A majority of workers are at the end of their rope or have had enough of their employer. If the various surveys are true, there would be 41% (according to Microsoft) to 95% (according to Monster) of employees who are considering leaving their job. Here is a small list of weird, daring or spectacular resignations, drawn from work of fiction or real life, which gives us pause before committing an irreparable act… or, on the contrary, a beneficial one!
1. “A MONUMENTAL mistake…”
The reference dates back a few years but remains rich in teaching. In an episode of Seinfeld, George Costanza enters his boss’ office on a Friday afternoon and resigns with a bang, telling his boss his four truths (“you think you’re an important man, you are a joke, these people are laughing at you”).
Acting on a whim, George has no exit plan. “It doesn’t sound like you completely thought this through” delicately sums up Jerry, in an inconclusive conversation aimed at determining what kinds of trades George would like to do in the future.
Leaving a job without taking the time to think about the root causes of leaving can lead us to repeat the same model in a future employer. Becoming aware of his “MONUMENTAL mistake”, George decided – in a very humorous way – to return to the office the following Monday, as if nothing happened!
2. “A defining moment”
In the film Jerry Maguire, it is not technically the protagonist who resigns. Jerry Maguire is fired after having distributed an internal memo (“not a memo”, he specifies, but a “declaration of intention for the future of the company”) which denounces the mercantile values of the organization he
helped build.
Jerry Maguire wants to put human values back above the profit and profitability values promoted by sports agents (“Fewer clients. Less money. More attention.”) But he quickly realizes that his “mission statement” is far from unanimous among his colleagues. In the end, only one employee (Dorothy Boyd/Renée Zellweger) and only one athlete (Rod Tidwell/Cuba Gooding Jr.) agreed to accompany him on his adventure.
If the film teaches us one thing, it is that carrying one’s values high at work and in the professional world can sometimes clash with sensitivities. However, when perseverance is shown, these values can become a vector of success!
3. Resigning on TikTok
Here is a real resignation, which was made on TikTok, in order to denounce a toxic organizational culture. The video quickly went viral. A Walmart employee denounced the “racist and sexist” culture of her managers in the intercom before leaving the store with a bang.
4. Give up a chance for a medal
Another real and public resignation, made in the same spirit of denunciation, this time on Twitter. Last June, Australian swimmer Madeline Groves, a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, gave up her position as a swimmer on the Australian national team by declining the invitation to do the qualifying trials leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.
She explained that she did not want to support the exploitative culture of girls by participating in the 2020 Games. This week, she went back on her controversial decision to thank people for having supported her in large numbers in her resignation.
She confirmed to The Sydney Morning Herald that her action was worthwhile, as an independent committee has been set up in Australia to examine the culture of her sports federation.
