With so much resigning going on, an enterprising stationery company has come up with a perfect solution to avoid those difficult conversations with one’s boss.
Years of scandal have caught up with the Prime Minister – so this is what was meant by the Great Resignation. At Personnel Today we’ve been trying to get to the bottom of the phrase for a long time. Yes, people have been experiencing itchy feet, the pandemic has caused a lot of introspection and fresh demands, but now, with the sort-of departure of Boris Johnson we truly have a resignation that is great.
Perhaps we should expect “them’s the breaks” to become all the rage when telling your boss about your plan to quit. “I’m dissatisfied with you making me come into the office three days a week, the pathetic pay rise you’ve offered me, this company’s failure to embrace net zero and the useless IT … so I’m off to Barbados to become a digital nomad – them’s the breaks.”
Of course most resignation conversations are more awkward than that and involve stiff, over-formal letters or just straightforward stand-up rows. But now there’s no need for any of this. For the perfect solution has arrived.
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A business called Funky Pigeon has produced printed resignation cards that neatly package the whole messy business.
Funky Pigeon funkily writes: “Luckily for thousands of workers, you can now soften the blow or rub salt in the wound with a resignation card.” On the inside the cards read:
Dear [Boss’s name],
Please accept this card as a formal resignation from my position as [job title] at [company name]. In accordance with the period of notice agreed in my employment contract, my last working day will be [date].
I would like to take this chance to thank you for all the opportunities presented to me during my time at [company name], however, in the best interest of my career, I feel it is time to move on.
Kate Escott, head of product at Funky Pigeon, believes, optimistically, that the cards will smooth things over: “By sending a resignation card you are able to soften the blow and perhaps even put a smile on your boss’s face before dropping the news that you are leaving.
“And for those that aren’t leaving amicably, it will certainly leave an impression on the recipient and hopefully add some joy along with the relief of leaving a job that you weren’t entirely happy with.”
Certainly there was no shortage of joy in response to some of the recent resignations.
Funky Pigeon enlisted an employment heavyweight to add legitimacy to what might seem a somewhat flippant approach to resigning. George Miller, at Richard Nelson LLP, reassures with: “There’s nothing to stop you from resigning via a card. Some employers might appreciate making light of the situation, but of course take your relationship with your boss into consideration before doing so. In regards to the legalities, you only need to be clear that you are ending your employment and give the date on which your employment is ending. Don’t be vague and say something like you ‘intend to resign’ as this is too uncertain.”
Some of the ministers who, until early this week were loyal lieutenants of Johnson, may have found Funky Pigeon’s services useful judging by their awkward tweets and pieces to camera, so often pompously starting with “It is with great sadness”. As for Big Dog himself perhaps a Funky Pigeon card addressed to Her Majesty might have been in order. She may have replied with “oh well, them’s the breaks.”
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