While some people manage to get away with doing nothing at work, others don’t get any recognition for taking care of everything.

Reddit user Lucifermorningwood_ belonged to the second group. Taking to the platform’s ‘Petty Revenge‘ community, they recalled the dreadful experience of managing a phone store, where not only the clientele but the bosses were toxic too.

The environment eventually became too much for the employee to bear. Realizing the need for a change, they decided to submit a two-week notice. However, their direct superior didn’t like this and tried to retaliate.

People say employees don’t quit companies, they quit bosses

Image credits: Mike Greer  (not the actual photo)

When this phone store manager handed in their two-week notice, their superior took it as an insult

Image credits: sedrik2007 (not the actual photo)

Image source: lucifermorningwood_

Reclaiming agency over their professional journey, the manager’s bold departure serves as an inspiring declaration of self-worth

Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)

It’s difficult to blame the author of the post. A 2023 survey from the American Psychological Association (APA) revealed that almost one in five (19%) workers find their workplace to be very or somewhat toxic, and those who reported belonging to one were more than three times as likely to have said they have experienced harm to their mental health at work than those who report a healthy environment (52% vs. 15%).

By work type, those who work in customer/client/patient service jobs (31%) were more likely than manual laborers (23%) and office workers (22%) to experience verbal abuse at work, just like the Redditor did.

“The number of individuals who report experiencing a toxic workplace without protection from harm is troubling,” Arthur C. Evans Jr., Ph.D., APA’s chief executive officer, commented on the numbers. “No one should feel fear at work. It is clear there is much work to be done to foster a positive work environment for all workers in the nation.”

Of course, whether or not you’re allowed to walk out like Lucifermorningwood_ did depends on your contract and local law. But in many cases, there’s nothing wrong with it.

For instance, according to Melora Garrison, a California lawyer with 15 years of experience litigating cases in state and federal courts, because American workers often provide their employers with two weeks’ notice before quitting a job, many people believe that doing so is mandatory. But it’s not.

“No state or federal law requires you to notify your boss two weeks before leaving your job,” she wrote. “If you’re an at-will employee, you can leave at any time, and provide as much or as little notice as you’d like.”

“At will” means that the employer can fire you at any time and for any reason (as long as it’s not discriminatory or retaliatory). So by the same token, you can quit your job whenever you want, for any reason or no reason at all — and you don’t have to give your boss a heads-up.

While no one chooses to work in toxic work environments, and it’s certainly no one’s fault if they end up in one, taking back power over yourself in such a situation can be really empowering.

As their story went viral, the original poster (OP) joined the discussion in the comments

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