'[He] didn't even make it to his desk': 15+ Workers who were fired from their jobs on the first day

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 6, 2025 3:00 PM EST

Workers, let's hear it: why did you, or a legendary coworker, get fired from a job? 

The list of offenses that can get you fired from a job is long and hilarious, and chances are, if you haven't gotten canned in a ridiculous way, you know a coworker who has. Some people have a short temper, and it makes them both hard to employee and impossible to forget. After all, it's not every day you see someone flip out at the boss for asking a simple request (usually something in their job description!) 

One person got fired pretty quickly because he was misusing the company car. That's totally understandable — if you're being reckless in a vehicle branded with your employer's info, you're just asking to be let go! But some stories were totally inexplicable, like the sandwich artist who simply did what a customer asked. The customer just wanted extra olives, which this person obliged. I wonder if their mistake was putting on a handful of olives instead o of counting out like 4 olives and adding that, since some chains are very stingy about these things. Still, that's a hilarious reason to fire someone, and I'm sure it remains a treasured memory of the time they got fired for over-oliving a sandwich. 

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  • 01

    'What's the fastest you've seen someone quit or get fired?'

    Man in denim shirt holds large stack of papers and looks confused
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

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    bobroland Didn't even make it to his desk. I was working for a telcom company back in the day. My team was developing a self install program for cable modems. To tell you how long it was ago, the spec called for it to fit on a floppy disc just in case.
    via u/bobroland
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    Anyways, I hired a new employee. Looked completely normal. Average guy. I walk him to his workstation. I tell him "This will be your desk." He just says "nope" and walks back out. Would never explain why. I'm still confused sixteen years later.
    via u/bobroland
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    Beardraven A guy (qualified butcher) turned up for his first day of work at a butcher shop and does what he is told to do, until lunch time then the boss (who was a real at times) caught him "shooting up" and fired him on the spot.
    via u/Beardraven
  • 05
    Turns out the guy was a diabetic and was giving himself his insulin shot. Ended up suing the boss. and winning.
    via u/Beardraven
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    agnesiswitch In 2007, I took a job at a staffing company. Early in the morning on my first day, I received another/better job. offer via phone. When I came back from taking that phone call outside, I came back in to my manager who looked very relieved. He thought I had left. He told
    via u/agnesiswitch
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    me the person who previously held my position. went on a lunch break and never came back. As soon as he said that I knew my destiny. I took my lunch later that day, and vanished.
    via u/agnesiswitch
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    justscottaustin Where I work, we hired a sales rep, and he started Monday morning. He left for lunch and never came back. We found out (apparently) through a couple of his mutual friends that he decided, while at lunch, to go live as a wanderer primarily in South America. Apparently he went home, packed a bag, and headed south.
    via u/justscottaustin
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    foursheetstothe... Hired a carpenter to work on a youth jail in a remote village in AK. Told him it was a secure facility and he would need to pass a background check, he said no problem. Put all the paperwork in, flew him out first thing Monday morning to start work. He's onsite
    via u/foursheetstothewind
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    less than 4 hours when the State Troopers roll up and arrest him for an outstanding warrant. Needless to say he was also fired.
    via u/foursheetstothewind
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    Chillaxbro New guy, first day on the job at the kennels... He was found out back sleeping in a makeshift bed he made out of all the empty dogfood bags.
    via u/Chillaxbro
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    librarygirl Worked at an upmarket estate agency in a wealthy part of the UK as an admin assistant. They had this cute little Fiat 500c, decked out with the company logos. I was getting petrol one afternoon and saw the Fiat pull in, so bounded out to say hello to whichever of my colleagues. was driving it. Turned out to
    via u/librarygirl
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    be a total stranger - the new guy, hadn't met him yet, but went over and introduced myself anyways. He was mega friendly but then back at work kinda offish. In fact, made zero effort throughout his first week to be friendly. Got kinda stressy on the phone with clients. Was awkward and hard to read. Monday morning (new guys second week) I get in and, as a lowly assistant, I don't
    via u/librarygirl
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    have my own account, so I hop onto the boss's to check his emails and deal with any enquiries as per. I find an email from a very, very p ed off gentleman titled 'your company car'. Obviously I read it. The guy outlined how over the weekend, someone fitting the description of the new guy, driving the company car, had zoomed up behind him at 50mph in a 30 zone, practically run him off the
    via u/librarygirl
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    road tailgating and wildly gesticulating at him from behind, blaring the horn, and nearly causing an accident with an oncoming vehicle when he tried to overtake. My personal favourite part was something along the lines of: "might I advise that should your chap want to play racing games in a quiet residential area, he might
    via u/librarygirl
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    another before getting the job. Ok. Great. I'm told that I will start at a set date ~2 weeks away. I finally get an email about a week later asking where I was. What the h_l? I call my manager, no answer, call the other one, no answer. So I email them. Turns out, they emailed me,
    via u/librarygirl
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    and emailed me as the restaurant as opposed to their regular email so it went to my spam. They [the owner and manager] emailed me asking me to start a week earlier, and never waited for a reply. confirming the earlier date, they just assumed I got it and agreed to it. What bothered me was the fact they emailed me only once,
    via u/librarygirl
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    every manager I've ever had calls me and leaves me a message. What the nail in the coffin though was, I ended up playing email tag with both managers, and I was being told I was to come in at two separate times.
    via u/librarygirl
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    I wrote a very polite letter saying I was not going to work for people that obviously could not communicate with one another, or have the decency to call, let alone not wait for a reply or confirmation.
    via u/librarygirl
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    Earhorn Jones In High School, I got hired at Dairy Queen. I turned up for my first shift, and the manager went to the back to get my hat/shirt/name tag. While I waited, a family friend who owned a furniture store came out of the bathroom, and when I told him that I was working at
    via u/EarhornJones
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    Dairy Queen he said, "You don't want to work here. Come work for me instead." | did. As soon as the manager returned, I quit. All told, I was there less than 15 minutes.
    via u/EarhornJones
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    RedBullTaco I got fired from a busboy job in high school after 4 hours. I was running around clearing tables and trying to keep up when this old lady kept asking me for matches. I kept telling her to please ask her waitress since I had no clue where they were.
    via u/RedBullTaco
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    consider not doing so in such a heavily branded vehicle." I discreetly tell a senior colleague of the situation. and the directors are notified. New guy is called upstairs and then promptly sent back down, clearly on the verge of tears. He said, "I've just been fired." I've no idea why he didn't leave straight away but it was
    via u/RedBullTaco
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    INCREDIBLY awkward. Total 1 week employment and his wife had a baby on the way. :/ TLDR don't behave like a I in a branded company car
    via u/RedBullTaco
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    fr... I got fired from Subway after 4 hours for putting too many olives on a sandwich. Art is not subjective when it's sandwiches, I guess.
    via u/fred_fred_burgerr
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    EDIT: This happened in 2000. The rule was either 4 or 6 slices per sandwich, and someone asked for extra so I sprinkled a handful on there. After that sandwich, the owner pulled me into the back and asked why I put so many olives on there. I told him the customer asked for extra, and he kind of sighed and said "I don't think this is
    via u/fred_fred_burgerr
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    going to work out." I went back the next day to turn in my green shirt and get my $20 back (had to pay for the uniform myself).
    via u/fred_fred_burgerr
  • 28
    Cananbaum I quit a job before I had the chance to even start. Lot of restaurants here in New England are seasonal and one was gearing up to open a few towns over from me. IT took three interviews for an ice cream scooper and cashier position. Twice with one person, once with
    via u/Cananbaum
  • 29
    She yelled at me. I forgot what it was but it ped me off so I went to the front desk, found a big bowl of matches and dumped them in her lap. It was right then I realized I had no business dealing with the public.
    via u/Cananbaum
  • 30
    MeowschwitzInH... The company I used to work in hired Temps. We worked outside in a brutal winter that year, and the work was pretty difficult if you haven't been in the industry. I had about 6 temps in a row quit on the first day, but the one that stands out told me he needed to go to the washroom quick time 5 minutes into teaching him the job, we watched him get
    via u/MeowschwitzInHere
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    in his car (we were 5 minutes from the parking lot, but there was a fence between the site and the lot) and drive off. I gave him a call asking where he went (maybe it's an emergency?), he said he was in the washroom.. No, we just watched you drive. off in your car. He told me | was a liar, so I asked him if he'll be back in 10 minutes. "10 minutes at
    via u/MeowschwitzInHere
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    most" I decided since there's been a wave of people quitting, I'll give him a break. Maybe he's insecure and can't use a public washroom. 2 hours later, he returns with Macdonalds, and asked "it's lunch time right?" I couldn't believe he had the balls..
    via u/MeowschwitzInHere
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    I was an unofficial supervisor (long story), but I told him to go home and he was only getting paid the first hour he showed up.
    via u/MeowschwitzInHere
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    Man in gray suit holds cardboard box full of office supplies
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+
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    via u/lordflip
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    via u/IAM_Awesome_AMA
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    via u/BeardiusMaximus
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    via u/BeardiusMaximus

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