6 ms·

Hardly related, but does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? When I quit the only job I ever had, I went to my boss and told

Hardly related, but does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? When I quit the only job I ever had, I went to my boss and told him I wanted to quit. We had a constructive conversation. Now, this company has a very strong "talk about it" culture, with super supportive management, etc. No bureaucracy or paperwork anywhere. Nevertheless, my boss was totally surprised that I wanted to talk about resigning. Pleasantly surprised I might add, but still: In his entire career, every employee who had left had written a letter and left it at that. Why do it that way? Of course I understand if there's fundamental disagreements or deep unhappiness, it's a good way to keep emotions out of the way. But that wasn't the case here, and everybody I know who left that company left it on good terms. I ask because I'm an employer now. I try to be a good and open-minded boss, and I'd much rather have someone tell me what's going on than receive a letter out of the blue. Is this wishful thinking?

flamedoge 9y ago
Because you know why. Nobody wants to risk getting revenge reference by badmouthing the place. Why risk anything by showing grievances when there is no reward?
metafunctor 9y ago
A lot of the time, people resign because they aren't happy with their job, and believe there's not much that they can do about it. Maybe they don't like their manager, or some of their colleagues, or think that the work is boring, or the job is not conductive to their future career success, or that there is something systematically unfair going on in term of work load or salary, or so on. People on a team understand they cannot fire team members, even if they are dickheads. They cannot change what they work on, or double their salary. That means there will be radio silence for the last few weeks or months when they are looking for a new job. Employees also tend to think the employer already knows what the problems are. If the problems are not being addressed, they will think the employer does not think they can or should be fixed. Why bring up something the employer obviously must be aware of, but has done nothing about? In my experience, the resignation announcement will, indeed, usually come out of the blue. For an observant manager, it may not become as a total surprise; there are some signs. But almost never will employees discuss with you about these things in earnest. There will be signs, but not forthright discussion.
deleted 9y ago
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michaelt 9y ago
does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? My employment contract literally says "Your employment may be terminated either by you or by us by providing X weeks written notice" and while I could work to get that language changed, I don't imagine such a change would deliver measurable business benefits. I suspect many employment contracts are the same, lawyers having seen that clause in some 25-year-old textbook.
- notahacker 9y ago
  Yeah. I've always explained my decision in face to face discussions, and the first thing they ask once they've confirmed that is definitely what I want is if I could write it in a letter please.
pm215 9y ago
I (and the people I know) write resignation letters because it makes the intention clear (I really am resigning, not just sounding off because I'm annoyed or discussing possibilities). It also gets the facts down in writing in case of later possible confusion or dispute: in particular it ought to say "my notice period is X and I have Y days of leave outstanding, so my final day of work will be Z". Basically leaving work is a formal change in status that deserves to be memorialized in writing, just as the initial contract should be in writing and any subsequent changes would. That doesn't mean I wouldn't also talk to my manager, but the letter is important too I think.
slavik81 9y ago
All I see in that conversation is risk of offending someone you need for a future reference. Employers are unlikely to get the whole truth even if a discussion takes place. I've always told my boss briefly in person and followed up with a letter. The letter is necessary documentation. It provides proof the resignation occurred (or provides the starting point for a criminal investigation if forged).
SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago
Are you me? At my only "real" job I scheduled a meeting with the MD and we had a very long and constructive chat about the reasons I was leaving (grievance with my immediate boss which had been raised repeatedly but never dealt with), plans to hand over the projects I was working on, and my plans for the future. He wished me all the best and said he'd always be there if it didn't work out. At the end of the meeting I handed over my written notice, which was just a few lines confirming that I was leaving and the date of my last day. The MD is still a good personal friend (he even hosted our wedding reception in his garden) and we've worked together on multiple projects since. The bad boss was let go shortly after I went, when it was looking like another senior developer was on the verge of quitting. I guess the moral of the story is to never burn your bridges, no matter how bad the situation seems at the time. Plus, as a business owner myself now I'd much prefer the honest feedback so I could actually make improvements that might make other employees' lives more tolerable.
rmc 9y ago
> does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? For important things, nothing beats a papertrail. Formal, written records of things can be very useful.
jerven 9y ago
Talking about it is great, but you must document it all. You must get the letter, as it is a rather significant amendment to the employment contract. All kinds of bad stuff can happen when you don't document this well. Employee and employer should both insist on this being well documented in writing.
macspoofing 9y ago
Documentation and records are a good thing. A resignation letter makes the intention clear. It protects the employer from things like future disputes like for example if the employee claims they were fired.
lostboys67 9y ago
A lot of that stackoverflow sites q's are from India which has a lot of byzantine rules about paperwork related to employment "reliving letters" seem to be a huge problem.
ebbv 9y ago
If you work for any sizeable company they will require written resignation man.

flamedoge 9y ago

Because you know why. Nobody wants to risk getting revenge reference by badmouthing the place. Why risk anything by showing grievances when there is no reward?

metafunctor 9y ago

A lot of the time, people resign because they aren't happy with their job, and believe there's not much that they can do about it. Maybe they don't like their manager, or some of their colleagues, or think that the work is boring, or the job is not conductive to their future career success, or that there is something systematically unfair going on in term of work load or salary, or so on. People on a team understand they cannot fire team members, even if they are dickheads. They cannot change what they work on, or double their salary. That means there will be radio silence for the last few weeks or months when they are looking for a new job. Employees also tend to think the employer already knows what the problems are. If the problems are not being addressed, they will think the employer does not think they can or should be fixed. Why bring up something the employer obviously must be aware of, but has done nothing about? In my experience, the resignation announcement will, indeed, usually come out of the blue. For an observant manager, it may not become as a total surprise; there are some signs. But almost never will employees discuss with you about these things in earnest. There will be signs, but not forthright discussion.

deleted 9y ago

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michaelt 9y ago

does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? My employment contract literally says "Your employment may be terminated either by you or by us by providing X weeks written notice" and while I could work to get that language changed, I don't imagine such a change would deliver measurable business benefits. I suspect many employment contracts are the same, lawyers having seen that clause in some 25-year-old textbook.

notahacker 9y ago
Yeah. I've always explained my decision in face to face discussions, and the first thing they ask once they've confirmed that is definitely what I want is if I could write it in a letter please.

pm215 9y ago

I (and the people I know) write resignation letters because it makes the intention clear (I really am resigning, not just sounding off because I'm annoyed or discussing possibilities). It also gets the facts down in writing in case of later possible confusion or dispute: in particular it ought to say "my notice period is X and I have Y days of leave outstanding, so my final day of work will be Z". Basically leaving work is a formal change in status that deserves to be memorialized in writing, just as the initial contract should be in writing and any subsequent changes would. That doesn't mean I wouldn't also talk to my manager, but the letter is important too I think.

slavik81 9y ago

All I see in that conversation is risk of offending someone you need for a future reference. Employers are unlikely to get the whole truth even if a discussion takes place. I've always told my boss briefly in person and followed up with a letter. The letter is necessary documentation. It provides proof the resignation occurred (or provides the starting point for a criminal investigation if forged).

SmellyGeekBoy 9y ago

Are you me? At my only "real" job I scheduled a meeting with the MD and we had a very long and constructive chat about the reasons I was leaving (grievance with my immediate boss which had been raised repeatedly but never dealt with), plans to hand over the projects I was working on, and my plans for the future. He wished me all the best and said he'd always be there if it didn't work out. At the end of the meeting I handed over my written notice, which was just a few lines confirming that I was leaving and the date of my last day. The MD is still a good personal friend (he even hosted our wedding reception in his garden) and we've worked together on multiple projects since. The bad boss was let go shortly after I went, when it was looking like another senior developer was on the verge of quitting. I guess the moral of the story is to never burn your bridges, no matter how bad the situation seems at the time. Plus, as a business owner myself now I'd much prefer the honest feedback so I could actually make improvements that might make other employees' lives more tolerable.

rmc 9y ago

> does anyone know why resignation letters are so popular in the first place? For important things, nothing beats a papertrail. Formal, written records of things can be very useful.

jerven 9y ago

Talking about it is great, but you must document it all. You must get the letter, as it is a rather significant amendment to the employment contract. All kinds of bad stuff can happen when you don't document this well. Employee and employer should both insist on this being well documented in writing.

macspoofing 9y ago

Documentation and records are a good thing. A resignation letter makes the intention clear. It protects the employer from things like future disputes like for example if the employee claims they were fired.

lostboys67 9y ago

A lot of that stackoverflow sites q's are from India which has a lot of byzantine rules about paperwork related to employment "reliving letters" seem to be a huge problem.

ebbv 9y ago

If you work for any sizeable company they will require written resignation man.