Man Has 'Last Laugh' After Company Demands Formal 2-Week Notice Letter

A man in Washington State has left the internet in stitches with his unusual take on a resignation letter for his employer.

Claudiu Nistor had been at his job as a laboratory analyst for three and a half years but when the time came to move on he found a hilarious way to hand in his notice.

In a post on Reddit's popular r/antiwork forum, Nistor explained how, despite being an at-will employer, the HR department at his company asked for a formal two weeks' notice and "demanded" a formal letter of resignation, prompting him to come up with something unusual.

Printed on a template for a Shrek-themed birthday invitation, he shared the notice, which is accompanied by pictures of the popular cartoon character.

"I work for an at-will employer. They can fire me without notice and I can leave without notice," Nistor told Newsweek. "I began the process of applying to graduate school back in October, and because the lab I'm in was critically understaffed at the time, I let management know that I was planning on leaving some time in 2023."

"While I knew that telling them that would effectively kneecap my ability to get raises in the company, I thought it was the right thing to do since our HR department literally takes three months to hire anyone, and training for my position also takes at least two months," he said.

After taking the job straight out of college, he explained that the company had not treated him as well as he felt they should have.

"My biggest bone to pick with upper management and HR was their absolute neglect in fulfilling the raises they promise with good annual reviews," he said. "This company pays the industry-lowest rate in my field yet recruits people with Bachelor of Science degrees that generally make at least 30 percent more than what they offer. I took this job with a little too much haste straight out of college, and only stuck around this long to make my resume look good and to gain solid references to apply to graduate school."

"I was pretty fed up. I didn't want to burn my bridges, but I did want to deliver something with the same level of disrespect and unprofessionalism HR showed me," he said.

"I don't really have a malicious bone in my body, so I can't just be super-rude to someone I don't know. I figured the jovial Shrek theme along with rather terse writing and a XOXO sign off was the perfect blend of well-deserved unprofessionalism and good humor," added Nistor.

Immediately after sending the Shrek-themed letter, he had a response from his boss.

"My direct supervisor emailed me back right away with a 'LOL nice use of Shrek," said Nistor. "Unfortunately, no one at HR or upper management replied to my letter. I was really hoping to instigate a reaction out of them, but they probably realized that and decided to not reply."

Despite posting on the /antiwork forum on Reddit, Nistor clarified his position: "I'd like to emphasize that I'm not 'anti-work' despite me posting to a subreddit with that name."

All the same, others on the forum did enjoy seeing the unusual resignation note.

With more than 74,000 upvotes, it left many people in stitches.

"My time with the company is ogre," joked one commenter, while another wrote: "Time to get out of that swamp."

"That's a bold move, you're a genius," said another Redditor.

"I'm a bit shocked it took off the way it did, but also thrilled to see it did," said Nistor. "Since HR never replied to my letter I was hoping the viral reaction would help instigate more of a reaction from them. No word yet so far, so we'll see how this goes."

"I think employers need to lighten up a bit and let the employees they depend on have the last, inconsequential laugh from time to time," he added.

Have you had a workplace dilemma? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.

Update 6/28/23, 7:49 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a new picture.