Your first day at a new job can be extremely nerve-racking. It’s your only opportunity to make a good first impression on colleagues, and your brain will be moving a million miles an hour trying to take in tons of new information. But something that’s important to remember is that your employer should be trying to make a great impression on you too. Otherwise, you might just be inspired to say “sayonara” before your first payday!
Redditors have recently been sharing stories of employees who quit their jobs before even working a week, so we’ve gathered the juiciest ones down below. Enjoy reading through these tales that might inspire you to quit your own job, and keep reading to find a conversation with Ben Stocken, Founder and CEO of West Peak!
#1
The owners daughter showed up to open 1.5 hours late. Said she thought her mom had given me keys. Proceeded to tell me to unload her car before I could come in and clock in. I locked her keys in her car and left.
192points
#2
The oh 'By the way we never mentioned it at the interview but you will get 50 percent pay for 6 months till your trial period is over'. I was half way into my first shift when they sprang that on me. I turned around and walked out. No discussion. Didn't say a word. Just left.
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182points
#3
Desk job. All male staff. Male boss made a joke that I can feel free to use the kitchen to make food for everyone because "finally we have a woman on the team". Walked out.
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161points
To learn more about what pushes people to quit their jobs early on, we reached out to Ben Stocken, Founder and CEO of West Peak, who was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda.
"When people quit jobs right after starting them, it’s often one of two main things: Either the job has been mis-sold to them in terms of scope, opportunity and often culture, which destroys that initial trust in their leader who hired them and the organization," Ben shared.
"The second reason is that they have a terrible or non-existent onboarding experience. Onboarding is the first real opportunity you have as a business and a leader to set the working relationship off on the right foot, and getting this wrong leads to scope for miscommunication and conflict from the get-go," the expert explained.
#4
When I found out their timeclock system didn't track hours worked, but the minutes spent typing or moving your mouse. And it'd take random screenshots too (if you're in a video meeting, I guess they get to take pictures of you too?). All that and they wanted this installed on my personal computer. That and a few other reasons made me back out after one day.
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149points
#5
I was between jobs and got a temp job helping with payroll and they told me I would have to hold paychecks for people who did not return their uniform and when I pointed out this was illegal (and showed them the law) they said to do it anyway so I quit and went back on unemployment until I found a real job 3 weeks later. Quitting a job because they want you to break the law gets you unemployment in most States.
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142points
We also asked Ben how employees know whether their new job will just take a while to get used to or if they should run as soon as they spot red flags.
"Early red flags are often a rushed interview process and repeated clashes of values. Our values underpin how we perceive the world and therefore how we interact with it," he noted. "Fundamentally, if you find yourself in the first few weeks of a new role and business, and what you observe from behaviors and actions doesn’t align to your values, it’s never going to lead to an environment where you can do your best work."
#7
I remember starting a job at a call centre for a particular company that has such a bad reputation, they need to change their name every so often.
They were telling us how we have 7 minutes alotted for "personal time" like bathroom breaks. There was one bathroom in the building, WAY down at the other end of the building...so on our first fifteen minute break, I walked to it..Took 4.5 minutes to get there. So when we came back from break I asked "so what happens if you go over the alotted time?" And the trainer goes "well then the mintues are tracked and deducted from your pay"...I got up and walked towards the door and the guy goes "see that's an example of complete unprofessionalism, and that's ok this type of job isn't for quitters"...I spun around and went "I can handle the job, chucklef**k. What I won't do is degrade myself by working for a place that monitors how long it takes you to s**t".
They were telling us how we have 7 minutes alotted for "personal time" like bathroom breaks. There was one bathroom in the building, WAY down at the other end of the building...so on our first fifteen minute break, I walked to it..Took 4.5 minutes to get there. So when we came back from break I asked "so what happens if you go over the alotted time?" And the trainer goes "well then the mintues are tracked and deducted from your pay"...I got up and walked towards the door and the guy goes "see that's an example of complete unprofessionalism, and that's ok this type of job isn't for quitters"...I spun around and went "I can handle the job, chucklef**k. What I won't do is degrade myself by working for a place that monitors how long it takes you to s**t".
131points
#8
It was a telemarketing company selling timeshares around the US. My first call was an old lady who told me the story of how her husband fell down the stairs two weeks ago and died right in front of her. My manager was over my shoulder listening in and said something like "OK, now pitch the package." I left immediately.
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126points
#9
Line job in a factory that assembled magazines. Because of all the paper sliding along the tracks, little bits would gum up the gears and they wanted us to reach inside and pull out all the wads of paper scrap about once an hour while someone MANUALLY held down a button that paused the machine from moving. Refused, clocked out for lunch and left.
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119points
Finally, we asked the expert how companies can ensure that their new employees have a smooth onboarding process.
"Do one in the first place!" Ben says. "Plan it out by reverse-engineering exactly what you want the person to be able to understand and achieve in their first 90 days and create an onboarding process that delivers this. Constantly seek feedback from your newest joiners on their experience of the process, so you can refine and iterate it. Make it accessible for all, really think and seek out expert support on how you onboard different areas of diversity."
#10
I got a summer job as an HR/Office Assistant while in college.
They told me on my first day that they had to fire some people later in the week and they needed me to do it because they didn’t want to.
I didn’t come back the next day. Not only did I of course not want to do it, but I was shocked at the callous disrespect they had for the employees that they wanted to fire. If you want to destroy someone’s lively hood, have the balls to f*****g do it yourself.
They told me on my first day that they had to fire some people later in the week and they needed me to do it because they didn’t want to.
I didn’t come back the next day. Not only did I of course not want to do it, but I was shocked at the callous disrespect they had for the employees that they wanted to fire. If you want to destroy someone’s lively hood, have the balls to f*****g do it yourself.
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116points
#11
I was a GM car salesman half a day. Family of 5 come in and settle on a Pontiac Catalina. Sales manager told me to squeeze another $275.00 from them. I went to family, cut $500 from the contract, turned it in and sent them home in a new ride. Told sales mgr I was done and left..
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114points
#12
The boss hid the bathroom key and had everyone ask him for permission to use it.
I have IBS and I got the runs the first day (of course).
When I asked for the key the second time after 30min of using it the first time, he asked me: "again???"
The third time he started chewing me out.
I literally turned around on my heel and got to the locker room to take my stuff and go.
He then tried to block my way out when I sat on my motorcycle to drive away.
I have IBS and I got the runs the first day (of course).
When I asked for the key the second time after 30min of using it the first time, he asked me: "again???"
The third time he started chewing me out.
I literally turned around on my heel and got to the locker room to take my stuff and go.
He then tried to block my way out when I sat on my motorcycle to drive away.
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106points
#13
Work in IT and got a new job as a SysAdmin and on the first day found support tickets where the guy before me was required to track every second of his time through it. Several tickets that read something like "Cleaned office - 15 minutes".
No thanks. I'm not a child that needs supervision.
Luckily my old job let me come back like I never left.
No thanks. I'm not a child that needs supervision.
Luckily my old job let me come back like I never left.
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98points
#14
Started a sales job just after graduating which I was happy to do because I'd done what I thought was a similar job while studying. Morning was as expected, induction stuff, a few odd characters, manager seemed ok. After lunch, they said ok now we need to get in a car and go do some door to door sales.... this was supposed to be an office based on the phone type of job so I was already thinking, nope.
After about 45 minutes of chatter and slight panic because the person who usually took people around had gone off somewhere, someone asked if a car with a specific reg plate belonged to anyone. It was my car. Manager asked me to drive the team to an area of town for the door to door. They said they'd give me a separate payment for fuel. I said my insurance wouldn't cover them so I can't take the risk. They said to call my insurance and confirm. I said I'd go outside to do that while having a cigarette.
I did not smoke. I got in my car and went home.
After about 45 minutes of chatter and slight panic because the person who usually took people around had gone off somewhere, someone asked if a car with a specific reg plate belonged to anyone. It was my car. Manager asked me to drive the team to an area of town for the door to door. They said they'd give me a separate payment for fuel. I said my insurance wouldn't cover them so I can't take the risk. They said to call my insurance and confirm. I said I'd go outside to do that while having a cigarette.
I did not smoke. I got in my car and went home.
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96points
#15
I got a job in town X. One the first day they told me tomorrow I needed to show up to a different office in San Francisco (which is a 90 minute commute there and a 2-3 hour commute home). Not what I signed up for, they legit could not understand why I was leaving.
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89points
#16
I came in to be one of 4 retail managers for a museum with 4 stores. While training me I overheard multiple associates (who I would be managing) swearing and yelling at customers. Then one of the other managers training me to log the safe yelled and screamed at me that I didn’t know how to count cause the safe was $1 short (we later found the dollar on the floor behind the desk she had been counting at) then the district manager above me spent the entire day sitting at the cameras listing reasons to write up associates which included: seeing the outline of a girls phone through her back pocket even tho she never took it out, an associate going to the bathroom twice during his shift (they were only permitted one break apparently), and an associate not asking literal children to donate to the museum.
Great first day. Even better last day.
Great first day. Even better last day.
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89points
#17
Got hired as a farmhand for a potato farmer as a summer job from college; minimum wage through the local job office where I was told, “this guy has gone through a lot of workers”
First thing he told me to do was change the oil in the tractor and pointed to where things were. Now I had changed the oil in my car, but that hardly compared… I managed
Next, I was given a “s***ide jack” and told to walk out to the field where a 40” tire on one of those huge sprinkler systems had slipped off the railroad tie going over the ditch and use the jack to get it lifted out of the ditch and somehow use my 130 lb frame to move it back onto the railroad tie…I managed
Lunch time came and I had trudged back from the field with the jack. The farmer sees me and says, “I’m going to the house for lunch, please eat in your car.” Luckily I had brought my own lunch, but it was 90 degrees out and I was a sweaty filthy mess from what I had done so far and had no way to clean up… I managed
For the afternoon, the farmer had me perch on the back of the potato planter while he drove it down the field and I had to hop back and forth between the planter bins and manually make sure the potatoes were dropping into the feeder tubes… I managed
Got a call shortly after getting home asking if I’d like an assembly line job in an air conditioned factory, never went back to the potato farm.
First thing he told me to do was change the oil in the tractor and pointed to where things were. Now I had changed the oil in my car, but that hardly compared… I managed
Next, I was given a “s***ide jack” and told to walk out to the field where a 40” tire on one of those huge sprinkler systems had slipped off the railroad tie going over the ditch and use the jack to get it lifted out of the ditch and somehow use my 130 lb frame to move it back onto the railroad tie…I managed
Lunch time came and I had trudged back from the field with the jack. The farmer sees me and says, “I’m going to the house for lunch, please eat in your car.” Luckily I had brought my own lunch, but it was 90 degrees out and I was a sweaty filthy mess from what I had done so far and had no way to clean up… I managed
For the afternoon, the farmer had me perch on the back of the potato planter while he drove it down the field and I had to hop back and forth between the planter bins and manually make sure the potatoes were dropping into the feeder tubes… I managed
Got a call shortly after getting home asking if I’d like an assembly line job in an air conditioned factory, never went back to the potato farm.
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86points
#18
I was a Cold caller trying to solicit donations for an organization. Called a guy. His widow answered the phone saying he had recently passed. Supervisor said I should try and get the widow to make a donation. I was done.
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84points
#19
I was in high school, working 3 part time jobs. I had gotten hired as a cashier at a supermarket. I really just wanted to be a stock boy, but oh well.
I show up to work and the manager isn't there. So I just start asking people like, hey I'm new how do I clock in? What do I do?
Eventually someone clocks me in like an hour late. They put me on a register, show me the produce code sheet like once, then left me alone. No clue how to do a sale, no idea how to do coupons, etc. The manager shows up halfway through and yells at me, in front of a customer, for not knowing produce codes. Even the customer was like, "hey, it's his first day. Calm down."
Time for my lunch break. Nobody has shown me where the staff room is, so I just buy lunch from the store and eat it in the cafe area. Manager storms in, takes my tray, throws the rest of my food away, and goes off that I CANNOT eat where customers are, that I'm stupid, etc. I just got up, threw the apron at her, and walked out. Absolutely ridiculous. I did, however, go back and demand my check for hours worked. Because f**k that.
I show up to work and the manager isn't there. So I just start asking people like, hey I'm new how do I clock in? What do I do?
Eventually someone clocks me in like an hour late. They put me on a register, show me the produce code sheet like once, then left me alone. No clue how to do a sale, no idea how to do coupons, etc. The manager shows up halfway through and yells at me, in front of a customer, for not knowing produce codes. Even the customer was like, "hey, it's his first day. Calm down."
Time for my lunch break. Nobody has shown me where the staff room is, so I just buy lunch from the store and eat it in the cafe area. Manager storms in, takes my tray, throws the rest of my food away, and goes off that I CANNOT eat where customers are, that I'm stupid, etc. I just got up, threw the apron at her, and walked out. Absolutely ridiculous. I did, however, go back and demand my check for hours worked. Because f**k that.
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82points
#20
I was assigned to a middle school grade 6 as a student teacher. I was supposed to be under the guidance of the classroom teacher. She was all too willing to let me be in complete charge and told me I could just do “whatever.” I called my faculty advisor and requested to be reassigned. The next day I was at a different school with a teacher who knew what she was doing.
78points