Yahoo Lifestyle 21 Fed-Up Employees Who Rage-Quit Their Jobs For Shocking Reasons
Although many people have been throwing around the phrase, "Nobody wants to work anymore!" a lot recently, the real issue of WHY people are getting fed up with their jobs isn't talked about nearly enough. It's not that nobody wants to work; people want to be treated with basic decency and respect at work. Apparently, a lot of workplaces don't do that, prompting people to quit when they clock how toxic their workplaces and bosses (and the whole damn system!) are.
We consulted Reddit and BuzzFeed Community members who have "rage quit" toxic jobs to learn what pushed them over the edge. Here's what they shared:
1."I was working as an assistant manager for a well-known retail chain (well-known in the southern states). My husband was murdered, and I was injured in a home invasion robbery. We had been married for 25 years. We were supposed to be together for years to come. Eight days after the murder, we held a service for him. Just as the service was about to begin, my phone rang. The district manager wanted to know when I would be back to work. I explained we were at the service and that I would call him back later. He became very angry and told me he saw no reason I could not return to work after the service. He was very rude and abrasive. So I simply said that I would be there."
"Later, I returned to work to throw his store keys at him and quit. What a jerk he was. By the way, the keys hit him, and he threatened assault charges. When the cops arrived and heard the story, they were disgusted. The DM left, and two employees told the police (they fibbed) that I 'tossed the keys on the desk, and they slid into him.' No charges were filed, and I never stepped foot in any of their stores again."
—Anonymous
2."My daughter was born two weeks ago, and I said I couldn't work overtime anymore. My boss said he needed me to get my priorities straight, and if I couldn't be there when he needed me, he didn't want me. I stood up, shook his hand, and said, 'I guess this is it then. Good luck,' and walked out. I kept the rage inside, but it almost broke out when I received an email 20 minutes later about his shock and disappointment. He was disappointed that I chose spending time with my newborn over his business."
3."I quit a telemarketer job when I found out the cancer patients we 'raised money for' got 10% of what we made. The company kept the rest. I said, 'No, fuck that. I'm out.' I was 18, and my heart couldn't do it."
4."I got asked to repackage food and take out moldy products. I refused and was threatened with being let go (during probation). I quit and reported the store immediately after."
5."I was a night manager at a restaurant and got moved to a different location after their manager quit. On my second day there, we were robbed at gunpoint. Police did their thing, which involved filling out a report. The district manager showed up about 10 minutes after I arrived the next day and told me that the stolen money would be taken from my next two paychecks. I threw the papers he handed me into the fryers and walked away."
6."The restaurant owner threw a plate at me because I hadn't asked a customer how they wanted their eggs with their breakfast order. The menu item they had ordered was an 'egg and veggie scramble.'"
7."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."
8."I had a heart attack, and then at my 'return to work' meeting, I got accused of faking it because it was over the festive period (even though I had discharge letters and copies of my ECG). I said, 'Fuck this, I'm done,' and walked out. The next day, I got a rather sheepish email asking if I could return to work and reach an 'amicable arrangement' because they thought I had 'resigned in haste.' I deleted the email, and two weeks later, I got my final pay and a note from HR saying I could just dispose of my uniform. I never looked back, and from what I've seen online, they're really struggling with staff retention, amongst other issues."
9."My boss gave us picnic blankets with the company logo as a reward for our record-breaking year. After that, she broke the news that someone in the company (we are a company with 48 employees) died during surgery, but said, 'Don't worry, we have a replacement coming soon!' Three people and I walked out on the spot. Just absolutely disgusting."
10."My new team leader was a fool 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, said I quit, and left. Then, I phoned my partner on the way home to explain why I was now unemployed. This was a long time ago, and it all worked out in the end. Last time I heard, the guy was still fit and healthy, so all is well."
11."My boss wanted my coworker to come to work the day after her best friend got murdered. I quit so we couldn't open."
12."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 fucking 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 eight 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."
13."I took a job at a chain steakhouse restaurant. I was hired on the spot as I had plenty of food service experience. I was told I could start right away. The uniform they gave me was balled up and sitting on a shelf. I was not even allowed to wash that uniform and start the next day. I didn't bother trying that uniform on and just walked out!"
—Anonymous
14."I was 20 when my boss told all of us that if we called in sick, we'd need a note from our mother. Mostly, high school kids worked at that A&W. I raised my hand. I said, 'I don't live with my parents or even in the same town as them.' She said that was too bad and that I would still need a note from my mother. I said thank you and goodbye."
—Anonymous
15."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 evacuated 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. Obviously, the new owner bought the location without intending to invest a single additional cent into it. He squeezed every last penny out of the place before shutting it down six 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."
16."I called out sick due to having a 24-hour virus with the works: fever, chills, vomiting, etc. On my return the next day, the manager called me into his office and asked if I enjoyed the concert the night before I called off. They would not believe I was not out at a concert the night before. When the manager said they'd been thinking of letting me go, I said, 'That’s a great idea!' and walked out to get my personal things. They begged me to reconsider and said I couldn't be serious. Sadly for them, I was!"
17."I fell and cracked my head open. The following day, they accused me of doing it on purpose."
18."I started working as a dishwasher at a popular restaurant/nightclub in my area. Every dish brought back to me had to be cleaned by hand and then rinsed with scalding hot water before being placed in a dishwashing machine. They provided no gloves or PPI of any kind. I lasted two hours before going to the kitchen manager and telling him I was done. He told me I would not get paid for the two hours and that I just kept walking."
—Anonymous
19."I went to visit my mom, who got very sick and required two hospitalizations and surgery, and I took an unexpected unpaid leave to help her out with her dogs/house while she was healing and in the hospital. During that unpaid leave, I was being harassed multiple times a day by a toxic colleague and 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), and the multiple texts and emails every day while I was caring for my sick mother in another country sent me over the edge. I returned home over a weekend, went into the office, and packed everything up. On my first day back, I waited in HR's 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."
20."I used to stock shelves overnight at a large retailer. We got paid $1 more than the day because it was overnight (midnight to 8:00 a.m.). They changed our shift to start at 3:00 a.m., which meant, according to them, it was a 'morning shift,' and so our new pay was $1 less per hour. My alarm went off at 2:30 a.m. to go to work on the first night; I just rolled over and went back to sleep. Never went in again."
21.And: "This happened to me last month. Oh my god. I've been looking for a new job and did a 'paid trial run' at a potential place of work. In five hours, I realized the following things: 1. They worked through their breaks to earn more of a bonus. 2. You were also encouraged to work through your breaks, or you'd be seen as 'lazy.' 3. Two women had been there for years and felt entitled to whatever tool they needed without asking. 4. It was supposed to be an eight-hour shift, but it ended up being 12 hours, and even then, they were disappointed with me leaving at the 12-hour mark. 5. The bathroom didn't work, and you had to walk down the street to use a restaurant's toilet. The job seemed perfectly normal in the ad. I've never seen so many red flags at a job in such a short amount of time."
What was the breaking point that pushed you to quit your toxic job? Tell us in the comments or share anonymously using this form.
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
