67-year-old cleaner leaves a powerful life lesson for 'cruel' manager in her resignation letter

Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 21, 2023. It has since been updated.

Respect and kindness are two qualities that are extremely important if an individual wants to be truly considered a successful human being. Ultimately it is the way an individual makes other people feel that matters after they go from this world; not the money or degrees they earned. This is what Julie Cousins wanted to emphasize in her resignation letter when she decided to quit after being mistreated by a manager, reports BBC.

Cousins had a long career of 35 years as a cleaner. For the last five years, she has been employed at HSBC Bank and has been diligent in fulfilling her duties. She loved her job and looked forward to it every day. But she was forced to put her papers down in 2021 after getting humiliated by the note's recipient, Julie, who was the bank manager at the time.

Though she had a lot of goodwill for the organization that had been her second home for five years, she chose to not go down quietly. This decision was taken to remind others that no matter which position an individual is employed in, they deserve respect.

Cousins decided to impart an important life lesson to Julie through her resignation letter. The brilliant letter was shared by Cousins' son, Joe, on Twitter and has since gone viral. People appreciated the way Cousins handled the situation, especially the fact that she chose to address the manager's unacceptable behavior with kindness in her letter and not aggressive words or phrases.

Joe uploaded the letter with the caption, "And this is why I love my mum. She's been cleaning banks for 35 years and today walked out with this lovely note left for that awful manager. Happy retirement Mum - always have the last laugh eh!"

In the letter, Cousins calmly explained that the dressing down Julie gave her was both "aggressive" and "cruel." She then went on to point out how that tirade did not insult her but was instead a "reflection on [the manager's] character, not mine."

It revealed that despite being a manager of such a huge bank, she did not have qualities like kindness that truly elevated a person. The content of the letter also showed how Cousins was more professional in her approach than Julie, as the former left her post doing everything she can to make the next cleaner's job easy while the latter failed at her job by driving away a loyal employee. She concluded her letter with this message: "In a world where you can be anything. Be kind." Cousins at present is enjoying her retired life with her family.

When BBC reached out to HSBC after Joe's tweet went viral, the bank stated that they were "working to understand" the issue. Meanwhile, people online appreciated Cousins and also shared their own experiences of dealing with a toxic boss in a disrespectful environment. @ScottyReading loved the message that Cousins emphasized through the letter, writing: "Yes! What a woman. No one is better than anyone else. I really hope this gets the attention it deserves because the bank needs to know. Lol."

@Look_its_Rhonda criticized the manager's actions, tweeting: "Never understood why people think what they do for a living reflects their importance. I was raised to believe that a job is a job and that anyone getting up and going to work deserves the same respect, whether they pick up trash or run the company. Good for your mom! Respect!".