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In February, Forbes highlighted a study revealing that job burnout is at an all-time high of 66%. While findings point to return-to-office mandates as the main culprit, employees have their reasons for hating the work they do.
Some of these people even quit on the spot, and they are sharing their stories in a recent Reddit thread. They upped and left without turning back and feel zero regrets about their decision.
As you will come to read, their rage quit triggers are mostly valid. If you’ve been in a similar situation, feel free to share your experience in the comment boxes below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My new team leader was an idiot, and an unpleasant person, so I was thinking about leaving anyway, but the final straw was her firing someone for taking too many days off for his chemotherapy. When it was announced, I just stood up, told her she was a terrible person, and that I quit, and left. Then phoned my partner on the way home to explain why I was now unemployed 😁 Very long time ago now, and it all worked out in the end. Last time I heard, the guy was still fit and healthy, so all is well.
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#2
I told my boss I was miscarrying and needed to go to the hospital. She said I needed to wait until the end of my shift. I was a receptionist for a real estate agency. I walked out and never came back.
#3
My boss wanted my coworker to come to work the day after her best friend got m******d. I quit so we couldn't open.
#4
I asked off one day for my freshman orientation at college. Boss told me I had to make a tough decision, either I wanted to work or I didn't.
I'm sorry, minimum wage at a pet store or going to college? You got me messed up. I never went back.
#5
I was in a call center selling mobiles / mobile subscriptions. I was real good at it aswell, but after about a year the burn out was real.
It was a summer day and my friends where out day drinking not oven 500 m away. At lunch the boss pulls us all in to our after lunch meeting. He starts calling me out for not calling enough, not talking long enough and not selling enough. Right in front of everybody. He ended the sentence with "do you even wanna be here!?". And tbh a lightbulb just turned on in my head, i told him no i did not, took my jacket and left. The best mic drop moment ive had.
My coworkers called me after and told me he just stood there in disbelief. And i ofcourse went day drinking with my friends instead. Best day ever!
Petra Peitsch 9 hours ago (edited)
I like, when f.cked up bosses goes full in 'Surprised Pkachu'-face.
#6
My manager was a bleach blonde nutjob who only had her position because daddy owned the restaurant chain. I was the assistant manager and basically ran the place while she sat in a booth and chatted with friends all day. Three weeks before my exit she hired her friend, who had no restaurant experience, to be a waitress. Two weeks after that she got married for the second time (she was 24) and was to take off on her honeymoon a week later. Two days before she was to leave she left me a note in the office telling me that her new waitress friend was going to be in charge of the restaurant (zero experience managing anything) while she was gone. The next day I walked in at the start of my shift and walked up to the table where she, her new husband, and daddy were sitting and talking. I dropped my keys on the table and told her that I wasn't about to be 'managed' by some idiot she dragged in off the street three weeks ago. Her father asked what I meant and I realized she hadn't told him about her decision. I briefly explained and then left. As I walked away I heard him tell her that she created the problem and now she had to solve it and that, if that was going to ruin her honeymoon, that was her fault.
StumblingThroughLife 12 hours ago
I'm curious: maybe a silly Q, but not sure re: if you walk out of a job in the USA, do they still have to pay you the money owed for the hours/days/weeks (if monthly) you'd worked up to this point?
#7
Retail. 2 weeks before christmas. I live somewhere it snows a lot, and at the time took the bus to work. The roads were very bad and the busses were running late. My phone was dead, the battery didn't keep a charge very long anymore but I couldn't afford a new one. I run in as fast as I can, apologize profusely and explain, my boss tears me a new one. Fine, I brush it off and get on the sales floor quickly.
I picked up every shift dropped at this place. I was only part time, and I needed the money. I could be relied on to come in last minute just about always. I was never late or missed shifts, ever. This was the first time.
I see her take out the schedule binder, which reminds me, I have a Dr. appointment the following week. I tell her the day and time. She asks me what it's for. I pause because that's a weird thing to ask but also because where I live you can't ask by law. I tell her that's none of her business and she can't ask me that. She tells me if I'm going to screw her over at christmas it is her business.
That was it. I marched to the back room, got my things and walked right out saying 'now you're screwed' and flipped her the bird.
I really needed that job and the money, but I didn't need to be treated that way.
Not long after, that manager was fired. The new replacement called me to come back, and I did!
#8
My daughter was just born 2 weeks ago and I said I couldn’t work **overtime** anymore and they said they needed me to get my priorities straight and if I can’t be there when they need me, they dont want me.
I stood up and shook his hand and said “I guess this is it then, good luck” and walked out. I kept the rage inside, but it just about broke out when I received an email 20 minutes later about his shock and disappointment
His disappointment that I chose spending time with my new born over his business. .
Bogdan C 13 hours ago
After years of working overtime, one day I had stuff to do so I left half an hour AFTER finishing my shift! While waiting for my elevator, my boss passes by and asks me "So we're working part-time today, huh?"! Didn't respond but started actively searching for another job the next day! Only searched for jobs that did not require overtime because that really rubbed me the wrong way!!!
#9
My manager verbally berated one of my coworkers (and friends) for running drinks from the bar instead of being at the host stand. She was asked by another manager to help run drinks, and this manager was so a*****e it brought this sweet girl who was just trying to help to tears. I decided right there I was done but wanted a little petty revenge on top. They were always short on bartenders, and i was the only one scheduled in the bar the following night on a Friday. I came in 20 minutes before my shift and told that manger that I won't be working as of now because of the way she treats her employees.
#10
I was sick of working 95 hour weeks with zero appreciation. I got called on the carpet for someone else's mistake and they blamed me. I was like oh hell no and quit on the spot. They called me being very apologetic a week later and asked me to come back. They were going to have to hire two people to do my job. Technical writer who always made the deadlines, even if I was up for 2 days straight.
So, I negotiated a pretty big raise, a title and an extra week vacation per year. I stayed another 3 years.
#11
I was 15 and my parents made me get my first job at a local chain store.
I was in charge of walking around for 8 hours/day and "facing" the shelves which basically meant all of the product was at the front of the shelves.
The manager of my department was a guy who seemed to be a journeyman for the company contracted to move from store to store. His personal skills were lacking and it was obvious even when I was 15. Imagine a man who looked like Bam Margera and was sober wearing a polo and always walked fast.
Anyways, I was on the floor facing the shelves and a guy I worked with (older than me, probably like 20-24) and he needed the job. We were talking to each other quietly as we were doing a task right next to each other. Nobody was around.
Bam walked by and immediately summoned us to the back of the store. I knew we were in trouble by the way he spoke to us. The guy proceeded to explain to us we are never allowed to talk during our work. I don't know how to explain it but something about the way he spoke felt like being scolded by an angry principal. Before I could say a word the guy I worked with was extremely apologetic and said he was sorry and it won't happen again. Bam looks at me for a similar apology and I told him, "F**k you." and I walked out.
Not sure if I'm the a*****e in this situation but I was 15 and I was pissed and a no talking at work policy seemed unreasonable.
#12
Small non profit hired a new COO who sucked up to the director. Director liked having her ego stroked, and made our lives hell to give in to COO's whims. The last nail was when she mocked my boss (a very qualified, hard working, kind, and efficient program head) because she was taking care of her extremely sick husband at the height of COVID and caught COVID herself. Director called my boss lazy for actually resting during her sick leave, unlike our COO, who was apparently still working while "sick" (COO tested positive but had no symptoms, and she was only signing documents which my boss had prepared while actually being in bed with fever, the director didn't know this). Furthermore, the director said "this is how it's going to be from now on, if you don't like it, I want your resignation by the end of the day". Half of the total staff quit on spot. F that lady and her suck up team. All of us are much better off now.
#13
I asked my boss if she could give me a schedule instead of expecting me to be on call from six in the morning to ten at night Monday-Sunday. She acted like I was asking her for 6 months of paid time off and then said no and I never went back.
Luke Branwen 11 hours ago
They could sue for a big sum of money if they were considered "on-call" but haven't been paid for all the "on-call" hours.
#14
I was working at a restaurant and a few of the staff told me the owner will sometimes mess with their timesheets and to watch out for that. Upon hearing that, I immediately went to the owner and told him I don’t take that sort of thing lightly. He assured me that he would never do that and I went back to work but kept all my punch receipts. Payday comes and I see my check was rounded down something small like .27 hours (From 40.27 down to 40 or something). I go straight to the owner and told him I quit. He starts yelling “that’s only like 50 cents! I need you tomorrow!” and I say “that’s MY 50 cents! I told you don’t f**k with my money” then walked out.
#15
I went on holiday for a week, and the company sent a replacement to operate my 25-ton excavator. When I came back, my team told me the guy had absolutely no idea how to operate heavy machinery and had nearly killed someone. When they confronted him about his experience, he admitted he didn’t have much.
Despite my 20 years of experience, he was paid more than I was. So, I called my boss for clarification. They said they couldn’t pay me more, so I simply switched off my machine and went home.
It took them four months and multiple drivers to find the right person. After a few weeks, the new driver struck a fiber optic cable, leading to a hefty fine and stopping the project for several weeks. In the end, they went over budget and finished late—but I guess they were happy that they stood their ground with me.
#16
I worked at a call center for a s****y dial up provider in like 2008
I worked nights to supplement my day job income, which was low because I was an intern. They had super shady cancellation practices. Customers had to jump through hoops and it was borderline impossible to cancel. After like two weeks I got a call from a woman who’s elderly father tried and failed to cancel many many months prior and had racked up all kinds of stupid finance charges and was in collections. She was so sweet and almost in tears because they simply couldn’t afford it. I quit on the spot. I called the manager a greasy piece of s**t and walked out, and called the lady back on my personal cell and apologized and told her how to get out of paying it.
#17
My non-verbal, autistic client was becoming increasingly aggressive because her d*****t dad was insisting that her direct support professionals (2 other women and me) take her out for a total of 10 hours a day. Sometimes, people just want to relax and be at home, and she was no different.
Anyway, she suddenly freaked out and grabbed me by the hair and started yanking me around in the middle of JCPenney. A stranger had to help calm her down and get her off of me. At this point, I was 2 months behind in being paid, and her dad kept telling me the money was coming. I wasn't going to accept getting beat up at work for free, so I drove her a*s home, left her with her brother because the dad was out of town at a conference, and quit. I told the woman who worked the shift after me about what happened, and she quit in solidarity with me.
#18
Was working at a bar/pizza restaurant, only 2 people in the kitchen normally, but on that day the other guy called out so I was on my own, and my boss said she'd help.
Basically it just got ludicrously busy, 2 giant families came in, there was a birthday party in another section + all the bar orders.
By "help" my boss actually meant, just tell me what she thinks I should be prioritizing whenever she waltzed through the kitchen.
That had been bothering me all day, and the final straw was when she came back to tell me there was another big group here with no clean table to sit at (also my job).
I just stared her in the eyes while untying my apron, dropped it on the ground and walked out without saying a word.
Glenn Cuneo 10 hours ago
HAd a job cooking in a denny's sorta place. Back around 1984 or so. I walk into work 30 min early and the line cook said "good you're here"- took off his apron, and walked across the street to a bar. I ended up cooking the entire night by myself- about 200 people from 4pm till 9pm. I could see the guy in the bar across the street, drinking. Finally after clearing the "wheel"-at 9pm, I grabbed by time card, punched out, and told the manager "for $3.65 an hour I don't need it" and left. The manager on duty? His first night.
#19
My boss had a habit of jumping to conclusions with no evidence. He did this one time too many, blamed me for his mistake, and called me to his office and screamed at me until he was red in the face. I went home and never came back.
#20
Worked at a restaurant doing like 10 hour shifts. They had me prep, dish wash, and cook. I couldn't take a proper lunch because if I did s**t would pile up worse than it already was. Nobody helped me with s**t. They made me work Thanksgiving and Christmas. Managers would be standing around talking when they could have helped me. My "raise" was 25 cents. One day I woke up and just said f**k that and just stopped going in. .
StumblingThroughLife 11 hours ago
Understaffing to save money and treating existing staff like pack-mules. It makes me think that so many companies/employers must be 90% greedy and 10% dumb, or ... ATM, our supermarkets are whining that their profits have dropped the last few years and then continue to raise prices - which makes it even worse = 100% greedy AND dumb.
#21
Not me but my husband before we got married: he was paid a flat salary, no overtime pay, but he was promised time off in place of overtime. He worked NON-STOP. I mean there were days when he wouldn't go home he'd just work through from 8am to past midnight the next night. His "record" there was 110 hours worked in one week. He would go home to feed the cat or get groceries. They wouldn't even let him go home to shower when he pulled all-nighters. One time he asked me to shave his head in the garden because he didn't have time to go to the barber and while I was doing it I realised he'd fallen asleep. While I was shaving his head with those clipper things that are loud and vibrate against your skull. He took a day off once and his one manager even went to his house to find out why he wasn't at work even though he'd notified the office (his landlord yelled at the guy and accused him of slavery).
Anyway he eventually lost it one night. He was told to work overtime to meet an insane deadline for a MASSIVE national event that was coming up and when he expressed frustration about something, the other manager took his glasses off, got in his face and asked "do you want to hit me?" So he put his office keys on the desk and said f**k you, you're on your own, and walked. The manager was STRESSED. Calling him, begging him, offered him 10k just to work that night. He even called me and begged me to convince my husband to go back to work. I told him to eat s**t.
#22
I was a 15 year old dish washer and showed up to an overflowing sink full of dishes cause the afternoon guy called out. The grown men at the job were underachieving losers who either relentlessly teased me or sexually harassed me. After an hour of my shift of being picked on by men in their 30's, I had enough. I walked over to the punch clock, picked up my timecard and held it high in the air. I locked eyes with the biggest bully and saw his face change from laughter to surprise and he said "no no, don't clock out" I said, "have fun doing those dishes" clocked out and never went back.
StumblingThroughLife 11 hours ago
15 years old... I would have told my parents and reported this - adult men SH-ing a minor should not be ignored, as it will continue with the next female employee.
#23
So I was working as a Christmas temp at Currys PC world in the UK.
23rd December 2015 (maybe 16 idk), meeting before store opens and the guy in charge of Apple products specifically tells us if anyone wants a gaming machine send them to him. Which me and another guy looked at each other with a bemused look as soon as he said it. So that put me in a bad mood.
Few hours later this lady was buying a laptop for her daughter who she specifically told me was going to university in the coming year to study computer science.
she ended up buying a laptop for about £500 iirc. And we had to upsell the Microsoft recovery usb thing, basically the help tech team (I can't remember their name) would do the recovery usb setup for them and charge £40 for the privilege.
The woman asked if she could do it herself and I said your daughter absolutely can. If she's studying computer science, she can do that.
The manager started saying no she couldn't and only we could do it. Just a blatant lie, and I had a face that said so. The woman ended up just buying a 32gb usb and believing her daughter could do it.
I was the accosted by another manager who said "if you don't like the heat, get out the kitchen". Literally. Literally f*****g said that.
So with that and the thought of being there at 5am in boxing day, I'd said nah f**k that and left.
#24
The story is 'meh', but the epilogue...
During finals I agreed to work the night before as long as I did not have to close. Me and manager (nice guy) had an agreement.
Assistant manager was a b***h. I walk into work and she goes 'You're closing tonight'. I replied, "No, I had an agreement with Manager." AM: "You're closing tonight, you have no choice."
So, I took off my company shirt, threw it at her and "This is my choice, b***h." and walked out.
By the time I made it home Manager was calling me back and had put her in her place.
**Epilogue:** About six years later I ran into that same Manager while shopping and we were catching up. During the conversation I asked, "What ever happened on assistance manager...she was a b***h."
Manager: "I married her."
Me: "Oops, I'm sorry."
Manager: "Nope, you're right. She's a b***h.".
#25
The school district had barely given me enough resources to teach a lesson, school administration was refusing acknowledge an out of the ordinary, extreme behavioral case in my class, and I was so overworked I was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
My plan was to keep being the best teacher I could be for my students for the rest of the year, but "quiet quit," when it came to all the useless meetings and paperwork. When they announced they were moving the last 7 hired teachers to the worst schools in the district, without warning, part-way through the year, and only giving me 2 days to move my classroom, I just told them "nah, I quit," and that was that.
#26
I had a boss at a Dog Daycare who was a pure sociopath, she deliberately tried to set her employees against each other with gossip and listened to our conversations on the remote cameras and used what we said against each other.
It gets worse, but she heard me talking to another employee about finding another job, then confronted me and told me she would just take all my hours away if I was going to quit.
Then she heard me tell another employee I contacted the department of labor to find out if that was legal (it is) and ambushed me after lunch to fire me in front of other employees.
"So I heard you called the labor department about your hours, that won't be necess-"
And at this point I realize this is the only chance I'm gonna get to just unload on this b***h and I'm taking it.
I.
**Went.**
***OFF.***
"OKAY FIRST OF ALL YOU INSANE BRAZILIAN B***H, WHO THE F**K DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
I unleashed the beast for ten straight minutes right in her f*****g face. I told her about when we lied to her face about throwing away shock collars she used on the customers dogs without their knowledge or consent, how she's a miserable and ugly human being, the employees hate her, we all dread her coming in because she f***s everything up, how she was f*****g stupid, her husband is a pedophile and probably a rapist, raked her over the coals about the time she forgot a customer's dog in the car for three hours in May and then lied to the customer about it.
I remember one point I yelled "DIDN'T YOU EVER F*****G WONDER WHY EVERYONE WHO QUITS THIS F*****G SH*THOLE HAS NOTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT WORKING HERE? ITS YOU! YOU'RE A MISERABLE B***H!"
And eventually I gave her the finger, said "F**K THIS AND F**K YOU, I'M OUT!"
I talked to one of the employees who witnessed the entire thing later and he said
"Well, you made a lot of good points.".
#27
When I was a young I worked in a factory that made parts of circuit boards. The parts were made by dipping the metal into vats of acid. One day a guy had acid splashed into his eyes. He ran to a wash out sink and washed it out, the foreman asked if could see and when the guy said yes he told him to get back to work. I walked out the door at that point.
#28
I worked in a well known hotel chain in the UK and was the nightshift manager and only one on staff there.
A new area manager started and instantly disliked me.
- daily I had to clean the hotel (not part of my job spec)
- had to do additional tasks which were her jobs
I was also removed from a range of trainings the rest of the team received, and then told off when I didn't attend this training I knew nothing about, or told off for not understanding something new, which was part of this training I wasn't part of.
I was basically being pushed out of my job with small things.
I then found a document in her office outlining long term removing of me and replacing me (printed emails).
I waited for an evening I knew she was at a work event (out drinking away from town),
I wrote a note on the check in desk more or less the wording of
"the night shift manager has quit, I'm sure the area manager will be pleased of this. Here is her nunber if you wish to check in".
Left her mobile number, left the pile of emails on the front desk, and walked out.
I caught up with someone who worked there a few weeks later, this is what ended up happening -
- guests staryed checking themselves into their rooms with the keys next to the desk.
- guests were ringing the area manager non stop, her phone was off.
- the main guest service phone was closed due to being after 6pm, so no one could get hold of the hotel chain.
- once the area managers phone was turned off she apparently had a stupid amount of texts and answer messages from guests.
- the bigger managers were with her so got involved instantly (all be it, while drunk).
- big investigation took place where the top managers came in and basically turned the hotel over checking everything.
- I got an apology by email from that manager for everything, offered my job back (all of which I ignored).
- she got fired for the evidence they found.
- also turned out she was selling d***s from the hotel on her shifts which they found evidence of.
I was 18 at the time.
I just couldn't be arsed anymore.
Feel bad for the guests looking back. Glad she lost her job though.
F**k you Lorna.
#29
My boss had me hire someone to cover a maternity leave, without telling me or the new hire it was a temporary position. She did really good work, and when the other lady was due to return, he explained and told me to lay her off. We argued about the ethics of it, which culminated in me yelling "well she can have my f*****g job then!" and tossing my keys on his desk and walking out. Years later, both those ladies had moved on and I was asked to come back, which I did with a very clear understanding of ethical boundaries, and no such issues have come up in the 8 or so years I've been there since then. As much as that situation sucked, it is really cool to see how much my boss has grown as a person, and thinking maybe I played some part in sparking that growth.
#30
I fell and c*****d my head open, the following day they accused me of doing it on purpose.
Pink kitty 14 hours ago (edited)
Is the censored word c*****d? If so why? (Edited) Yes apparently c r a c k e d is offensive. Wtf?
#31
A new restaurant owner forced the kitchen to remain open after the fume hood died during a hot summer night. We made it through half the dinner rush before the chef had to be evac'd to the hospital.
My manager said she totally understood when I quit. I don't think she was in a spot to quit as well, but it was written on her face that she wanted to. It was obvious the new owner bought the location without any intention to invest a single additional cent into it. He squeezed every last penny out of tje place before shutting it down 6 months after the hood fiasco. A real shame.. that place was super busy before he took over. I like to imagine he overpaid for it and it ruined him when he treated his employees like rodents.
Donna Peluda 14 hours ago
That's very common in many businesses.. they overpay to acquire the business then cut back on wages and maintenance. Then expect the staff to make up for their failings.
#32
I went to visit my mom who got very sick and required two hospitalizations and a surgery and I took an unexpected unpaid leave to help her out with her dogs/house while she was healing & in hospital.
During that unpaid leave I was being harassed multiple times a day by a toxic colleague & my boss. The job paid terribly, I was treated poorly throughout my time working there (despite going well above and beyond what my role was) & the multiple texts and emails everyday while I was caring for my sick mother in another country sent me over the edge.
I got back home over a weekend and went into the office and packed everything up. My first day back, I waited in HRs office for an hour for my boss to arrive (who was over an hour late), before giving HR my fob and official notice effective immediately.
#33
My boss again put me on the late shift despite it being my early week. Without asking me if I could. She had been following me around all week. I had enough, I quit on the spot. My other boss cried, begging me to stay but I had enough.
By the next day I had a way better job lined up. The rest is history. Now I have a job I love with coworkers I love!
#34
I wouldn’t call it rage, but I was a part time employee who, for over 6 months, was working full time hours and was the only employee who did closing in the kitchen.
New management came in and refused to hire new people and kept expecting more and more from me. I was having panic attacks every shift and was overly stressed out. I was doing a job alone that should’ve been two people minimum.
A day before my one year anniversary (which happened to be Christmas eve lol) I had another panic attack cause the orders wouldn’t stop coming, the person who worked before me never did their job, and as I went to go restock the food bar I saw they didn’t prepare anything for me and I lost it. Told my manager everything I was thinking and that I just couldn’t do it anymore. She asked me to stay cause she had “big plans” to fix everything. Told her no and walked out.
From what I heard she left about a year later and the whole store is being ran by junkies. Thank god I left.
#35
Everyone in the department had been let go except for me and one other. They expected us to hold the fort down, since we were the two best. They got rid of thirty people. This was a random Thursday morning. It was horrible. They fired all of these hardworking people I grew to be friends with. I quit when they were trying to explain how things would go now. Guess they didn’t go very much. This was at the city newspaper. Shame. I expect they’ll be done within five years.
Note: this post originally had 60images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
Poll Question
What is your main reason for job dissatisfaction?
Burnout
Return-to-office policies
Lack of career growth
All of the above
What do you think ?
Apatheist Account2 10 hours ago
The censorship is getting absurd...that said, if people wrote without swearing, these would be a lot easier to read. Some of it is unnecessary.
Apatheist Account2 10 hours ago
The censorship is getting absurd...that said, if people wrote without swearing, these would be a lot easier to read. Some of it is unnecessary.
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