When an employee shouts "I quit!" and stomps out of your office only to call the next day asking to return to work, what are your options? Here are some ways to approach the situation without burning any bridges:

Allow a cooling-off period. Give a day of grace to let everybody calm down and rethink their positions. Don't take any irreversible action until at least 24 hours have passed.

Ask a neutral third party - a manager from another department or someone from human resources - to call the employee at home and confirm the resignation, or find out what happened.

Be open for requests to return. People sometimes say or do things they don't really mean. Don't let your ego get in the way of a sincere "I'm sorry" and a genuine desire to return to work.

Find the facts. Was the employee having a bad day? Are there other factors that might have caused an emotional reaction to the situation? Ask the employee for his or her side of it.

Maintain discipline. If you let the employee come back to work, be sure to state firmly that walking out is not an acceptable way to solve problems.