All in the art of quitting
Young people aren’t leaving jobs quietly
Joey Defrancesco fulfilled the fantasy of many a disgruntled worker last year — he quit in an incredibly outlandish fashion.
The 23-year-old sneaked members of a brass band into the hotel where he worked and had them strike up a lively Serbian folksong just as he turned in his resignation letter.
Defrancesco posted a video of the dramatic resignation on YouTube in mid-october.
Ever since, he has garnered a chorus of cheers from the discontented working class. The video had been viewed more than 2.8 million times. It had more than 20,000 “likes” and more than 4,600 comments such as “I would have so loved to do that to a few of my employers!”
Defrancesco joins a growing list of workers who have exited their jobs in an extravagant manner. They include a wide range of employees from an array of professions, including fast-food workers, journalists, salespeople, even a tech company CEO.
While some people have a natural penchant for all things dramatic, including giving notice, many of these over-the-top resignations come from frustrated workers who’ve reached a boiling point.
It’s easy to see why folks may want to go out swinging, says human resources consultant Peter Ronza. Yet, it’s usually a bad idea.
An extreme exit can show bad judgment, and word can quickly spread to a potential employer, especially via social media.
“Have a target of your boss at home that you use a paint gun on” to get frustrations out, he says. “But your presence at work is your brand. It’s what you’re going to carry on to your next employer.”
Still, he acknowledges that it’s tough to stay tranquil when burdened with an ever-increasing workload. “It just beats a person down,” he says.
Joe Sale, who joined daily-deal coupon company Livingsocial in August 2010, grew increasingly frustrated with his working conditions. He initially enjoyed the job as a marketing consultant, but “that feeling turned to resentment and then to bitterness,” he says.
He says pressure to meet quotas increased as commissions fell, he wasn’t able to reach the earnings potential that was discussed when he was hired, and he received less management support than workers in other markets.
He quit in October, sending his business cards, marketing material and promotional items back to Livingsocial’s Washington, D.C., headquarters in a white trash bag. He attached a note that said, “Treat your sales force like trash and see how bad your company starts to ‘stink.’”
Sale says he wasn’t going to make his monthly sales quota and decided to resign rather than wait to be fired.
With the trash bag delivery, he wanted to send a message about his unhappiness as a regional employee. “I didn’t want to be overly rude,” he says, “but at the same time, I wanted to do something that would make an impact.”
He hasn’t heard back from the company. In a statement, LivingSocial spokesman Andrew Weinstein said: “We don’t talk trash about our former employees.”
Thanks to technological advances, workers now have more ways than ever to make a grand exit.
They can bid adieu via a list of gripes sent to a company’s global email list, disseminate scathing information through Facebook or Twitter, bash an employer on a blog and upload videos of their departures on Youtube.
Sale says he let his 1,500-plus Facebook friends know about his unconventional exit, posting a photo of the trash bag and note. Those friends include about 50 current and former Livingsocial employees, he says.
Very public notice by employees will likely continue, with younger workers more apt to broadcast their malcontent, workplace experts say.
Workers in their 30s and older typically “have enough life experience that you learn to bite the tongue and to not overreact,” says executive search consultant Charley Polachi.
Younger workers are accustomed to sharing aspects of their lives with the people around them, says Kreamer.
Defrancesco, who has a new job with a company that doesn’t want to be disclosed, says he doesn’t have second thoughts about bringing in the band. He had been vocal about his discontent with the job and company.
“I don’t have any regrets,” he says.