15

I am from India, working in very small IT company of just 12 developers and among them I am the one with most experience with 2 years!

Now even with this small size, I m managing multiple clients discussions, support analysis, and divide the work for me and my colleagues.

From past six months the work load is so high that I have to stay for an hour more DAILY. Which is also affecting my social life.

I am thinking of changing the job after 3 months, we have four weeks notice period here, but before that I want to tip my boss that I may leave anytime soon

The reason is that he is good guy, and me resigning means most of their projects will strangle.

I have requested him number of times to hire an experienced person, but guys with this skill are really scarce.

What should I do to induce fear in them indirectly, that I may leave any time and they need to act fast and find replacement, So that I can also leave this company happily?

Note: Should I give extended notice has already been asked HERE. The risks are understood but if I want to let them know ahead of time that it will or could be coming anyway how should I do that?

Improve this question
4
  • 8
    But your boss already knows you (or any employee) can turn in your resignation at any time serve a four weeks notice period. You have already requested a number of times to hire an experienced person. If working late is the problem then that is the conversation you should have with your boss.
    – paparazzo
    Oct 30, 2015 at 15:33
  • 2
    When you turn in your resignation to serve your last 4 weeks, your boss will do everything in his power to hire someone or convince you to stay. Regardless, don't change your mind. You boss will do whatever he needs to continue his business. That is not your worry. Everything in a business is professional, don't let your feelings misguide you. If the company was doing bad, your boss could fire you in an instant.
    – harsimranb
    Oct 30, 2015 at 18:48
  • If your boss knows you want to leave, even if manages to persuade you to stay, he will fire you when convenient to him, not to you. Look before jump, but when you decided to jump - do jump!
    – Peter M. - stands for Monica
    Oct 30, 2015 at 22:12
  • I was in this exact situation. Too much work, would not hire another person to work with me, the whole ordeal. I stopped working more than 40 hours/wk (that's all I was getting paid for), and I ended up giving my two weeks notice after I found a position that would ensure these things are not a problem.
    – Seiyria
    Oct 31, 2015 at 0:25

6 Answers 6

Reset to default
22

If you are a "at will" employee with a 4 weeks notice, then your boss really can't expect you to stay with the company indefinitely. The problem with the hard-worker syndrome is that people think they are invaluable to the company and that their departure will disrupt the flow of things. That statement is false. While your departure will temporarily throw things off, that is exactly why they request you give a 4 weeks notice so they can prepare that. After that, whatever happens to them is their concern.

You should quit when it is convenient for you, not the other way around.

Improve this answer
2
  • Yes you are true, I could resign, but fearing of the 4 weeks notice period where we become alien makes me weak.
    – sjpatel
    Oct 30, 2015 at 19:30
  • All the answers seemed correct! But Dan's last line crossed my heart.
    – sjpatel
    Oct 31, 2015 at 9:21
39

Personally I wouldn't tip him off. If you've warned him about problems in the company he might be a good guy but is he a good boss? It's his responsibility to ensure the projects have a contingency for staff leaving not yours. What would he do if, like the old cliche goes, you were hit by a bus tomorrow?

Don't expose yourself to the risk of sacking/redundancy because if the company hits troubles you will most likely be the first to go. Get a firm offer in your hand from another company then resign following the terms of your contract.

Improve this answer
8
  • 4
    He did not ask for your opinion on whether or not to tip him off. This does not answer the question.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Oct 30, 2015 at 17:00
  • 12
    @Chad This may be a case of the XY problem... The OP asked "how", this answer says "don't". The logic Dustybin80 provides is sound and reasonable... it's a totally warranted answer.
    – Lindsey D
    Oct 30, 2015 at 18:02
  • 1
    @LindseyD The question is not should I, that question has already been asked and answer much better than this. And that question has already been linked above before this answer was provided. If Dusty wants to move this answer there it is fine but it does not belong here. If you do not have an answer to THIS question then you should not attempt to answer it.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Oct 30, 2015 at 20:34
  • 1
    @Chad We may have to agree to disagree. This answer is receiving a good number of votes, so clearly Dusty is on to something.
    – Lindsey D
    Oct 30, 2015 at 20:44
  • 2
    +1 The question was not simply "How can I make it clear...", it was "How can I make it clear... so that I can leave the company happy." The large number of positive votes on this question indicatives that many voters don't agree with the necessity of ensuring the company "gets it" in order to make a clean departure.
    – brian_o
    Oct 31, 2015 at 2:26
12

Just stop staying 1 hour later that would be hint enough.

And make sure your boss understand the job need more hours / workers to be done but you wont sacrifice your personal life to do it. So he need add more staff or stop accepting additional work.

Last friday afternoon my coworker ask me to help with a data process. I tell him I can start tuesday and finish it next friday (today). Monday I got a call from my boss saying need that process ready ASAP to fullfill a customer request. I reply I can finish Friday but if you want it sooner you will need hire aditional personal or ask for my help sooner next time so I could manage the schedule.

Bottom line I finish the process Today, world didnt end, and company is still running.

Improve this answer
2
  • I really like your style, I wish I could do the same. Some of clients are of opposite timezone which arrive for discussion at time of my leaving, and thus have to stay
    – sjpatel
    Oct 30, 2015 at 19:28
  • 5
    Then arrive one hour later, the thing is dont work 10h at day. For example if meating end at 7pm isnt reasonable your boss ask you to be 7 am to work in the topic you gather during meeting.
    – Juan Carlos Oropeza
    Oct 30, 2015 at 20:04
5

You have a four-week notice period which is more than long enough to turn over your work to someone else. (If it takes more than a week, you are doing something wrong!)

If you feel guilty about leaving (which you should not, but people do), then prep for the turnover as much as you can before you turn in your notice. Anytime I have resigned, I turned in a resignation letter, a list of all my projects and where everything is concerning them and what is still left to do and any other pertintent details.

And please remember, companies don't feel guilty about laying people off with no notice even when the managers have known it was coming for months.

There is nothing unprofessional about not telling until you give notice on your side either. That is what most people do. If you tell them ahead of time, you could get fired on the spot, or shifted to less important and interesting work etc.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Even if you do tell them, they may not do much differently, especially if people with those skills are hard to find. The reality is that having someone who can replace you means your boss is paying two yous when he may only have work/budget for one.
    – Amy Blankenship
    Oct 30, 2015 at 20:14
3

My recommendation here is that you stop thinking of this as a social situation. This is a contractual situation. The company put in 4 week notice into the contract to deal with this situation. You are effectively saying "I want to give them 4 weeks + some unknown offset" as notice. Why? If they made you sign for 3 month notice or 6 weeks notice would you be trying to give them "x months + some unknown offset" to whatever they asked for? That makes no sense. From a contractual point of view it seems you are just trying to act outside of the contract to create problems for the company where there should be no problems if you stick to the contract you signed.

Furthermore trying to operate outside of the contract by adding your unknown offset wont make your bosses life easier: he doesn't know what the offset is and you have "not really resigned yet" where the company, which has a contract with you, may not be able to afford an overlapping contract to hire a replacement, as you have not resigned.

Imagine the conversation your boss must have with any recruiters to hire for the competitive position you hold if you give him notice of your intent to resign at some unknown point. Boss says "I need a new guy to fill this role", Recruiter says "Okay, whats the start date", Boss: "I don't know, it's four week plus something unknown", Recruiter: "Er, stop wasting my time here, call me back when you have something I can work with, this is a highly competitive market, I can only deal with people who are ready to seal the deal today".

Employment has a social aspect but its unwise to apply social rules of friendship to an employment situation. This is because the company is legal entity with whom you have the relationship with and the company should always act in its own interests: not yours, nor your bosses. Treat the company with respect by dealing with it via the mechanism it asked you to deal with it: the contract you signed. Any other approach may backfire.

The only thing you could do is actually resign but say that you would consider working beyond your notice period if you have not yet got a new job and they are having trouble hiring. That assumes you don't get hired straight away. That sounds complex and unlikely to happen. Better to get another job offer in writing then resign giving your notice period.

Improve this answer
2
  • Wow, you removed all the remaining thoughts of social doubts. Thank you
    – sjpatel
    Oct 31, 2015 at 14:03
  • 1
    Recruiter: "Stop wasting my time". Boss to recruiter: "Ok then, start date is four weeks from now, that's when jspatel is leaving". Boss to OP: "You were not sure when you would be leaving, but I am. Four weeks".
    – gnasher729
    Aug 14, 2017 at 22:14
2

Tell your boss you're seriously considering resigning. After that it's really up to him to prepare for it. Four weeks notice is quite sufficient, but you want to give him a bit more which is fine. But at the end of the day it's not your problem.

Your boss is a nice guy so you should be able to approach him easily. Have a one on one meeting and discuss things with him. Particularly where it pertains to handing your duties over to someone else. He may have ideas that would help both you and the new person. Giving him the chance to make this input is not required but if you're difficult to replace in 4 weeks he will definitely appreciate it.

If you really want to make your leaving as painless for him as possible, start documenting your work and duties if you're not already doing so, prepare your work as if you're preparing for a handover. Perhaps even ask your boss if you could be given time to do this.

Improve this answer
2
  • This is the closest thing ot an answer so far but still does not explain how to do it.
    – IDrinkandIKnowThings
    Oct 30, 2015 at 17:01
  • @Chad you're right, edited it
    – Kilisi ♦
    Oct 30, 2015 at 17:19

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .