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There’s been a revival of discussions around abusive employer behavior on social media, and that’s a great thing for workers’ rights. However, it takes two to tango, and sometimes, workplaces are totally justified in firing their employees. On Reddit, commenters recently shared the stories of how they got fired, and some of them accepted the fact that they had it coming.
Employer-labor relations have always been tense, but the aftermath of the COVID lockdowns have put their own spin on labor relations. Office attendance is mandatory for some and a dealbreaker for others, and both the lockdowns and recent economic turbulence have caused some to reevaluate their work-life balances.
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#1
Laid off the week after I told my boss I was burned out and thinking about quitting. She told me not to quit, to wait it out a bit. I guess she knew lay offs were coming. It was great, I got a decent severance and unemployment benefits. I took a few months off and started doing stand up comedy. Found a new gig and I love it.
#2
Missed work for a whole week to be tested for cancer. Didn’t have cancer it was an autoimmune disease but the manager at the store said I was “unreliable” and “distracted”. Well yah I was being tested for CANCER
#3
Was working in McDonalds two years ago. I was the dude who was responsible of the fries. One evening this dude comes in asking for a regular order of a burger and fries. We serve him accordingly. Next morning he comes in screaming about how the fries he ordered yesterday were soggy and demanded to speak to me. By the state of him and his face he had clearly been drinking the night before. I went up to him and he started screaming at me, I started by apologising but then after him screaming at me for 10 mins I started defending the fries I had made. He said “Do you think I am lying just to get a refund, I just had the fries before coming here and they were soggy” One of the other staff members who was working the till recognised him from the night before. Turns out he had left the fries in his car the whole night while he was out drinking and still expected them to be fresh and crispy the next morning. I lost it and kicked him out. Two hours later the owner of that franchise comes in and fires me for kicking his NEPHEW out of the place. All the other staff members were on my side but he threatened fire them as well if they had a problem with his decision. The place closed down because they couldn’t find people to work there as the owner kept firing people for petty reasons
First of all, if you’ve been fired, don’t feel bad (unless it was for a really good reason!). According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published on zippia.com, 40% of Americans have been fired from jobs. It happens!
#4
Gave a spectacular demonstration of the top-heavy nature of a UPS truck. Rave reviews from locals, as the roadway was scattered with hundreds of packages. Management was unimpressed and suggested a different career.
#5
I already had a new job lined up but it wasn’t starting for another 2 months so I was just trying to lay low and then give a 2 week notice. My old a*****e boss made one snarky comment too many and I couldn’t help myself. I put him on blast over some of his nefarious activities in front of our CEO. He fired me at the end of that week, but he was forced to retire a month later after everything I said was confirmed.
I’m not exactly proud of it but…oh who am I kidding, f**k that guy.
Edit: Didn’t expect this much interest. I explained the nefarious activities in another comment below. Basically, my boss and a customer (his friend) were scamming the company to fund a side business.
Michael Largey 1 year ago
Notice the CEO didn't ask him to come back even when they found he was telling the truth. To management, "whistleblower" is spelled E-N-E-M-Y.
#6
I hit a wanabee hard man bully over the head with a frozen chicken.
The firing stats vary across ages, however. Statistics indicate that 70% of people aged 26-30 have avoided ever being fired, compared to only 50% of workers aged 61-65.
#7
I phoned in sick and went to a Prince concert. Zero regrets.
Sonja 1 year ago
It costs a company exactly nothing to work with people and help them achieve their dreams in their private time, to shovel free a few days per year so they can celebrate milestones or have that once in a lifetime experience. But it means so much to the employees and motivates them far more than anything else to know their bosses care for them that way. And no, it really costs nothing. It's not even much effort if the management does it's job right. But that's the problem. People firmly believe that management has less work to do and they neglect the work that needs to be done. So then it becomes a huge deal to accommodate people. My workplace has an emergency list and those who are on it have to jump in on the days they're marked as emergency replacement. It's just a few days a month and you'll only be asked to jump in on those days. So if someone comes and says: hey there's a one in a lifetime chance to see my favourite artist, 9 out of ten the answer is: jes of course! I tell Mandy!
#8
Working as a cashier I missed a case of water underneath someone's cart and turns out they were a secret shopper or something... I had a couple days off and I came back to look at the schedule and was told I was fired
Vasana Phong 1 year ago
I remember this test when I was once a cashier, it did happen to me, but I got reminded of how important it is to check the bottom of the cart not get fired
#9
I was overloaded with work and/so I was also put in charge of a new guy. Well, I taught the new guy everything and he did great for a while.
Until he didn’t, and he kept missing things. And I got blamed for it.
The boss kept getting mad at me like it’s my job to manage... I had a job, it just so happens 1 person is not enough to pick/package and ship out 150+ separate orders a day.
But apparently that’s how they like it, because he wasn’t hearing it. I bitched him out about how it’s not responsibility to watch over every move the guy makes, otherwise I wouldn’t have time to work, and he’d get mad at me again.
So yeah, bitched him out then simultaneously quit and got fired
Edit: thank you all for the upvotes! Never expected to get this many, and f**k you Rick you piece of s**t I needed that money back then.
Darth Daric 4 months ago
F**k you Rick! I hope you dropped a steaming deuce on Ricks wife chest! I heard she was into that. Rick, you sick twisted f**k.
It’s hard to point to a single cause for this discrepancy. Older people have worked more years in their lives and may have simply had more “opportunities” to be fired over the course of their longer careers. Or it could mean that young workers have been toeing the line to maintain job security in response to economic turbulence. Or something else entirely.
#10
I “wasn’t a good fit” (after working at the company for 3 years). Was told a few days after getting fired that the head managers daughter was given my position. Because of getting fired for absolutely no reason, I had to go on welfare for 6 months and was almost homeless because I couldn’t afford rent anymore. Also starved regularly, as welfare was only 700$ per month, and rent alone was 650$ (for a bedroom, had to leave my apartment because rent there was almost 1200)
Jane No Dough 1 year ago (edited)
That's awful, so sorry this happened to you. Nepotism should be illegal everywhere (but especially in Police departments and any Government office).
#12
Pretty sure they were just wanting to get rid of me. I was working at a meat market/deli store and I was called on my phone after work hours by the owner to tell me he was letting me go because I upset a customer that day.
It was Saturday which were just half days but incredibly busy. An older man and his wife had ordered something chicken so I wrapped it up, priced it, and gave it to them to take to the register. Well he tells me he wanted the *breaded* chicken whatever. I say, oh sorry she didn't specify breaded but I'll get you the correct chicken. I unwrapped what I gave them and put it back in the case, throw away the wrapping paper and do it all quickly because there were people waiting in line.
So I get the breaded chicken wrapped and priced and hand it back to them. The wife asks is this the chicken whatever and I say it's the *breaded* chicken whatever. I swear I didn't say it with nasty tone just affirming that it was breaded. Well the husband gave me a dirty look and they leave.
Well the owner calls me later that evening to fire me because he was pals with that old guy. I file unemployment, the owner fights and I guess he tells the agent what he thinks happened because when the agent called me I was telling him my side and the agent and he tells me Well the owner said you did this thing and that and I tell the agent the owner wasn't even there that day and him and that customer were friends. I think that sealed it in my favor because I got approved.
Firings, however, don’t necessarily always come easy. Statistics indicate that it can cost a business between 16.1% and 20.4% percent of an employee’s annual salary to replace them, which probably includes training costs. These costs only increase as the position’s requirements and seniority increase, up to as much as 213% for a senior executive.
#13
I had full-on lesbian sex with my boss’s daughter. Totally worth it as I quickly found a better job afterwards.
#14
I refused to lie to our biggest customer about a project that was costing them 80 millions, but just didn't work. I got the briefing for this while on my flight to that meeting. I said "I can not mention certain things, but I won't lie if they ask for specifics. The s**t you want me to say to them doesn't even exist and probably will never exist because it's just not possible." When I landed, I got a call from my boss telling me that I don't need to go to that meeting because he takes over. I should just go out and have a nice day in Calgary instead. I did, and the next day he fired me. (But asked right away if I could still fly out to Bangkok the week after and train the people over there. I didn't go to Bangkok.)
#15
Little Ceasers.
Mixing vodka and orange juice in the dough machine after close.
1991.
Firings, however, don’t necessarily always come easy. Statistics indicate that it can cost a business between 16.1% and 20.4% percent of an employee’s annual salary to replace them, which probably includes training costs. These costs only increase as the position’s requirements and seniority increase, up to as much as 213% for a senior executive.
#16
I kept eating food when I just cooked it at McDonald’s and giving everyone 2x the amount of nuggets/chicken fillets etc. f**k that place it’s a depressing nightmare
Vasana Phong 1 year ago (edited)
I will always remember this , I was at a laundry mat, after putting in my last load into the dryer I had only $1 left, went into the KCF next door to get only a biscuit, the teen that rang me up just gave me a weird look and said “ that’s all you want?”, in my head it was that’s all I could afford, when I grabbed the bag and went back to the laundry mat, I sat down with the bag, but when I opened up the box, it had a drum stick in there too, I was so happy, wanted to go thank him but didn’t want him to get in trouble, God bless him and his thoughtfulness , moral of the story, that was 30 years ago, an act of kindness goes a long way
#17
I refused to make up reasons to fire my employees. (I was told to "clean house"). I put this process off for a few weeks while looking for a new job. I got my new job the week after they let me go.
Jane No Dough 1 year ago
It's really hard to be a manager and a decent person at the same time, especially at a lousy company.
What’s interesting about this question on Reddit is that the reasons for firing were self-described. Do employers and workers look at firings the same way? Airtasker.com attempted to answer that question.
#19
I came back from holiday and was jet lagged due to the time difference, and therefore got tired towards the end of the working day. My tiredness was taken as an inability or unwillingness to do the job and I was marched off the premises
jiggy majiggy 1 year ago
Always come back from vacation 2 or 3 weeks before resumption of duty ~(capitalist Joe teal 1969)
#20
Got a summer job that required me to live onsite in a remote area. Told my part time job that I would be gone for the summer, and marked up the calendar accordingly, they told me it wasn’t a problem.
About halfway thru the summer they fired me for not coming into work for the past month.
When the summer was over I showed them the calendar and reminded them how we had discussed this and I was reinstated. Just stupid tho
Michael Largey 1 year ago
An employer who admits their mistakes and corrects them is a lot smarter than most.
#21
Went to see Grateful Dead at RFK stadium in DC. I told the manager not to schedule me that weekend but he did anyway. Told him I wouldn't be there. When I returned Monday I was fired. Worth it.
Funny thing is my wife (gf at the time) was also scheduled and went with me to the show. She wasn't fired - but she quit when she found out I was fired.
Darryl's Restaurant in Raleigh, NC. - by the way they had some pretty good food.
In their survey, the top 3 reasons employees said they were fired were personal issues (30%), bosses who were jerks (23%), and office politics (19%). It was clear from the survey that employers saw things differently, as the top 3 reasons they said they’d fired employees were attitude issues (57%), personality issues (41%), and failure to complete their duties (40%).
#22
I told my boss that I intended to quit and asked him to find a replacement. Instead he just fired me.
#23
Finger was almost bitten off by an octopus. Boss fired me while I was in the ER waiting to get evaluated. Exact words were “Bro, I’m f*****g pissed. You’re fired”.
#24
Told school admin that they were full of s**t and that their academic honesty policy is b******t. I caught a senior cheating on my final (phone in hand googling answers admitting to it), failed him, he failed the year couldn't walk. Admin said he didn't cheat...
F**k that b******t.
similarly 1 year ago
Many decades ago, the BEST teacher I ever had was fired. Apparently, she had a student who didn't do any work. Didn't show up for the final. She had no grades, so she failed him. Turned out the student was the nephew of the superintendent of the school district. Principal came and told her to give him another chance. She said "Will everyone get another chance?" Principal said no. She said no. Principal threatened to fire her. She scheduled a makeup exam, he didn't show. She failed him. Principal came back, told her to change the grade in the gradebook. She refused. He said "Well, I'll change it then!" She said "I won't initial it." She was fired.
Employer-labor relations are always a balancing act for all involved. Sometimes a split is for the best, but it can often be worthwhile for both parties to find a real compromise.
#25
I'm a single mom with three kids. I had two deaths in the family back-to-back, then my kids got sick. I missed about 2 weeks in total of time over a span of 9 months. They demanded I get help with the kids, asking me where the father was. Explained that he is not around, filed a complaint to HR about them asking me that and also denying breaks, and got fired bc HR was a friend of my Supervisor. It was a terrible job.
Shark Lady 1 year ago
Just remember that HR is there for the good of the company not the employees. They make sure employments law is followed (just about).
#26
I was 19 and asked the wrong question. I was working in a call center way back when long distance plans mattered. Second week in I kill it hit the top of the weekly sales nice little bonus all good. Next week I can't close for s**t I'm at the bottom, list seems stale people that we've called before. I'm pitching this one lady and then she says she just switched to our plan describes the rest of the pitch only the name of the company was diffrent then ours. Otherwise exact same plan. I was young and didn't really care beyond a paycheck so I went to talk to my boss. He says there are a lot of long distance plans out there don't worry about. Next few days lots of similar calls. I also noticed the manager room had a f**k ton of phone books from other states. Asked about that. End of the week I was canned for performance. Next Monday they got raided by FCC and FBI. Turns out they were reselling folks the same plan over and over again under a diffrent name. They were also illegally pulling names from phone books. And overselling the amount of long distance time they'd actually bought so people were getting over charged.
#27
On paper? Called into the meeting room before shift and told "Making some changes."
In reality? Discussing wages with senior employees. Which is why less than a month after I was gone, 2 of the remaining 5 production quit. The two with the most seniority.
#28
From 1980-1982, I was the publications director at a college. I always got very good/outstanding ratings from my supervisor.
One day she came in and did my review -- as usual, all ratings were in the top two performance categories. Then she told me she was letting me go, but offered no explanation. She actually patted me on the head and said, "I want you to know it's nothing personal, and if I had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you."
I was very young (25) and newly married, and as she was aware, my husband was a graduate assistant making $3,500 a year. I closed the door to my office and sobbed.
It took me a long time to get another job. I was a week away from running out of unemployment benefits when I finally got hired elsewhere.
I found out later that she routinely fired people in that position after a year. I held the job longer than anyone.
The woman who fired me was a psychopath. She would rearrange my office while I was on vacation. When my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to have a mastectomy, I asked to take a few days off to go out to help her. I had plenty of vacation time, but my boss said she would be out of town for a week and someone had to hold down the fort, so I had no choice but to stay. My boss was in the office all that week.
About a year after I got fired, I got a call from a woman who said she had just been fired from the same job.
Hugh Cookson 1 year ago
Always be aware of the psycho in the workplace - you'd be amazed how many of the bastards are out there !! I speak as an ex high end Chef, my industry is riddled with psychopaths, some seriously deranged who could never be employed in anything other than catering. 35 + years of bizarre situations, I should write a book ...
#29
I told the manager that she was an “entitled pompous self-centered mentally ill bully who was also almost certainly bi-polar”. Got fired within a couple hours.
Cat Palmer 1 year ago
If they were using mentally ill and bipolar as insults then that's not cool - neither are an excuse for bullying, but insulting someone for a health condition is no better. (Yes, I have a mental health condition and am a bit sensitive about people using terms to be insulting.)
#30
I took on a role that was not fit for me. It was my second job as a software developer, and the role was dev #2 at an early stage startup. As in, the entire dev team was me and another engineer.
Startup life can vary greatly, but this was a financial tech firm near Wall Street. To say that it’s a lot of responsibility is an understatement. There’s no such thing as saying “that’s not my job” or “I don’t know how to do that”. If the company needs it, you have to do it.
It was a good learning experience because I was pushed very far outside of my comfort zone, but it also gave me crippling anxiety and I got burnt out. I made a bunch of mistakes and was eventually fired over it. The job was so hard that I was actually relieved to get fired.
What do you think ?
EmBree 1 year ago
I had 30 VIPs booked for dinner in a private suite. My boss's wife showed up 10 minutes before they arrived and started removing the setting. I told her to stop and that the suite was booked. Then I had to run into the kitchen for a while. I got back into the restaurant just as the head waiter showed my guests in... To the room that had been partly stripped and filled with other guests. It was not the first time, or the second, that "that woman" caused me trouble. I told the boss I had enough. He kindly fired me. (So that I could collect unemployment.) Its the only time I have been fired. It might seem as a silly reason to walk, but I regret nothing.
EmBree 1 year ago
I had 30 VIPs booked for dinner in a private suite. My boss's wife showed up 10 minutes before they arrived and started removing the setting. I told her to stop and that the suite was booked. Then I had to run into the kitchen for a while. I got back into the restaurant just as the head waiter showed my guests in... To the room that had been partly stripped and filled with other guests. It was not the first time, or the second, that "that woman" caused me trouble. I told the boss I had enough. He kindly fired me. (So that I could collect unemployment.) Its the only time I have been fired. It might seem as a silly reason to walk, but I regret nothing.
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