-quit-with-zero-day-notice-3-times-now-sorry-not-sorry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cogitateandpercolate.com\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"I’ve Quit With Zero-Day Notice 3 Times Now. Sorry, Not Sorry."},"content":{"rendered":"

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 Photo of a beautiful spot in Ukraine by Maksym Tymchyk<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

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Zero day notice. Same day notice. Resigning and walking. Notifying your boss that you quit on the day you quit<\/b><\/u>.<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve given zero-day notice 3 times. This blog is about why<\/i> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time #1<\/span><\/h3>\n

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.” <\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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WGU was fire happy like this<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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<\/u>. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The At-Will clause applies to both the employer and the employee.<\/b> Notice that? The employee is employed at the employee’s will.<\/b> Folks often miss that.<\/b><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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I was being retaliated against for being a whistleblower<\/a>. I was in a horse race; they would fire me or I would quit. I was not sure which would happen first.
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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.<\/span><\/p>\n

I calculated my departure day ~3 months in advance. 
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The unanswered instant message<\/span><\/h3>\n


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?”<\/span><\/p>\n

No response. 9-10 goes by. 10-11 goes by. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is just like her. Ignoring me was her management style. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her schedule showed a “Leadership” meeting from 11 – 1 (ironic! \ud83d\ude02). I wait and continue to complete my work. <\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n

So I click send on an email written to her and Human Resources simultaneously. <\/span><\/p>\n

Three minutes goes by.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then my instant messenger goes off. “Oh Heather!” <\/span><\/p>\n

My boss begs for a phone meeting. I put her off until 3:30 p.m. Guess who’s too busy now? \ud83d\ude0f <\/span><\/p>\n


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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. <\/p>\n

Once our phone call happened, it was a stilted meeting. I can feel that she wants<\/i> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

But I don’t give her a reason. I know I don’t have to. My employment was at my will. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

I shut down the work laptop for last time at 6 p.m. <\/span><\/p>\n

I never looked back.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Time #2<\/span><\/h3>\n

This time I was a volunteer. The stakes are lower. Still, I had volunteered for 7 years. There were valid reasons stacking up to quit.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, I was never comfortable that, as an exercise class instructor, certain men came to class, sat down, and ogled me. <\/span><\/p>\n

Second, I was going to have to leave eventually because I neither afford in time or money to stay.<\/span><\/p>\n

My comfort with this decision is that the class is very Eastern in philosophy –meaning that there is comfort in disconnecting visible cause and effect– and the classmates themselves pulled away from me quickly. I think that they reasoned that there is something alternate in my journey that they can’t quite understand but they also cannot follow. A different path through the woods. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Time #3<\/span><\/h3>\n

This time I was also a volunteer at the Immersive Learning Research Network, iLRN. I had entered on verbal agreement to start the job. Then, there came great turmoil. I was being bullied, harassed, and there was financial incompetence that I could not accept.<\/span><\/p>\n

I had worked full time for 8 months. Like Time #1, since the conditions were so bleak, I knew my departure was coming. I had time to prepare. I finished a huge project and the next day, I submitted my resignation and asked for references simultaneously. I felt I was justified to walk out immediately.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some leadership did not take well to my departure. I was asked for “a list of any ongoing professional relationships you have for ___ related work” including contact information and current status of the relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Particularly since women are known for collaborative work relationships, I saw that request as hurtful. With absolutely no signed agreement between me and this institution, I cannot see how the request was anything except an attempt to reach out to any of the “relationships” to negatively impact my reputation<\/i><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

I didn’t answer that email.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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How did these turn out?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Time #1, planning for 3 months to quit while simultaneously shaking in fear everyday is not something that I ever want to experience again. I recently went back and reread some of the last things my boss wrote to me. They were hurtful words too. Every day I was there, they were digitally holding me down.<\/span><\/p>\n

In hindsight, I’m really proud that I walked. Instead of seeing myself get kicked, I saw myself get up and walk out the door. They literally delivered my “warning” on camera. Instead of seeing it as humiliation, which was, I think, their goal, instead I saw me looking at me<\/b>, saying “Well, this is the day.”  (Reference: Graham announcing his retirement in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel<\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is the day.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

For a time before<\/i> I left, I agonized that I would no longer be able to protect my team.\ud83d\ude22 But that feeling didn’t last long. As my last day of work ended, my own team started to spread false rumors about me. When the people whose jobs I had fought to protect turned on me<\/b>, it became easier to keep walking away from them<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Time #2 I’ve made peace with and I’m very happy being on the outside.
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Time #3 The quality of my work speaks for itself; I have been approached for more work by folks that recognized that. I now see a stream of folks that become disillusioned with iLRN and eventually leave. Our dedication to immersive learning doesn’t stop. <\/span><\/p>\n

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How does one get a reference in these situations?<\/span><\/h3>\n

First, be a good worker!<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, there comes a time to start to decide between who can<\/i> versus who you want <\/i>to give you a reference. It’s a decision that requires some thought. Be prepared to be completely honest with your reference as to why you left. They can back up your story when they talk about you. <\/span><\/p>\n

The institution in Time #1 had a policy that no currently employed<\/b> person could give a reference on any formerly employed<\/b> person. (#ThatPolicySucks) <\/p>\n

But that means formerly employed persons can give references to other<\/i> formerly employed persons all they want!<\/i> Since I had been with them so long, it’s easy to find another former employee that can vouch for my quality. <\/span><\/p>\n

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Other Reasons<\/span><\/h3>\n

I’d like to acknowledge here that I’ve had the privilege<\/u> to walk. I know that. <\/span><\/p>\n

But there are stronger and better reasons to leave. <\/span><\/p>\n