The corporate exit phenomenon

You've turned in your resignation letter. You're ready for a brand new start. And then, your supervisor asks you, as a personal favor, to stay on for a specified period of time. It could be two more weeks. It could be two more months. Part of you may be thinking, what the hell. You may be thinking, why burn bridges? Who will it hurt if you stay longer, anyway? Clearly, you are not aware of the corporate exit phenomenon.

This is the dynamic.

Stay longer, and you will only be hurting yourself in the long run. More time at this job (one that you've already decided you don't want!) means more possibilities for you to screw up in some way. And even though you mean to continue doing your best, the psychic effect of knowing that you'll be leaving eventually could well work against you, causing you to be careless even though you never intended to be.

Stay longer and you will see that the psychic effect of knowing you are leaving is also affecting your colleagues. Unconsciously, they will treat you as though you are no longer there. Or worse, they may resent you're eventual departure and try to offset this by getting you to do last favors for them.

Stay longer and your own supervisor will very likely try to pile things on upon you, holding you to your promise of work at the highest level, squeezing you of every last drop of work you can muster, all because he or she can.

Stay longer, and by the end of that specified extension period, you may find yourself liking everyone just a little bit less. They may well be liking you less, too. You will have expended whatever goodwill you might have enjoyed had you left shortly after tendering. It is also likely that the whole experience will leave a bad taste in your mouth. And rather than have pleasant memories of the good times you had, the entire time will be coloured negatively by that final period of finishing things off.

At all costs, avoid the corporate exit phenomenon. Make a clean break. Do yourself a favor. Take your leave...and just leave. Not only is it the best thing to do, it's the right thing to do.