'She was fired maybe an hour later': 15+ managers share the times they fired new employees on day one

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 7, 2023 2:00 PM EST

You have to mess up royally to get fired on Day One, but the reality is… it happens. We often talk about what compels people to walk out of a job interview or what has made people quit on the spot. However, if we haven't experienced this already, one day we are going to find ourselves on the other side of this conflict and in the unfortunate position of having to fire someone for inappropriate behavior. Maybe you all didn't do enough of a good job during the hiring process to be sure that this person was a proper fit. Maybe the expectations you set weren't clear from the get-go. But maybe… just maybe… you did your due diligence and you did set those expectations. Maybe this person was just completely out of line. 

It's rare when this happens, of course. A person has to have a really false sense of professionalism to find themselves fired on Day One. However, according to these managers who shared their stories via this r/AskReddit thread, this kind of scenario happens more than we'd like to think. Keep scrolling below for the full stories. For more, check out this list of quirky things significant others do that annoy their partners.

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  • 01
    "What's the fastest you've had to fire a new hire?"
    via Dan Burton
  • 02
    r/AskReddit Posted by u/SquidLarry Managers of Reddit, what's the fastest you've had to fire a new hire?
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 03
    [deleted] I work at a daycare. I'm not a supervisor but I watched my supervisor fire someone on the first day. Most of our new hires are actually middle aged women. 90% of them are awesome but a lot of them feel super entitled because they're middle aged. Doesn't help that I'm only 23 either.
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 04
    Anyway our new hire's first day of work. She seems ok, doesn't make to much of an effort with the kids. Not that abnormal, takes sometime to get comfortable with other people kids. We change diapers on a schedule unless they or obviously need a change. I've changed a couple diapers already and noticed she doesn't lift a finger if the kid needs a change. 10 am roles around which is when we change every kid.
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 05
    I ask her to help me. She seems surprised and goes "Oh I don't change diapers honey" Yep this lady refused to change diapers. She took a job caring for babies....... She was fired maybe an hour later. 13.3k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 06
    tryin2staysane. I had a bartender who lost money her first shift by herself. The drawer started with $200, came back with $140. She had worked 6 hours and did not have many credit card tips or anything, so she "somehow" managed to spend all of her tips + $60 without leaving the building. Yeah, fired. ↑ 11.4k ↓ Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 07
    gogomom I hired a guy - he shows up late on his first day then proceeds to make offensive remarks to co-workers and the clients. 2 hours. ↑ 6.7k ↓ Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 08
    Ashleighbell032 . ! Not a manager but a former co worker of mine was fired from our inbound customer service rep job during our 2nd on the phones shift because he shouted at a customer "my god are you stupid?!" HE SAYS he forgot to hit mute .. 5.5k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 09
    goatnapper. Had an employee I gave a warning about not pulling his weight at ~8:45 AM. At 9:30 my team informs me that he just announced in their 9:00 meeting that he taking a week long vacation, starting the next day. 9:35, he is nowhere to be found when I am looking for him to see if they misheard about the impromptu vacation he failed to run by me. He shows back up at 10, confirms he had decided he needs a vacation while in the 9:00 meeting. I hope it was a nice vacation. 4.6k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 10
    Proudlyevil not me, but I had a friend who supervised a movie theater. They hire this kid, first day, first showing of the day, he lets 20 people in and follows them in himself. he thought no one would notice he and his friends partying while watching a movie that he closed sales to so they'd have the room to himself. 3.5k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 11
    [deleted] not a manager but one guy that got hired at the same time as me at the movie theatre got fired the next day. he would stand around in the halls. and when it was time to clean a theater he would disappear and hid in the bathroom to avoid working. 2.9k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 12
    Dried_Squid_ Dude grabbed a candy bar, opened it, and started eating it while waiting for the interview. Manager notices and asks the guy he paid for it, he said no, and manager told him to pay and then to off. 2.9k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 13
    [deleted] Not fired, but did not hire a lady because during her interview we asked "describe a difficult situation at work and how you overcame it" and she replied "during my divorce I didn't want to talk to my ex and told my oldest child they would be the one arranging visits with their father and my daughter said she didn't want to have to do that so I sent her to live with her dad. It was really hard but I ended up making the right choice". Nope. 2.0k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 14
    oneevilchicken. Not a manager but this is how a couple of people got fired super fast. 1: one guy asked for a multiple choice menu test and was serious. 2: her 2nd or 3rd shift she got arrested in the middle of the dining room by here probation officers. ↑ 1.9k ↓ Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 15
    ButterClaw. Not a manager but was fired after one day because I wouldn't upsell a fancy grilled cheese to a 90 year old lady ↑ ↓ 1.9k Share ...
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 16
    Dirty_Shisno_ My very first managerial job was as the loss prevention manager for a fairly large department store. The first person I ever hired for loss prevention ended up stealing from us the first night she closed alone. I figured it out the next day and set a trap for her the second time she closed alone. My regional manager and another loss prevention manager and I set up hidden cameras and pretty much hid in the store the whole day to catch her stealing after closing time. Edit: a word ↑
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 17
    [deleted] Girl's first day on the job (retail). "Oh I don't do trash". Manager made a note of it, and at the end of her shift, was told not to come back for her next scheduled shift. Earlier that day we found a kitten and she had volunteered to take it home, and to my knowledge, did. Several years later, I still hope that kitten made it out ok. 1.2k Share ...
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 18
    princessedaisy. Obligatory not a manager, but I'm a hostess at a pretty nice restaurant. About a year ago, a new busgirl was hired, and then fired on her first day. She was caught stealing tips that belonged to the waitresses.
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 19
    The most awkward part was, me and one of my co- workers were leaving together at the end of our shift, and we saw her standing outside in the parking lot. We assumed she was just taking a break or something (we weren't informed about her stealing until later on) so we cheerfully said "bye, see you tomorrow!" when we passed. She was standing in the parking lot because the manager had just told her not to come back. 1.1k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 20
    blackhole_sonnn. Currently unemployed looking for a new job. The first few days of a new job is nerve-wrecking, but geez, reading the comments, I can't mess up this big lol 1.1k Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 21
    Princessdelrey. Stupidly hired someone after another manager promised me he interviewed well. I was desperate for a extra body on my department (supermarket) and I let it happen without having met him first. A hour in he was a obnoxious little …..... Swearing and breaking stuff. He then decided to run clear on the shop floor without looking and because of that he walked clear into a customer and head butted her. Yeah fired. 1.1k ↓ Share
    via u/SquidLarry
  • 22
    ancientflowers Probably within the first hour. It was while going through the initial Welcoming class and they basically said they weren't going to do what they were hired for. 914 Share
    via u/SquidLarry

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work askreddit reddit thread Reddit company toxic-work-environment
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