The Notice Period

The Notice Period
                The much awaited offer letter lands in your inbox and after going through the particulars, you eagerly send your acceptance of offer. There is a sense of elation and you are now eager to convey this to your immediate supervisor/manager, colleagues and friends. And finally, after discussions with your manager and triggering the resignation in your system, here comes the ‘notice period’.
                Notice period is an intriguing period of time in your corporate life. While some companies let go their employees very quickly, others tend to ensure that the associate has served his entire notice period. So here, let me walk you through a typical separation period.
                This is a period where you are neither here nor there. Initially, one needs to finish off/ wrap or handover all open work items and transition to someone who would be bearing the brunt of your work. Also, if you have been a critical resource, there will be discussions with your manager, the BU head and/or other seniors to see what prompted this change and is there anything that the organisation can do to hold on to you. Some people actually use a new offer to get favourable terms from the existing employer. Once that is nearly done, it is the phase where you can actually enjoy your time with your employer. Ironically, the news invariably spreads like wild fire and you are suddenly a sought after person. People who hitherto used to ignore you will now suddenly queue up to talk to you, find out how you cracked a new job, what companies are willing to hire and so on. Team mates constantly indulge in friendly banter where every conversation is weaved around your new role & workplace. There is a general feeling that you are now eligible to write a stinker to even the CEO pointing out the horrible treatment meted out to you or cribbing about the pathetic work-life balance in your team. You start getting time to relax, both in office and at home, catch up on internet browsing and other stuff you always wanted to do but always had to push to the backburner. You get a chance to polish your skills, enhance knowledge and also devote time to yourself & family.
                As you arrive closer to your last working day, a strange nostalgia starts creeping in. You start spending more time admiring your workplace- be it the coffee machine, your own desk or even the entrance lobby. Even the travel to your office becomes important as the road that you have been traversing for so long will give way to a path less travelled. Spending time with colleagues, exchanging personal contacts, engaging them in casual chats and going for farewell parties become the norm. After all, you never know when some of these will play a crucial role in your life whether professionally or personally.
Finally, it’s time to say goodbye. Your last day can definitely give you a lump in your throat. You are probably walking down, for the last time, the floors of the place which housed you for so long. It’s given that you will not meet most of the folks from that office ever again. You make it a point to catch-up with as many colleagues as physically possible. You send out goodbye mails to staff at other locations. People will miss you for some time and will get back to their routines soon. You will miss a lot of things but will get immersed in your new schedule. It’s a part and parcel of life - moving on…
The workplace that had been your parking place for so long will always be etched in your mind, no matter whether you loved it or hated the job & were desperate to leave it.

******


Comments

Arati Nandi said…
Very nicely worded Nikhil. Been through it a few months back and so can very well relate to it. But then as Paulo Coelho has quoted,"If you are brave to say 'good bye', life will reward you with a new 'hello' "
October 9, 2015 at 2:42 PM
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