Employees share different reasons that cost them their job and led them to get fired: 'It’s the only time I was ever fired in my whole career.'

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Jul 15, 2026 6:00 PM EDT

Getting fired is hard, but it would be lying to assume that some of these stories weren't funny!

Being unemployed is no one's desire during the state of the job market, taking into account how much it costs to live and take care of a family. But that doesn't mean that getting fired is always bad. Of course, no one wants it, but sometimes it can also be the only way to fully get rid of that awful boss that always speaks down to you. Or to stop seeing that coworker that love to spread unconstructive criticism about every single thing you did. Getting fired can mean being free from an unbearable work environment that was consuming you. In this Reddit thread, there are a lot of those kinds of stories that make us realize that sometimes something bad can be good. 


I don't see myself as someone very positive, but it is true that there are some bad things from which we can get a positive outcome. Not only when getting fired, but this also applies to getting dumped by your girlfriend or stopping being friends with someone. No matter how bad the situation seems right now, it may have something positive attached to it. There is no need to only focus on the bad side. Because, of course, it is bad, but it is not THAT bad. You may have gotten laid off at a job, but maybe that motivated you to apply to a better one and you git. Maybe your girlfriend dumped you after 5 years, but that makes you realize that you have put your interests in stop to focus on the couple, and this is the time to change it, to give your dreams the importance they deserve. The friendship may be over, but that's the way you realize which of your friends are actually loyal and are going to be by your side and the good, the bad, and the ugly. 


Not everything that we lose is an actual loss. Sometimes it is a door that appears, and now we are forced to open it. And on the other side, there is something good waiting for us that we would have never discovered if it wasn't for that bad thing that occurred. Not everything is the end of the world. Sometimes there is something positive we can take away from it. 
 

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  • What are the reasons you have been fired for?

  • 01
    Visual representation of an employee getting fired, carrying all his belongings in a box.
    via Vitaly Gariev

    Visual representation of an employee getting fired, carrying all his belongings in a box. 

  • 02
    hmd2017 Solved issues moving filled parts shelves to a new store. Got everything moved and set up. The new shelves location was very unstable. I reported it as a safety issue to the owner. Needs to be stabilized, or chained to the rafters.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 03
    16 sections of steel shelving 2 units back to back all bolted together. One small bump an hour later and they started to sway. I grabbed on and hollered. They went down in a wave and took me for a ride. 10000 parts dumped. Stopped in next morning, they said go home. Unemployment for the summer.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 04
    lajaunie Once because i accidentally found out that we were overcharging a customer and brought it to their attention not realizing it was intentional. Second time, oddly enough, from the same parent company, because I broke a copier... but the real reason was because the manger didn't want
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 05
    a guy in her department and I was forced into it. She very vocally hated me being there
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 06
    Catlenfell Officially, it was for not cleaning the floor well enough. We had moved into a new space that had been unused for at least five years and there was paint and whatnot all over the floor. My job wasn't cleaning, I was the second shift supervisor. They waited until my boss was on vacation. His
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 07
    first day back, they had him fire me. Later, I called him and he said that he was ordered to fire me and to hire the vice president's nephew who was a recent college graduate. My former boss was fired 6 or 8 months later. He had relocated to the area for this job.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 08
    Ok-Return7750 I worked at a toxic workplace with an arrogant bu y owner, who insulted and mocked a manager on a phone call. The owner had a habit of taking phone calls at the desk in front of where I sat. He would frequently put callers on speaker phone, then mute the call and make insulting remarks about the callers.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 09
    I told this manager, who I respected, what the owner did to him. He complained and told the owner it was me who passed on the information. The owner literally exploded at me. I really didn't give a din. I had been shouted at by managers before over trivial petty nonsense. I was a casual so he had the right to fire me immediately and did so for
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 10
    insubordination. I would have quit if he hadn't fired me. That place was a huge sh show and typical of a lot of offices with gossiping and bu ying. It's the only time I was ever fired in my whole career.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 11
    Model image of a “now hiring” sign in the front of a store.
    via Nathan Sack

    Model image of a "now hiring" sign in the front of a store. 

  • 12
    Glittering Bid1112 I purposely provoked to be fire because I already had another job lined up and wanted to start that one asap. I called in sick 3 days in a row without providing them with a doctor's note. I was let go on the 4th day and and started the new job on day 5.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 13
    If I had resigned, I would have had to show up for another full month and I wasn't going to do that.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 14
    Nixoninc I once worked at a major airport as a skycap. I worked for a company that was contracted by a major airline. The company I worked for was toxic and had been thrown under the bus by my immediate supervisor for a major mistake he had made. Then I had the deal with a passenger who was the ultimate a hole in every way. He and his wife and two kids flew to San
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 15
    Diego, their bags went to San Juan Puerto Rico with no identification. SIX MONTHS LATER they finally got their bags back. It wasn't hard to figure out who had helped them that day. I was promptly fired and I never looked back. The pay sucked and we had no benefits.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 16
    Party_Tap_7759 No idea. I was fired last week and I was told it was just not a good fit. My last two weeks I was just cleaning the warehouse. I haven't seen them post my job. The only thing I can think of is maybe work slowed down because I did not see any orders for two weeks. I was let go and told I'm not a good fit. Luckily I have two interviews next week that pay 10 or 9 dollars more an
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 17
    hour. One is out of state though which is a 4 hour drive
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 18
    Throw Away4now2022 I told my boss, "Fine!" (yes, with attitude.) This is the same boss I told to go eff himself but apparently that F word is not termination worthy while the other one is. Make is make sense. That was ages ago when I was quite young. I'm very surprised my mouth didn't get me fired sooner, honestly.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 19
    3030-2026 Burning every bridge insight while getting suspended from my job. Reason for getting suspended- escalating a fight with romantic interest in front of co workers at office. I was on one two summers ago. It was absolutely toxic on my part and a professional low point. At least I got a couple good lines in. I guess?
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 20
    HR: you're banned from this building Me: I didn't know (employer) bought this building from the county when did y'all close that sale? HR: you're banned from the sixth floor HR: fumbling around, can't answer my questions. Apologizes and says she's been on vacation for past week. Me: well what the F are you doing here??
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 21
    HR: we're gonna have you go ahead and turn in your badge, computer and phone. ME: this is awesome. I didn't know I was coming in for a mock firing. Not proud of this I've never been proud of it, but it is a tale from the job.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 22
    cookieloverrrrr I worked at a grocery store and I was hired to handle the one hour photo. I had barely any training whatsoever and I was 18. I sucked. Bad. I totally fed this poor Senior girls prom photos up and my manager just handed her a cheap disposable
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 23
    camera off the shelf next to him to get her to shut up. I felt like a total a hole. And then I would get really nervous if I had to make an announcement. One time I slipped up and asked for someone to come help me out in the MILK department. I didn't even last a month and I am so
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 24
    grateful he pulled the plug for the both of us because I was a complete embarrassment.
    via UpperLecture5141
  • 25
    Palm Pilot Pioneer I took a job that I really had no business accepting. It was a job in Al before ChatGPT was a thing. I didn't understand it, didn't understand the job or what was expected of me. And the owner of the company was a gas lighting a hole. But at the end of the day, I was fired because I was shifty at whatever the job was supposed to be. It was actually a relief when I was let go because it sucked knowing how terrible I was at the job.
    via UpperLecture5141

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