Notice Period.

Consultant calls us with new profile, new responsibilities, percentage hike, and then few rounds of interviews, offer letter and finally the difficult process to take it to the boss, after some deliberations, the acceptance.

This is somewhat regular in professional career life. And then starts the notice period – 30, 60, 90 days, depending on the position you hold in the organisation. Whatever the notice period duration, somehow it’s divided in few parts.

Soon after the acceptance of resignation, nothing much changes in the first part. No one knows about your departure, we too think still so many days to go, same meetings, timelines, visits, working on the given tasks, issues, everything regular as usual.

Then slowly in the second part, few colleagues get to know about it, the hush-hush discussions of asking you about where you are going, role, company, city and with few the hike as well. “Congrats”, “best wishes”, despite knowing that one is getting relieved from this grind to get into other.

Then the final part, where it gets more opened, the jargon HOTO (handover-takeover) doc, the eye contacts in the pantry, lobby, canteen saying, “hey leaving?”.

Even those with whom, we try to overtake, with whom we always get into issues, they too come and discuss in friendly manner.

We too leave all the grudges and get along. During send off, all good things talked about, we get emotional and it makes you feel that you shouldn’t be leaving the organisation.

I think all the above feelings in part three come to us when we know that someone can’t be seen, meet henceforth, at least that frequent.

Both the sides come to a term that it’s always better to be good with each other as there is no point continuing the unnecessary grudges.

This may seem far-fetched, but we often forget that life too is a kind of notice period we all are serving; we just don’t know when that period is getting over.

It’s easier said than done, but we can at least try to be kind to each other, when we are there together, as in this final send off, the other person won’t be there to listen to your good talk.

Vb