I’ve been getting endless pitches from PR folks about Steven Slater, the JetBlue airline attendant who quit recently in a spectacular fashion.
If you haven’t heard about him, he got so frustrated with a mean passenger that he cursed over the loud speaker, grabbed some beers, and then illegally unfurled the plane’s emergency slide, jumped on it and headed home.
Everyone, including me I suppose, is trying to jump on Slater’s new-found fame to advance their own agendas — getting press for a client, getting people to read stories and blog posts, etc. But much of the coverage has centered on how frustrated workers are today.
It is so true. I think a word may be added to our lexicon “Slatering,” essentially meaning, “take this job and shove it.”
It’s a great story and one that touches everyone because so many have daydreamed about slatering, but quitting the way Slater did is probably only acceptable once. So should the rest of us try to leave more gracefully?
At a time when so many companies are laying off workers, slashing wages and benefits, it’s not surprising that some employees feel no obligation to be nice when they head out the door, says David Kaplan, management professor for Saint Louis University. “It’s understandable,” he adds, “because they feel the employer has violated the psychological contract with employees, and they don’t feel they owe them anything.”
Whether it’s giving notice, training your replacement or abiding by noncompete agreements you may have signed, these post-employment niceties that were expected once upon a time are not a given in today’s workplace.
“I think it’s a function of the economy,” says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute. “If your employer has been treating you well, morally you should give as much notice as you can. On the other hand, if your boss is screwing you, you don’t want to be nice.
You have to be careful and not get too angry. If you divulge company secrets or take all your clients with you when you depart, your employer may come after you. If you figure they don’t have a legal leg to stand on, or the money for a legal fight, you still end up leaving your co workers in a lurch if you just leave, don’t help train a new hire, or take all your institutional knowledge with you without offering to share some of it.
And forget about recommendations from your former managers. That means those coveted recommendations on LinkedIn as well. There is no law you have to give two-weeks notice, but it’s still expected in most circles and word will get around that you didn’t.
But maybe, in the end, grabbing a few beers and telling everyone to “F” off will help you feel better.
Or maybe not.
Is that the most civilized way to deal with your problems?
August 17th, 2010 at 10:56 am
I still try to abide by a wise, old saying: “Don’t burn bridges, unless you must.”
To me, Slater didn’t just burn a bridge, he also alerted the highway patrol (i.e., potential employers) in other states (i.e., companies or industries) that he’s a notable risk.
I’ve worked retail and customer service positions for much of my career, and I’ve definately had days where I’ve wanted to go postal on a rude customer, but I didn’t. That’s part of being a professional: self-control. There are other venues where I can vent, or even rant about how customer A or B behaved, or even about current discontent with senior management. Losing it in front of a customer is simply not acceptable. My employer sent a very gifted engineer packing after he lost his temper with a customer, an admittedly difficult and obstinate customer. Losing it with a customer is simply not acceptable here.
That’s not to say I don’t empathize with the fellow, and, yes, there is part of me that admires the way he took a stand at great personal cost. Still, time and experience has taught me that folk heroes are rarely good practical examples for emulation in the workplace. While part of my admires his chutzpah, the rest of me realizes he made a big mistake and acted in an immature, unprofessional manner.
August 17th, 2010 at 11:13 am
Did you hear he may get a reality show, or talk show out of this?
August 17th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Unless he has some hidden talent, I hope he socks away any money he receives from such opportunities. He just might find the fields hard and dry once the winds of public opinion move on to the next celeb-du-jour.
August 17th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
No surprise he’ll get a show out of this. I’m totally with you on this one HikingStick. The guy was out of line. No doubt working with the public is beyond stressful, but we can’t live our lives like a character from a Will Ferrell movie.
August 17th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
I like Will Ferrell movies.
August 17th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
But think how horrible the world would be if we met Will Ferrel types (the characters, not the actors) day in and day out, 365 days a year. I would become a hermit.
August 18th, 2010 at 12:55 am
The problem is the power imbalance between employers and employees. Every interview I go on, they’ll contact my former employers to see what they thought of me before hiring. But do I get to talk to former employees to see how they liked working there before I accept the offer? Of course not.
Employers can be as bad as they feel like, and until it shows up on 60 Minutes, most of use will never hear about it.
August 18th, 2010 at 11:10 am
HikingStick said:
“My employer sent a very gifted engineer packing after he lost his temper with a customer, an admittedly difficult and obstinate customer.”
What kind of employer allows an engineer any where near a customer? Bad move on the employer’s part!
I once gave 8 hours notice. It’s still one of the happiest days of my life. Otherwise, I give 2 weeks notice, finish up projects, and create or update a desk manual for the next admin.
WorkerBee
August 18th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Drew, at some point in the interview process, I ask to meet the rest of the work team. If the hiring manager shows any reluctance, or makes any excuses, I remove myself from consideration for the position. If I do get a chance to meet a few people, I try to exchange current contact information, or to get enough information so I can initiate a private exhchange (phone call or email message) sometime later, since I know that many employees will “tow the line” and give the expected answers when management parades around a prospect. Ideally, I ask if there is any place where team members and I can grab some coffee and chat for a few minutes. Again, management’s response to such a request tells a lot about the workplace. If we do get a chance to chat, doing so in that less-structured setting (and without management right there) tends to generate a lot of candor. Most people can, fairly quickly, gauge the type of work environment from a few short exchanges. Even just walking through the workplace and noting how people respond (e.g., warm and friendly, quiet with a lot of side-long glances) can tell you a lot.
September 23rd, 2010 at 5:28 pm
Eve,
I don’t think this is the best way to quit - I’d never do it. I’d never want to burn a bridge. But, if Slater does get a reality show I hope he has some other talents/interesting quirks - he could be a one trick-pony.