Exiting a job with dignity

Craig* was fed up with his job. He loathed his boss, was bored, didn’t get along with his co-workers and was generally miserable. He took every opportunity to demonstrate his dissatisfaction. He never updated the CRM, his company car was filthy inside and out, and he spent lots of time on social media.

Everyone was relieved when he announced his resignation especially management who ‘invited’ him to work a much-reduced notice period. Still, he made no effort to leave on good terms or complete outstanding sales.

New Zealand is too small a place to leave a job without showing grace and Craig had considerable difficulty finding a new role. No one he’d worked for previously had a good word to say about him. And telling his last manager what he thought of her as he went out the door hadn’t helped.
 
Craig would have been better using the exit interview process to tactfully make suggestions that would benefit the team left behind.
 
Of course, in an ideal world Craig would only have resigned when he had a job to go to. But his work was making him miserable, affecting his mental health and consequently his behaviour. In this case it was better for him to leave so he could take time out to shake off the negative experience and work on leaving it behind before starting on his next work journey.
 
When you resign, work hard up until the day you leave. If you slack off in the last few weeks your employer is likely to remember that rather than all the hard work and energy you put into the job while you were there.
 
Once you’ve resigned and it’s public knowledge, keep the reasons simple with your colleagues. Show a positive attitude until you walk out that door for the last time and as you go hand back a clean car, a tidy desk, and an updated CRM. Don’t leave tasks unfinished. It only makes the job more difficult for the next person.
 
There’s a saying: one door shuts and another opens. Often in New Zealand the door does not fully shut and we end up seeing past employers again – they become a supplier or you find yourself in front of them applying for a future job. And your past behaviour will return to haunt you.
 
Keep doors open by exiting your job with dignity.
 
(* Craig is, of course, fictitious.)