What Was Your Last Day at Work Like?

[jim9251]

-- How did you feel getting ready that morning?

It was great! I wore jeans, tennis shoes and a tshirt.

-- Did you actually do any work? Had your duties already been taken away from you?

Didn't do a thing, hung around, visited, said my goodbyes.

-- Your last week or so did you do any really work?

Nope. I was told in fact to "sit stay".

-- Did you feel...funny/strange....giddy/thrilled?.....trepidation?.....

VERY happy relieved.

-- Was there a party or and recognition (in the office) of your leaving?

Yes, with cake too.

-- Did others know you were leaving< how did THEY feel and react? What's they say?

Everyone knew I was retiring. It was a big deal, some folks cried. It was on the news and in the paper.

-- Did you go on vacation and just not come back from vacation?

I don't understand this question. The next morning, I slept in, then went to a matinee, came home took a nap. In afew weeks I moved to another state.

Retirement is great. I've never slept so well and been as relaxed as I am no. I have zero worries.

[AK-Cathy]

Anticlimactic. Lots of traffic, short staffing. I spent the last hours on the clock strapped to a headset like everyone else. The usual cake was entirely populated by admin staffers as we were too short handed to let people off for the occasion. I had cake and went back to work. If I had to do it over again I'd have emptied my locker a day or two before as I had accumulated more junk than I thought. It was the days immediately after that were surreal. It took a while to sink in that I was retired, not on leave and I never looked back.

ETA: I worked for the federal govt. so tax layers got their full due to the last hour.

[flyonpa]

One of my Co/Workers retired few years ago, He rode his motorcycle to work, He's was a early bird 7am start, he arrived around 9am. (In the week before we did information transfer.) Only thing he had left on his desk that day was his Laptop and coffee mug, and a fan.

He wonder around the building for about an hour or so at 11am he did the out interview video conference with HR. Noon I took him to Lunch, around 1:30p, he gave me his laptop, and Encryption number device. I walked him down to security (stopped at all the desks he missed on his morning pass), they took his ID card. 2p he headed home. (I did his time sheet the following Monday put him in for 7.5hrs)

About 6 weeks later, he came back for his good by lunch with our manager (who is based 800 miles away), and few others.

[selhars]

- Did you go on vacation and just not come back from vacation?

Sorry it wasn't clear...a co-worker didn't let anyone know he was retiring until he was walking about the door on vacation.....so his last day working was not his last day on the payroll. He technically retired after his vacation was up, but obviously never came back from vacation.

So basically I was asking did you physically leave while you were still on the payroll, and let leave or vacation take you to your "effective retirement date."

Where I work as of January you earn all you year's vacation for that year, AND you have to work an entire quarter (can't be short not even a day) if you want to get your defined contribution for that quarter. Soooo, he left work on December 21st, but because he was "on vacation" and therefore the payroll until his retirement two weeks later, January 4th, 2015.....he was able to get paid for all his 2015 vacation, AND get his last quarter 2014 defined contribution. Where I work if you leave, let's say on March 25th, or June 28th, or December 28th you won't get any DC for those last three months -- NONE. So if you're going to retire you might as well do it early in the next quarter, to get paid for the last one.

I like the way my co-worker planned his exit. Clearly he worked all benefits and finances to his advantage. I plan to do the same.
One co-worker had a month's leave that he took going into retirement. So he didn't work the last month he was "employed." Sweet.