One in four UK employees have quit a job via text message, new Careerminds research revails

UNITED KINGDOM, July 2026 – Nearly one in four UK employees (24.0%) have resigned from a job via text, WhatsApp, Slack or Teams, and the trend skews sharply towards younger, higher-earning, and more senior staff. It’s a natural extension of how the UK already communicates day to day, as 89% of Brits text regularly, and the habit is only becoming more entrenched among the youngest employees. Research from Barclays LifeSkills has found that 49.0% of Gen Z workers now choose instant messaging platforms over email at work, a shift that’s starting to carry over into how they handle the big conversations, including resigning. 

With that in mind, Careerminds UK surveyed 600 UK employees to find out how they resign from jobs. 

Key findings: 

• Nearly 1 in 4 UK employees (24.0%) have resigned from a job via text, WhatsApp, Slack or Teams. 

• WhatsApp is the UK’s top digital resignation method, used by 13.5% of workers, more than text (8.2%) and Slack or Teams (2.3%) combined. 

• Gen Z employees are 4.8 times more likely than Boomers to quit digitally, at 37.1% versus 7.7%. 

• Directors and above are more than twice as likely as entry-level staff to resign this way, at 34.0% versus 15.4%. 

“Resigning by text or WhatsApp isn’t just a shortcut, it’s a sign of how informal everyday work communication has become”, said Amanda Augustine, resident careers expert at Careerminds UK and a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC). “When you’re already messaging your manager about workload, annual leave or sick days on WhatsApp, it’s easy to start viewing it as your go-to channel for every conversation, even the uncomfortable ones like resigning”. 

The full research findings are below: 

• WhatsApp beats text and Slack combined: More than 1 in 10 UK employees (13.5%) have resigned over WhatsApp, more than those who quit by text (8.2%) and Slack or Teams (2.3%) combined. Formal resignation remains the norm overall, with 59.2% saying they resigned through official channels and a further 16.8% admitting they considered a digital exit but held back. 

• Gen Z say goodbye by app; Boomers stick to policy: Gen Z employees (aged 18–29) are 4.8 times more likely than Boomers (aged 61 and over) to resign digitally, at 37.1% versus 7.7%. WhatsApp drives most of the gap: 23.3% of Gen Z have quit over WhatsApp alone, against just 3.8% of the oldest age group. 

• Senior staff skip the formal goodbye too: Directors and above are more than twice as likely as entry-level employees to resign via text or messaging app, at 34.0% versus 15.4%. They are also over five times more likely to use Slack or Teams specifically to quit, at 8.0% versus 1.5% of entry-level staff. 

• Men go digital more than women and risk more legally: 28.0% of men have resigned via text, WhatsApp, or Slack or Teams, compared with 18.7% of women. The gap holds across every channel: 8.7% of men have quit by text versus 7.4% of women, 16.0% by WhatsApp versus 10.1%, and 3.2% by Slack or Teams versus 1.2%. Under Acas guidance, whether such a resignation is legally valid depends on what an employee’s contract says about notice given electronically, meaning many of these digital exits may carry more legal risk than employees realise. 

“For employers, this is a good opportunity to review how clearly their resignation process is communicated”, Augustine added. “If employment contracts don’t spell out whether a text or instant message counts as formal notice, employees may assume it’s acceptable while employers assume otherwise. Setting clear expectations helps avoid confusion for everyone”. 

Careerminds is a global workforce solutions provider delivering career transition, workforce design and talent development to organisations worldwide. Our consumer career brands extend that reach, giving individuals AI-powered career tools and coaching at every stage of the career journey. Together, we combine technology, data and human expertise to create a connected ecosystem that supports both workforce transformation and individual career success. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. 

Amanda Augustine is the resident careers expert for Careerminds, career.io, and its suite of brands: resume.io, TopResume, TopCV, TopInterview, Resume.ai, and others. As a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), she has spent more than 20 years helping professionals improve their careers and land the right job sooner. Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and Facebook. 

Methodology 

The research draws on a Pollfish survey of 600 UK employed adults, conducted in May 2026. The study was designed to characterise how and why UK employees resign from jobs, including how the communication method varies by seniority, age, gender, salary and promotion history.