We in the United States are in the middle of an "employment crisis" - and some people believe the narrative that it's because people don't want to work. Data hasn't supported that, but it has absolutely found that people learning to support themselves means they are no longer willing to work under certain conditions.
Let's take a look at what those conditions might be.
Reddit user "Sketch99" asked:
What made you quit a job on the spot?
There are some things more important than money. There are things people just will not tolerate.
Employers and future-employers - pay special attention here. It's important to learn what not to do or allow in your organization.
Appreciation
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"Nothing dramatic."
"After working my butt off during the pandemic and promised an additional bonus. I received a 'low performance' review conveniently timed a day before my bonus was to be paid."
"The low performance feedback canceled my bonus. Given all the other BS I was putting up with, I broke and quit."
"I had a nice month off and my new job pays significantly more. Never work for people that don't appreciate you, there are always others that will." - grasshenge
"I unfortunately work for a company that is currently doing this to me. I can't quit yet, but I'm already gone mentally."
"Busted my butt all through the pandemic (I work on healthcare equipment), working 12-15 hour days regularly. Got the attaboys from the company and managers and was promised a pretty substantial bonus."
"The end of the fiscal year rolls around and we got our overtime cut instead of the bonus due to 'unprotected expenditures' yet the corporate guys and managers got 5 figure bonuses for 'weathering out the storm of the pandemic and succeeding beyond expectations.' "
"This was the final confirmation I needed to start looking for a different position." - acidbass32
Thanks, Leroy
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"I used to cut grass in a cemetery."
"I used a push lawnmower and had to lift it up onto the elevated graves, and then back down and on to the next one. Over and over and over."
"Minimum wage was $4.25 an hour."
"After an hour of cutting grass in the August heat, I sit down for my break, and this guy named Leroy asks, 'Was that worth $4.25 to you?' I quit the next day. Thanks Leroy." - nobodytoldme
Surprise Surprise?
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"Asked for a raise and was told okay. Next morning (Friday) I was told by the same person who agreed with the raise that I should put a few more years in and then we'll talk again."
"Locked my toolbox at the end of the day and called a tow truck to pick it up. Shop manager was shocked that next Monday to find a empty spot where my tools were and couldn't understand why I left." - NotSurprised92
"Lol, sure I'll give you a raise. Wait, no raise. We will talk in 6 years."
"That's some ahole sh*t. He had to realize mechanics can find jobs super quick. I walked out on a Thursday, had a job by Saturday. Started work on Monday." - xabhax
Figure It Out
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"My grand-father, who I considered like a father, passed away after a long stay in hospital. We were closer than he was with his own kids, and our bond was quite special."
"I spoke to my manager about getting the day of his funeral off, since I was organizing part of the arrangements, and having a day or two of bereavement leave, and he agreed."
"The day of the funeral finally comes and the staff start calling me, leaving me messages asking why I'm not at my shift, and telling me, while I'm in a suit hosting family members at the funeral home, that I have to find someone to replace me or face repercussions."
"Needless to say, I told them to figure it out, and never looked back." - Cavalleria-Rustica
"This happened to my wife. She was at work when her mom called to say my wife's grandma had died."
"My wife, sobbing, told her manager that she needed to go home. The manager said 'if you leave now, don't bother coming back.' "
"My wife took off her work apron, handed it to the manager, and said 'I'll come by for my final paycheck.' "
"The manager had the nerve to call and pester her at home: 'so you're not covering your shift tomorrow?' No, Frank."
"This was a summer job when she was in college way back when. I'm proud of how assertive she is." - GummyKibble
Dollars And Deceit
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"Walked in to the interview, everything went well, accepted the job offer."
"Went to the front desk to do the paperwork and noticed that the contract had a different pay amount, and that I would be 'interning' for the first month for $100/week."
"I asked first about the amount difference, was told 'oh, this the standard contract, it just hasn't been updated for your specific offer.' "
"I told them they'd need to edit and initial the changes before I would sign. 'Oh...that's not how things work here." "
"I thanked them for their time and left without signing anything. They called me back on the day I was supposed to have started asking where I was."
"I told them because didn't sign the contract, I was never an employee....hooo boy that was a fun call." - CowboyFleeborg
"Similar situation for me."
"Back in 2012 I was looking for a job in anything other than food, but got desperate. This burger place had just opened up and was desperate for workers. They advertised on their window $11.75 and hour starting for all positions."
"I applied, had an interview basically the second I turned in my application and got hired 20 minutes later. At the end of my shift (which was about 3 hours), they said they would start me at minimum wage, 'because you haven't finished your bachelor's degree yet.' "
"I was speechless. If I had finished my bachelors degree why would I be working here?! And for such low pay!"
"I told them to cash out my pay immediately and I would not be returning because of their deceit. There weren't any stipulations anywhere on the sign that said anything about needing an undergrad degree for that much pay."
"They cashed me out at $11.25 per hour and I left. They closed down back in 2018 and every year Spirit Halloween takes over the location. F*ck'em!" - Embershot89
People Share The Most Selfless Thing They've Ever Secretly Done | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Owner's Son
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"Worked for a privately owned bakery for exactly 1 week."
"The owner's son comes in, walks passed the counter and into the bathroom. He comes out a few minutes later without acknowledging me or my coworker, gets into his car and drives away."
"We both looked at each other then opened the door only to find this guy literally sh*t all over the toilet seat and the toilet paper holder."
"I called the owner, told her what happened and she said to 'Deal with it.' So I asked my coworker if she wanted to clean it up because I wasn't going to."
"She declined and I told her I was walking out. She did as well."
"We locked up the store and told the owner we quit, but would reconsider staying if her son came back to clean up his own mess. She yelled and berated us for 20 seconds before I said goodbye and hung up."
"He was 22 at the time and I'm pretty sure he had a drug problem. When I started working there he was an employee for a day or two before his mom came in and told him to leave after finding out he was taking money from the register."
"I think on that day he had enough and decided to do what he did to get back at her. My coworker and I were caught in the crossfire and bailed out of that situation fast." - Edge80
Denying The Commission
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"I worked for a T-mobile store (authorized reseller, not an actual dealer). One week, I had an amazing week (sold 55 phones, brand new activations on a business account with 55 high end phones at that time)."
"When I got my next check, they said my paperwork was not in order and thus they couldn't pay me."
"As a side note, they always told us to make copies of all paperwork in case this happened so you can show it to the manager and get it resolved within a day."
"I went over my back up paperwork with my boss, he said everything looked to be in order and he would have the office cut me a check."
"I went to the office, and they told me it was still not in order. I immediately gave them my store key and quit on the spot."
"I did go through collections and they did settle before I took them to court."
"The company did go out of business after a few years because they tried that with many other employees and eventually lead to an investigation by the government (according to an old coworker I bumped into years later)." - Jim105
Very Unprofessional
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"Worked as a cashier in a local shop, one night 2 guys came at me with knives trying to get in the till."
"I just walked away and said have at it as it wasn't worth the minimum wage to get into it with a couple of guys waving knives at me."
"After they ran out of the store, I picked up my mobile and called the police then called the store manager."
"The next day, the district manager meets me as I turn up for my shift the very next day. Her first words were not to ask if I was okay, but to tell me that it was 'very unprofessional' of me to have been on my phone while at work."
"I laughed at her and told her she could take this as my notice and walked out. I never had a problem with being held up but the sheer gall of that got me."
"I later got a message from the supervisor that was scheduled with me that evening. They were asking why I wasn't there as it wasn't like me to miss a shift. (Only time I dipped was when I got took to hospital for a night)"
"After I explained to him what happened, he and his partner put their notice in within the week. Along with the other cashier they got in to cover that shift."
"That district manager got made 'redundant' the following month, the manager of the store messaged me explaining that they have been looking at getting rid of her for a while and me walking out was the catalyst."
"Near enough sunk the store." - Voidsleets
Hopefully, more and more businesses truly lean in on the idea of people as actual humans rather than resources. If they don't, we expect to see a lot more of those angry "nobody wants to work" signs - so at least we'll get some laughs.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.