Job hunting while employed is basically the reality every working adult faces. Nobody tells their boss “hey, I’m shopping around” until the new gig is a sure thing.

That’s exactly the move one contractor made when a better offer landed in his lap. Better pay, actual PTO, a 401(k), the whole adult starter pack.

So instead of quitting cold turkey, he decided he would ease into thew new role. For the next couple weeks, he maintained his current position, all while leaving early to test the waters at the new place.

So when the grass really did turn out to be greener, he gave notice to his boss like a responsible adult, agreed to stay on and wrap things up properly.

But when his boss decided to fire him and spread gossip instead of letting him finish his transition, he found himself totally blindsided.

Keep reading for the full story.

My Manager Turned My Resignation Into a Public “You’re Fired” Joke After I Agreed to Help With the Transition

I was working as a contractor for a Fortune 100 company. The pay was decent, but the management was toxic.

So when the employee rwas offered a full-time position, he felt conflicted.

Eventually, I received an offer from a much smaller company for a full-time remote position with a significantly better salary and benefits, including PTO and a 401(k).

At first, I was unsure whether I should leave my contract role and join the smaller company.

He tried to tread carefully and make the best decision possible.

To evaluate the new opportunity, I did not immediately resign from my contract position.

Instead, for about two weeks, I obtained approval to leave work early each day.

This worked out well enough for a while.

Since I was working in the Eastern Time Zone, I told my manager that I needed to leave at noon each day for personal reasons.

The new full-time job was remote and operated on Pacific Time.

After leaving my contract job early, I would go home and work for the new company.

After about a week and a half, I realized that the new job was a much better fit. The team was supportive, the work was enjoyable, and I wanted to commit to it fully.

So he decided it was time to come clean to his boss.

On Wednesday of the second week, I met with my manager and informed him that I was resigning.

He asked when my last day would be, and I told him I was prepared to make that day my final day.

The boss countered with a suggestion, and the employee did his best to accomodate.

However, he said that because I had several outstanding responsibilities, he needed me to stay longer.

He asked me to continue working through the following Friday, and I agreed.

The next day, Thursday, I conducted a knowledge-transfer session with my team members as requested.

But then his boss did a total 180.

Later that same day, my manager called me and informed me that the company had decided not to continue my employment and asked me to return all company equipment.

I went to the office that evening and returned everything.

Soon the employee realized the boss was now spreading blatant lies.

The following day, several former coworkers contacted me and told me that my manager had posted a message in Microsoft Teams stating that he had fired me.

According to them, he also shared a “You’re Fired” meme and stated that I had been terminated because I was working two jobs simultaneously.

I am trying to understand what, if anything, I should do in response to this situation.

What a tough situation.

What did Reddit have to say?

There’s no reason he can’t clear his name with his coworkers.

Juggling two jobs at once was never going to be easy.

This user suggests potentially getting HR involved.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man who is shocked to learn how little he has to do to keep his cushy remote job.

It would be wise to think ahead in this situation.

At the end of the day, this worker did everything right. He didn’t ghost, he didn’t burn the place down on the way out, he even agreed to stick around longer than they had to so the transition wouldn’t be a mess.

That’s the kind of respectful exit most managers dream about.

Instead, he got fired the moment he wasn’t useful anymore, then watched his manager turn the whole thing into an opportunity for attention.

Petty is a choice, and this boss made it.