Salary at 10 am, resignation at 10:05 am: Toxic culture or smart timing? Bengaluru CA-turned-founder decodes

Payday usually brings cheer, but for many employees, it’s also the finish line. The moment their salaries hit, resignation letters start flying. A viral LinkedIn post recently captured this exact phenomenon — salary at 10:00 am, resignation at 10:05 am. While it sparked endless debates online about loyalty, professionalism, and workplace culture, Bengaluru-based CA-turned-founder Meenal Goel stepped in with her take, and it hit a nerve with thousands.

Goel explained that these lightning-fast exits aren’t always about “grabbing the money and running.” More often, they’re the result of employees holding on until they’ve been paid what they’re owed before finally walking away from an environment that has drained them. “I’ve done this myself,” she admitted, recalling a previous job where she repeatedly raised issues about workload, lack of support, and unclear expectations — only to be ignored. Months later, she resigned right after payday.

The real problem, she argued, lies in companies treating exit interviews as their first real listening exercise. By the time an employee is out the door, it’s already too late. “If someone leaves because of you, that’s a moment for the company to reflect, not just ‘collect feedback,’” Goel wrote.

Not every resignation is the same

Still, she was quick to point out that not every resignation after payday signals toxicity. Sometimes, it’s just better timing or the arrival of a new opportunity. Companies, of course, lose trust, money, and time when employees walk without notice, but if the trend keeps repeating, Goel posed a hard question: “What made them stay only until payday in the first place?”

Internet reacts

Many agreed that quitting right after payday is less about the five minutes between salary credit and resignation, and more about the months or years leading up to it. Users pointed out reasons like broken promises at the time of hiring, managers dodging hard conversations until notice was given, stalled recognition, heavy workloads, and unchecked office politics. While some acknowledged it can simply be about timing or a better offer, many argued that recurring patterns signal deeper problems like cultural misalignment, burnout, or leadership blind spots. In truly healthy workplaces, people don’t wait for payday to escape — they stay because they genuinely want to.