2 weeks notice?

[simply_angelic]

Hey all,

I've been fighting an internal battle this past week and I'm not sure what to do. I'm leaving for South Africa at the beginning of January and currently working 2 jobs: days at a hospital downtown toronto & nights at restaurant also downtown.

I'm a very honest person by nature. Sometimes brutally honest, I'm basically a take it or leave it kind of girl...so not telling people that are now my friends and cooworkers that I'm going to be leaving in late Dec/Jan is KILLING ME.
It was really easy at the hospital because I'd only signed on as a summer worker so when I told them I could stay 'til January they were thrilled because it was simply an extension of what I've been doing. But at the restaurant, I only started mid-September, so I havent exactly been working there long. We never really talked about my plans and how long I would be staying. This is the restaurant business so people go in and out relatively quickly (especially at this place because tip out is 46%~ ridiculously high).

My bosses are really nice, but in the end they have to look out for themselves and their business and I'll be leaving right around christmas. I havent decided whether I'll work up until New years or not but if I don't decide to, then basically I'll be screwing them because no one's looking for work during the holiday season and that is a BUSY time for restaurants.

Anyways, I guess I'm just trying to decide how soon I should tell them before ducking out. Should I just do the mandatory 2 weeks or risk it and give them a lot more time to find a replacement. When I do quit, can I even tell them at that point that I've been secretly planning a trip to South Africa all this time? Or do I have to keep the lie going by saying that I'm doing something else...moving to SA for 6 months isn't exactly something you can do spur of the moment....For those of you who have been in this situation (I know that's a fair bit) what did you do? How did you deal? Thanks for any advice you guys can give in advance

[expatben]

Depends on how cool your bosses are. I mean I already told my boss I was leaving so when I gave my notice I just said hey Joe man, I wanna make the 31st my last day if its alright and he said that was cool.
If its killing you and you've saved enough for your trip I day yeah tell them when you're leaving.

[LiveFreeorDie]

You could tell them 4 or 6 weeks ahead of time if you think they will be cool about. That way its enough time for them to find a replacement and not so far away from your trip date that if they can you its a huge deal.

This may sound harsh, but business is business. If things were bad for them and they needed to let someone go, they would let you go without much concern. Look after yourself first, without being a total jerk. They willl be fine. At the end of the day they wont go out of business because you only give them 2 weeks notice - that is the restaurant biz....they chose to be in it.

[kingcrazylegs]

^ yeah, I agree with Jamie. Give them notice like 4 weeks ahead. Business is business.

[Sijuki]

I agree with the above two... I would say it depends on how cool your boss is, but from my experience in the restaurant biz, a lot of them seem to be kind of pricky when you get down to it.

I would probably say from my experience with all my bosses through my life, it would be about 50/50 who would can me, or be cool with such a thing. I did have one boss when I was thinking about doing a Euro trip, try to get me promoted so I could make more money to go. Knowing that after a year in the position I would quit.

Definitely probably about 4 weeks out. Like Jamie said, so if you do get canned it's not too painful.

Enjoy South Africa!

[lost in texas]

I don't see any reason to give them more than 2 weeks, unless you're sure they're gonna be cool with it. Just do what you're comfortable with, but don't feel like you have an obligation to anyone!

[DC_Jessica]

I like the advice already given, but I'm going to weigh in. My opinion is that if they are friends or close with you then there is no problem telling your boss "this is what I'm planning to do, my window for leaving is between x and x." It will work out.

BUT

This is what I did. (The big difference is that I left because my supervisor was a psycho, so keep that in mind.) And I got asked pretty much every freaking day when I was leaving. Like I wouldn't give them two weeks notice for the actual day. I was ready to STAY I was that pissed off. My crazy mean supervisor actually offered my position to someone else when I gave her courtesy notice in JUNE that I was leaving in August. (Can you tell why I left?) I ended up giving 3.5 weeks, no harm, no foul, but because I was up front, nobody would have minded if I had given two. And I worked at a Uni and quit right when school started, so it was also a busy time.

So there are drawbacks. If you think giving a month notice is going to make you miserable at work, stick to two weeks. I think that is the standard figure because that is the breaking point: either how much abuse you can take for people who think you're a traitor, or how much excitement you can take at the prospect of leaving a shit job or else starting a brand new experience.

[benna2]

I also don't see any reason to give them more than two weeks notice. I've worked in the restaurant industry and have seen tons of people come and go!

The thing to think about is, if you give the bosses more notice than is required, they may cut your shifts or not give you as many...around Christmas time, its a good time to make some money for your trip.

A restaurant in downtown Toronto will have a stack of resumes on file to bring someone in to replace you.

[Elizabeth]

Would they really want to fire someone right at Christmas time? Yes they can replace but they have to waste time training the new employee. If you have total control over your date of departure I would stay until after New Years. a. more money for you and b. you can leave with a clear conscience. You can tell them anytime and they know they have you until after it slows down, so nothing to be mad about I would think. Unless there is something important happening in SA before New Years that would greatly enrich your travels and experiences of course.

When I left my job at the grocery store I went on a leave of absence and I gave them 6 weeks notice, pretty much the day after I bought my tickets. The manager was a sweetheart and was very supportive. I wanted to give as much notice as possible because for maybe 6 months the store had the problem of not having enough employees. Now this nice manager is gone. I got rehired there about 2 months ago, and they are still having problems getting and keeping employees but its worse now! The new manager is a spiteful bitch who hates me. I would love nothing more than to just walk out on her when I have enough money, but I'll give her two weeks. If I gave her anymore notice than that she would screw me over by cutting my shifts (she already wants to do that to me now!).

[Maineartist]

I talked about a trip to people at work for a long time then booked my flight one and a half months ahead. At the time I wasn't getting many hours so people started giving me their shifts. They discourage overtime btw. which is what i was getting.

My managers knew what was going on and I wrote them a letter giving my last day a few weeks before. It was brief and firmly stated a travel plan. I let them know it was "to make time for my art" see friends etc., At some point I decided to ask for a leave of absence for three months. To give me that amount of time off the manager delayed sending in my leave of absence to corporate.

[Sijuki]

I very much dislike spiteful bosses... you should get her fired.

[simply_angelic]

Yeah, I've decided my bosses are hard-asses when it comes right down to it and I'll only give two weeks. I really need the extra cash.

And Liz, I don't have full control over when I'm leaving. I fly out of NYC January 8th which means I'll need at least a day beforehand to get to NY & get myself organised although 2 would probably be a bit more realistic. So let's say I leave my house on the night of the 6th.

I guess I'm just not sure how much downtime I'll need to prepare the final touches for my trip~ I am working 2 full time jobs right now so I don't exactly get a lot of time off to prepare. I know for a fact that a lot of stuff is going to be jam-packed into my final days of freedom. (Goodbyes, tons of shopping, cleaning, house hunting for school next year, picking my courses for school next year as I wont have a lot of internet access in SA, etc). So really if I work up until New Years I'll be pushing myself to the limit~ Yes it'll be another grand or two in my pocket but I'm still trying to figure out whether or not it'll be worth it.

Thanks for all your advice guys, it really helped!