On Resignation
Posted January 12th, 2004 @ 10:53pm by Erik J. Barzeski
I'm not resigning, but someone I know is quitting. Quitting after being at his job for around six months. Quitting after going on a two-week vacation that stretched to three weeks one week after he started. Quitting after passing up on a few hours, whining, disobeying orders, and more "fun stuff" in six months.
What's worse, the guy is trying to take people down as he goes. He's a nobody - the equivalent of the person taking your orders at McDonald's - and yet he thinks he's important enough to be worthy of discussion. A few days ago he said "I am a man of my word" and I laughed. You, lame sir, are not.
Sometimes it's important to know your place in the world. Sometimes it's important to be mature. This person needs to know those things. Though I spent a good amount of time trying to talk him out of doing stupid things through a mutual friend, part of me wishes I had been able to see the spectacle of a self-important schmutz burn in the flame of apathy and "what, you think you matter?"
I'm not really big into playing games, but I like money, and I like the company and people for which I work. I'd never have a conversation like this with any of my managers upon leaving:
him: 2 weeks baby
me: uh, ok
him: if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate
me: uh, ok
me: you're no longer part of either
him: aren't you just the master of conversation
him: and I'm glad I'm not
him: so much fucking drama there
me: not really, but thanks for playing
him: not really? tell me thats your version of sarcasm
me: nope
me: go work anywhere, have fun in the real world
him: yeah, like I've never worked a real job before
him: there was less drama at mother fucking [somewhere]
me: ok. bye.
him: and I've wanted to say this too, you're a lot of the reason I left!
him: so in your words, ok. bye.
me: bummer. did "bye" make sense or should I keep repeating myself? Toodles.
him: grow up, erik
him: get off your high fucking horse
him: maybe then you could start to enjoy life a bit more
me: BYE
I've got two days off coming up really soon (well, tomorrow and the next day), and I don't know about you, but I'm gonna enjoy the hell out of 'em. Samantha says so! 🙂
To the guy: grow the hell up. To me: you've spent enough time caring about the peon. Be done.
And so I am.
Donate Life
Posted 12 Jan 2004 at 11:11pm #
I'm amazed that anyone deals with you, given the way you treat people. You're condescending and arrogant in the extreme, and have no respect for other people.
Posted 12 Jan 2004 at 11:19pm #
Hey me... unless you know both sides of the whole story, you have no basis for making character judgements. Or I could pull a you and profess "You're condescending and arrogant in the extreme, and have no respect for other people."
Geez, I hate stooping...
Eric, you implied above that the guy is not worthy of conversation, yet you've given him an entire entry of his own... I hope he doesn't find it (LOL), doesn't sound like he needs any help feeling important.
Posted 12 Jan 2004 at 11:24pm #
I wrote a blurb on just this guy a while back....
http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2002/06/29/your_resignationlayoff_checklist.html
Posted 13 Jan 2004 at 8:52am #
I wrote a whole blurb on this guy so that, when/if I should ever resign/quit, I am reminded not to act as this guy is acting.
And "me," you're very close to being blocked, so either wisen up or get lost. I can take a criticism, but not when it's unfounded and simply attacking. Grow up and argue like a real man.
Posted 13 Jan 2004 at 12:31pm #
You say that you'd never have a conversation like this with your managers upon leaving. But have a look at one of your past blog entries -- which I understood to be a conversation with potential employers:
http://nslog.com/archives/2003/11/02/declining_a_job.php
Apart from the fact that the context may have been different, that conversation, and the one in this post, feel (in some ways) quite similar, don't you think?
Posted 13 Jan 2004 at 1:44pm #
I was thinking the same thing. I remember reading the previously-referenced post and thinking, "Eric has lost it -- talk about how not to handle a situation."
Posted 13 Jan 2004 at 10:11pm #
They're two very different situations.
Posted 14 Jan 2004 at 6:00pm #
The only real job I've ever held was as a cashier at McDonalds. You insensitive clod. But I guess someone who admits that doesn't have much standing room to make criticism...
It's a hard thing to balance, these situations. You draw attention to someone in order to point out that they shouldn't have attention. But I think you handled it well, and, like you said, it acts as a good reminder for yourself.
I hope He finds something which he enjoys doing.
- Chris B
Posted 14 Jan 2004 at 6:41pm #
I do too. He's a bright kid with a bright future. I just hope he matures a bit in the meantime. Someone told me "Age doesn't matter. You can choose to mature whenever you wish."