Employee takes on second night job to save up, quits without notice when they halve her hours unexpectedly: 'I got no heads up'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Apr 1, 2026 9:00 PM EDT

Should an employee tough it out when they have an unreliable employer?

It is common knowledge by now that the job market in 2026 is hardly a great place to be, and even landing a role for a minimum wage, entry-level job can prove to be a struggle. The prospect of dealing with what it is like to be unemployed or without an extra salary in this day and age keeps plenty of people stuck in jobs that do not serve their best interests. 

At the same time, this opens up the opportunity for less respectable employers to mess around with their workers and expect no repercussions for it, simply because they are grateful that they still have a job. If some drastic move makes management happy or somehow saves them money, they will have no qualms in doing it and allowing somebody lower down in the food chain to suffer the consequences. 

Needless to say, this is a difficult situation to be in when you are one of the employees affected by this kind of behavior. If you let it happen, it is likely that you will have to deal with even worse treatment down the line, but if you stand up for what is right, you may get punished for it.

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  • The legs of a woman in a cleaning uniform, standing in an office while holding a bucket of cleaning products
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The legs of a woman in a cleaning uniform, standing in an office while holding a bucket of cleaning products

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

  • An employee who already had a full-time day job picked up a night gig cleaning offices to save up for medical treatment. They had been at this second job for two months when their new employer halved their hours while adding two new employees to their shift to be trained without giving them any prior warning.

    Angry that these changes had not been clearly communicated and that they were losing out on money, they decided to quit without giving any notice. However, they were left wondering if their reaction to what had happened had been a little too dramatic.

  • They slashed my hours in half without notice, so I quit on the spot.

    I have a full-time job, but 2 months ago, I picked up a nighttime office cleaning job to help save up money for an upcoming surgery.
    via Historical-Care70
  • Things were generally smooth sailing until I noticed yesterday that my hours were suddenly slashed in half.
    via Historical-Care70
  • Two people were added to my shift for training and to take on half my hours thereafter.
    via Historical-Care70
  • I got no heads up from anybody. If I hadn't checked the notification about my published shifts more closely, I wouldn't have known until I walked onto the job next week.
    via Historical-Care70
  • A woman in a cleaning uniform disinfects a mirror in a public bathroom with a spray canister machine
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A woman in a cleaning uniform disinfects a mirror in a public bathroom with a spray canister machine

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

  • I'm lucky that I don't have to depend on this for full-time income. I'm pred that someone who \could have been\ could have been left in a really precarious position, if this job was all or most of their income.
    via Historical-Care70
  • It's ride at best, really f ed up at worst. So, today, I quit. No heads up either.
    via Historical-Care70
  • At first I was going to give them a few days and tell them next week.
    via Historical-Care70
  • But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how messed up it was.
    via Historical-Care70
  • I hit most of my savings goal already, so I just texted them today that yesterday was my last day.
    via Historical-Care70
  • The legs of a woman walking along the floor of an office at night while holding a bucket of cleaning products
    via Getty Image (Unsplash+)

    The legs of a woman walking along the floor of an office at night while holding a bucket of cleaning products

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

  • Ok_Gas1070 Nah, good on you I mean some companies do it more stealthfuly. They'd have you train the new hires and THEN fire you out of nowhere.
    via Ok_Gas1070
  • Historical-Care70 Original Poster's Reply I'm confused why they did it in the first place. When I started, I was sharing hours with another person who eventually quit on their own accord. So I got my hours doubled afterward, but now they're suddenly bringing new people onto my shifts. They're still paying the same amount of money, so why slash someone's hours?
    via Historical-Care70
  • Sheila Supreme So they don't have to offer benefits
    via SheilaSupreme
  • Historical-Care70 Original Poster's Reply This was a part-time janitorial job with absolutely no benefits. Everyone works part-time hours.
    via Historical-Care70
  • United-Loss4914 They probably caught wind that you were just doing this temporarily and almost had meet your savings goal. Somebody probably ratted you out or something. I don't know either way you're not overreacting.
    via United-Loss4914
  • Historical-Care70 Original Poster's Reply They knew from the beginning that I also have a full-time 9-5 job.
    via Historical-Care70
  • PepperThePotato YOR Did they just double your hours until they found someone new to cover the person who quits shift? Who locks up the office at the end of the shift? Did they need to hire more people so the job could be done quicker because that works better for the person that locks up the office?
    via PepperThePotato
  • Historical-Care70 Original Poster's Reply Nope. The office closes at 5pm for the office workers. We're scheduled there to clean up after hours, anytime from 6pm to midnight. I worked 6 to 10pm. The door is automatically locked, but technically, I close up the office. They emphasized repeatedly that if I'm comfortable taking on the doubled hours (which I said I was multiple times) then they would remain doubled.
    via Historical-Care70
  • Main_Ad_3814 Nah, they wanted you to quit. That's exactly why they slashed your hours. They weren't happy with you but not quite ready to cut you loose yet. It's a classic management technique for easing people out the door: cut their hours or move them to a different shift or position without any warning. If they can get you to quit, it's a win win for them.
    via Main_Ad_3814
  • Historical-Care70 Original Poster's Reply Fine by me. Unless you have an idea of something shittier I could have done to them in revenge? Otherwise, I know they'll be scrambling for the next few days to fill those hours and train the new employees (which they usually have the current employees do).
    via Historical-Care70
  • Main_Cauliflower5479 If you're in the US, and I guess it's dependent on what state you're in, you should have just filed for unemployment for reduced hours. So they're training TWO people to make up the job you were doing singlehandedly? Why a bunch of cr p. NOR.
    via Main_Cauliflower5479

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