How to Handle Receiving a Two Week Notice - Spark Hire

How to Handle Receiving a Two Week Notice - Spark HireFor quite some time it has been general practice for employees to give their employers a two weeks leidice if they plan to leave the company. This gives you, the employer, time to plan ahead and get started on the hiring process. Its also just considered common courtesy for an employee to let their employer know that they will be leaving. When employees dont do it, it can burn bridges and place a smudge on their resume. However, what if you dont want your employee to stay the entire two weeks? When an employee gives you their two weeks notice, what are your options as an employer?If you had a good working relationship with this employee and they are simply leaving because they found another job, are going back to school or are moving then the fact that they are putting in their two weeks notice shouldnt be a difficult situation to handle. On the other hand, when employees leave or quit its not always on the best of terms. Many emp loyers question whether or not they actually want this person to stay in their bro for another two weeks if they are no longer motivated or care to work there.If you have an employee that put in their two weeks notice and you fear that they will bring the overall morale of the team down during those two weeks, dont just force them to leave. First off, if you force them to leave when they notify you then this employee may now be eligible for unemployment. With the amount of people today that are on unemployment, and with the job market in shambles, its likely that a jaded employee would take advantage of your decision to make them leave right away.Thats not the only drawback though. If this employee gave you a two weeks notice and you told them to just leave then, other employees are going to notice. They will see that their coworker did the right thing but were asked to leave right away. After witnessing this, your other employees will likely think twice before they give you a two w eeks notice. Instead, they just might up and leave without more than an hour notice. This is definitely something you dont want. Plus, your company probably has a policy set in place for handling these kinds of situations. Going back on company policy looks bad on you and can make for a tense environment.Instead of throwing this employees two weeks to the wind and forcing them to leave right away, you should simply accept their leave. If you are concerned that they will mess with the morale of your office during those two weeks or will goof off, then you can let them know that they do not have to stay the entire two weeks. Let them know they will be paid for the two weeks, but that they do not have to come into the office. It may seem like they are getting off super easy, but paying two weeks of this employees compensation will be better than two years of the unemployment you may have to pay if you force them to leave.Of course not all employees that choose to leave your company are going to compromise the office and their work. A good number of employees will gracefully leave and finish their two weeks as they normally would. The same cant be said for all employees though, so be sure you are dealing with situation the right way and cover all of your bases.IMAGE Courtesy of About.com Human Resources

Answering email on vacation wipes out your good memories

Answering email on vacation wipes out your good memoriesAnswering email on vacation wipes out your good memoriesIf youre dedicated to your job, youve probably answered a few work emails during your vacation. Whats the harm, right? A few emails wont ruin anything. And FOMO - fear of missing out - is real. Our smartphones hold our whole lives camera, email, texts, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (at least for some of us.) The sirens call of clicking on those apps can be hard to resist on your vacation. What if you get an important work email or great opportunity? What if you miss out on that social media post of all your friends having fun without you?But lift your hand from that screen. According to a newHomeAway studyin partnership with the University of Texas, the best thing you can do for your own peace of mind is to limit your phone usage and work-related activities on vacation. Even a little bit of social engagement or work can wipe out all the good memories you will have from being away from home.Looking at our devices affects our brains and memoriesEven working for just one hour a day during your vacation can have far-reaching consequences for the memorability of your trip.Of the 713 adults HomeAway surveyed in six countries, those who checked their devices for an hour on vacation were 43% more likely to not be able to remember the details of theirvacation. In other words, if we work while were away, work quickly takes over our brains, pushing out everything else.Its not just the time, its also the device.Using laptops, in particular, had a negative effect on memory recall. How can you remember that delicious local food or a sunny beach when youre focusing on a big, cold, digital screen? You cant- literally.So how much time should you spend working while on vacation?Get this Less than an hour.HomeAway found that 60% of thosewho kept their phone usage to under an hour and had total recall of their vacation.For the best vacation memories, use InstagramOk ay, so working on your vacation is bad and detracts from the whole point of a vacation to make fun, memorable, restorative experiences.But what about checking your Instagram?Social media did not havean effect on a participants ability to recall events, but it did play a role in their ability to recall how they felt on vacation. Participants who uploaded their trip photos to social media showed more emotional recall.And the type of platform you choose to use can also determine how much of a helpful memory aid the the technology can be. People who posted to Instagram were 24% more likely than Facebook users to remember with total clarity how they felt on vacations. The difference between Facebook and Instagram makes sense when you recognize how Instagram is a much more visual platform than Facebook, which makes it ideal for photos.Overall, the takeaway is to limityour smartphone use tovacation-related activities like looking up directions to your hotel everything else can wait until y oure back home and working.