Would you have said “Goodbye” to unfriendly coworkers when leaving?

[Clarebear81]

Kinda playing on my mind this. I left yesterday after being in the job about 6 months. Didn’t say a think to coworkers, in fact they didn’t even know I was leaving, it was mainly because of them I was leaving, the most unfriendly bunch I have ever come across, not even as much as a Good Morning never mind a chat. I made the effort for the first few weeks but it was met with one word answers, like trying to draw blood from a stone so I gave up my efforts, it was norm to go an entire day without speaking a word to anyone.

So got a new job, handed in my notice and left yesterday, coworkers none the wiser, my boss spoke as I walked out yesterday evening wishing me the best and said I can come back anytime. I made the decision not to tell coworkers as they probably wouldn’t give a shit anyway but I’ve been thinking maybe this looked rude now? But then they’ve been rude my entire 6 months.

What would you have done?

One of my first jobs twenty years ago was like this, and I lasted six weeks. I take my hat off to you lasting for six months!

It remains one of the most bizarre jobs I've ever had. A temping contract doing entry level admin in the parking enforcement department of the local council. They were apparently "flat out" and needed someone "indefinitely." Yet I was given two jobs to do while I was there. One logging issuing the previous day's parking tickets into a database, and the second logging the post on a spreadsheet. I had run out of work by lunchtime every day.

I'd come in each morning and say "good morning," to be met with utter silence. Ditto when I left at night. I was told to tell them when I was going for lunch, so id have to announce when as I was leaving and then when I returned, but such announcements were met with indifference. I literally spent my afternoons staring into space in silence with nothing to do.

Early on I tried to offer to make everyone a cup of tea but was told that they all made their own cups of tea, so that was the end of that. Given I had no work to do I also tried to break the ice by suggesting I took on other tasks the others didn't have much time to do, filing, photocopying, answering the phones etc. That was also met with silence. No one ever spoke to each other. There was no social chit chat at any point between them. They all seemed to hate each other.

The one and only time anyone spoke to me was when they lost a cheque and decided the most likely scenario was that I'd nicked it. A cheque for thirty quid. What they possibly thought I'd do with a cheque made out to our local council is still beyond me. It was found eventually. No apology was forthcoming. That was the final straw for me and I begged the agency to find something else for me at lunchtime. I don't think they even noticed I'd gone!

The whole workplace sounds disfunctional. I can't imagine a direct report leaving and me not telling the rest of the team! Whole culture is beizzare

I would have done the same as you OP.

Not to derail, but this reminds me of a great job I only lasted 3 months in before quitting with nothing else to go to (I was young). I left because a woman in my team, twice my age, who just happened to be pregnant, made my life absolute hell - the bullying bitch.

Anyway, my last week coincided with her last week before she headed off on mat leave. Clearly her colleagues felt the same about her as I did because, when they did her leaving presentation, the person who handed over her gift said "Try not to die in child birth, won't you"!

I'd have done exactly the same as you. In fact I'm already planning just this approach when I manage to escape from my current job. I've never worked in a place with such miserable unfriendly feckers, ironically at the end of the country that likes to tell people it's really really friendly. (This particular employer really really isn't. I've met friendlier snakes.)

Mind you, since we get reprimanded by management for having a five minute conversation if we dare go to make a cup of coffee I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised people aren't friendly in my current workplace (and I do mean five minutes). I'm not the most outgoing of people and for me WFH is the perfect option but I do like the occasional bit of conversation. It's a hideous place to work, I don't know if this is just how it is now?

The joys of temping @YesLittleElephant Been there and done it.

I did this too . I kept my departure quiet because there were people working there who would have made my last week a living hell . I felt nothing when I walked through that door after ten years . I never looked back , best thing I ever did .

I'd have been tempted to stick two fingers up to the miserable gits

It so doesn't matter.
The advantage of poking your head around the door and saying "Bye! I'm off and I wish you all well!" is that you can hold your head high, you were never unfriendly. Your conscience is clear. Any bad feeling, they own, it's not yours.

But fundamentally, It so doesn't matter.

I like to leave any job very quietly, I hate fuss and get upset at goodbyes with the colleagues who are lovely.
Don't give another thought to mean colleagues.

Fuck them. You did the right thing. When I was very young one if my first temping jobs was working with a bunch of total arseholes who actually bullied the other temps and me.

In my usual people-pleasing way and thinking it was the done thing I brought cakes into the office for everyone on my last day. To this day I wish I hadn’t and had just walked out without a backward glance, or that I’d secretly spat on them.

Good for you . Hopefully you have a great new job - the team can make or break a job .