Hopefully, you have a wonderful job that makes you smile when you think about it. You wake up in the morning and can’t wait to take on the day’s challenges—not thinking about how to quit a job without notice.
I usually blog about traveling and travel stories. But, sometimes I need to talk about work…
Whether you’re out there working to travel or to do other things, you may discover that a job does not mesh well with your life.
Sometimes, we need to walk away from something holding us back.
Not that easy
Maybe your career path has led to other great opportunities, or maybe you have decided to pivot—like right now.
You’ve booked a trip to an island 2,000 miles away and must reset.
Easy—just quit. Walk right in there and say, “I quit.”
Or shoot an email: “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Something has come up, and I have a personal issue to take care of. This will be my last day.”
It’s not that easy, right? I get you.
Once upon a time, I had an awful, soul-sucking job. I did a Google search on how to quit a job without notice because I got to that point.
The point of no return… Literally.
It dragged me into a slump and gave me heart palpitations when I thought about this job. I slogged away as a mindless drone, wanting to escape this bad nightmare.
Why? I just wanted out ASAP.
But I felt conflicted because I had always been told to give proper notice.
But you need to give notice, right?
In the past, I have left most jobs with a two weeks’ notice or even a month’s notice.
Once, I quit a minimum-wage job without notice, but they saw it coming. They treated the garbage better than their employees.
Giving a two weeks’ notice is the traditional thing to do, right?
Because if employers wanted to fire you, they’d give you two weeks’ notice to find another job and make the proper arrangements…
Ummm hmmm…
So consider this: if you are losing sleep and worrying about doing the right thing at the cost of your health, dig deep. Email or call them to let them know you will not be returning.
In a few weeks, they probably won’t even remember your name. When you deliver the news, the employer might tell you it will leave a bad taste in their mouths, or you can never work for them again.
Ok, fine… you don’t ever want to work for this employer again.
Just remember, it’s a small world, so if you do quit without notice, just don’t make a firework show out of it. You don’t know who your employer plays golf with or who they’ll tell of your sudden departure.
A simple email is good enough. You don’t even have to explain why you quit.
After talking to some friends, I realized the toxic work environment really stressed me. This trumped staying my full two weeks’ notice.
So, I made the decision to jet out.
What about ‘ghosting’?
I have never ‘ghosted’ an employee or client. Even in the worst situations, I have told them it’s not working.
If you are in a situation that’s so toxic that you must leave suddenly, that might be your best choice. Maybe you’re being harassed or in danger.
You might have to run out the door to keep your peace, sanity, or even your life.
I have been at jobs where a co-worker quit and did not tell anyone. People wondered if something terrible had happened to the person who left.
Were they sick? …car accident? …emergency?
Once, I attended a new hire orientation, and after that first day, one guy did not return. Maybe he found another job or decided this job wasn’t for him?
No call… no email… done.
Early in my teaching career, I worked at a very challenging school. A fellow teacher complained a lot, and I saw the pain in her eyes.
One day, she did not return to work. The secretary kept calling her, but she never answered. Weeks later, she mailed her keys to the school.
In this situation, she should have sent an email because 20 kids sat around waiting for their teacher to show up. If the school had known she quit, they could have gotten a substitute teacher.
So you’ll have to decide who you’ll affect besides the employer if you ghost. At the very least, send an email for the sake of those people.
I didn’t ghost in my situation and gave two weeks’ notice. However, they messed that up, so I ended up leaving sooner.
Decide what’s best for you
After I left that company, relief washed over me like waves on the shore. It felt great to no longer have to deal with them.
At the end of the day, you must decide the best route to take in your situation. Only you will know what is best for you.
Just know that if you quit a job without notice, life will go on. Speaking of moving on, you can read my blog post on how I left a toxic work situation.
How did you quit a job without notice or with little notice? I’d like to hear your story.
Updated: October 28, 2024
