'My contractor coworker quit with 10 seconds' notice': Boss gleefully brags about firing contractors with no notice, contractor quits mid-project

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Nov 4, 2025 3:00 PM EST

This contractor had the perfect idea to get back at their insensitive boss — quit with just 10 seconds' notice! 

Contract work can be ideal for some workers and some professions, but the lack of security means that it's not ideal for everyone. While the job may pay well for a while, as this boss noticed, you can just let them go without any notice, just because they're contract workers. When he said this to his contract workers, his brusque attitude caught them off guard. Even if you can just let a worker go with no notice, it's not the nicest thing to do to someone. People obviously need to pay their bills and put food on the table for their families, so being out of work for even a week or two can really throw a wrench in their plans. By bragging about how he could fire people with no warning, that boss was really just showing off his lack of empathy for other people. After all, how would he feel if he got fired with 0 warning? 

Maybe after having an employee quit on him with the minimum amount of notice, he'll think twice about how he talks to his employees! Check out the full story below, and see if you agree with what the contractor did. 

Up next, read about the way that this group of residents got back at a really irritating HOA president who insisted that the heat be put on starting October 1st: "HOA President wanted heat!"

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  • 01

    'My contractor coworker quit with 10 seconds notice after what our manager said about contractors'

    Woman in neon yellow vest and hard hat shows clipboard to man in gray suit and hardhat with factory background
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02
    I worked an engineering contract for a while. They were pretty open ended, like a lot were, with a vague (but not binding) length specified.
    via u/BigMax
  • 03
    Kind of like: "This contract is expected to be for 12 months, but it is at will of the employer, and could end earlier or be extended further." But for those that do that kind of work,
    via u/BigMax
  • 04
    usually they stick to the vague timelines, and a lot of well performing contractors get extended. Anyway... one day our team of 10 (all
    via u/BigMax
  • 05
    contractors, managed by one full time employee) let 3 of the contractors go. (And they had ME do it!!! Technically I was running that team, but... I was a
    via u/BigMax
  • 06
    contractor too, and not in charge of any firing like that.) So they were told "this is your last day" at 4pm.
    via u/BigMax
  • 07
    Me and another contractor asked our sponsor "hey - how come we didn't give those guys any notice?"
    via u/BigMax
  • 08
    He said brightly "that's why we hire contractors! So we can cut them loose at a moments notice whenever we want to!"
    via u/BigMax
  • 09
    We didn't love that answer. Also - it was a weird thing to say to two other contractors... He basically told us we'd get no notice and be let go instantly someday.
    via u/BigMax
  • 10
    Anyway, long story short, that other contractor was a VERY sharp guy. He started interviewing, and got another job. He told me about it (and I didn't tell anyone else). It
    via u/BigMax
  • 11
    started in a few weeks. He just kept right on working the contract job, and was right in the middle of a bunch of work that only he understood.
    via u/BigMax
  • 12
    At 5pm on his last day he just stood up, grabbed his laptop/mouse/docki ng-station, walked to our sponsors desk and set them down. He just said
    via u/BigMax
  • 13
    Man in hardhat and suit smiles while holding clipboard with large orange robotic arms in the background
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 14
    brightly "hey, thanks for everything, this is my last day!" The guy said "wait, you're leaving?" and he just said "yes, thanks!" and walked out. That was it.
    via u/BigMax
  • 15
    (He did also hit 'send' on a more official 'last day' email at the same time too.)
    via u/BigMax
  • 16
    It was really funny, his work was half done, he didn't answer any calls or questions about it, and it took us like a month to figure it all out and get that project back on
    via u/BigMax
  • 17
    track. If the sponsor hadn't been SO delighted about being able to fire contractors at any second, that guy would definitely have given a nice
    via u/BigMax
  • 18
    two week notice and worked to have a smooth handoff of his work.
    via u/BigMax

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contractor boss workplace-stories jobs job bosses work i quit quit on the spot quit satisfying quitting story quitting work workplace quitting story quitting
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