Thread regarding Sears layoffs

That is all I have been trying to say. None of this is about Sears. It is about what you feel comfortable doing.....how short or long of notice you want to give to your manager who is a person and your fellow associates who are people. They arent Sears. And how you want to treat yourself. How do you feel at the end of the day with the decisions you have made and not to get tricked into another place where you may or may not be valued. Working for corporations is tough because really most of them dont care about the associates.

Agree with the folks who say you have to do what's right for you. In my store some associates give 2 weeks, others don't. Doesn't seem to matter as there is no interest in the severance paperwork. A couple of the leads would be greatly missed if they left without notice but two others not at all.

A week is enough for the associates in my store if they feel like the should give some notice. Take the other week for yourself. You're not going to get time off right away in a new position.

@2azz, I don't think you get it. It was never about passion for a job, it was about not accepting one's judgmental comments about people being immoral or unethical because they accepted a better opportunity and left a company that treated them as a disposable commodity without giving a 2 weeks notice, as if Sears would care anyway. Most co-workers would be happy to pick up the extra hours anyway.

Wow.....so much passion over a job. Do what you need to do. I go to work to make a salary that I have accepted. I dont expect anything from Sears other than to get paid. Still for those I work with, I would give two weeks notice. I dont know about what happens with a doctor or the military. And there is give and take with new employers too. There appear to be many on here who have obviously really felt mistreated by Sears. I dont. It isnt mine to say what you do or dont do. I just dont make anyone I hire do anything they dont want to do even if I want them to start right away. I cant imagine regular retail or corporate jobs not allowing a new associate to negotiate a start date.

"Every job needs someone right away or there wouldnt be an open job."

Again not true. Some employers know an employee will be leaving on maternity leave in, say, 3 months and they begin the process of finding a replacement and allowing for transitional time and training. The start date would probably be flexible.

Other times start dates are not flexible.

A teacher leaves abruptly and there is a class without a teacher and getting by with a sub. That principal needs a new teacher to start on Monday not in 2 weeks or next month etc.

Military orders can come abruptly and unexpectantly. My spouse has been told be ready to leave in 72 hours. Other spouse may need to quit job to pack up house and relocate.

An ER doc drops dead unexpectantly. They need a new doc NOW. There are many scenarios and sometimes it is not possible to give notice.

I don't care what others do but my decisions will be based upon the facts of the particular circumstance and what is in the best interest for me and my family. I do not accept the criticism that it is somehow immoral that one should be so devoted to a company who tore hours down to 10 and gave no thought or concern or even notice about a reduction in hours to its employees.

Sears will do what is best for them and people need to do what is best for themselves. This is the world we live in today.

Good luck, but don't pass down a good job because they want you to start on monday and you are afraid of hurting Sears. That would be foolish.

I value myself and my family. Corporations don't give a damn about either. If my new employer says fine start in 2 weeks then perhaps I'll give notice but it WILL BE what the new employer wants. And also in this economy....don't feel as though you "deserve" anything. Be grateful for a better job opportunity and move forward. Don't wait for Sears to have a cake waiting for you on your last day or any tears shed. They really could care less. Know what's important and who is important in your life and take care of that.

I agree to disagree, but will never accept that is is immoral to accept a better opportunity when that door opens and to begin employment when the new employer directs.

Every job needs someone right away or there wouldnt be an open job. Believe what you want......no one should force you to start right away. That is your decision. All I am saying is value yourself. You deserve and should be able to say to your new employer hey even though I am leaving my current job I think it is only right to give whatever amount of time or hey I need a couple of days or whatever to tie things up here and move, etc

"No new employer is going to force you to start in less than 2 weeks. If they do, you are going to find yourself in the same type of situation as what many of you say you are at Sears...undervalued"

Wrong and wrong. Some employers need someone right away. Some job postings have a start date of ASAP. I don't think starting a job right away equates to being undervalued. If an employer asks when you can start it generally means they have some flexibility and it would be okay to ask them if they are okay with giving your old employer 2 weeks. If the employer asks if you can start this week or on Monday it means they really need someone as soon as possible.

Everything is just contingent on who you are, how you were raised, and what you feel okay with doing. No new employer is going to force you to start in less than 2 weeks. If they do, you are going to find yourself in the same type of situation as what many of you say you are at Sears...undervalued. You might initially be paid more, but mark my words, you won't be treated well. If an employer truly wants you and values you, they will ask you when you can start working. Two weeks is nothing to a new employer. Some of them have been looking for people for months. It is all up to what you feel okay with doing yourself. Don't undervalue yourself....unless you are out of a job and need the money right away....give yourself a little bit of breathing room. If you want to "sock it to Sears" like many of you say, hey you can have an easy schedule for the last two weeks.....train as best you can and leave each day at 5pm. When I hire associates, one of the first questions I ask if when could you start. If they are currently working, and they say right away, I question it. I don't want someone to work with me who doesn't have the decency to give their last job a couple of weeks. I don't care how bad I need someone. I question what type of person this is. And I have hired a lot of associates over my many years. The best ones are the ones who say to me hey I have to give my old job two weeks, or hey I need a couple of weeks to decompress after my last job, etc. I think it sounds desperate, unless someone is out of work, when they say they can start right away.

I gave two weeks notice , help train my replacement and worked 7 days a week to make sure things were covered .

In the end , the replacement lasted 16 years until the company laid off the entire team and shuttered 90 % of the district.

Two weeks notice in a functional company works.

Two weeks notice in a dysfunctional company doesn't .

@qib, then offer your employees a reason to want to work there. I know to some extent your hands are tied because corporate s---s but there are things you can do.

Do you smile and welcome new comers or talk to them coldly? Do you ever just apologize that they have to go through so much crap to land a minimum wage job and tell them you appreciate the effort they have made schlepping around doing drug testing and spending an hour online taking the stupid tests etc. do you even bring in donuts for the employees, pizza, just because? do you ever tell the guys in the back who are soaking wet with sweat from unloading the truck to go take an extra 10 minute break or provide a $1.50 2 liter bottle of cold soda to drink? Just little things like that. Sometimes it's the vibe or attitude of management that can make a big difference. People know the company s---s but if they are treated well at the store level instead of being watched by cameras and called out for petty stuff they may just stick around instead of sticking it to ya.

"It's highly unprofessional to do that."

I can't afford to be the only professional acting person. Sears does not treat their employees professionally or ethically. i have to take care of my family, not Sears. I am not indispensable. There are people begging for more hours and people looking for jobs. Sears will have to deal with whatever problems they have created. If other employees feel the stress because I left abruptly, then it goes to show you how valuable I was even though I was never told or compensated for it. Sears will have to figure it out, if no one wants to work for them then they may need to step back and figure out why. But I can't take on their problems. I can only control myself and my household (to a certain extent) and my professionalism lies with the people whom I can depend upon.

"I agree with what you are saying but depending on what position you are in it can cause a hardship on your associates that you leave behind. That's who I am thinking about. Sears could care less if you leave asap or give a two weeks notice. It's the people left behind who have to pick up the work and adjust schedules because you walk out and just leave with no notice."

it can cause a hardship on fellow employees but that is not my bad. The fact that Sears treats my fellow employees is not my sin or burden, that belongs to Sears and Sears alone. I enjoyed my fellow co workers, we shared jokes, breaks and work, some I had over to the house for dinner with their spouses. I like most of my co-workers. But who is going to pay my mortgage when I'm laid off or get my hours cut? My spouse-not my co-workers, who will drive me to the ER in the middle of the night if needed? My spouse-not my coworkers. Who will buy my groceries, pay the credit card bill, help with college expenses for my kid, braces for my kid, etc....? My spouse, not my co-workers. I need to do what is best for me and my family, period end of story. I like my co-workers, I'm sorry that Sears treats them like crap but I can't change that. My loyalty is to my family and myself. They are the ones I count on, depend on and will do anything for. I will not feel badly about taking an opportunity that is best for my family.

I'm one of the hiring managers in a Sears store. A two week notice does us no good. It takes more than two weeks to find and train someone, and in my experience, you better hope they make it past the training period. It seems like every time we find a decent candidate and extend a job offer, they decline at the last minute, or they quit after the training or even the onboarding process. Realistically, most of our candidates can secure a job elsewhere with more hours and a higher hourly rate.

When someone leaves us with a two week notice, it really doesn't do any more good than someone leaving us immediately. Now that the economy is better we are on the brink of a staffing crisis. No one wants to work here.

@rhd It's highly unprofessional to do that. If you tell a company you need to give a week or two notice, they will respect that (or damn well should). If you get hired and can just cut-and-run from your previous position, most managers will only see that as a red flag and question if you'll do the same thing to them in the future.

Nothing says you can't SAY you need to give two weeks notice, and simply take a week break in the middle there. I've done that on more than one occasion and it's very nice to decompress from one job before the next. Just my 2¢

I agree with what you are saying but depending on what position you are in it can cause a hardship on your associates that you leave behind. That's who I am thinking about. Sears could care less if you leave asap or give a two weeks notice. It's the people left behind who have to pick up the work and adjust schedules because you walk out and just leave with no notice. If a new employer would want me to start asap and not allow me two weeks I probably would leave but I would feel bad about it.