An ex-coworker of mine decided to flame out in spectacular fashion yesterday. He worked for a multi-national company and decided to send this email to every distribution list he could find (even some clients). I have removed the names to protect the flamed.
Dear (HR Manager)<o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>
Please accept my resignation affective today, September 6th, 2006.<o:p></o:p>
I would like to remind you that the California Labor Code specifies that an employee who resigns must receive his final wages with 72 hours of quitting. If final payment is not received within 72 hours, a waiting time penalty equal to the employee' daily rate of pay may be assessed against the employer for each day that overdue final wages remain unpaid. <o:p></o:p>
I urge you to focus on the management style currently in place in (City Name) Five senior software engineers have left within the last three months. Surely sometime during your HR training you learned that a whole department resigning or being fired is a key indicator that something might be amiss. Might I recommend that you use the Dilbert "what's more likely" technique: That five senior software engineers with a combined 20 odd years of service on dozens of successful projects suddenly became inept and disillusioned? Or, one ignorant, inept, non-communicative, mean-spirited, dumb manager (Manager Name) was hired (by another equally dumb, inept manager: (Manager’s Manager Name) and singled-handedly destroyed the morale of the entire team? <o:p></o:p>
Morale was, and is, at an all time low in the department. Isn't there someone in charge of morale at (Company)/(City)? Like, perhaps, the HR department? Do you think the way you all treat people has an affect on people's work, and hence, the products they develop? Has it occurred to you that the reason you all keep losing bids on projects is that the product is poor and the company behind the product does not respect it's own employees, not to mention it's customers? Do you really think hiring fifty contractors is going to improve that? I'm guessing that (Competitor Name) probably treats its people a little better then you all do. <o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p>
Regards,<o:p></o:p>
(Disgruntled Ex-Employee Name)<o:p></o:p>
Senior Software Engineer<o:p></o:p>