You probably heard of Steven Slater.  He was the JetBlue flight attendant who told a passenger to sit down and then got hit in the head with her falling bag. When he asked her to apologize she responded with a foul refusal.  Authorities said Slater dropped several f-bombs over the plane’s loud speaker, grabbed two beers, deployed the plane’s emergency slide and ran to his car. 

Quitting Your Job in Style?

Some news articles are saying he quit his job with style, which could not be farther from the truth. I don’t think we should be celebrating him for quitting his job the way he did. All of us interact with customers or clients who drive us nuts on a daily basis.  It is part of the job description to have patience and respect. There are some things you just have to deal with and if you can’t handle it, go ahead and quit but do it respectfully.  

I fly all the time for work and I know how stressful flying can be. A flight attendant is not a normal office job due to all the emotions that are involved on an airplane. Flight attendants are responsible for calming the atmosphere and making sure that everyone feels comfortable and safe on the flight. 

Some passengers on the plane have just said good-bye to their loved ones or are terrified of flying.  Even worse, passengers are flying to a funeral or to see a sick loved one.  I also am aware that some passengers do not know the rules of flying and get up before the plane has come to a complete stop.  Some people just don’t listen to instructions and flight attendants and passengers must really have patience with these people.

[Related: Job Search Etiquette]

Quit Your Job The Right Way!

I am very supportive of quitting a job that does not provide you with the opportunities that you want and if your employer is not acknowledging or appreciating the hard work you are doing. But, the best and most honorable way to quit is with a resignation letter which will hopefully enable you to have a positive reference in the future. 

In addition, you should say goodbye and be positive about all the great aspects of the company and how the job has benefited you. Other great ideas from Forbes are to make it clear that the decision is about you, not everyone else and to acknowledge how others will be affected.  This shows that you really do care about the future of the company and that you put a lot of thought into the decision. This is how you quit a job with style. 

UPDATE: 

I just read on CNN that the flight aAttendant now wants his job back! According to his lawyer, “His father was a pilot; his mother was a flight attendant. That’s in his blood. That’s what he likes to do.” Maybe he should have thought about that before his performance last week!

Good luck getting your job back, sir.  I doubt that JetBlue will want to put its passengers in an unsafe environment with a flight attendant who loses his temper so quickly!