I bet that at least once, every one of us has wanted to just throw away all the work that needs to be done and leave. We may have become extremely tired of our jobs, experienced rudeness from others, had an excessive workload, our necessary vacation days were declined, or we had another reason. But eventually, most of the time, we come to the realization that perhaps everything was simply a passing fit of anger. But not always. There are moments when quitting is the best decision when we have reached our breaking point and are at a loss for words.
About that, one Reddit user recently started a thread asking people online to share what were their final straws that led them to straight-up rage quit their jobs. So scroll through and, well, maybe feel relieved that your job doesn’t suck that much!
More info: Reddit
#1
I was working when I got the call that my partner of 7 years had been in a terrible car accident while visiting family in Florida. He was in the hospital and his mother called me to tell me he wasn't awake yet.
I was obviously devastated and scared out of my mind. Told my coworkers and boss because it was obvious I was panicking and they told me to take the rest of the weekend off so i could deal with things and prepare and clean his apartment for when/if he got back. Specifically, they said to come back Monday and it was a Friday.
Next day I was cleaning up his apartment when I got the call from my boss screaming about why I hadn't come into work that day. I told him that I recalled him telling me to take the weekend off and come back Monday. He said to come to work immediately because they needed me.
Against my better judgment and my emotional state I showed up and clocked in. Boss came up to me, threw the stack of checks down on the counter that had just come in, and told me, "if you do that again youre fired." This was someone who had never yelled at me before, or even dared speak to me in any stern way. Prior to my arrival their store was an absolute mess and I spent all of my free time, what little there was, reorganizing and cleaning and setting up new systems. For some reason, the fact he chose to start speaking to me this way, and demanding my attention *now*, at that time? It just made me snap. A chord was struck and it resonated, *strong*. I got the message clearly. He was one of those bosses who became controlling of any one who became of value to him and his business. The moment you aren't available when they need, or even wanted you to be, they were going to make you feel bad about it so you were afraid to ask for more personal time, or any other leniencies that took you away from work.
I was literally reeling. Saw red. The moment he turned his back I snatched my check, walked out with a full line of customers at the counter and the phone going off with incoming orders and drove off. He blew up my phone all day. Never came back or called back.
Fortunately, he made it home safe and healed up fine. Unfortunately, he passed away on our anniversary a few years later. I regret every moment I passed up to spend time with him over that job, or, any job, for that matter. I know barely anyone is going to read this now that it's buried under a pile of other comments. But it still felt nice to type it out.
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281points
#2
I was waiting tables while I was in grad school. I had requested a weekend off far in advance (right after I got my syllabus) because there was a seminar pertinent to a class. Our professor expected to us to go and write a paper. It was a decent chunk of our grade.
The weekend comes up and lo and behold, I’m scheduled doubles Friday through Sunday. I hunt down the manger and say I can’t do that and I’ve given months notice. She pulls the “requests are just requests not guarantees” and I tell her point blank I will fail this class if I don’t go. She shrugged she said “that isn’t my problem”. I told her “is now” and left. Like hell I was going fail a class for my masters degree waiting tables at a f*****g Rainforest Cafe
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191points
#3
I was a receptionist for a medical software company. Boss refused my request for a single day off to take my teen daughter to get eye surgery. I waited until the first day of her 2 week vacation and put in my notice. Ruined her holiday.
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159points
Bored Panda got in touch with Farhan Raja, who is the founder of one of the world’s leading career and interview coaching specialists and a career coach. He kindly agreed to share his professional insights regarding this topic.
To begin with, we asked Farhan to share the key red flags that indicate when an employee should consider quitting their job, and the first one he listed was ‘Your manager is gaslighting you’. He added that many people are bullied by their managers in a subtle and manipulative way.
“The most common being gaslighting, which can have a huge negative impact on your self-esteem and confidence. For example, you’ve completed an amazing piece of work which everyone appreciates yet your manager is still finding faults. You’re constantly being told you’re not working hard enough even though you are.”
#4
Not me, but a colleague once wrote a long stinker of an email, hit send at 10:30am and exited the building immediately. He blind-copied all receivers but sent it to multiple departments of a large multinational I was working at, no one knew who did/didn’t get the email, except for the gasps and OMGs around the office. He was completely disgruntled, and went in on multiple managers, supervisors and various colleagues with absolute venom. It was amazing, still the best work email I’ve ever received and some s**t he called out actually had to be addressed by management, it brought about a lot of positive change. If you’re out there Khalil, that was awesome.
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149points
#5
Mine?
I was tired of doing a 3 person job. My boss following me around, calling me at home during meetings when I was sick, talking to me outside the bathroom door was making me crazy.
I came back from vacation one day to find piles & piles of work that other people could have done.
I quit, packed my s**t & left.🖕
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124points
Another red flag is lack of respect for personal boundaries. Farhan pointed out that since a job is a profession, maintaining one's professionalism is essential to proper behavior and etiquette at work. If your coworkers are going too far in probing personal matters or making negative comments about your appearance or dressing, then it’s not a healthy work environment to be in.
And finally - blame culture. “If you find that there is a lack of ownership from colleagues, always blaming incomplete work or mistakes on others, it is usually a sign that there is a lack of productivity, where staff are more focused on how to do as little work as possible than be productive,” he emphasized.
#6
Was promised that if I got my accounting degree they would move me to IA so I could get hours towards my CPA.
Worked my a*s off, graduated, and the boss said "Yeeeeeaaaah, were going to move you to Customer Service. Sound good?"
Stayed late that night drafting a company wide "F**k you" email.
Probably shouldn't have done that in hindsight, but some bridges just beg to be burned.
113points
#7
One very busy night while waitressing, I was standing at a table of 12 in the middle of taking their order when another waitress came up to me and said our boss wanted us in their office that instant. So I leave my full section in the middle of chaos to go see what the problem is. My boss began to chew us both out because the other girl asked if I would switch shifts with her and I had agreed. I didn't say anything but was obviously annoyed because I had just left all my tables thinking there was some sort of emergency. My boss looked at me and asked why I looked mad and I told him "I feel like this could have been sorted out without me, if you didn't want her to leave early you could have just told her no instead of pulling me away from our customers". They said "if you're going to have an attitude get your s**t and leave".
I said ok and went to transfer my tables. I was over it. I had worked there 3 years and the owners were alcoholics that treated us like garbage and spent all the company on themselves instead of getting ingredients to make food or paying their employees. The other waitress came back out and said our boss wanted me back in the office. I went in and they said "put your apron back on, you're not fired". I said "you're both f*****g crazy if you think you can treat people the way you do and expect them to want to work for you" and I walked out. As I was leaving they came out behind me saying I would regret it and was never allowed back if I left. I threw up my middle fingers and kept walking.
Funny part is I let my boyfriend take my car to work that night so I had to walk a mile home and break into my house🤣
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107points
#8
I worked for a call center for AT&T. I refused to try and sell a DirectTv package to a woman who was literally bawling her eyes out on the phone because she was having to switch her phone plan to her name instead of her husbands name because he had just died.
106points
Now, speaking about the toxic environment’s impact on a person, the career coach shared that it can actually affect mental health and well-being in many ways. “You take your work problems home and they start having a negative impact on your personal life and family.” He added that you will find family and friends saying that you don’t seem yourself or you find yourself taking your anger and frustration out on loved ones.
Additionally, it can reduce your overall quality of life. “If you're not happy at work, it means that you’re not happy for 1/3 of your day and when you consider that the other 1/3 is sleeping, it actually means half of your day is passing by with you being unhappy and stressed,” Farhan pointed out.
“This continuous persistence of unhappiness and stress can lead to depression or stress-related illnesses caused by a toxic work environment.”
#9
When I was 20, I worked a commission based sales job. The manager hated me for some reason. I genuinely to this day have no idea why. I tried really hard, had a good attitude, and followed all the rules. My sales weren't extraordinary, but I always met my numbers.
My grandmother died about six months into the job. I texted my manager to tell him I'd be taking my three days of bereavement as allowed by the union. I even apologized for the inconvenience, as though I could control my grandmother's death. He called me the day after she died accusing me of lying, saying I was lazy and just wanted the time off. Keep in mind I'd never called out before or even been more than 5 minutes late to a shift. I sent him medical documentation proving she'd had a stroke during the night and passed away. He called me back and said fine, I could have that day off, but he better see me the next day (my third day of union-protected bereavement) or I'd be fired.
Stricken with grief but terrified of losing my job, I drove the two hours back to my apartment from the grandmother's house that night. The next morning I went into work tired and melancholy. He b***hed at me to smile because no one wants to buy cell phones from a sad girl. I plastered on a smile and hit the sales floor. At lunchtime I cried my eyes out in my car. Reapplied my makeup. Went back to work with my fake smile. I was in the middle of helping a customer when he comes bouldering up to the table and starts asking the customer all the same questions I had to see what products they'd be eligible for. The customer was baffled and told him I'd already covered everything and that no further help was necessary. He went on a rant about what a terrible, useless employee I was.
I looked at the customer and deadpan said, "I'm so sorry to leave you with him, but as of this moment, I quit." The manager followed me to the break room, shouting and raving while I gathered my purse, turned in my equipment, and clocked out. He followed me to my car still berating me. Finally that same customer I walked away from came out and physically stood between me and the manager so I could get in my car and drive away. The manager proceeded to call me every day for a week and leave abusive voicemails about me "missing shifts" because he "didn't accept my resignation". He even called me the day of my grandmother's funeral and said now that she'd been cremated, I had no excuse not to come back to work.
F**k AT&T and f**k that douche Jeremy. I hope he eventually got a taste of his own medicine.
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102points
#10
Many years ago while working in a manufacturing facility. My boss came into work already pissed off because his wife served him divorce papers.
Saying “good morning” was apparently enough to set him off and he picked up a wrench from the table and threw it at my head.
I ducked…it missed…then I just closed my toolbox and wheeled it to the truck lol
101points
And finally, Farhan says that “If a workplace is toxic I always recommend that you leave, but, and this is a big but! Make sure you have an exit plan. This means you set yourself a target to leave your current job for a new role in the next 3 months.”
“What this does is create a light at the end of the tunnel but also ensures that you take a strategic approach. Your rational mind is in control of the process and not your emotions, so you’re able to move to a bigger and better job rather than any old job just to get away from your current toxic environment,” he notes.
Don’t forget to check out Farhan’s interview coaching website!
#11
I was vomiting in the parking lot every day before walking into my job from stress. Then one day I was kicked in the teeth (literally) by one of the clients and my boss would not let me leave to go to the dentist. I went anyway, was docked pay for my time at the emergency appointment, and then they begged me not to sue. I quit.
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99points
#12
Got told by my boss that he doesn't give a s**t if I don't have time to spend with my son. Quit on the spot.
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99points
And what do you think about these stories? Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? Share your thoughts below!
#13
This was 20 years ago.
My fiancé had been hospitalized for 16 months after a car accident.
When she passed away my boss would not let me have time off for bereavement because we were not legally married.
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96points
#14
The boss told me I should be sleeping at his house because that’s the level of dedication he needed from me. Bye!
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87points
#15
Was having a meeting with the boss who was a difficult guy to work with, and he stood up and punched the wall. He wasn't doing it jokingly. He bare knuckled went at the wall of his own office like he was in the gym hitting a punching bag.
I sat there in astonishment for about two seconds, then stood up and left. Cleared out my desk, exited through the back door without a word to anyone.
There's no place for that conduct in the professional world even if the guy does own the company.
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84points
#16
I never have, but my favorite example was when a co-worker in student transportation, who had finally gotten a position she wanted after years of suffering through stress in another, was called by management over the summer and told she was being reassigned to the stressful position because no one else wanted to do it. She had fought too long and hard to get what she wanted, and her immediate response was, "Then tell me what I need to do to resign." She did, and she's been at peace with her decision ever since.
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79points
#17
When I was driving home and my blood pressure shot through the roof cause somebody was driving the same make, model and color car as the boss.
...obviously that wasn't THE STRAW, just the recognition that there was to be no more straws.
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79points
#18
My managers boss did a surprise inspection and my boss wrote me up for doing my job the exact way he trained me. Apparently when he trained me he was cutting corners.
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74points
#19
Worked in Retail, sprained my ankle really bad while Ice Skating. Couldn't so much as get out of bed. Had to call in and take 2 days off before I was even able to limp to work. Soon as I got back in, Manager pulled me into his office to SCREAM at me for taking 2 days off. For a physical injury that physically made it so I could not do my job. Threw a cold cup of coffee on him and walked out. My only regret is that the coffee was cold.
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73points
#20
At one office job, I quit after the first day because the lady training me would ignore me when our manager wasn't around, and I caught her snooping through my purse when I went to the bathroom.
At another job at a clinic, I quit after a month because they made me do a solo receptionist shift without training me on what I needed to do to open the clinic, and then I got yelled at for not knowing what to do. In front of patients. It was so bad, some of the patients came up to me after and asked if I was ok.
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69points