To hand in my notice (and leave) while my boss is away

[PrawnPringles]

I have a great relationship with my boss. She has supported me and come to events outside of work as well as being very supportive of my professional developments. She has allowed me very flexible working to help with childcare when personal circumstances changed.

While I enjoy my job there has been lots of change and I have decided it’s not something I want to do forever. We have been extremely short staffed and it’s been very stressful the last few months.

I interviewed for my dream job today and had an offer on the spot.

My boss is abroad for 5 weeks visiting family. Accepting the job, I could potentially hand in my notice and leave before she was back, depending on how quickly the process goes. My notice is 30 days.

Would it be worth dropping her an email/text while she is away out of courtesy? I could wait for her to return, there isn’t a rush to start the new job (on their end, they were happy with whenever in the next three months) but to be honest I want to go ASAP.

It feels a bit sneaky in a way to go through all of it while she is away but it’s just fallen like that unfortunately.

In your position I would hand my notice in now and drop her a quick message to let her know.

Is it a tiny company? Is it your bosses (boss's? please nobody shout at me) company? I think do what's best for you and send her a text. If she's supportive she'll be pleased for you.

You have to do what is best for you. 5 weeks is a long time. IIWY I'd resign now and leave before she comes back but if you value your relationship with her I'd also send her a personal note letting her know and wishing her the best for the future. That's totally professional and reasonable. No way would I a) wait to resign or b) expect anyone to wait to resign. Congratulations on the new job!

It’s a large company but with lots of smaller departments/teams run by a senior manager. So the person above my boss owns the company. It’s definitely going to be a big pain for the department, so I feel bad to leave while she’s gone.

Its business and it can't be helped, do what you need to do and leave her a card with a note thanking her. Don't disturb er holiday though.

It's always worth being courteous/nice - you never know what might happen in the future. A nice message thanking her for her support (for when she's back in the office - explain you didn't want to disturb her holiday) will be well received.

Once you have a contract for the new role signed I'd resign. I'd just drop an email to your boss as a nice gesture thanking her for her support. I certainly wouldn't delay my notice period.

Make sure you have signed a Contract and have the unconditional offer in writing, then resign.

Take advice from HR on whether you should contact your manager, they may want to do it.

Don’t delay your dream job. As soon as it’s certain you’ll need to let someone know about references so I’d tell her boss. If they want to contact her on holiday then so be it, but I wouldn’t.
I’d send a thank you email/card for when she returns.

I would be tempted to delay to allow a week of handover when she is back from vacation, but not if it jeopardized the new job in any way. You will presumably need to use her as a reference in the future and this would leave things on a good note, especially as she has always been good to you.

Life goes on. It reflects well on you that this bothers you but at the end of the day, it's only a job... And it was presumably the company's choice not to put you on a longer notice period?

I'd write a thank you card for all of her kind support mentioning my regret at not being able to tell her in person and not wanting to bother her on holiday, either. I'd end with "hoping our paths cross again."

I would hand in your notice and email your boss in the last week of notice to say you are leaving. I wouldn’t want to put a dampener on her holiday and have her thinking of new hiring logistics and workloads.

This was my thinking - not dramatically delaying handing in my notice but just giving a short amount of time to hand things over and “tidy up”

the standard notice for every employee is 30 days

Just hand your notice in and leave. It's work, not friendship. You only need to give your official notice. If they wanted to get rid of you, I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate.

If you have 5 weeks off, theres always the risk they'll be some big changes when you return.

Of course you should take your dream job!

I'm going to go against the grain and say if you leaving is going to cause stress (not your fault at all but you mentioned being understaffed) then just leave and send her a note when she is back. She is on holiday and I would leave it to the company to decide if she should be bothered or not. I've been in your bosses position and appreciated not having my Christmas ruined!

I literally don’t understand your problem unless you are wanting an entire thread saying ‘well done you’. Just hand in your notice, go to your amazing job, text that boss to say ‘thank you so much. All the best’.

You have a good relationship with your boss. She has been supportive and helpful to you.

you’re not happy. You have a job offer who are willing to wait for you.

thus us a bit more than just business because of your relationship with your boss. So why screw her wuthbjeavjng while she’s gone on holiday?

why can’t you wait? Is it really that bad you cannot wait until her return?

too just never know when you’ll meet again in some capacity if you may need a reference or some type support from her. Don’t make hardship where it’s not needed.

if it were me, I’d give her my notice shortly after her return. Put a meeting in her diary fur day after her return, marked “catch up.”

Just do it.

Send her an email/text thanking her for everything and get on with your new job.

Not shouting at you, it’s boss’. Just fyi. 👍😘

You're leaving one job for another, not breaking up a marriage.

You can also suggest going out for dinner/drinks when she returns.

Your boss has been good to you. I would let her know by email now and I would leave a week or two after she comes back. I would not drop her in it while she's away on holiday.

Get your offer letter / contract in writing, then hand in your notice. Don't contact your boss while she’s away, I know if it was me, I’d then be worried about work I was coming back to, recruiting replacement etc.

If you finish before she returns, leave a lovely card with personal thanks, apologies etc. as others have said, and wrap up your role well. A good handover, capture any knowledge only you would have, whatever you can do to make it easier for someone to pick up your work. Good luck in your new job!

5 weeks is long for a holiday and she must expect some changes to have occurred in that time. Don’t delay due to boss being away.