Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
Starting a job is often (a little) nerve-wracking. With so much information to absorb, faces to meet, and the pressure to make a good impression, new hires can easily start feeling overwhelmed. Colleagues and managers can and should help, but sometimes they're part of the problem.
Recently, Reddit user Head_Somewhere3770 posted a question on the platform, asking everyone, "What was the tipping point that made you leave your job on the first day?" Immediately, people started sharing their experiences and turned the thread into a hilarious support group for anyone who knows what it's like to be abandoned by your HR.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Started at a daycare and they were hitting children. Like full-on slapping them in the mouth. Shoving their heads down on the table when they wouldn’t eat lunch. TWO YEAR OLDS. I started hysterically crying and told the owner, she said “Maybe this job isn’t for you” and I walked out. I only worked there for 4 hours. Called corporate and everyone else I could think of. Heinous place.
RELATED:
#2
When they said I would be expected to do unpaid overtime.
"oh really? Bye then".
#3
Interviewed for a barista position. Showed up the first day, and they asked if I was ok with a few days of “unpaid training”, which I know that they knew was illegal. I said no.
Alexia 3 months ago (edited)
Such a pathetic scheme. I had a similar experience, I interviewed for a junior position at a kindergarten and got accepted. But they told me that, since I had no experience, they'd have to train me and I was expected to pay for that training (a significant sum). See ya.
#4
"Besides, we are reducing all clocked in hours automatically by 10 hours per week on Friday."
"I have a 40 hours contract, you you expect me to work 10 for free?" (We are in Austria).
"Yes, everybody does."
*hands over keys and access cards*
*takes the leaving sysadmin I was expected to replace for a coffee*
*turns off phone for a week*.
#5
Landed a gig fresh out of high school at a local print shop, was told I'd be designing cool graphics for local businesses. First day, they hand me a broom and tell me my job is actually to sweep floors and clean the machines, with graphics being a "sometimes thing.” The place was filthy, like it hadn't seen a broom in decades. As I swept, I found a dead rat behind one of the printers. I was then told to dispose of it and continue cleaning without gloves or proper gear. Took my lunch break early and decided no amount of "potential graphic design opportunities" could make me come back to rat-sweeping duty. Left and never returned.
#6
Not quite the first day, but I’d been promised a quite generous pension scheme as part of the overall package.
Induction day comes along and the pension scheme is described. And it’s not generous at all - in fact, it’s the legal minimum.
I made every effort to address this, but they were quite clear: that’s the rules, sorry you were misinformed, take it or leave it.
They were astonished when I chose “leave it”.
"Disembodied voice" 3 months ago
I love when people say "take it or leave it" then are shocked when you leave it. Don't give a choice if you don't want me to pick it.
#7
Went to the first day of training and realized it was a MLM. Stayed for the lunch they provided and then dipped.
Immortal Jellyfish 3 months ago
Yes I understand what you are saying but this is different because...................
#8
I was hired to work at a sandwich shop. I did an hour up front figuring out where things were and then I was told to go to the walk-in fridge to get something. The smell… my f*****g god. There was unwrapped food on the floor, open pails of stuff with no lids, rotten vegetables. It smelled like a corpse and looked like a dumpster. I gagged, took my apron off and just left.
#9
Kept me waiting at reception for 45 minutes. If you don't have a plan for a new start, your workplace is probably a s**t show.
Aidan Campbell 3 months ago
I hate it when companies do that. i took a bus to a location somewhere in the city and they kept me waiting for an hour with no explanation.
#10
A Subway sandwich shop back in 2013.
-The recruiter/hiring manager/HR rep had me go in on my first day on a Monday from like 12--4PM. I walk in and the manager was like "That stupid b***h knew I wanted you in here on Wednesday. God damn that f*****g cow can suck my c**k. What a stupid b***h." Those were some really nice examples of the s**t he said.
-I wear a large sized t-shirt. The manager game me a 3XL. It smelled like BO had had a bunch of food stains on it.
-Manager had very visible track marks on his arms.
-Manager didn't wash his hands after he smoked a cigarette. Dude was taking a smoke break like every 30 minutes.
In those four hours I decided it wasn't a good fit.
Freya the Wanderer 3 months ago
I hope you reported this place to the health department. Some restaurants need to be shut down - quickly.
#11
I worked for a bread factory that put me on the first shift, within the first 10 minutes of being there an employee asked me if HR had told me they have been forced to work 17-hour days. Most of the employees were single moms, one employee told me about her struggles with child care. She wanted to leave so badly but it was the first time she had health insurance. She lifted up her shirt and showed me a big hernia she needed to get taken care of. It felt like prison, I left and never came back at lunch.
StumblingThroughLife 3 months ago
Are there no employee protections in the USA?! 'Land of the Free ...' for Employers, it seems to me, looking from the outside. 😶
#12
First day as waitress at a sports bar in Fayetteville, NC. Large, actually huge guy from the kitchen corners me and tells me that any “xtra jobs” I get he will be taking half. I guess he was trying to be my pimp. I left.
#13
Taco Bell told me I'd have to take out all of my piercings and let them close up. For minimum wage? Lol no.
#15
I once took a job that was more of a, “Well, we need some good people but we aren’t really sure what we will have you doing. We will figure something out” kind of thing.
After a few hours of being walked around meeting everyone, signing paperwork, etc. a long-shot dream-job employer I had applied to called me and offered me almost twice as much money to come work for them.
I was at lunch with my boss when I got the phone call. I excused myself to take the call, accepted the offer, and went back in to resign.
That guy (boss for half a day) and I are still friends many years later, but damn was it awkward. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.
The job I took really was awesome though and totally changed my career trajectory. Absolutely no regrets.
BrownEyedPanda 3 months ago
He was an understanding boss. In my eyes, that's what makes him a boss.
#16
Got hired at Diamond Mazda of Baton Rouge a while back in their used cars team. I explained in the interview process that I wasn't a "car guy" but had incredible sales numbers in every sales job I had. The manager assured me day one I would get a brief on car info to get me started.
Day one, I show up and he tells me no, I am not getting a brief on car data and I can forget about that. The rest of the sales team spends the days creating fake calls and pages for me that 4 times send me walking across the lots and properties to people and buildings that don't exist, each time to come back and find the contents of my desk and my chair in the ditch out behind the offices.
They wouldn't tell me how to read the numeric code on the windshield that had the price on it. Finally when a customer asked me to tell them about a car I explained "it's purple" we both laughed hard, I quit about 7 hours into day 1 right then and there.
#17
I was a carnie for a single day.
Responded to a Craigslist ad for a traveling carnival in my area looking for help immediately. At the time, I was actually a fairly talented street performer already just looking for a more stable gig during the week.
The thing I didn't know about traveling carnivals is that some of the employees aren't really traveling with the carnival but more like.... enslaved by the carnival.
All the other employees were from far-off states, broke, optionless, earning $1 per customer of whatever attraction they operated. They just lived with the carnival and that was their life.
Maybe 50 people total came through the entire carnival during time there. I earned $1 for a days work (this was in like 2011)
I took my carnival shirt off at the end of my shift, handed it to the guy who hired me and quit on the spot.
David 3 months ago
Sounds like a particularly bad carnival. I've known some locals who have worked repeatedly for the carnival that comes with the local county fair. Of course they have their full time employees who travel with the rides/carnival and set things up. But they also hire a bunch of locals in whatever town they are in for the week. The people I know got paid by the hour, found it to be a fun temporary diversion, and liked it well enough to work for them again the next year.
#18
When I had fought hard for a promotion which I got, but then the owners son got out of rehab for the 3rd or 4th time and was "serious" about staying clean. They gave the position that I was given a week before to him and demoted me back to my previous position. He also took away the 15% raise that I was given as part of the promotion which was almost the final straw. About 2 weeks later the bosses son was drunk at work and blabbed about the fact that he was making nearly double my income, and that even gave him a signing bonus when he started working there. I went to the owner just to let him know that his son was intoxicated, and he started to read me the riot act about minding my own business. I just looked at him rather shocked and told him I done and walked out. I ended up turning down 3 invitations to return to that job for 6 months after the fact.
#19
I got hired on at a Bob Evans. They were complaining how nobody works and nobody stays for longer than a few weeks. The plan was to do a good job, maybe advance in the career path some here and see where things went from there.
First day-
The main kitchen head walks around critiquing everything that anyone does, sprinkling in personal insults.
Kitchen head refuses to clean saying she is paid too much to clean
Half of the equipment needs major repair or is so dirty it has an odor, nearly all are unsafe
Head Refuses to wash hands after smoking or using the bathroom, “just wastes water” she says
During one successful effort to get her to talk to me some she admits that her religion makes her hate former friends and her daughter (theyre gay)
Shift manager sits in office staring at video screens of staff and customers “because you cant trust anyone these days”
Two wait staff get into verbal altercation and none of the manager staff do anything to stop it. It goes on for 20 minutes before a customer gets them to stop
-
I finished my shift and left, didnt go back. Not worth it.
Luke Branwen 3 months ago
That "Nobody wants to work anymore!!!" BS is no longer a red flag... it's a whole-a$$ red lighthouse.
#20
I went to orientation for a call center job and it became quite apparent to me that their process was to scam older people. Got up started to walk out and the instructor asked me what I was doing. 'leaving' I said. 'oh why? We're about to get to the good stuff'. 'I'm leaving because I have ethics particularly in business' and walked out.
Captain Flapjack 3 months ago
I had an interview at a call center. When I went in all the people were complaining. Midway through the interview I said I was getting bad vibes from this place and walked out. A few weeks later they shut down because they were using unlicensed software and never paid employees after closing the doors.
#21
I’m remember when the Amazon warehouse first opened by my town. I called for the job. The recruiter said, “all shifts available.” So I went into the interview in a conference room with maybe 15-20 other people. There were p**s cups and contracts to sign in front of us. The HR rep says, “we only have overnight shift available. You p**s in the cup, if it comes back clean, you’re hired. Any issues with this leave now.”
Myself and 5 other people walked out of there in disgust because we were lied too about shift availability.
liam newton-harding 3 months ago
Knowing Amazon, I thought the p!SA cups were for you to p!as in, during your shift, and empty at the end of your 12 hours :)
#22
I took a job doing warranty support for computers bought at Best Buy. My first day of training I was gone 12 hours and at least half of that time was driving. I was expected to drive my own car and no benefits. I didn’t go back the next day .
Greg Baughman 3 months ago
I have made more money coming in after the "Geek squad" fixed things to clean up their mess....
#23
I was 24 and just started a working holiday visa. I did a shift at a cocktail bar and after the third unprompted comment on my appearance by my female manager about 1- not wearing a dress; 2- not wearing enough makeup; 3- not appearing interested enough in male patrons, I hightailed it out of there so quickly.
#24
After college, I got a job at a small tech startup. They prided themselves on a "dynamic work environment" but that was code for no formal breaks and an expectation of 24/7 availability. The kicker? They paid in "stock options" they assured would be worth thousands when the company took off. Two weeks of sleeping with my phone under my pillow and watching my social life disappear, I realized my mental health was worth more than speculative stocks. Handed in my two-week notice the next day.
#25
First day as a carpet/tile installer’s helper. We hadn’t been working ten minutes and dude is losing his temper because I measured a cut wrong. Started to chew me out and grabbed my arm. Yanked myself free then sashayed out to his work truck, jumped in and drove it back to the shop. Got in my car without a word and hauled a*s. The jack*ss had to walk about a mile to call the owner (it was the’70s).
#26
When I walked into the office and immediately felt an overwhelming sense of negativity in the environment.
The manager seemed disorganized and dismissive, the team members barely acknowledged my presence, and I overheard complaints about long hours and lack of support.
The final straw was when I was handed a massive stack of work with no clear instructions or training and told to figure it out on my own. Realizing that this was not the kind of work culture I wanted to be a part of, I decided to walk away before getting too invested.
Damned_Cat 3 months ago (edited)
I think you worked in one my old job's divisions. The supervisor would routinely call in sick on the day a new employee started to avoid doing orientation and first-day training. The division was otherwise run by a b****y little clique that would start complaining about having to train a new coworker before they even said hello to her. True, they shouldn't have to, but you can at least try to make the new person feel welcome.
#27
My main job was in banking. All kinds of responsibilities around keeping your cash drawer closed and locked at all times. Terminable offense if you're out of balance over a certain amount or often.
Took a part time job at a theater and was responsible for the cash drawer. Except, it didn't lock and they wouldn't give me a key. When I questioned it, I was told, indeed I am solely responsible for the integrity of the cash drawer, yet had to frequently leave it to get popcorn, snacks and soda for guests.
Noped out within half an hour.
UncleJohn3000 3 months ago (edited)
You could have paid yourself 10 times your wage by grabbing a couple of theater priced popcorn and sodas.
#28
Got a head of ecomm job, and on my first day they said I'd run into trouble from internal candidates who wanted the job but didn't get it. Apparently they don't hire for senior positions internally. 🚩
Then I was told the team were not allowed to work from home (including when it was mandated) because "they couldn't be trusted".🚩🚩
They continually described the shambles the place was in as though me alone was their only saviour. 🚩🚩🚩
Holidays, breaks, pension etc were all the legal minimum - very unusual for senior roles. 🚩🚩🚩🚩
I was told that I had to sign an opt out for working time regulations "just incase" - there is no paid overtime.🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
Finally, the owners (family) dragged their kids along to my onboarding, who sat on their phones the whole time and occasionally asked ridiculous questions that were either already covered, or grossly inappropriate. 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
I left after 3 hours, f**k that noise.
#29
The person who was training me got arrested for shoplifting during work, and I almost got arrested too on suspicion of being his accomplice.
Luke Branwen 3 months ago
Boss makes a dollar, I make a dime, that's why I shoplift on company time.
#30
The bad vibe of your coworkers that you could sense right from the first day.
What do you think ?
bbfa 3 months ago
I got a job working security at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was assigned close to my home in Orange County at Coto De Caza for the Olympic Horse Trials. They put me out on a dusty road in 100 degree heat in a hot uniform and said I was NOT allowed to drink water or have food on the job. I had vans of Atheletes driving by - two stopped to see if I was ok and made me take bottles of water. No one relieved me for lunches, I stood out there 8 hours, then a supervisor came by and said they needed me 4 more. I noped out of there and I didn't go back the next day. The area manager called and said "I don't blame you, this is totally screwed up." I got my paycheck, and he put me in for the entire 2 weeks pay because no one gave a sh*t. Good guy.
Cat Palmer 3 months ago
I didn't leave on my first day but probably should have done: 🚩 my start date was pushed back twice because HR hadn't done the paperwork; 🚩 when I did get to start, no-one except my manager knew about it, so I had nowhere to park, had to wait around outside because there was no-one around to let me into the office, and had no equipment or anywhere to sit; 🚩 I was told I would be covering for the team apprentice for the foreseeable future rather than the far more senior role I had accepted; 🚩 I was refused the disability adjustments I had agreed with them before starting. I gave up after three weeks when I realised the thought of going to work was making me cry .
Rayne OfSalt 3 months ago
Straight out of uni I was hired as an "in-house IT person" for a small accounting business. Rocked up for my first day to find the building completely closed up. Found out sometime later that the owner had been arrested for.. how do I put this.. extremely illegal and abhorrent activities in a small SE Asian country.. the day before I was supposed to start.
ValdaDeDieu 3 months ago
Work is such an integral part of your life; you actually spend more hours there than at home, so whenever you see those red flags, leave immediately - unless you have no other choice; if you're not in any physical, spiritual danger short term, have an exit plan, and get a few paychecks, then leave! Your health is vastly more important.
Load More Replies... bbfa 3 months ago
I got a job working security at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles and was assigned close to my home in Orange County at Coto De Caza for the Olympic Horse Trials. They put me out on a dusty road in 100 degree heat in a hot uniform and said I was NOT allowed to drink water or have food on the job. I had vans of Atheletes driving by - two stopped to see if I was ok and made me take bottles of water. No one relieved me for lunches, I stood out there 8 hours, then a supervisor came by and said they needed me 4 more. I noped out of there and I didn't go back the next day. The area manager called and said "I don't blame you, this is totally screwed up." I got my paycheck, and he put me in for the entire 2 weeks pay because no one gave a sh*t. Good guy.
Cat Palmer 3 months ago
I didn't leave on my first day but probably should have done: 🚩 my start date was pushed back twice because HR hadn't done the paperwork; 🚩 when I did get to start, no-one except my manager knew about it, so I had nowhere to park, had to wait around outside because there was no-one around to let me into the office, and had no equipment or anywhere to sit; 🚩 I was told I would be covering for the team apprentice for the foreseeable future rather than the far more senior role I had accepted; 🚩 I was refused the disability adjustments I had agreed with them before starting. I gave up after three weeks when I realised the thought of going to work was making me cry .
Rayne OfSalt 3 months ago
Straight out of uni I was hired as an "in-house IT person" for a small accounting business. Rocked up for my first day to find the building completely closed up. Found out sometime later that the owner had been arrested for.. how do I put this.. extremely illegal and abhorrent activities in a small SE Asian country.. the day before I was supposed to start.
ValdaDeDieu 3 months ago
Work is such an integral part of your life; you actually spend more hours there than at home, so whenever you see those red flags, leave immediately - unless you have no other choice; if you're not in any physical, spiritual danger short term, have an exit plan, and get a few paychecks, then leave! Your health is vastly more important.
Load More Replies... You May Like Boss Doesn’t Appreciate Man’s Input And Asks Him Not To Give It Again, It Backfires And Costs $10K “Some Tasks Shouldn’t Be Rushed”: Employee Embarrasses Boss By Doing Exactly What She Asked For Project Manager Starts Panicking When Contractors Listen And Work As He Instructed Them To
Mindaugas Balčiauskas
Justinas Keturka
Indrė Lukošiūtė
Related on Bored Panda
