Employee gives 2 weeks’ notice; boss tells him he can leave in 2 days, not realizing he still had to deliver important reports: ‘They quickly emailed back and said “on second thought, you can stay for the full 2 weeks and get those reports done!”’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Sep 20, 2026 1:45 PM EDT

Being decently petty is the best kind of petty

Being petty is fun and sometimes very necessary. I always say this, but the petty card should be played only when necessary to send a contundent message that won't land any other way, and I think this is the perfect example of that.

Now that I think about it, being decently petty is just another way of being maliciously compliant. In this case, if the manager needs him to stay for an extra two weeks, he now has to rehire him.

Managers generally undervalue us as employees, but we have to keep working for them because we don't have anything else lined up. That is, until the day we can finally jump into a better position and say goodbye to those daily hours of being underappreciated.

Sadly, a lot of managers think we won't be able to find anything better on the market, and as a result, they take us for granted. I know sometimes it can be hard to tell, but they are human, just like us, and they tend to get triggered and offended when somebody decides to jump to another opportunity and leave them behind. So they can react just like teenagers, saying something along the lines of : 'Go then, go with your new best friends!' Not really understanding what that really means.

If they don't accept our very kind prior notice, then they should accept that they won't get the reports we were supposed to write the next few weeks. The question is, have they ever known what we provided for the company in the first place? Or are they finding out just now?

Great opportunity to say: 'Too late! I found a better position now'. Some people really only value someone when they lose them, huh? It was always true.

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  • Cheezburger Image 10664541696
    via Berkeley Communications

    Stayinf for two more weeks, huh?

    Picture does not depict real parties

     

  • I gave proper notice to my job, they decided to be petty and screwed themselves.

    So I recently left a very toxic job. Usually in my field, it's customary to give a month's notice. However, my job had a history of letting people go as soon as they give their resignation. I always found
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • that extremely petty. For this reason, I only gave 2 weeks instead of a month since I could reasonably go without income for 2-4 weeks until I get my first check from my new job.
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • 2 weeks was plenty of time for me to finish up the reports for my clients that were coming up and to transition my clients to other providers. But true to their pettiness, my boss essentially said "you can leave in 2 days."
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • Okay, fine. I emailed back and said I expected this to happen, but that meant my upcoming reports would not be finished by the time I left. They screwed themselves by not checking if I had reports coming up before telling
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • me to gtfo. They quickly emailed back and said "on second thought, you can stay for the full 2 weeks and get those reports done!" Um, no. You already decided to be petty and
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • tell me to be gone in 2 days, so I'll be gone in 2 days. I emailed them back and informed them that because I expected to be let go early, I made arrangements with my new job to start early and already informed them I
    via MoneyOrganic4728
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    via Nick Fewings

    Surprise!

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  • would be starting early. So I couldn't stay the full 2 weeks anymore, since I was originally told 2 days. They can lay in the bed they made.
    via MoneyOrganic4728
  • Running_Down_970 You are a better man than I, Gunga Din. I would have said nothing and left in 2 days
    via Running_Down_9708
  • limprichard Offer them to rehire you for two weeks at a consultant rate and you'll finish those reports.
    via limprichard
  • NotAUserNamm Petty and decent. I like that
    via NotAUserNamm
  • Guntis DON'T QUIT. Smilers Web Portal Redesign Orthodontist Prescription Instruction DE 24 # 0.0 TO R MacBook Pro !,!¡ },
    via Shomitro Kumar Ghosh

    Might as well do it

    Licensed media provided as editorial context

     

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workplace-stories toxic-workplace work workplace toxic-work-environment
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