From hero to sudden villain, after resignation. Employee complains of emotional manipulation during notice period

Workplaces often feel like home after you have been a part of the organisation for a long time. Even before you drop your official resignation, a heavy feeling takes over you. There’s a strange mix of emotions featuring nostalgia and nervousness. All of a sudden, the desk you have worked at, inside jokes with colleagues, mini chai-breaks and juggling chaotic deadlines all appear to mean more as your mind plays every memory over and over in your head. But for one employee, the decision to quit was met with such cold indifference that they felt like a stranger in the company.

Workplace turned hostile after employee chose to resign

A Reddit user recently posted an honest confession on the platform, highlighting how almost everyone at his firm started behaving strangely with him after he decided to resign. The Redditor admitted that the sudden behavioural detachment from his coworkers and boss took an emotional toll on him, especially because they had previously been warm and accepting towards him.

The dejected man revealed that the environment at his workplace felt “peachy” until the day he submitted his resignation and began his notice period. He recalled that the same colleagues who treated him like family and checked upon him regularly grew distant. But he received the biggest shock of his life when even his boss, who previously admired and considered him to be a ‘gem of a person’, started acting coldly towards him. The boss accused him of lacking commitment, abandoning his team during a high-pressure period and even reprimanded him for not consulting before quitting.

Internet sympathises with dejected employee

The Reddit user admitted that resignations can sometimes be inconvenient for teams, but he couldn’t accept the abrupt shift in everyone’s behaviour due to his personal decision. He confessed to feelings alienated in a place he felt like home and had been a part of for a year. Although the employee revealed that he should ignore these incidents and move forward, the situation had affected him deeply, making it far more difficult than expected.

The post received a wide spectrum of reactions. One individual pointed out that the employee was noticing the true ‘face’ of his ‘so-called family’, adding that the corporate world works like this. Echoing a similar sentiment, another highlighted that as long as an employee delivers, adjusts and agrees with the company, they are considered fitting. But the moment they leave, it makes them a villain. ‘Always love your work or job, not the company,’ advised someone else.