If you’re getting ready to leave from your current position, whether it’s to work for yourself, start your own business, or take a step back from work entirely, it’s important to resign professionally. And an essential part of doing that is to provide your employer two weeks notice that you will be leaving your job.
To that end, this article is going to review how to calculate two weeks notice, and answer other commonly asked questions about putting in your two weeks notice.
How Does Two Weeks Notice Work?
Putting in your two weeks notice is common etiquette when resigning from your job. It means that you’re informing your employer of your intention to leave your current position, but will remain in the role for an additional two weeks (10 business days) so they can plan with your departure.
In general, you do that by by telling your manager that you intend to leave the company. In my opinion, that’s best done via a conversation (in-person or video call), rather than an email.
Often, a conversation with your manager will be accompanied by a resignation later, but that’s not necessary unless required by your employee handbook.
Finally, the below video from Adam Answers provides some good additional perspective on the purpose of two weeks notice and whether you truly have to give two weeks notice or not.
How to Calculate Two Weeks Notice?
Count 10 business days from the day of your resignation.
So, for example, if you were to submit your resignation on Monday, February 14th then 10 business days would be Monday, February 28th.
However, note that in the dates provided, it would be fairly common for someone to have their last day be Friday, February 25th so they can have a clean departure heading into a weekend. Typically, employers will be fine with that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Two Weeks Notice Include Holidays?
No, two weeks notice typically does not include holidays.
Two weeks notice is generally considered to be ten business days and a holiday would not be considered a business day.
That said, in my experience, employers are typical fairly flexible and if you have one company holiday during what would otherwise be a ten business day period, you can generally still leave at the end of that period without burning a bridge.
Does Two Weeks Notice Include the Day That You Give Notice?
There is a bit of debate as to whether or not your two weeks notice includes the actual day that you gave notice or the day after.
However, at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter too much. The big picture question to think about is whether or not your giving your company sufficient time to plan for your departure and whether you’re giving yourself sufficient time to wrap up your projects.
In general, a portion of an extra business day isn’t going to make that much of a difference in your ability to transition smoothly so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.
However, if you’re someone that really wants to do things by the book, then I would start counting your two week clock from the day after you put in your notice.
Is Two Weeks Notice 10 or 14 Days?
In general, two weeks notice is considered to be 10 business days, and not 14 total days.
The primary instance where that would matter is if you have holidays that take place at some point over the course of your two week notice.
In my experience, 10 business days vs. 14 days doesn’t matter too much as most employers will be flexible with you if you have a holiday in the midst of your notice and it would make the most sense to wrap up on the 14 business days window.
How to Calculate Your Resignation Date?
Your resignation date is the date that you inform your company that you intend to leave your job. Figuring out that date is generally quite simple.
Your departure date is your last day with the company. You calculate your departure date by counting 10 business days from the first full business day after your resignation date.
Again, your exact departure date is subject to discussion with your employer, but it should generally be around 10 business days after your resignation.
Giving Two Weeks Notice on a Monday
In general, putting in your two weeks notice on a Monday is a perfectly fine practice. In fact, there are actually quite a few pros to doing so.
First, putting in your two weeks on a Monday enables you to have your last day be the following Friday and still meeting roughly the ten business day etiquette standard. Personally, I find it most clean to wrap up on a Friday, as that provides a breaking point leading into a weekend.
Additionally, by resigning on a Monday, you probably won’t be dealing with as many people being out of the office as you would if you resigned on, say, a Friday. That will enable your boss to act on your resignation quickly and potentially even get a counter offer together if they want to try and retain you.
For recommendations on the best day of the week to resign, check on our article on the best day of the week to submit your resignation.
Conclusion
How to calculate two weeks notice? Put simply, you calculate your two weeks notice by counting 10 business days from the first full business day after you inform your company of your departure.
In general, there is some flexibility on the exact date that you will be departing a company and many organizations will be flexible and still consider you to be leaving on good terms if you wrap up a bit earlier than exactly two weeks.
Just make sure to have a conversation with your manager about it and find a date that suits both parties.
