'There's no price worth putting up with that': The insane work stories that made people quit on the spot

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jan 23, 2024 1:00 PM EST

Quitting a job can be a drama-filled event. There's something so theatrical and flamboyant about saying "That's it, boss. I'm outta here!" Like you're some sort of stressed-out banker during the Great Depression. I've never done it in such a dramatic fashion, I usually make quiet and peaceful exits, but one day I would love to just let it rip, for the fun of it. I bet the adrenaline rush is similar to riding a rollercoaster or performing an electric guitar solo to a screaming crowd. It could even be a George Costanza type of situation, though, where I quit in front of everybody and just show up the next day and pretend like nothing happened. I can't quite remember how that worked out for George, but it seems like a good plan. 

But truth is always stranger than fiction, and these Redditors are here to prove that, with their wild straw that broke the camel's back work moments. 

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  • 01
    r/AskReddit u/BubbaHoStep • 14h People who quit without notice, what straw broke the camel's back?
    via u/BubbaHoStep
  • 02
    lizerpetty 13h ● Dillards. They told me to clock out and work all night because regional was coming to inspect the store. So they wanted me to work for 8 hours moving around heavy stuff for free. Quit on the spot. Told me I wasn't a "team player". I asked the manager if he would pay me for not working. He said no. I asked him why would I work without getting paid, blank stare.
    via u/lizerpetty
  • 03
    Pickle-Standard 12h I was a shift lead in a kitchen where none of the management knew anything about BoH. I ran grill, sauté, expo, and ovens solo during every peak shift. I ordered trucks, prepped all week for weekend brunch, wrote kitchen schedules, coordinated kitchen cleaning projects, contacted vendors for repairs, and generally ran the kitchen's day to day. I was given the keys and started opening 6 days a week. I was working 55+ hours and loving it. I expanded our brunch service to Friday
    via u/Pickle-Standard
  • 04
    I started having issues with closing management on shifts where I wasn't there. I'd get in at 6am to open and the restaurant was left a mess and prep/stocking wasn't completed. I talked to the staff and tried to get them to help out but I had no support and follow through from the actual managers. This went on for weeks. Then one week I was in at 5 for Friday Brunch prep. I was prepping sheets of bacon and went to the back to pull the biscuits I had prepped the day before. I had left them on a s
    via u/Pickle-Standard
  • 05
    I did about 90% of the brunch prep by the time the "opening" manager showed up at 8:30 (we opened at 9.) I told her what was left to set up the line. She asked why I was telling her. I laid the sheets of dough in front of her, dropped my keys on top, and walked out. I got nearly 50 calls from them that day and dozens of texts. I didn't respond to a single one. A few days later, the owner of the store called me and asked who he needed to fire to bring me back. I told him I'd pass and ended up fin
    via u/Pickle-Standard
  • 06
    h1r0ll3r 13h ● Old sales job I had. Landed/closed a big deal with a nice commission check heading my way. Found out a week or so later that the client wasn't mine, therefore, the check would be going to the correct sales rep. The "correct" sales rep just happened to be related to the boss and so they got a free commission check without ever lifting a finger. Left that day.
    via u/h1r0ll3r
  • 07
    Corndread85 . 13h My dad had cancer stage 4 lymphoma. We couldn't have our phones on the floor unless we filled out sone paperwork with HR for emergencies. Asked my supervisor for the paperwork and he said, "Don't worry about it!" well, when his boss visited he saw my phone and asked me about it so I told the truth. My supervisor was 1. A couple of weeks later I get called into the HR office, my sister called to tell me my dad died. Supervisor wasn't there but I left early. I took my bereavement
    via u/Corndread85
  • 08
    sloughlikecow • 14h My dad died right before Christmas. I was already scheduled for a week off for family travel HR said I could add three more days for funeral services so we could have it after the holiday. I came back and received a call from HR. The woman apologized and said she needed to ask but would make it brief. She asked if my dad actually died. I told her yes, and she apologized again and said she didn't need anything else. Then the office manager called me into her office to tell me
    via u/sloughlikecow
  • 09
    tintedrosie. 12h I put in that I needed off a particular weekend 5 months in advance. That week comes and I'm on the bar schedule. I call and say "yeah I can't work this I have someone in town from across the country staying with me. I put in to have off 5 months ago." Manager replied "you put in a request off, and it's just that. A request." So even though I was seething angry, I said okay and then hung up. Day of the shift comes and I waited until 15 minutes before it started to leave a messag
    via u/tintedrosie
  • 10
    Fagtastrophe. 13h Verbal abuse from my boss. I'm an extremely patient person but when every single word out of someone's mouth is berating and condescending, there's no price worth putting up with that and no reason to subject yourself to it for longer than necessary.
    via u/Fagtastrophe
  • 11
    pokemaniac8989 - 14h When I complained about being on call 24/7 and not being paid for it. And they had me in with HR discussing my performance. I walked out 2 weeks before Christmas
    via u/pokemaniac8989
  • 12
    Atlas00x 14h ● I once worked as a landscaper, and during a slow month, some of us workers were asked to head to the bosses brothers property and help out there, which was fine. My boss asked that I pick him up in the morning and take him out there. The straw that broke the camels back was while out there I had filled some buckets with water, and while I did turn the tap off, it was slowly dripping. My boss noticed this and had a complete meltdown. He made threats to harm to the person who left i
    via u/Atlas00x
  • 13
    or Lover Of GayContent 13h I as working at Sears part time for Christmas. They never trained me. When my supervisor came in for something and found out I was working alone he ran out before they could ask him to help. My other supervisor had a nervous breakdown and while crying, said he wanted to punch the manager but was a felon and needed the job. I just got tired of the because I was literally just working for Christmas money. They found me at my other job and asked me to come back because I
    via u/LoverOf GayContent
  • 14
    Active-Strawberry-37. 13h Did everything they wanted. Jumped on a plane to another site on 1 day's notice. Ended up working 16 days straight before coming back. Took a WFH customer service job role I didn't really want just to help out on a temporary basis. We were told that half the team could have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off and the other half could have Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Except me, who could only have Christmas Day. I signed out of the VPN, call blocked my managers, put my
    via u/Active-Strawberry-37
  • 15
    ThatOneHaitian · 13h I used to work at IHOP in high school part time. They were literally scheduling me during school hours and calling me when I wasn't showing up. I dropped off their stuff during the rush and left.
    via u/ThatOneHaitian
  • 16
    jekelish3 • 13h I've only quit one job ever, in high school when I worked at a grocery store. But I quit after I somehow was the only person scheduled to work on a Saturday night. Like, literally the only person. I was 16 or 17? Granted I lived in a small town, but being the only person working in a whole. grocery store (to emphasize: only person. Not a single other person was working. Not a janitor, not a manager, not a bag boy, no one else) was just absurd. Never went back.
    via u/jekelish3
  • 17
    slvrfire • 14h New boss completely changed hours/expectations without any notice or checking in with any employees, I got the worst of it and when I stood up for myself I was greeted with anything between crocodile tears to just full on insults, after 3 months of being miserable I walked after one final scathing insult. I regret the lack of professionalism on my end, but I don't regret leaving the job.
    via u/slvrfire
  • 18
    tbkrida 14h ● They never gave me the raise they promised me 3 months before, then a manager tried to criticize me for not doing something that wasn't even my responsibility. I cursed him out, then cursed the main plant manager out in our meeting and left. About 3 days later the Plant Manager called and asked why I haven't been to work. He thought I was just venting and left for the day. I told him I said I quit. No sure how that wasn't clear...
    via u/tbkrida
  • 19
    60 Illustrious-Gas-9766 13h My boss continuously berated my performance. I got a similar job elsewhere. My new job was going to start in a couple of weeks and I was waiting to talk with my boss and give him 2 weeks notice. He started criticizing me again so I gave him my keys for the building and walked out.
    via u/Illustrious-Gas-9766

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