Employee Quits Suddenly After Boss Piles Work on Them After Team Shrinks From 9 Workers to 5

JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor

Jun 20, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

Have you ever quit a job without another one lined up?

It's a risky thing, but sometimes necessary. If you just can't stand it anymore, there is not a lot you can do other than just get up and leave. When a workplace is disrespecting you, you shouldn't stick around to see if things get better, because they probably won't. When things are on a downward spiral, they're likely to continue that way unless someone speaks up. But sometimes even when you speak up, things don't change. That's the kind of situation this employee found themselves in, in a story they shared on the antiwork subreddit. After years of trying to stick with a job that kept failing them, they weren't sure what to do. It didn't seem like anything was going to change, and they were worried that if they stayed around, things would get worse. When a team shrinks in size, it's on the manager to figure out what to do with the remaining employees. It might be tempting to just consolidate the roles, but that just makes everyone's workload bigger. And if you're not raising salaries in proportion, employees are bound to get a little miffed. Nobody wants to feel devalued in their place of work, but nothing will make you feel devalued more than being with little pay. But that's exactly where this worker found themselves.

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via Resume Genius

A frustrated woman sits in front of her computer
It takes a lot of courage to quit, especially when you don't have something else in the works. If you have enough of a safety net, you can do it without a ton of fear. But even if you do, you're probably still inclined to worry. Anything can go wrong at any time, and you might end up at the bottom of a well that you can't get out of. You have to make the leap, though, when you find it right to do. If you're feeling it, it must be pretty important. Keep scrolling and find out exactly what happened here, then let us know in the comments what you think.
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I quit after my boss crossed the line.

via berserklicence
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via berserklicence
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via berserklicence
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via Markus Winkler

A typewriter with a job application in it
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via berserklicence
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Commenters gave their sympathies and advice.

via StolenWishes
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via Aleksei Zhivilov

A woman in glasses works on her laptop
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via thomascameron
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via thomascameron
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via RYAQN