'I stood up, said I refuse to be talked to like that, and left': 20+ Moments people quit their jobs on the spot

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
May 28, 2024 11:00 AM EDT

Enough is enough! A person can only put up with so much nonsense from their job before they throw their hands up and quit. No one knows that better than the 7,000+ people who shared their "F*** this, I quit!" stories to r/AskReddit. 

There's more than one way to quit a job. Some folks "quiet quit," also known as "acting your wage." They realize they're underpaid and overworked, so they just stop doing anything extra on the job. They clock in, clock out, and don't do anything more than they have to. 

But for most people, being successful at work is a point of pride. They work themselves to the bone, trying their hardest, and it's still not enough. So these folks end up getting in screaming matches with their managers or quitting over text message as they drive into the sunset. The best stories involve the bad managers getting a taste of their own medicine after the person quits. It's not such a good feeling having to work double shifts, boss, now is it? 

After you check out these great stories below, read about the truck driver who accidentally gave himself a windfall of cash after he added two extra zeros onto his contract. 

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  • 01
    'I overheard the worst manager say... "Someone needs to teach Alice how to do her job." I didn't even say anything. Just walked out.'
    via Johnny Cohen on Unsplash
  • 02
    What's your quit!" story? this, I
    via u/EL1TE1NFERNO
  • 03
    belovedbegrudged My fathers story: he was a 22 year old millwright and he had been working for the company for 4 years. He asked for a raise because one was given to a coworker who had the same job. He was told that his coworker has kids and a family to provide for and that's why he was given a raise, and since my dad had
    via u/belovedbegrudged
  • 04
    no children at that time he didn't need one. My dad applied for a job that paid almost twice as much. with great benefits, he gave in his notice and the manager said "will you stay if we give you the raise you wanted"... he declined and worked for the second company for 35 years and retired last December :)
    via u/belovedbegrudged
  • 05
    notahopeleft Joined a call center with the obvious shady pay structure. They said the calls are inbound so I thought hey that's not too. bad then. Turns out the inbound calls were generated by their robocall system indirectly implying that they were google but never saying so and we were directed to use some
    via u/notahopeleft
  • 06
    dubious answer if someone asked 'are you google?' After getting yelled at and cussed out and constantly getting people who had been called many times before and were clearly irate, I just got up and left in the middle of the day.
    via u/notahopeleft
  • 07
    I also complained to google that these guys were pretending to be google. And these guys were scared of getting complaints like that. Seriously up people.
    via u/notahopeleft
  • 08
    HouseofRias My first job was at a fast food restaurant. I only lasted about three months. The manager was sleazy, the employees were straight up lazy. I had to mop up one day. There was an area in the kitchen where you kinda have to lean forward so you can slide the mop under a counter. The manager decided to come out of the
    via u/HouseofRias
  • 09
    office and just stand behind me and watch. I looked at him and asked "is there something wrong?" He said. no but just wanted to make sure I cleaned correctly. Right, because there was no worry about how well I cleaned the rest of the kitchen, but now that I'm bending over there is. I immediately stopped and walked out.
    via u/HouseofRias
  • 10
    [deleted] I was a truck driver working a regional route that required me working nights. So basically I would drive all through the night, deliver a load, sleep through the day, and take a load back to my original place the next night.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 11
    The thing is, sleeping during the day at a warehouse where yard dogs (the guys that move trailers around the lot of the warehouse with little tractor deals) were constantly moving around, knocking into my truck, and often times literally waking me up to move my truck.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 12
    I was barely getting any sleep and the only time I had to ever get a good nights rest was during the weekend. So driving to my first delivery, I told my manager I'm taking an extra day off because I'm exhausted and I have to get a few days of sleep. I was literally getting maybe 3-4 hours of solid sleep a day and energy
    via u/[deleted]
  • 13
    drinks were worthless at this point. They gave me the go ahead, I dropped my delivery, slept as best as I could at the warehouse and picked up the load to take back with a message from my managers telling me to have a good weekend and rest up.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 14
    When I was about an hour and half away from my destination, after driving all night for about 8 hours reaching pure exhaustion, I get a message saying "never mind We need you to work this weekend" Mind you, I know this stuff happens and you sometimes have to pick up the slack of other employees at times.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 15
    Things happen, I get it and 99% of the time I'm all for helping out other employees and my managers if they need it. But this was about the third time this happened. I haven't had a good nights. sleep in 3 weeks at this point and I kept trying to call my managers or anyone who would answer me, but it was the weekend and no one would respond to their
    via u/[deleted]
  • 16
    messages or phone calls. I was literally being ignored. and I just snapped. Luckily, the demand for truckers is massive. I mean I get texts non stop asking if I'm in the market because a company needs drivers. I haven't even been in the industry for two years currently and my phone still gets blown up with calls and texts asking if I want to drive again.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 17
    So literally all I did was call one of the numbers that would contact me constantly and immediately was hired after 5 minutes of talking on the phone. Sent in a message saying I quit and good luck. Funny enough THEN they started responding to my messages and tried calling me.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 18
    I know it was probably a move to them over and I normally would never do that, but I just broke and could not take it anymore.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 19
    ad... A little Greek Restaurant I worked at early in high school. Got hired, and spent the first two days cleaning everything the owner and son were to lazy to clean. Years worth of old grease in the deep fryer's interior, mold in the fridges, stains in the bathrooms etc. Just gross.
    via u/advocatus_ebrius_est
  • 20
    Ask about payday on the end of the second day and it went something like this: "So, how does payday work here? Is it weekly, bi-weekly, what?" "you are on training, if we like the job you do we will hire you with pay". Confused, I ask "so you're saying that you're not going to pay me for cleaning years
    via u/advocatus_ebrius_est
  • 21
    worth of mold, grease, and bathroom stains?" "No, you will be paid for work once your training is done" "Oh! Ok. this, I quit"
    via u/advocatus_ebrius_est
  • 22
    battlelevel Worked at a Spencer's Gifts for a bit during uni. I was working and saw that I was scheduled for an evening shift the day before a morning exam, so I asked the manager if I could switch. She said no, the schedule is already made up. Went back and forth
    via u/battlelevel
  • 23
    trying to negotiate with her. She ended with, "You're going to have to decide what's more important, the shift or your exam."
    via u/battlelevel
  • 24
    metrosphoenix My first job... I was assigned to a specific area, and I thought I was doing my job well. One Monday, I was pulled in to the office and asked why (whatever thing it was, I don't remember) hasn't been done for the last two weeks. I replied i wasn't aware it was part of my duties. My supervisor said he was putting me on a "mandatory non-paid
    via u/metrosphoenix
  • 25
    vacation" for two weeks. No warning, no explanation on why I all of a sudden had to do work for a different department. So I said "don't worry about it, I quit." It was a lousy job anyway, I was only getting paid 18 hours a week but was doing more than that! Sixteen and stupid, I guess!
    via u/metrosphoenix
  • 26
    sadpanda Was getting screamed at in a meeting by some marketing that was literally demanding my technical group perform magic on a completely unrealistic time schedule with almost no resources. Literally screaming at me in front of about 8 of my peers, calling me incompetent, "just do your job"....all of that. I stood up, said I refuse
    via u/sadpanda___
  • 27
    to be talked to like that, and left the meeting. Normally if you just get up and leave these types of meetings, you're fired. Boss scheduled a meeting with me later in the afternoon after hearing about it. Figured I'd be walked out.....was told they fired the marketing guy.
    via u/sadpanda___
  • 28
    That was my "eff it, I quit" moment. But the company kept me on and fired the other guy. Pretty happy, it's been a solid place to work ever since.
    via u/sadpanda___
  • 29
    XJ... I worked for a big chain tire store in a very rich part of town for a while. I was overqualified for the job, but its what was hiring. One day I get a call saying another tech got fired for failing a test. I get in and our lead tech comes in with a torn bicep and has to be gone for a few months.
    via u/xJD88x
  • 30
    So I'm now the most knowledgeable person in the shop, taking on a ton of extra duties and extra hours. So working 60+hrs a week as the only tech with ANY diagnostic abilities I ask for a raise/promotion.
    via u/xJD88x
  • 31
    The guy that was hired on a week earlier, amazing tire buster but can't do any mechanical repair past changing an air filter, get a double promotion and a dollar per hour raise. Put in my notice on the spot
    via u/xJD88x
  • 32
    FidgetyGidget Kinda long, sorry. I was a manager at a company where the executives were ineffective. I worked 60 hours a week most of the time and had to do all of my director's duties because he didn't understand our systems. The work environment was also pretty hostile and passive aggressive. People cried on the job daily in other
    via u/FidgetyGidget
  • 33
    departments, slightly less in mine. Managers and staff would snap at other departments the same way the executives did because of the stress. I tried to take care of my department and make sure they weren't being abused or taken advantage of. I had three days leave for a death in the family, but had to work every day from home and the funeral itself. It was
    via u/FidgetyGidget
  • 34
    especially vexing because it was to re-do the same thing every day that my boss. would just forget to complete and need done again the next day. I brought this to his attention, as well as all the other issues, and he said he would try to do better. Months went by and it got worse.
    via u/FidgetyGidget
  • 35
    Finally, our team sat down with him and told him things needed to change. I told him that the environment was more hostile and aggressive than ever and the team agreed. He told me that was my perception and we needed an attitude change, then left for a meeting (which I had provided him the data for). I cleared out my desk and left, quit with HR.
    via u/FidgetyGidget
  • 36
    For me the kicker is that he kept assigning me tasks and insisted that I was still working there for days. Never been more relieved to quit in my life.
    via u/FidgetyGidget
  • 37
    askingxalice First job at mcdonalds. 3 different managers all telling me to do different things, and getting mad when I listen to the others. I overheard the worst manager say to the people at the register (and many
    via u/askingxalice
  • 38
    customers behind the counter) that "Someone need to teach Alice how to do her job." I didn't even say anything. Just walked out.
    via u/askingxalice
  • 39
    [deleted] Had a job that had flexible hours, I worked 7 to 3. Our clients left at 2 and I usually wrapped all my work up before 3. Well our manager quit one day and this enormous took his place. He came in began ranting that people. weren't putting in 8 hours started saying that he was going to report our
    via u/[deleted]
  • 40
    department head to upper management and the people that worked 10-6 he would try to force them into the office by 8 This guy was a massive 1. I actually completed the most tickets and mentored people one day he pulled me into the office and told me he wanted me to stay later and that I was
    via u/[deleted]
  • 41
    doing a terrible job. Asked this to check the metrics to which he said he didn't care. I just stood up and yelled at him. Turned in my notice
    via u/[deleted]
  • 42
    Jesse0016 I used to be a server at a restaurant that was a quarter mile down the road from a large concert venue in northern Michigan. Concert nights were always crazy but paid well so it was all good. I was assigned patio which had 13 tables split between two servers. The issue is, my other server didn't show up so I had the entire patio to
    via u/Jesse0016
  • 43
    myself for ZZ Top night. On top of this, I had a 21 top come in and take up half of my section. They weren't attending the concert and I told them that due to it being super busy and them being a large group, food would be at least an hour. They were fine with this. I'm with them every 3-5 minutes filling drinks and bringing booze/wine. It took about 1:30 for them to get their
    via u/Jesse0016
  • 44
    food and everyone was in good spirits the entire time. They ended up staying for 4 hours raking up a 4 digit bill (thank you booze for that) and everything was fine until I being that out. It was like a switch flipped. They started yelling and complaining that I was horrible and all went inside to speak to my manager who mind had not helped out a bit during the entire ordeal. She comped
    via u/Jesse0016
  • 45
    everything but alcohol, removed the 20% auto gratuity, and the table ended up leaving me 12 bucks. My manager then pulled me aside and gave me a warning telling me she didn't think I could handle being a server. Yeah I was pretty well done. If you are reading this Barb, you. You were the worst boss | have ever had.
    via u/Jesse0016
  • 46
    pu... I worked at a well-known pizzeria in my city for awhile. when I was younger. Definitely put up with a fair amount of for the year and a half I worked there. Terrible managers, lazy co- workers for pretty much minimum wage. Well, a couple months. before I was planning on leaving to go to school in a
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 47
    different city, they were having an issue with hiring and firing new people because they kept hiring anyone with a pulse regardless of how many brain cells were between their ears. Back in January, I had requested the time for spring break off, as I was planning a surf trip out to California. Had the time approved in writing and that
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 48
    was that. Fast forward to March, they hired and fired three people in the same week, so it became apparent staffing was an issue. The schedule came out for the week I had requested off and was surprised to see myself on the schedule almost every day that week. I approached the store manager with the schedule and my written approval of time off request and was like
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 49
    "What the dude?" He then proceeded to tear up my request in front of me, and said "we don't have enough people right now, so you're gonna have to make some sacrifices. You're just going to have to deal with it" That week was about three weeks out, so I made a snap decision then and there and replied, "No, you're gonna have to make the sacrifice,
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 50
    I'm giving you my two weeks. I've had this trip planned for months and you can't even ask if it's okay to cancel my trip." The last two weeks go the smoothest I've ever worked there, that manager trying everything to get me to stay and I keep saying no while he decides to retaliate in small, irritating ways. I'd had enough and decided I'm not going in on my last day to
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 51
    close the shop, I'm starting my spring break a day early. About 10 minutes into the start of my shift, I get a call from said manager asking where I was. So I tell him, "oh I'm on I-10 heading west right now" "Well, when are you going to get here?" "Dude, if you haven't gotten it yet, I'm not coming in." He starts going off about how he's going to have to close and work extra since he
    via u/punkrockpizza
  • 52
    opened the store that morning, etc. I said to him, "Sounds like you're gonna have to make some sacrifices and just deal with it. Remember that? I'll be in when I get back to pick up my last check in two weeks." and hung up. Definitely the most satisfying way I've ever quit. EDIT: updated for better readability
    via u/punkrockpizza

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