'It was a heatwave, hitting 115°... the whole kitchen walked out': 20+ Employees who quit their bad jobs in the middle of their shifts

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jun 25, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

Bosses will be like, "If you don't like it, quit," and then act surprised when their workers throw in the towel. Like buddy, what did you expect when you put your employees under tough circumstances for low pay? They're going to walk out that door and never look back. 

Some workers start jobs and then realize that the conditions are unbearable. In this selection of stories, there are workers dealing with both extremes: some chefs got caught in 115-degree heat, while other workers got placed in freezers with temperatures below freezing. Human beings just don't tolerate these extreme temperatures very well, and it's not surprising that they'd flee from such a job as soon as possible. 

Other people realized they'd never get along with management, and instead of putting up with their manager's condescension even one more minute, they quit mid-shift. If you've ever wanted to get back at a bad boss while you're in the service industry, this is the way to do it. They'll be forced to cover your work, like helping crabby customers or working a grill in high temperatures. If only they'd been a little nicer… 

Next, check out some employees who made really big mistakes and lived to tell the tale, like the woman who somehow "printed 500 copies of her gas bill on the company printer." Whoops! 

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  • 01

    "Have you ever gotten up and quit your job in the middle of a work shift? If so, why?"

    handandfoot8099 Dishwasher, had worked there 2 weeks. The A/C for kitchen and office both broke the day before I started. Office A/C was fixed the following day, kitchen A/C 'wasn't priority'. It was a heatwave in August, hitting 115° outside. The whole kitchen staff walked out.
    via u/handandfoot8099

    Good for this crew for getting out before someone got seriously ill! 

  • 02
    Tensonrom I was a cook and new manager kept making me cover dish pit cuz dishwasher was not showing up, because they refused to hire another one and were making him work 7 days/week. I told him if he kept making me close dish pit I was gonna put my 2 weeks in. He said "good" and went back to cooking.
    via u/Tensonrom
  • 03
    So I went and grabbed my shoes and backpack, got his attention, he turned around and I gave him a peace sign and left. Keep in mind i had been there for three years, worked as a busser, dishwasher, server, host, cook...I did everything they asked. He had only been out manager for 2 months.
    via u/Tensonrom
  • 04
    [deleted] Day 2. Owner tells me that he pays taxes for us so he pays cash and it is after taxes. So 7.5 and not the 10/hr we agreed to. I walked out and called the IRS hotline to report fraud.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    TheRealReapz I was looking for work and took anything I could find, unfortunately the job I found was telemarketing. I hate myself too. Anyway the work sucked and I hated it, I always took no for an answer and that got me in lots of trouble. They kept putting me in a room with this old VHS tape on pressure tactics and
    via u/TheRealReapz
  • 06
    never taking no for an answer. The tape went for an hour so I just had a nap instead. Thankfully I was also looking. for work on the side and found/got a job at the local supermarket, so I knew I had a backup plan.
    via u/TheRealReapz
  • 07
    The next time they put me in that room with that tape, I had a nap again and then when I came out they said. "if you have to go in there. again your position will be terminated". I just said "I'll save you the trouble, I quit". That really ped them off because they were already understaffed.
    via u/TheRealReapz

    Called their bluff! 

  • 08
    REDEFINE HOW
    via Pablo Merchán Montes For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 09
    borborhick After I retired early (at 50) I thought that a job at the local Tim Hortons would be perfect. Part time, no stress, and I enjoy seniors and our sleepy town of 2000 had a high percentage of seniors. Most of "training" was me fixing the computers to get them to work so that I could actually watch the training videos. That was week one.
    via u/borborhick
  • 10
    Week two I realized how slow the location was, despite being on the highway. We had a lunch rush and it was pretty slow other than that. Two days into week two and I was already recognizing the regulars. Seniors in their 70/80's who would come and get one coffee in a China cup and ask that I fill it as much as I can because we didn't give refills. No
    via u/borborhick
  • 11
    problems, it drove me nuts to dump coffee after 20 minutes and not offer it to them. Problem was, very few of them could carry these full cups to the tables. No worries from me, I'd bring their coffee to them. As I said, the location was slow and days were long and boring. It was no big deal to carry coffee cups for a few
    via u/borborhick
  • 12
    seniors and make them smile. Twice that second day working the floor I got in sh for doing that. I pointed out that there was no one else in the store and it just took me moments. "we are not a full service restaurant, let them carry their own coffees" I stood like a useless fool behind the counter when the next group of seniors came
    via u/borborhick
  • 13
    in, feeling like an idiot. Break time came. I grabbed my coat and went out back for a smoke. Halfway through my break, with one of the managers, I said "f this. I can't treat people like this. Sorry" and walked home never to return as an employee. On the rare occasion that I go there as a customer, I'll jump up from my table to
    via u/borborhick
  • 14
    assist any seniors that I see and now they can't do a damned thing about it. Ha!
    via u/borborhick
  • 15
    [deleted] I worked at a car wash during the winter in the wet tunnel. Manager got in my face for wearing a coat that didn't have the company logo on it, but they didn't make uniform coats. Told him to eat my entire a and choke on it, and then left.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 16
    It gets below zero here regularly, I'm not risking my life or even my comfort for $12 an hour.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 17
    jerrbear1011 Had a part time job for about 40 minutes in college. Started as a data entry job, paid 7.25. The owner found out I was going to school for an IT related field and starting throwing tasks like updating his website and basic tech support. I left almost immediately.
    via u/jerrbear1011
  • 18
    Sta... Yes. FedEx Ground. Was a package handler making $12 an hour. The requirements were insane for the conditions they had us working in. One day, I told my sort manager that I was running to the restroom and he was like "Cmon, man. Can you hold it for another 45 at least?" I told him no and
    via u/StarsCanScream
  • 19
    went off to the bathroom. I was already fed up with the job, but that was the tipping point for me. I got out the bathroom, walked to the time clock, clocked out, and left.
    via u/StarsCanScream
  • 20
    A month later, at my new job, I got a call from FedEx Ground. They were wondering where I'd been since I hadn't been seen at work in over a month. They told me to give them a call back if I was still interested in working. lol.
    via u/StarsCanScream
  • 21
    [deleted] Yeah me and the entire waiting staff walked out. The new owner of the restaurant i worked for wanted to charge the staff for breakages.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 22
    2
    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 23
    zac... Closest I personally came was giving one days notice when I was a 3rd grade teacher. Basically the entire job was me fighting administration for more than literally zero time to actually do the job I was there to do. When I asked for time to plan lessons, help students who were falling behind, or work on helping special needs students in my class, I
    via u/zachtheperson
  • 24
    was denied every time. No exaggeration, I was in the beginning phases of a mental breakdown. I went in to front office one morning to ask about what the best way to quit was in a way that didn't negatively impact my students, but before I could ask they gave me the "bad news," that the last 7 hire teachers (i.e. me
    via u/zachtheperson
  • 25
    and 6 others) were being moved to other schools the following Monday due to enrollment changes, and I immediately said "great, I quit," and left the next day. It was really sad leaving my class, but from the bottom of my heart: f that job.
    via u/zachtheperson
  • 26
    Dead_Hours I was 17 and just finshed mopping the floor at closing time and was walking out the door. The owners son walked across the floor in boots covered in motor oil and told me to "mop this sh up" I dropped the mop on the foor and told him to do it himself. I being paid minimum wage and wasn't going to deal with that sh.
    via u/Dead_Hours
  • 27
    Agreeable-Yellow6... $10 an hour. My boss would solve problems exclusively by shouting. One day I was super busy, and I skipped putting out a table. I was wrong, but it was one of sixty I put out. The chef asked nicely if I could. I said yeah. I'll grab it. Before I could. I hear just screaming. It's nothing helpful. Just screeching the same words I was told thirty seconds
    via u/Agreeable-Yellow6008
  • 28
    earlier. At that point I was sick of it. I told her "This is why we can't keep staff.". I walked out. I got woken up the next morning to the morning manager asking for me to help. I said I would come in, but today is my only day, and if I see the other manager at all I'm walking out. I finished the morning prep, and left. I was told later that she was fired after two more people quit on her the next day.
    via u/Agreeable-Yellow6008
  • 29
    Str... I got a job at a new grooming salon in a Petco. It was a commission based job, and they still had a sign out front saying "grooming salon coming soon". So after a week of making no money, I came into work and the manager said, "You can't
    via u/StrangeCitizen
  • 30
    wear jeans here.". "Ok", I replied, then turned around and walked out never to be seen again. He called a week later asking me to come back. I laughed and hung up.
    via u/StrangeCitizen
  • 31
    yakfsh1 Yep. I started a job on a Monday. Friday came and I get a paycheck at lunchtime. Didn't expect that as most places hold back a week. They paid on Friday assuming you are finishing out your day and giving you "credit" for those hours. Anyways I get my check and I notice I'm being paid $2.00 less an hour than we agreed
    via u/yakfsh1
  • 32
    on. I bring it up and the foreman tells me, "Yeah sorry about that I couldn't get the big guy (the owner) to agree to those rates." I'm like, oh and you didn't think that might be something I would like to know? His answer, "Well, there isn't much we can do about that now, I'll try and work on him in a month or two", and he turned and walked away. I got up, wheeled my tool box to the garage door and
    via u/yakfsh1
  • 33
    brought my truck around and loaded it up. He comes out just as I'm finished and his jaw drops to the floor and tries to get me to stay. No way dude, you screwed me, I'm out. C-Ya. Called me five times in the next two weeks each time offering more money but I just kept saying no. He eventually gave up and I
    via u/yakfsh1
  • 34
    found a job paying me higher than his last offer anyways, so it worked out.
    via u/yakfsh1
  • 35
    Cheezburger Image 10521470720
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 36
    Koisplash1794 I was 23 working a construction temp job as a carpenter doing demo at an office they were renovating. The foreman of the company that hired me asked me to do two things, clear out a room and assist the electricians that were working the site. About an hour into that task he came in the building while I was helping the electricians
    via u/Koisplash1794
  • 37
    unload materials and yelled at me for pausing demo to lend a hand even though that's pretty much what he told me to do. I dropped everything, packed up all my stuff, and told the guy to shove it. Id been treated better by superiors when I was working 2 minimum wage jobs and living out of my car then I had for the whole 2 days I knew this foreman.
    via u/Koisplash1794
  • 38
    Ilovekittensomg Yes, actually! I had been at this place for a few weeks, it was an overnight delivery job, we'd load our trucks up around 5 pm, and punch out around 7 am. There were some major red flags I had seen, but it built up until one more thing caused me to snap. Some of the things I had seen leading up to this: Poor
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 39
    equipment, and not enough. equipment. They had like 12 trucks for 12 routes, and they wouldn't fix anything, so there were broken trucks and you had to get there early to claim a truck that wasn't trash. There was also a shortage of tie downs, so you had to hide some straps so you could properly secure your load. The worst pay system I've ever seen. It was so
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 40
    convoluted and it changed often, it was designed to reward those who cut corners and did as little as possible. The people who picked the orders sometimes weren't done on time, so you'd have to wait around to leave. Sometimes this pushed you over the 14 hour DOT regulation, and they'd just tell you to lie and put your time for under 14 hours.
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 41
    On top of those issues, it put me on the opposite schedule as the rest of my family, so it was really hard on my home life. Anyway, I had finished about a week of training and went off on my own. First day was ok. Second day I had to hunt down a truck and load straps. I ran all over the warehouse, and talked to 3 different supervisors. It was like pulling teeth just to get the basic equipment needed
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 42
    to do the job. I finally get the stuff, get all my paperwork, get the truck loaded, and hit the road. I'm halfway through my route when they call me. There's 5 more stops, they didn't give me any papers for it or say anything about it while I spoke to everyone in that warehouse. They wanted me to come get it. I delivered what I had loaded onto the truck originally, brought it
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 43
    back, gave them my badge and said I was done. They tried all sorts of begging and threats, but I've never been. so done with a place.
    via u/Ilovekittensomg
  • 44
    OT... My husband. He was summoned for an emergency behavior meeting. Started with "even though your numbers are top in the company you get up from your desk for water too many times a day."
    via u/OTFoh
  • 45
    He said "I'm going to stop. your right there, we can make this quick, I'm out"....and immediately left. Worked in logistics.
    via u/OTFoh
  • 46
    PrisonBig Back in HS I was home sick, just getting over a pretty bad stomach bug I'd had for a couple days. Grocery store manager calls me and begs. me to come in because they were "slammed." I was still pretty weak, but figured I felt ok enough to go help for a couple hours and help run a register. Arrive to the store which isn't busy at all.
    via u/PrisonBig
  • 47
    Apparently I just missed the rush, but since I was there, I could clock in and clean the bathrooms and take all the department garbages out to the dumpster. Do the work the manager didn't want to do.
    via u/PrisonBig
  • 48
    Or. I could just quit and leave. So 17 year old me declined, quit and went back home. Went shopping with my mom there the next day. Bogo deals were too good.
    via u/PrisonBig

    This person definitely made the right choice! Sometimes leaving a bad job is a blessing in disguise. 

  • 49

    Working after you're fired? That's a good joke

    MewLalouve My boss had the very good. idea of firing me when I arrived in the morning, but she still wanted me to do my work day! I escaped through an emergency exit....
    via u/MewLalouve
  • 50
    Ok_Calligrapher18... I was a convenience 24 store cashier. We got a new manager and just after I counted my drawer she introduced herself and told me "you've heard the term, all sh runs downhill? Well, that's what it's like to work for me" I said ok, well I dont work for you, bye.
    via u/Ok_Calligrapher1809
  • 51
    love_is_an_action Over two decades ago, I walked out on Target. They kept scheduling me outside of my availability, no matter how often I brought it to their attention. The last time they did so, | reminded them that my availability had zero wiggle room. They told me to figure it out. So I did.
    via u/love_is_an_action
  • 52
    Other than that aspect of things being mismanaged, I liked working there well enough. I had nice peers and all.
    via u/love_is_an_action

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boss shift workplace-stories retail workers coworkers i quit quit satisfying quitting story Office quitting work Horrible Bosses quitting story quitting service industry
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