Most of us spend a lot of time thinking and planning before quitting a job. It’s wise to start applying at other companies first, and ideally, you'll have a new position lined up before deciding to jump ship. Plus, we’re all expected to provide our employers with at least two weeks notice to be courteous. But if you’ve never felt respected by your boss, there’s no need to worry about the bridges you'll burn on your way out.

Employees on Reddit have recently been sharing stories of experiences that caused them to quit on the spot, so we’ve gathered some of their wildest tales below. Enjoy reading about the straws that finally broke these frustrated employees' backs, and be sure to upvote the situations that would have inspired you to walk out too!

#1

Once as a teenager at a new job I got my hand smacked by the owner the first day because I was writing with my left hand. Walked out.

Image credits: Sarcastic_Bard

#2

"I showed up for my first day of work at a large retail store. I like having a 5 o'clock shadow (use an electric razor). I'm told to go grab a razor and be clean-shaven. Sayonara!"

Image credits: MidiGong

#3

As a journalist I was once told to pretend to be a doctor to get access to people who had been hospitalised in a terrorist attack to get quotes from them.

Resigned on the spot and never worked as a journalist again from that day to this.

Image credits: anon

#4

"When my job kept wanting to treat me like a full-time employee, having me order supplies, staying late on truck days until it was done. Yet, when I asked about moving to full-time ($5 extra an hour and I’d get 15 more hours a week), they told me they couldn’t. So, I quit."

Image credits: ImReallyAMermaid_21

#5

I was asked to lie to parents and cover up a kid failing (in elementary school) by support staff. When I confronted the principal about it, he said that she was just doing her job and I was not a team player for not doing so. So I explained the situation... same response, I should have helped in covering it up. As soon as kids went home, I started emptying my desk...

Image credits: GiveMeFalseHope

#6

Worked for a privately owned bakery for exactly 1 week. The owners son comes in, walks passed the counter and into the bathroom. He comes out a few minutes later without acknowledging me or my coworker, gets into his car and drives away. We both looked at each other then opened the door only to find this guy literally s**t all over the toilet seat and the toilet paper holder. I called the owner, told her what happened and she said to “Deal with it.” So I asked my coworker if she wanted to clean it up because I wasn’t going to. She declined and I told her I was walking out. She did as well. We locked up the store and told the owner we quit but would reconsider staying if her son came back to clean up his own mess. She yelled and berated us for 20 seconds before I said goodbye and hung up.

Image credits: Edge80

#7

I used to work at a chicken joint and one day I accidentally threw away some tongs. By the time I realized it I had already bagged and threw away the trash.

My supervisor had a meltdown and said that those tongs cost like $80 to the restaurant and demanded I go into the dumpster, open up every bag, and find it or otherwise he’d write me up.

It was midsummer and a day before trash pick up so I was up to my knees in trash bags. I lost my balance and accidentally punctured a bag catching my footing and had gravy and sauce explode on the side of my pants.

I climbed out, handed him the tongs, and my hat, and walked off and never went there again.

Image credits: CallCenterAsylum

#8

I got mugged on a delivery for dominos, and came back to the shop crying and panicked, had my phone, wallet, and pizza taken, told my manager what happened.
“Anon, are you hurt?”
“No, but I lost my phone and wallet, I need to call the police”
“No time for that, here’s your next delivery.”
(It was like 2 blocks from where I was just mugged)

I just went home, the police never really did much to get my phone and wallet back, not like they could.

Image credits: Minimum_Reputation48

#9

Began working at a persian restaurant in the kitchen. I overcooked a steak slightly, the owner came back threw a plate at us then a hot meat skewer before storming off to his office. I dropped my apron grabbed my bag and told him I was leaving. His response was "okay at the end of the night you can go"

My response was "clearly you don't understand. I'm leaving right now, here's my parking pass, I'll expect my cheque in the mail".

Image credits: lawlesstoast

#10

I had a very stressful job and was expected to answer Slack messages from my boss at any time, or I would be fired. He was in a different time zone so often I would be woken up at 3 am being yelled at to do something. One day in the office, he was talking s**t about me on Slack and accidentally posted it to a channel I was in. I was killing myself for this guy and he didn’t even appreciate it. I packed up and left, best thing I’ve ever done.

Image credits: desert_nole

#11

Being hired to sell cars, then in the middle of training I get pulled aside and told I’m being moved to lot attendant. That position paid minimum wage and I didn’t even get a chance to be on the sales floor. Left and never went back. I was in my mid twenties at the time and was trying to find a possible career. Didn’t have time for that b******t bait and switch.

Image credits: BurghFinsFan

#12

My grand-father, who I considered like a father, passed away after a long stay in hospital. We were closer than he was with his own kids, and our bond was quite special.

I spoke to my manager about getting the day of his funeral off, since I was organizing part of the arrangements, and having a day or two of bereavement leave, and he agreed.

The day of the funeral finally comes and the staff start calling me, leaving me messages asking why I'm not at my shift, and telling me, while I'm in a suit hosting family members at the funeral home, that I have to find someone to replace me or face repercussions.

Needless to say, I told them to figure it out, and never looked back.

Image credits: Cavalleria-rusticana

#13

I’m gay but at the time wasn’t very open about it. Was placed with a crew of guys that made homophobic comments all day long. It wasn’t anything personal towards me, but it would not have been healthy to stay in that situation long term.

Image credits: anon

#14

Selling vacuum cleaners . They expected me to hard sell to an old man with dementia who didnt have carpets . F**k that.

Image credits: S0berface

#15

It was Thanksgiving day at Kmart (I was a teenager) and I had been working non stop for 5 hours because of all the "good deals". I had a drink under my register and I took one drink of it. The assistant manager looked at me but didn't say anything. Ten minutes later it was time for my much needed 30 minute lunch. I proceeded to ask for coverage for my break and the assistant manager told me I didn't get a lunch since I took a drink of my sprite. I then proceeded to tell her too bad and walked away and got all of my stuff out of my locker and started walking out to the parking lot. Then the store managers all rushed out begging me to come back and work and apologized. They said I could take my lunch. They even had the assistant manager (pathetically) apologize to me. I think she got in big trouble because she never treated me like a b***h anymore.

Image credits: mfnmeattornado

#16

I was already there 3 hours past the time my shift was supposed to end- along with everyone else who was on my shift. We were all very PO'ed. I get that you often have to stay after when you work in food service, but everyone from the next shift was already there and there was zero reason for us to be there for 3 extra hours.

Finally someone asked to go home and the manager started SCREAMING in the middle of the restaurant floor that, "JUST BECAUSE YOUR SHIFT IS SUPPOSED TO END AT 10 DOESNT MEAN YOU GET TO LEAVE THEN. I TELL YOU WHEN YOU GET TO LEAVE. YOU ARE ALL JUST NUMBERS ON A SPREADSHEET TO US, WE CAN REPLACE YOU IN A HEART BEAT IF YOU DONT WANT TO BE HERE."

So, I dropped all the money on the table in front of her and said "replace me then, f**k you."

Found out later that they lost damn near half their staff that night because most others followed my lead after.

There was a huge football game the next day right across the street from the place and they got to deal with that with no servers. I went to the game and had the time of my life lol.

It was a f****n IHOP.

Image credits: yersodope

#17

I get a job at a restaurant, first day I show up and the heat is broken in the dead of winter. It was like 35 degrees. I ask the cooks if it’s always like this, and they say yes. I walked immediately.

Image credits: Weird_Comfortable_77

#18

Asked for a raise and was told okay. Next morning (Friday) I was told by the same person who agreed with the raise that I should put a few more years in and then we’ll talk again. Locked my tool box at the end of the day and called a tow truck to pick it up. Shop manager was shocked that next Monday to find a empty spot where my tools were and couldn’t understand why I left.

Image credits: Notsurprised92

#19

I worked for an attorney. I was 7 months pregnant. I was supposed to be a secretary but instead I was constantly being sent out as a process server. In July. At the end of my 3 months (August) I was supposed to get a raise and she said that she couldn't give me a raise. The day she said that, I left at lunch and never went back. She was an awful person and the guy I replaced told me that he felt sorry for me on my first day as he was leaving. I should have left that day.

Image credits: Iwantbubbles

#20

Not me but a middle aged tradesman where I work.

I work underground and it isn't for everybody, terrible environment and what not. This particular individual starting working and after a few weeks decided that it wasn't for him. Bad conditions and hostile supervisor. He approached the boss at the morning meeting and told him that he wasn't going underground and that he was quitting. The boss told him that he had to give him 2 weeks notice and without missing a beat the guy replied: "for the next 2 weeks you're gonna notice that I'm not here", turned around, packed his s**t and left. Was never heard from again.

Image credits: Numerhasit

#21

Getting repremandid for not pushing a patient into getting a dental procedure he didn't need or want.

#22

Walked in to the interview, everything went well, accepted the job offer.
Went to the front desk to do the paperwork and noticed that the contract had a different pay amount, and that I would be "interning" for the first month for $100/week. I asked first about the amount difference, was told "oh, this the standard contract, it just hasn't been updated for your specific offer." I told them they'd need to edit and initial the changes before I would sign. "Oh...that's not how things work here."
I thanked them for their time and left without signing anything. They called me back on the day I was supposed to have started asking where I was. I told them because didn't sign the contract, I was never an employee....hooo boy that was a fun call.

#23

I was getting married.

I had a temp job, and told them on my first day that I needed a weekend off in a couple of months for my wedding. I reminded them every couple of weeks, had it on the calendar, and even reminded them that Monday.

That weekend came, and I was on the schedule. I told my boss that I needed it off for my wedding, and she said, "You're just a kid, can't you move it? We really need the parts." Admittedly, I was 21 marrying my 19 year old girlfriend, but yeah.

I laughed at her and left. We were scheduled Saturday and Sunday, two "attendance points" and you're fired, so I assumed that I'd be job hunting on Monday after my wedding.

I went to another temp agency on Monday and had a job lined up for Monday evening. On Tuesday, the temp job called and asked if I was coming back. I told that person (the temp agency lady) what they'd done to me, she was upset that they'd done that, tried to get me to go back, but I liked the new job and stayed there.

#24

Worked at a restaurant as a server. We'd just catered a large wedding reception. The owner's wife was chatting with the wedding party all night and occasionally getting the drinks. At the end of the night she said she's taking "her share" of the tips since she helped so much. I say fine even though that's illegal in our state. An hour and a half after the party ends the restaurant is still a mess and the owners wife is just standing around talking while I was supposed to clean up. It was almost midnight and I'd worked my other job earlier that day. I walked out without saying a word. They ended up giving me all of my tips on my last check.

#25

When I was 16, I was a bus boy off the books. Made $250 a week working 35 hours a week because they paid per day as opposed to per hour.

Manager comes to me and says they’re restructuring how the pay scale is and said he wanted me to work less days, same amount of hours but for half the pay.

I made him repeat to me his plan and once he confirmed it I said give me money for the week because I’m leaving.

#26

I got blamed for something that wasn't my fault, was in an argument with our VP or marketing because I had the audacity to suggest a solution that would have avoided our problem instead of accepting fault for something I didn't do. He told me he doesn't pay me to think, so that was my last day.

#27

"Me: 'I need to take a week off next month.'

Manager: 'We really need you tho. :/'

Me: 'Yeah, but I already told you two months ago.'

Manager: 'Can't this wait?'

Me: 'I quit.'"

#28

Worked as a cashier in a local shop, one night 2 guys came at me with knives trying to get in the till. I just walked away and said have at it as it wasn't worth the minimum wage to get into it with a couple of guys waving knives at me. After they ran out the store I picked up my mobile and called the police then called the store manager. The next day, the district manager meets me as I turn up for my shift the very next day, her first words were it was very unprofessional of me to be on my phone while in work. I laughed at her and told her she could take this as my notice and walked out. I never had a problem with being held up but the sheer gall of that got me.

#29

Started working for a drive-thru pizza place famous for $5 single topping larges. When I started, they said shorts can be worn. Five months go by, and I walk into work that day to find the manager changed overnight. New manager, whom I only just met, said I had to find khaki pants ASAP. I told her I could do that after payday next week because my last $8 was going toward diapers for my 5-month-old. She said that wasn't acceptable and that I had to obtain khaki pants immediately. I reiterated that I was unable to until payday next week. She said the same garbage again, so I quit on the spot.

#30

Walked in to the interview, everything went well, accepted the job offer.

Went to the front desk to do the paperwork and noticed that the contract had a different pay amount, and that I would be "interning" for the first month for $100/week. I asked first about the amount difference, was told "oh, this the standard contract, it just hasn't been updated for your specific offer." I told them they'd need to edit and initial the changes before I would sign. "Oh...that's not how things work here."

I thanked them for their time and left without signing anything. They called me back on the day I was supposed to have started asking where I was. I told them because didn't sign the contract, I was never an employee....hooo boy that was a fun call.

#31

A few years back my wife’s health started to deteriorate. She was in constant pain and really struggling. It was a big change for both of us and I had to leave work often to take her to the doctor. One day my boss says she needs to give me less hours as I’m missing shifts. I accepted that and was willing to work with her on it. Then she said “I mean, you don’t have to leave every time your wife hurts her little finger.”

I quit on the spot.

#32

I was 18. On my lunch, a (drunk) manager came in the break room, asked me a bunch on invasive personal questions, and when I was curt and evasive, she exited the room, closed the door, and announced to the office, "WHAT A BITCH." Gathered my stuff and walked out. An assistant manager followed me out and tried to block my car from pulling out of the parking lot. I pulled around him and left. Heard later that the story going around the office was that I "almost ran him down" in the parking lot. Not even close.

#33

I was 16 working part time in an island in Greece and a guy walked in with a knife and demanded to give him the money from the register. I obviously did it and immediately called my boss. He told me that I was a pu**y and should have stood up for myself so I just left without even replying.

#34

"I was renting an apartment with my wife, and our toilet backed up and started overflowing. Couldn't get ahold of the landlord or the on-call plumber. Called into work before my shift that morning and told them what was happening and that I wouldn't be in that morning but would call to see how the afternoon went. Finally got a plumber in and got everything cleaned up and made it in for the afternoon. Got sat down for a fifteen-minute talking to about how work should be my biggest priority and everything else should come second."

#35

Had a job about 10 years ago doing tech support for an ISP for a week. The pay was minimum wage + bonuses you earned for selling people stuff. And by stuff I mean terrible, overpriced services that you can get online for free. I was still in the phase of training where I had a supervisor listening in on my calls and after a call, he told me I should have paused to try and sell him some shitty antivirus service before I fixed his problem. Handed in my headset right there. Felt so skeevy when people call you for help and you have to turn into a telemarketer

#36

I worked at Walmart for a short time. I worked as hard as I possibly could to unload their pallets of merchandise. I always thought I was so damn fast, I studied the process and I believed I perfected it. EVERY SINGLE DAY my manager came up to me and told me I needed to be faster. So I did, and the fast pace made me lose a little focus, causing me to break a finger. I let management know that I might be a little slower due to my injury and they straight up told me “we won’t tolerate any laziness” and wrote me up when I didn’t meet their ridiculous standards. So I went home after my shift, and never returned. Never called, never formally quit. I just never came back. F**k Walmart.

#37

I was at a company for about a year and a half as an assistant project manager. In that year and a half, i had 3 different bosses, the newest one being a heavy micromanager, i was getting paid about 20% below the standard salary for the position, overworked without any additional compensation, and the overall culture of the company was just flawed.

My boss started nitpicking my work at the end of the day, i told her i had plenty of time to get it done before the end of the day, but she kept pushing and escalating. She was borderline screaming and I just cut her off and said "I'm not doing this s**t anymore, i quit." she yelled back "WELL I NEED IT IN WRITING" and i said back with the straightest face "i don't have to do s**t in writing." I quietly packed all my stuff up, said good luck to my coworkers, and left.

A year later (after working a couple of other jobs), i accepted a Project Manager position with a competing company and make almost twice as much as i was making at the previous. And i get to post on reddit while at work without getting yelled at.

#38

Going to the toilet pre-meeting to negotiate a raise I heard both directors of the company (small firm, everything ran through them) talking outside the window that they were going to flat out refuse any offers and "make the a*****e work overtime to prove his loyalty" and "he has no prospects anyway, where will he go?".

Entered the meeting with my signed and printed resignation in hand, slapped it on the table after sitting down and stood straight back up saying " meeting over".

I now work for a successful company, part of a brilliant team of 10 people, amazing pension, terrific bonuses and obtainable progression with a great work-life balance. Half day every single Friday til I die also.

If you're being mistreated at a job, overworked, underpaid, whatever it may be - Get your affairs in order and walk.

#39

Worked as a waiter at a place that promised me full time hours but only gave me part time hours. They expected me to be top of my game despite not paying me enough and barely giving me enough hours to survive.

They scheduled me to work on the day I was taking my girlfriend, who was visiting from out of town, to the station. And when I asked for 1hr off so I could take her to the station they said no and lectured me on how I was no more special than anyone else who worked there. It was raining all week and there was a food festival on in town so the restuarant was dead all week.

I left that day and never went back.

#40

This was back in the day, shortly after college I was still working as a delivery driver at a local pizza place. It was expensive pizza and the tips were good, plus it was during the height of the Great Recession so I was just glad to have a job. Because I had just graduated, it freed up my schedule. I started regularly getting put on the lunch shift, which blew absolute donkey d**k. All your work is from 11 AM - 1 PM and it's super stressful, then it's completely dead (aka no tips) from 2 PM - 5 PM, so you're just doing dishes for minimum wage.

Then the manager started to try and send me home any time there wasn't actively a delivery, so I'd get halfway there and then a delivery would call in and I'd get called back. End result, he saves $0.35 in wages, I spend money on gas + wear and tear on the car.

Then one day I come in and look at the schedule. It's the clopen from hell. I'm on from 5 PM - 3 AM Thursday, 11 AM - 5 PM Friday, and 5 PM - 3 AM Saturday. The only shift where you would make real money is the Saturday shift.

I said f**k that and left a note on his desk resigning.

#41

My first job was Pizza Hut. There was a ghetto area we kept black listing for robbing drivers and the management kept unblacklisting it.

I got the flu and called out. Guy who filled in for me was robbed at gunpoint. Took his phone, car, wallet, etc and left him stranded on foot in the ghetto.

I found out when I walked into work a few days later. Walked right back out. They didn’t care about our safety.

#42

I was 18. On my lunch, a (drunk) manager came in the break room, asked me a bunch on invasive personal questions, and when I was curt and evasive, she exited the room, closed the door, and announced to the office, "WHAT A B***H."
Gathered my stuff and walked out.
An assistant manager followed me out and tried to block my car from pulling out of the parking lot. I pulled around him and left.
Heard later that the story going around the office was that I "almost ran him down" in the parking lot. Not even close.

#43

I had a boss scream this is a dictatorship and I'm the dictator in a meeting while slamming his fist on the desk

#44

I took a temp. job in a call center. It was outbound sales, calling people and offering them Time magazine's newest book: Portrait of the Presidents. We had a rule of having to hear NO three times on a call before we could end the call.

First five minutes on the floor I placed 6 (yes, six) calls and was hung up on, sworn at, and yelled at for interrupting dinner.

After the sixth call I took a deep breath, hung up my headset, and walked the f**k outta there.

#45

My company laid of 20,000 people over a year in a very unhumane and disgusting way. These people were treated like trash even though they made the company what it is. After seeing how people were laid off, I decided to quit.

#46

Being talked down to by a “chef” I could cook circles around. Username is specifically because I’ll never work under any of these bloated fuckwads again. I cook for people I love, and for enjoyment only. Never ever again for ungrateful customers or unqualified chefs.

#47

Resigned from a job because my old boss promised me salary after two years and then reneged. On top of my office job he made me work with another department that was shortstaffed and we always had to work 12+ hours, from either 2:30 am or 4:00 am and often have our lunch break 8 or 9 hours after start time. Unprofessional and lying boss made me leave. Eventually found a much better job. EDIT: first time receiving 1k likes thank you for upvoting! Definitely makes me feel like I made the right move.

#48

My first job was working as a dish washer at a seafood place. I wasn't *hired* as a dishwasher, I was supposed to be a busser, they just shoved me on the washer and left me there.

One of the other employees there was an elderly man who worked alongside his wife and grandson. Every day he would find an excuse to walk up close to me and put his hand on my a*s. He was a 70 year old man, and I was a 16 year old boy.


I should have reported him, but i doubted anyone would have believed me since he'd been there for years and I had only been working for a month. I just called the manager, told her I had to quit for "school reasons" and never looked back.

#49

Walk into first shift at Applebees wearing a full black uniform. The button down shirt has a thin strip of gray on the inside of the cuff. Boss notices the gray. Says I am not in uniform and I need to leave.

Once I got home I called in and told them I quit. Saved myself inhuman amounts of pedantry.

#50

I worked at a distribution company where we collected products on a pallet and they were shipped out to department and grocery stores. It was a soul killing job for me. I drove over there on my day off on my birthday to quit. It was glorious for me. Not as exciting as some of these other stories though haha.

#51

This is probably going to get lost beneath all of the other comments but I will share anyway.I started working at a lingerie / sex toy store when I was 17. After I made it through training, two weeks in, all of the other employees quit. For about 6 months I was the only employee. I ran that store by myself. I took care of everything. I was working split shifts every day and never once was my till short by even a penny.

Meanwhile the owners kept interviewing new employees. They finally found a woman to come in and start training. I trained her and after her two-week training, they informed me that she would be my manager.

Their only explanation was that she had previous management experience.

I brought up the fact that I kept the store alive on my own for the last 6 months, working split shifts every day, no days off... I brought up the fact that I trained her. But they were adamant... They wanted her to be the manager.

So I quit.

#52

Pumping gas in the late 70's when the customer could just reset the pump to zero with a flick of a switch, my boss docked me $16 for being short for the week (was paid $3.75/hr), I handed her the keys and wished her a nice shift pumping gas on a Friday night on her own. Joined the military after that, learned electronics and now have a career in networking making the big bucks!

#53

Worked in a call centre in the UK and was phoning people about buying porcelain cats on the day of the London bombings (07/07/05). A man that I rang told me he was waiting for his daughter to call to tell him she was OK and that it was immoral that I was ringing when so many people were waiting to hear from family. I couldn’t argue with that and walked out after that call.

#54

Total opposite but it’s still a good story imo. I worked at a very dysfunctional family owned company. They put me on probation because the family member(my boss) in charge of IT convinced everyone else he was a genius and could do no wrong, so whenever something happened bad related to IT he’d just blame his underlings and everyone in power agreed with him.
A few weeks later when I got the dream job I have now, I said in the exit interview one of the main reasons I was leaving was because I was tired of being on probation for 3+ months. They’d actually taken me off probation but never told me.
I still would’ve left regardless, but the fact that they never got around to saying “hey were not about to fire you” blows my mind.