“It sounds like the person who resigned followed all the necessary steps by adhering to the company policy, and they even showed goodwill by offering to stay on longer to wrap up work. It’s clear that the employer in turn did not show goodwill in response to the announcement that the staff member was leaving. That is likely something that will backfire on them.

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“Employees who have witnessed this response to the resignation will know, ‘this could happen to me, just because I am continuing my career elsewhere’. It’s bad for staff morale and an unsustainable way to manage people.”

Professor Boersma says you shouldn’t be worried that you broke some unwritten or little-known rule – you didn’t. This is a problem of your boss’s making, and it’s not you who needs to modify your workplace behaviour.

“There can be a range of reasons why the employer responded like this: they could be stressed, overworked or even incompetent. Regardless of the reason, the employer was unprofessional, not the employee.

“The former employee should not be worried about what is being said about them by the old employer. It is not a narrative they can control, and the former colleagues will have their own, undoubtedly positive, experiences to draw on.”

I think you have every right to be furious about how your resignation has been handled, and I really hope your new workplace has some adults in charge.

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