And then there are those who are just miserable in their jobs but choose to remain on the payroll. These people also leave it up to their bosses to terminate them from the job.
So what makes them get to this point?
Redditor 12345burrito wanted to know and asked strangers:
"What was your 'go ahead and fire me I don't even care' moment at your job?
Bosses with bad tempers and obsessed with power like these tend to experience high turnover.
Pee Monitor
"When after 20 years working my a** off. They started timing our bathroom breaks. I have never been completely and totally done with anything that much before."
Twist Ending
"I was working as a software developer and providing second line support, in the hospitality/conferencing industry. I had overheard a colleague trying to provide support for something that was clearly the client IT team's fault. Later got a call from the client's MD's secretary wanting to set up a call with our founder to complain that the problem wasn't being dealt with. I said 'I can't call him, I'm really sorry, please don't ask me why. I know our support people are working on it.' Why couldn't I call the founder? Because his wife had, that day, lost a full term baby - which I obviously couldn't disclose. Soon after I got a furious call from the client MD himself. His IT team was obviously lying to him about our not returning calls - I had heard the calls being returned. And he just wouldn't accept that I couldn't call the founder and couldn't tell him why. So eventually I just hung up on him."
"I told the most senior person around, expecting to be fired on the spot for hanging up on a client. Her reaction: 'Oh yeah, he's not a nice guy: he's physically attacked me in the past.' Not the outcome I was expecting!"
– thx1138a
The Colleague's Note
"We had a manager that was an @ss. It was a sales role and he had no empathy when our sales were flat. He's get very abusive and threatening."
"One day, he was shouting at us and my colleague got pissed off. He was explaining it was one bad week off the back of seven good weeks. You got to expect ups and downs with sales."
"The manager just yells louder claiming my colleague is a 'quitter' and doesn't have a winner's mindset."
"Colleague tells him 'I've had enough of this sh*t. I'm done'"
"Manager screams 'I want your resignation in writing.'"
"Colleague scribbles a note and gives it to him. Manager had a sh*t reputation and couldn't recruit. Our sales were even lower with one less person on the team. It ruined his career."
"But funnier than that was the short, but sweet resignation note from my colleague. It read…"
"Dear Bob. I'm off. F'k you".
Fast Food Boss
"I used to work in fast food when I was 18. We would be rostered alone, no lunch breaks or bathroom breaks because we couldn't leave the store. No training. School kids would have to work closes until 12am on school nights. He made us serve expired seafood and deli meat. The last straw for me was when I got a call on a Monday screaming at me because the store wasn't clean and it was obviously my fault even though my last shift was on the Thursday (and I left the store spotless). Multiple people and shifts had occurred since I had even worked but I somehow got the blame. After that call I emailed him saying I quit and blocked his phone number. His store closed down now a few years ago too."
Holiday Shift
"Was working 3 jobs one being a full time position but wanted to help the stores through the holidays. Specifically asked one store that I had been working for over a year through three store managers to only schedule me on Thanksgiving if was an emergency. She scheduled me anyways along with enough other people to handle the rush."
"This came after multiple occasions where I would show up 3 hours before opening to unpack the shipment and had no one to let me or the shipment into the store so I ended up having to waiting in the back hallway (mall store) guarding a few $1000 dollars of merchandise."
"Day before Thanksgiving I asked to take my 10 minute break so I could eat something. No customers in the store at the time. Same manager who repeatedly bailed on me refused to let me take it so I decided screw this and said I'm taking it. If I'm done I'm done. Sure enough they said I was done so I cleaned out my locker, carried my things two doors down to my higher paying job and got the go ahead to clock in early. So I worked the same amount of hours I would have for more money."
Missed Forms
"During this pandemic we have to fill out a form before entering the building attesting we feel good and are able to work. I forget to fill out the form once last summer and I forgot to fill it out again once this summer. As I forget twice within a year my boss came to me and said he is looking at writing me up as per HR policy."
"I told him that I filled out these forms over 180 times over the past year and if he is going to write me up over two missed forms I will frame the write up for everyone to see."
"He didn't write me up."
Engineer Vs. Boss
"I was a manufacturing engineer. New boss (transfer from overseas plant) wanted to break a running spec on our new machines in favor of what they do in the overseas plant. In good faith I told him that we can't do that, in my plant that spec was set by the (very picky) customer after a long, arduous process that I assumed he was unaware of. To change that spec would have been a major quality violation and could compromise the safety of the end product."
"He did it anyway. This was the last straw for me. My old employer was terrible in many ways, but the blatant disregard for safety by this new manager was sickening. He even had the gall to privately message me and say 'I am the manager, you are just the engineer. I am in charge.' I responded with 'Yes, I'm the engineer- and it's my job to make sure we follow quality standards so our [products] don't hurt people.'"
"I got fired on my next day at work. I nearly cried with happiness. I got fat unemployment checks and they lost the only person who knew how to manage those machines."
Jake Gyllenhaal Reaction GIF by MOODMANGiphyThese bosses lacked compassion when an employee was suffering from moments of despair.
The 16-Year-Old Who Had Enough
"I was 16 and my Step-Dad was in hospital around 5hrs away dying from cancer. I got a phone call at work for about the third time in a couple of months that I needed to get down there ASAP to say my goodbyes, as this could be it. My bosses were all well aware of the situation, one of them was even friends with my Step-Dad. When I rushed out the back to tell them I had to go, this bloke looks at me, a crying, frightened,16yr old girl, and told me I had to stop doing this, and get my priorities right. In a rare showing of assertiveness, I looked that d*cksnap in the eye and told him he was right, and quit on the spot."
Crazy Historical Events That Sound Fake But Are 100% True | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
The Loss Of A Close Friend
"I had a similar situation when my closest friend died. My friend came from an abusive family so he lived alone and had no one close to him besides me. I had to take a day off and plan his funeral. When I got back to work the next day they acted like I had inconvenienced them. My boss told me not to lay out of work with such a short notice again. I told him I had enough of his inhuman attitude and quit on the spot. He called begging me to come back a couple of weeks later but I had already found another job."
– barvoues
The Unsympathetic Christian
"I was a teacher. I had confided in the school principal that I was struggling with depression but getting treatment. This a**hole (who also happened to be a deacon at my church) proceeds to tell me that depression is a spiritual problem that I needed to solve. I was too shocked and upset to say much of anything then, but I wrote him a letter telling him what I thought of his actions and his 'Christianity.' Ultimately cost me my job, but damn it was satisfying and I don't regret it in the least."
Wife Comes First
"my wife was attacked, was in surgery when I got called about it. I was less than 10 miles away. Got told: Finish the run (9 hours), then go see her, you can't help her anyway."
"Parked a Semi/trailer in the back lot of the hospital, told them to page me for the keys."
These Redditors did nothing wrong, but was more than happy to leave a job that had unreasonable demands.
The Accident
"My job was micromanaging the hell out of everyone. They had 3 different softwares that tracked where you were, speed, how much time you were on 1 job for, etc. On my way to get supplies for a job I came across an accident. No one had arrived yet so I pulled over and helped a trapped woman out of her car and tried to calm her and take care of stuff until Medics arrive. I
text my boss very quickly that I'm at the scene of a major accident rendering aid and that's why I'm stopped. I was told by boss A to not spend too much time there, as I am on the clock. I ignore him. After medics take over, I take a video of the scene as I leave to prove that there was a bad accident. I was fired for taking the video because it was taken from in the company truck. When they fired me, I smiled. There are 8 people that company in the position I was in. The 2 most experienced quit after that. The others are applying for new jobs."
The Shyster Company
"I was working at NTW (National Tire warehouse) before it was national tire and battery, and my first day I was scheduled for a 14 hour shift for some reason. About 6 hours into it, I asked my manager when out break time was. He said "what do you mean by break?" I said "a half hour break as mandated by law, and two 15 minute breaks required on top of that, also required by law." His response was 'most people don't take those here, we have costumers to take care of.'"
"After that, I clocked out and went to Wendy's to get lunch. I figured f'k these a**holes, go ahead and fire me."
"After lunch, I was doing a tire rotation and balance, the manager came out and told me not to balance the back tires if the costumer isn't watching me. That was the nail in the coffin for me. They paid for that."
"I got to talking with some of the longtime employees and they informed me that the sales counter guys (our managers) made commission from every sale and got bonuses every month while we got our minimum wage and raises were rare. I finished my shift and clocked out. Went looking for a new job the next day. Any company like that can go piss off."
"So when you go get your tires balanced, watch them."
Taking Care Of The Boss's Personal Belongings
"My boss once told me that I have to come in to the office the next day, which was a PUBLIC HOLIDAY, because we needed to clear out the office storage unit. He said that we can't afford to take time out of work days for that task."
"So I begrudgingly agreed and showed up the next day. When I opened the storage unit it was crammed full of stuff... full of the boss's PERSONAL STUFF. I'm talking boxes full of his old clothes, childhood toys, school projects and textbooks, gardening tools, furniture, sport and gym equipment, construction materials, paintings, etc. TVs."
"I was so mad that I quit on the spot."
Sometimes, people who weren't necessarily treated poorly can't handle the job and quit.
But instead of following protocols, they will make a scene because at that point, they have nothing left to lose.
I had a friend with whom I performed at a theme park. Yes, it was a grueling schedule but the company never violated any of our union's rules.
This guy, who was an exceptional dancer but simply did not enjoy performing in the show and took the job because he couldn't get work elsewhere, threw a major tantrum after finding out he had more rehearsals – with overtime – and just left the building. He never came back.
Some drama is better left up on a stage. Sheesh.
There are many scenarios we face in life where we make decisions based on knowledge or the experiences of others.
And while those are helpful indicators, there is something to be said about your internal siren sounding off at full blast, telling you to "abort" a situation.
Whether your gut warns you of an incompatible date, or a hazardous workplace environment, it's there for a reason that only you can know.
And ultimately it's up to you to ignore them or listen. Because in some cases, it could be a matter of life or death.
Redditor madocsherbrook asked strangers on the internet:
"What was your "I'm out" moment?"
The comments that followed highlight the experiences of people who averted potential disasters and had their guts to thank for it.
Furious Employer
"When my previous employer screamed at a co-worker for five minutes straight because she neglected to call some priority life insurance leads. We had third co-worker out on medical leave so this woman was taking care of two lead lists as well as acting as an unofficial assistant manager to the agency."
"When I say this woman was screaming, I mean it was the shrillest, highest pitch bat screech I had ever come out of a grown womans mouth. The windows literally shoot that's how many decibles she put out. It was one of those public freakout moments where I wished I had my phone recording the incident, but I was in so much shock that I didn't know what to do."
"I dusted off my resume and bounced about a month later. She accepted my three weeks notice, fired me on the spot, tried to steal my last commission check, and threatened me with corporate after I let her know I had my commission sheet already printed and would be pursuing a wage complaint with the state."
"BULLET. DODGED"
– Lyn1987
The Not-So-Open Relationship
"Very long story very short version. Ex wife and I were having severe marital troubles. She proposed an open relationship to try to fix it. (Pro tip dont do that). Anyway she started banging her friend the next day and it took me two months to finally find a girl willing to sleep with me. Girl and I had become good friends but the night I was going to go out with her to actually have sex my wife vetoed me as 'she wasnt ready for that step yet.'"
"I gritted my teeth but agreed. Life goes on for a couple more weeks and then one night I get a topless pic from the girl on my phone. I casually mention it to the wife."
"She EXPLODES, saying how inappropriate that is as that I need to cut off all contact with this girl someday. When I threw up her hypocrisy to her she told me she would CONSIDER stopping sleeping with her friend for awhile but she wasnt sure."
"I left the next day."
Inevitable Bar Brawl
"Was at a bar one time when a group of guys came in screaming and arguing with another group. Slammed my beer and got the f**k out of there before I could see what happened next."
Trucking Nightmare
"My first job was for a trucking company with a well-earned bad reputation for mistreating their drivers. I was one of those drivers."
"So, the way it works is that you go out for a number of days, and then you're supposed to be home for a few days after before going back out. This company had a 6 day out for every one day home situation, so basically one day of hometime earned a week."
"I would be out for 24 days and request 4 days hometime thereafter, as per the company policy, and always with roughly two weeks advanced notice. It would always get approved, but my dispatcher would find every excuse she could to keep me out for months at a time. I would call above her to get home, but that would inevitably lead to my paystubs being shorted significantly. I guess she had some connection to the pay department or something. I would always point it out to HR, but they would do nothing."
"I stopped working there after 6 months, having been home for a grand total of two weeks all the while, and having made well below minimum wage for my efforts. (Truckers are.exempt from a lot of laws pertaining to compensation, for the record.) But those six months were enough to find a better employer elsewhere. I placed out."
"So I have an 'Abandoned Equipment' charge on my DAC, because of that company. I had returned the truck, given the key to the company repairmen, and cleaned my things out of it. They had already assigned a new driver to take that very truck by the time I left. That was over half a decade ago, and I hope that poor bastard found something better."
– robexib
Extremely Passionate Sports Fans
"I was taking the train from Glasgow to Edinburgh one late evening. Apparently Celtics had played Rangers that same evening. This became evident when some fans of both teams, maybe 15 guys in total, were fighting and throwing glass bottles of alcohol at each other and the train both on the platform and inside the carriage. I had been sitting near the doors but I moved as far back in the carriage as I could, hiding and crouched way down so as to not be hit by the flying bits of glass. I was ready to get tf off that train but most of the fans got off the train at the very next station and the next train was unlikely to be any better, so I stayed. Since then I always check to make sure the derby isn't on before I visit or travel through Glasgow."
"This isn't to say that every fan of either of those teams are hooligans or that other teams don't have hooligans, I know that's not the case and there were fans of both teams who were completely innocent and were just wanting to travel home in peace like everybody else."
"Toxic Work Environment"
"A job I had a few years ago. Someone rammed my car in a parking lot. So I let my boss know, and went to the police station to file a report for the insurance. My boss didn't ask if I'm okay, he only phoned later on, to find out what is taking so long. I left that company soon after. It was a very toxic work environment."
im out GIFGiphyNo More Games
"I was volunteering on a website writing game guides. When the owner of the site, who I've known for a while, (we were in different countries though) hinted that if he knew one of us in person, he could have us beaten half to death in the middle of the street and no one would stop him. All over a friend of mine declining to provide game info any more. I ghosted him and the entire site instantly."
– Amidormi
Workplace Hazard
"I was working in a warehouse, and we had a load of heavy duty racking delivered from sime dodgy contact (honestly, knowing this place it was probably stolen). It came on a soft sided wagon, and I could tell by the way it was bulging that the load wasn't propey secured and had shifted during transit."
"I told him it wasn't safe to unload from the side, as the whole lot was likely to fall on someone, and that we had better handball it out the back door, which would be safer but take a little longer. He disagreed and called me a p*ssy, then we got into an argument and I handed in my notice."
"I found out from a friend later that night that the load collapsed on someone during unloading and broke his leg in two places."
A Manipulative Business Strategy
"When a friend from high school invited me to a 'work event,' and I'm sure you all can see where this is going."
"As soon as I entered the place I saw a lot of clueless people and two giant posters with planes, luxurious landscapes and smiling girls. Noped out before they could get any of my info for the MLM."
"Later me and another friend tried to convince her to leave the business, but she wouldn't listen. Lost a lot of money. She finally got out when they started insisting on making more people join by lying to them and saying she'd been making money, so that speaks good of her. She had just been desperate I guess."
Full Bladder
"Back in high school I left class to go to the bathroom. I was booking it because I really had to go, but then I notice there's a whole group of freshman boys crowding around the entrance to the girls bathroom trying to dare each other to go in. I turned right the hell around. I had to walk all the way to the other end of campus just to get to the other girls bathroom. F'king freshman."
Extreme Boredom
"I had this job that paid well but I absolutely hated it due to sheer boredom. I was sent across the country for training which included a meet and greet with the CEO of this Fortune 100 company on the second day. After the first day surrounded by a bunch of snivelling brown-nosers, I spent the night wide awake thinking about how much I hated the job. I drafted an email to my boss saying I was quitting immediately with zero notice, checked out of hotel, drove to the airport, and booked a return flight. I never went back. I didn't just burn that bridge, I friggin' blew it up."
The Violent Business Owner
"My boss asked me to empty the wastebaskets when I closed up the store (a small art supply shop in a very small town). It was very dark when the store closed, and the trash bins were across a parking lot that was not well-lit, and there had been some bad stuff going on in the neighborhood. I decided to come in early the next morning to empty them."
"Came in half an hour before the store opened, unlocked the front door, walked in and a flying wastebasket missed my face by inches. My boss was standing there in a rage, smelling like booze, yelling at me for failing to empty the bin."
"I said, 'I quit' and walked out. I loved that store and the customers, but hated the owner. Every job after that was better, so..."
– cat9tail
Church And Greed
"Pastor of the church asked me & my (then) husband if we would consider refinancing our home and 'donating' the equity to the church to help build a new facility with his 'dream basketball court' .. er for the youth."
"He ended up convincing several families to 'donate' their equity, and my ex was furious with me for refusing. I told my ex he could keep the church in the divorce, but I sold him the house & took my share in cash."
"All of those people lost their money, and the building was never built. I put the money down on a new home & I'm very happy."
– cat9tail
Latenight Rush
"Server at Applebee's."
"Working late shift, with new manager who clearly is much better at bartending than managing."
"I got a 12 top (12 person table) at like 1 o clock (we closed at 2), and I am so not having it. Manager is like "I know man, I wouldn't be happy either, but I'll help you out"
"Does not help out. 20 minutes later, after getting them all drinks and getting their overly complicated orders in, I stop by the table and notice a few new faces."
"Apparently four more friends came in and joined the party, so I've now got a staggered order, trying to get more drinks from a bar that is about to close, more food from a kitchen that is about to close, and manager is doing anything else but help."
"I finished the table (forty minutes past close), not even started on my side work and closing tasks, I cash out the 7 tickets of this table, because of course they've gotta make it difficult and not even sit together."
"I collect my sh*tty tips, count out the money I owe the restaurant, pay out, and say "alright it's been good, I quit." - Reddit
Sayonara
"Working for a company in an entry-level position for 7 years, small department, only like 20 people. Got passed over for a major promotion that I was clearly the most qualified for. When the manager (whom I’ve been working for for all 7 years) called to tell me I didn’t get the job, she called me by the wrong name. She’s never got my name right; it’s a very common name. Those two things together are enough for me to say sayonara!" - Bobhi_luv
Sometimes you just have to know when to go! Trust your gut, dodge those bullets like Neo, and live to fight another day.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.