People Share What Happened At Their Jobs That Caused Everyone To Quit At Once, Here Are 30 Of Their Wildest Stories

Deciding whether or not to quit a job can be a long and arduous process. We usually have to weigh the pros and cons before making the final jump, and we must ensure that we’ll be able to pay rent and buy groceries if we lose our income suddenly. We want to be sure that we can find another job in a short amount of time, and we might even try to find a new position that won’t make us want to rip our hair out before leaving our old job. But starting a new job is risky because it can be difficult to predict if the devil we know is worse than the devil we don’t know.

On the other hand, however, sometimes one incident is enough to push us right over the edge. No contemplation, no time to consult our therapist, and no two-week’s notice. I’m quitting today. As much as I hope you pandas have never been in a situation where you and your fellow employees all decided to walk away together, these experiences sure do make for great stories. So enjoy reading through this shocking list, and keep these stories in mind if anything traumatic ever happens to you at work. Remember that you can always walk away at any moment. 

We reached out to RealSlicy on Reddit to hear what inspired him to start this conversation in the first place. "I’ve heard several stories related to this topic, and I got curious and posted the question," he told Bored Panda. "Never expected it to blow up like this." We also asked if he thinks it's common for there to be incidents at work causing large numbers of people to quit. "I’d say whatever causes this to happen would be unlikely. The post proved me wrong though, so I guess so," he said.

We also asked what he thinks the best way is for a company to respond to a dramatic or traumatic situation that causes many employees to quit. "They would have to provide more for their employees and maybe replace the manager of wherever it took place if they were what caused it," he says. "If they lie about it, it would only screw them up even more."

To get some insight on why employees often hit a breaking point and decide to quit all at once, we also reached out to career counselor and blogger Penelope Trunk. "There are a few quitting trends that pop up in the media -- the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, and quitting in teams. The Great Resignation turns out to be not anything great at all, but rather just a continuation of the 30-year trend of college-educated women participating in the workforce at lower and lower rates," Penelope told Bored Panda. "Similarly, quiet quitting and quitting in teams are tactics people have used in the workplace for a long time, so I think what we are seeing, really, is a trend in personal transparency." 

"In 2008, I was talking about  how twenty-something millennials were quitting in teams because they did everything in teams - they went to prom in teams, they did class projects in teams," Penelope explained. "This was shocking to gen x'ers since we did everything alone when we were in our twenties - the natural result of living as latchkey kids. But I wasn't the first to notice how people quit in teams. Danny Sarch was a top finance recruiter known for being able to place a whole team at a new job. in the past he had to keep his specialty under peoples' radar, but now I think it's out in the open."

"The reason quitting in teams is not new is that quitting is rarely about the money," Penelope says. "It's usually about a combination of lack of appreciation, lack of commitment to coworkers or shared vision. The extreme version of these feelings is moral outrage, which is collective. So it makes sense that extremely bad behavior in the workplace is met with groups of people that quit together."

"For example, it's clear that the story on reddit about the company ignoring that a guy's arm got cut off is moral outrage," Penelope said in reference to one of the stories featured on this list. "Everyone quit that moment because one wants to be in the room with someone who is telling them to ignore blood pooled on the floor. We also set standards for an obligation to quit. We don't blame people when they are not whistleblowers because we assume they can't see what the whistleblower sees. But when a huge group of people can see moral turpitude, like in Nazi Germany, and they do nothing, we prosecute them for being an accessory, even if it was their job to follow orders."

"Death of a Salesman is famous because it reminds us what happens if we put aside our communal morality when we go to work," Penelope told Bored Panda. "Arthur Miller wrote it at a time when men were trained in the military and then went to the workforce, so it was natural to follow orders no matter what. My son couldn't believe how pathetic the salesmen were. He said, 'If I want to read a classic about people who are insane from war, I think Slaughterhouse 5 is better.' It's refreshing to me that my son can't imagine a world where the 1950s workplace exists because it was definitely still there when I graduated from college in 1990."

"As people depend less and less on their jobs for their identity, people are more willing to speak publicly and truthfully about quitting their jobs," Penelope explained. "For the general population this means we can make more realistic decisions about how we can make a living and what is possible. This trend in transparency will also mean the normalizing of the life that people who read Bored Panda probably already know: that our identity has to come from what engages and excites us and most of us will do what excites us for free. Most people in the Bored Panda community can quit their jobs and see little shift in their personal identity. Now they can feel like other people understand that."

If you'd like to hear more words of wisdom from Penelope, be sure to check out her blog right here.

We also reached out to career coach and host of the Career Growth Made Easy podcast, Craig Ancel, to hear his thoughts on the topic. Craig is an accelerated career growth coach and podcast host. He also speaks professionally and provides customized content according to business’ coaching needs. He has spoken at public and private schools and churches, and recently, he has supported the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch and spoken at the Foster Youth of America Annual Elevation Conference.

“In today's dynamic job world, companies need to be responsive when it comes to their customers' needs,” Craig told Bored Panda. “However, at the same time, we’re asking our employees to do more with less. That means less money, less time, and fewer resources. The message seems to be, ‘Get more done and get it done faster.’”

“Coupled with ongoing supply chain disruptions from Covid and recently the Ukraine war, work time stress can be at an all-time high,” Craig explained. “This stress is only amplified with sudden changes in workplace policies. Enough time has settled that employees have become comfortable with policies such as AWL & WFH or Alternate Work Locations and Work From Home. Today, many employers are shifting back to face-to-face meetings and requesting employees to return to the office. Some companies cite reasons for returning to the office such as better collaboration and improved customer support. Regardless, if employees are asked to make the trek back to the office building only part or full time, many are choosing to not honor the request.”

“One career growth coaching student told me: ‘We’ve become comfortable with working remotely. I for one, know I kept up my productivity. This is easily proven by the fact I am logged in and online during the time I’d normally be in bumper-to-bumper traffic going to and from work.’ My student went on to say, 'I routinely cut my breaks short and sometimes miss lunches as I power through my day, strongly performing.’ Some companies try to listen to their employees’ voices and honor their requests to improve the work environment. However, this debate on effective work from remote locations is still a hot topic.”

When it comes to the stories featured on this list, Craig says, “I am sure that some groups of workers that left companies ‘all at once’ were dialed into office politics. If companies don’t have a finger on the pulse of their employees and their work environments, they can unknowingly make changes that negatively affect their teams. The results, as seen, can be the mass exodus of numerous employees – triggered by an ‘I’m fed up!’ attitude.” 

“Counter to that point, yet still being disconnected from your employees' feelings and aspirations can yield identical results. As the old saying goes, ‘It’s the last straw that broke the camel’s back.’ Sometimes team leads, supervisors, or group managers are oblivious to the simple fact that there is more to business than the end paying customer.”

“It’s true, as businesses, we need to keep the end customer satisfied,” Craig says. “I coach on delighting our customers. Yet, I take it a step further, such as in my Career Growth Made Easy podcast episode #021: Level Up Your Customer Service. Every business and those employees that want to excel in their roles, regardless of position, could benefit from recognizing we all have upstream and downstream customers. Only when you begin to treat everyone on your team as a customer you will truly win.”

“Being sympathetic to employee needs comes first,” Craig told Bored Panda. “I’m going to state the obvious here, without employees, businesses will cease to exist. However, business owners may struggle to retain employees long-term. The economic and performance impact on business can be huge when it comes to short-term employee turnover. This is validated by a recent post on LinkedIn where a company’s sign read, ‘Now hiring anyone that shows up.’” 

“I suggest, as a fellow business owner, fostering an environment of growth, both personally and professionally. Genuinely doing so will likely help businesses retain top talent,” Craig explains. “As business owners, we shouldn’t wait for our employees to come to us with needs or requests. Communication should be open and a two-way street. When genuine conversations can be held in a trusting, supportive environment you’re more likely to retain employees. That conversation should result in actions that develop and grow the individual.  As we all know, actions speak louder than words.”

If you’d like to get in contact with Craig to book a coaching session or gain additional insight, be sure to check out his website right here. 

While it seems like there is no shortage of toxic employers out there, one good thing that has come from fed-up employees sharing their stories online is the empowerment that comes along with it. The more workers open up about how they deserve better treatment and unions, the more people are willing to walk away from their unhealthy work environments. This shared experience of demanding better working conditions has led to the Great Resignation of 2022, that is currently still taking place. 

The term ‘The Great Resignation’ was coined in May 2021 due to the record numbers of employees leaving their jobs since the onset of the pandemic. According to one survey, one fifth of the world’s workers planned or are still planning to quit their jobs before the end of 2022. And while there are a variety of reasons motivating these employees to seek new positions, 71% of the people planning to quit cited finding higher wages as one of their top priorities. Companies cannot pretend to be surprised by this though, as inflation has increased rapidly over the past year, and housing costs are skyrocketing around the globe. It was only a matter of time until The Great Resignation began.

Money is far from the only concern employees have though. As I’m sure many of the people featured on this list will tell you, satisfaction is a very important factor at work as well. If you feel unsafe, disrespected or unappreciated at your place of work, there is no reason to stay, even if you are compensated well. After receiving fair wages, finding a job fulfilling falls close behind as the second most important factor to the majority of workers. And the third most important factor, also very closely behind, is that employees feel like they can truly be themselves at work.

We are human beings who deserve to be treated that way 100% of the time. We are not robots who are capable of shutting off our emotions or pausing our personalities just because we’re on the clock. While ignorant employers might assume that productivity and profits are the only things workers should be concerned about, that’s simply not the reality. Workers want to feel valued and cared for at work, and when they don’t, they will find somewhere else where they do.   

Although many of the stories on this list took place long before the pandemic began, the shift in the world’s focus since the first few months of 2020 has been drastic. Many of us have been forced to reevaluate our priorities and decide what is truly important to us. While we were required to isolate ourselves in our homes and adjust to a new quality of life, many workers realized that working remotely is actually the best possible option for them. And while it’s been proven that it can be done without sacrificing productivity or profits, many employees have decided that they no longer want to put up with long commutes, uncomfortable offices and the drama that can come along with seeing colleagues every day. 

Unfortunately, about half of the workforce cannot be employed remotely. And according to the World Economic Forum, these individuals are “far less likely than others to say they find their job fulfilling, believe that their team cares about their well-being, think that they’re fairly rewarded financially, or feel they can be creative in their work”. So if a worker has to be on the job in-person, they certainly deserve to find a place they enjoy going to and agree with ethically.

There has also been a major shift in perspective for many workers in recent years that might be inspiring them to say goodbye to jobs they previously thought they needed. Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global, told Harvard Business Review, “People aren’t just quitting their jobs, they’re rejecting the idea that burnout is the price they have to pay for success.” Keith Ferrazzi and Mike Clementi, writers for Harvard Business Review, explain that rather than viewing the recent change in the workforce as a “Great Resignation”, perhaps we should be considering it a “Great Exploration” instead. People are not just walking away from their jobs; they are calling for changes in the whole system. They want to address the root causes of why employees are unhappy.

Ferrazzi recommends that while workers take some time to reevaluate their situations or search for new employment, they should also start asking themselves some questions. “Why do I do what I do? What am I good at? How can I thrive?” He explains that employees who feel they have discovered their purpose are 49% more likely to experience intrinsic motivation, 33% more likely to report higher job satisfaction, and 25% more likely to go above and beyond at work. “The irony is that if you ask most CHROs what the number-one reason people are leaving is, the answer won’t be purpose — because we don’t ask,” says Marlon Sullivan, Johnson Controls’ CHRO, who explains that exit surveys usually cover the topics of management, culture, wages, and other factors. “But…is purpose a key factor? Absolutely.”