Table of Contents

1. Disappear Without Telling Your Boss
2. Damage Property
3. Steal Data
4. Yell at Your Boss
5. Create a Viral Video About Why You’re Quitting
6. Rant About Your Former Employer on Social Media
7. Try to Convince Other People to Quit With You

Quitting a job is usually simple. You tell your boss you’re going to leave, you fill out some paperwork, and you turn in your employee ID. It’s hard to make a mistake with those basic steps. Where people sometimes mess up is in deviating from that script.

Whatever you do when you quit a job, don’t:

1. Disappear Without Telling Your Boss

Your company might specify the amount of notice you should give before quitting. If it doesn’t, it’s standard to give your boss two weeks to find a replacement for you. But most importantly, make sure you tell your employer you’re no longer going to work for them. Don’t just stop showing up for work. Failing to communicate your intention to quit is highly unprofessional, and it’s upsetting to your boss and coworkers, who won’t know why you’re not at work and may fear you’re in trouble.

2. Damage Property

Tempers can run high when you quit a job, especially if tension has been simmering at work for a while. Some people try to take out their anger at their former employer by tampering with their work computer, spray painting a wall, or otherwise vandalizing the office they’re quitting. Absolutely do not do this! Damaging work property is no joke and can get you into very serious legal trouble. Find a healthy way to release steam, like going jogging or venting to a friend.

3. Steal Data

Just as you shouldn’t damage physical property, don’t harm your former employer by stealing trade secrets, leaking guest information online, or downloading internal publications you shouldn’t have access to once you quit. You can face severe legal consequences for these actions, not to mention that they’re extremely unethical.

4. Yell at Your Boss

Quitting doesn’t mean you get to be disrespectful to your boss. Don’t curse out your boss or throw a tantrum when you quit. Don’t say why your boss is the worst person to work for. That’s not appropriate business behavior, and it can have far-reaching consequences for your career. Your boss (or some of his or her close colleagues) might work for another company someday and might be in a position to hire you or offer you a promotion. Don’t burn any bridges.

5. Create a Viral Video About Why You’re Quitting

Marina Shifrin got her 15 minutes of fame when she quit her job through a video. In the clip, she dances at her former workplace and notes some things she didn’t like about her former employer. Viral videos like Shifrin’s are entertaining, but you shouldn’t try to emulate this strategy. Employers will probably be reluctant to hire you after this kind of stunt because they’ll suspect you might embarrass them online or otherwise bring unwanted drama. Plus, once you put a video like this out on the Internet, there’s no stopping it. It’s almost impossible to remove a video that’s been re-posted on hundreds of sites, no matter how much you regret it.

6. Rant About Your Former Employer on Social Media

Writing a long social media post about your former employer’s shortcomings might seem safer than filming a video—but it’s not really. Anyone could copy and paste your thoughts anywhere online, and someone could forward a screenshot of your post to your old boss. Adjusting the privacy settings only affects who sees your original post, not what they do with it or who they show it to. To be on the safe side, don’t publish negative comments about your former employer on social media.

7. Try to Convince Other People to Quit With You

Your former employer won’t appreciate it if you try to get other people to quit. It’s fine to tell former coworkers that you like your new job, but don’t attempt to persuade others to join you. Just focus on moving forward in your career, and let bygones be bygones at your previous workplace.