Resigning from a job may not always be easy, but most of the time the difficulties do not involve the actual leaving. We put in our two weeks’ notice and that’s that — unless we’re asked to leave on the spot, of course.
But for one worker on Reddit, they had the exact opposite problem, and given the nature of their job, it’s left them wondering what they should do about it.
The worker asked for advice after their boss didn’t accept their resignation and simply said ‘I’ll get back to you on that.’
Typically when a boss doesn’t accept a resignation, it’s because they’re desperate to keep a good worker or counting on them for a big project — or, oftentimes, because they’re a bad boss who’s trying to backpedal after facing their comeuppance.
But in this case, the worker’s boss just… sort of did nothing at all but leave them hanging.
They feel like they can’t just leave their job because it’s a potentially dangerous time of year for the business.
The worker’s job is to manage an oceanside Airbnb vacation property for “a family that doesn’t live anywhere nearby.” They’ve been doing the job for seven years, but they recently reached their absolute breaking point.
“I just can not do this anymore,” they wrote in their Reddit post, “financially and mentally it’s just not worth it.”
Sounds like it’s time to just bail, right? But unfortunately, there are other circumstances at play — namely that the property is on the ocean and they can’t help but feel a sense of duty.
“I am not a [jerk],” they wrote. “I can’t just leave their place unattended during hurricane season. What the [expletive] am I supposed to do?”
Which is honorable, of course. But, it must be said — this is absolutely not their problem, and many of their fellow Redditors said so.
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People online urged the worker to simply leave on their own schedule, as they don’t owe the owners anything.
“I know everyone here will yell at me so please do it,” the Redditor joked, “because I just feel [effing] guilty.” They didn’t exactly yell, but they did set them straight.
“Give them 2 weeks notice; at the end of your notice period, leave,” one commenter wrote. “If their place is unattended, that’s on them.” But others weren’t quite so accommodating and suggested they give their boss a taste of their own medicine.
“I’d quit immediately,” another Redditor commented. “If they ask about a two-week notice, tell them you’ll ‘get back to them about that,’ then never do.” Savage!
The bottom line, though, is that your boss has no basis on which to deny your resignation.
“At will” employment laws on the books in every state but Montana mean an employee can quit at any time, even if you have a contract in place. But in any case, even giving two weeks’ notice is merely a gesture. You’re within your rights to walk out the door on the spot.
Experts say if your boss tries to pull this, it’s not a bad idea to start a paper trail just in case they try to retaliate, and Redditors urged this person to do so, particularly since there’s potential for property damage they could try to blame on them.
But in the end, you owe your employer nothing. This person said the responses they got from fellow Redditors to that effect were just the “extra little push” they needed. They’d already gone to the trouble of finding someone to cover for them, and decided “if the owners want to find [another arrangement] it’s on them.”
That’s far more than a lot of us would be willing to do — and these employers are sure to regret losing such a dedicated worker.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.
