The resignation letter may be becoming a relic.
A recent survey by language site Preply of more than 1,000 full-time employees who have recently left a job found 76% conveyed their resignation plans with just an in-person conversation, 23% emailed their resignation, and 10% just texted it.
While the vast majority of the recent quitters surveyed said they avoided negative language in their resignation, some admitted to unprofessional behavior when they quit.
“These were behaviors such as yelling at their boss, using curse words, and using all-caps in writing their resignation email or text,” said Sylvia Johnson, language expert and head of methodology at Preply.
Some employees in the survey who’ve recently quit say they just chose not to come in.
“What is very surprising for me is that one in five people ghost their employer,” Johnson said. “They’re just not showing up. They just disappear from one day to the next.”
An overwhelming majority of those surveyed said they actively avoided negative language during the resignation process, but 12% said they were angry when they quit, another 12% said they were passive-aggressive, and 6% said they were sarcastic.
“We have had an increase in more casual work cultures, so corporate cultures have perhaps become a bit more relaxed and a bit more informal. While it allows in general more freedom of expression, perhaps that can lead to blurred lines causing tense and inappropriate behavior,” Johnson said.
Among those surveyed, 1 in 8 said they timed their resignation to cause maximum disruption to their employer. Over 1 in 10 had written emotionally charged reviews of former employers on platforms such as Glassdoor. Top words used in those reviews include “stressful,” “frustrating,” “disorganized,” “toxic,” and “overworked.”
Part of the separation process at many employers is the “exit interview,” or the chance for departing employees to share their reasons for leaving and their experience with the company. While helpful in theory to the company or managers as a way to improve their roles, the Preply survey found 72% of managers view exit interviews as more of a formality than a genuine opportunity for feedback.
Preply’s full report on how people are resigning, including responses broken down by industry and age group is online.
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