17 Surprising Instances of Quick Quitting in the Workplace

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Losing a team member or coworker can be intimidating. 

Employers and colleagues feel overwhelmed by such circumstances. 

Changes at work are never easy! 

But what about instances where it’s not unwelcome news? 

Employees leave prematurely for various reasons, conflicts with coworkers, and unhappiness with the environment. 

Here are 17 surprising yet familiar accounts of abrupt workplace exits. 

We’ll explore how they navigated uncharted territory and found success beyond their initial jobs.

#1. Being Hired For One Thing And Asked To Do Another

One common situation worth discussing is the rise of employers who want to shove multiple roles into one.

Many will quit on their first day because the job description and the title of the role they applied for were misleading.

Rather than only taking care of the responsibilities in their position, they were asked to do substantially more.

For example, someone who applied to be a developer had to take on the entire department by themselves and put in substantial hours while getting the same pay for even more work.

There are stories where people are hired for one job but immediately thrown into something else.

One person described how they were working in a restaurant as a hostess. However, as soon as they arrived on their first day, they were not hosting. Instead, they were thrown into the back to be a dishwasher, which they had specifically avoided because they had eczema and couldn’t do that job successfully in the past.

They ended up quitting their first day, and justifiably so!

#2. Overbearing Boss

There is nothing worse than working for a person who is overbearing and mean.

One person shared a story about how on the very first day, and within the first hour, their boss laid into them for not starting on a project.

They knew if this was how a brand new employee was treated, it was only going to get worse.

So they went to their car and never looked back.

#3. Jobs That Encourage You To Engage In Illegal Behavior

Regardless of the industry or the type of job in question, there are always rules and regulations in place.

The problem? Not all employers follow the rules. T

here are some who will encourage employees to engage in illegal behavior that negatively impacts them.

A great example is someone who found a summer job in the textiles industry and was encouraged to take breaks so that others wouldn’t fall behind in their work.

Their response? They left the job and looked for something better for themselves instead!

#4. Having To Pay Your Employer To Work Or For Training

We’ve talked about losing the money you earned. But what about just losing money to work?

One person told a unique story about this happening to them: “My very first job was at a little drive-in restaurant close to my high school. I showed up to work the first day. The lady said I had to pay her $50 for training. She showed me around the place and said that my pay would be $4.50 an hour as a carhop (this was in 2010), and all the tips I made went into a bucket with all the other girls’ tips.

At the end of the night, she counted up tips, kept 20% for herself, and split the rest up evenly among every employee. Also, part of our job was one day a week we had to spend 4 hours cleaning her house. It seemed super shady. I literally left after listening to her go over all these rules.”

Talk about a nightmare employer!

#5. Signs Of Greed Right Off The Bat

As an employee, you expect certain benefits from working with the company. One of them is a break room where you can unwind and enjoy a snack or a meal.

One person described how they walked into this area and discovered that the owner had a microwave that you open by inserting coins. That was an instant nope, and why wouldn’t it be?

Employees shouldn’t have to spend their own money on things that should be available to them after they’ve invested hours working for an employer!

#6. Being Berated For A Lack Of Training

More training and oversight have undoubtedly become a good thing in recent months.

You may have heard many stories of people who got paid to do absolutely nothing because no one was managing them.

However, it’s not always a positive development.

One person stated they weren’t told where to go or what to do. Even so, the company still got on their case for not doing things properly despite their lack of training.

This was enough to make them quit within a few hours of starting.

#7. Doing Jobs That Are Against Your Morals

Some jobs have stringent standards and require you to be rude and persistent, like being a door-to-door salesman.

One person recounts how, when he was selling vacuums, he was asked to push this old lady to purchase a vacuum until she reached a breaking point and began crying because she couldn’t afford it.

The man quit on the spot because he felt terrible and knew he didn’t want to continue working in this position.

He also stuck around after quitting to ensure the supervisor didn’t return to harass that lady.

#8. Being Constantly Surveilled For Mistakes

One person recounted how they worked for a mall store selling stuffed bears.

During their first shift, a mother and her daughter approached her but ended up browsing and eventually leaving the store.

After this event happened, the employee received a phone call from the boss, giving her explicit instructions on what to do next. It turns out that the owners had cameras everywhere and were surveilling the store constantly.

That was enough to make the employee instantly pack her bags and refuse to return to that position after the first day.

#9. Taking Away Tips

There are a lot of jobs where salary or hourly wages are the only sources of income. But there are also plenty of jobs where the wages are so low that the people in them require tips to live.

One person described how their workplace had a tip bucket split among the cashiers.

However, the owner said they couldn’t be trusted and shipped the tips elsewhere instead. This was wage theft, and the employee reasonably left to find greener pastures.

#10. Employers Who Lie To You Right Off The Bat

There’s a vast difference between rude and dishonest employers. Some people will tolerate rudeness if the paycheck is worth it.

But dishonesty can make your job difficult very quickly. One person talked about how they were hired and told that there would be no problem getting them the hours they needed to work.

However, talking to other employees revealed that they were struggling to get the hours that they asked for.

On top of that, the managers were rude, and no training was provided on the first day. What else is there to do but quit immediately?

#11. Demanding Employers That Want You Working For No One Else

Many people today work multiple jobs to keep up with the rising price of living while dealing with severely low wages. However, some employers don’t want to have that.

One person talks about being hired for a gift store for eight hours a week at minimum wage. This wouldn’t usually be a problem, but it turns out that they just wanted her working for them.

Given that she would only be working for eight hours and wouldn’t even make $100 each week for her efforts, she decided to take her services elsewhere so that wouldn’t have a problem with outside employment.

#12. Being Conned Into A Position

There are many warnings to avoid companies that hire too fast.

This could indicate an issue with the company, like high turnover due to low pay, terrible environments, or beyond. However, that’s not always the case.

One person talks about how she interviewed for a professional marketing assistant position and was immediately hired.

However, when she went to the building for her first day on the job, it turned out that multiple people had been hired for this position and that the job was door-to-door sales.

She quit on the spot and applied to several other jobs on the same day.

#13. Asking For Free Work

Many companies try this, but most people are smart enough not to fall for it. Free work is never something that people should agree to, regardless of when it happens.

One person spoke about their own experience, stating, “It was a petrol station, and the manager wanted me to work for free until I had learned their computer systems to what he deemed a satisfactory extent. I agreed to do it because I needed a job, and he brought me in at 7 am on my first day.

However, he was not present to go through the training with me, so I was just standing around kind of helping out on the forecourt but not really knowing what I should be doing. Not learning anything.

After about an hour and a half without the manager showing up or anyone training me on anything, I decided that I wasn’t going to continue to be taken advantage of and told the cashier to pass on the message to the manager that I quit.”

#14. Unsafe Working Conditions Outside Of Company Control

Some stores have working conditions that are not up to code, which is undoubtedly a problem and likely a reason why other people quit a job quickly in the past.

However, what we’re discussing here are unsafe work conditions that are beyond an employer’s control.

Many past employees talked about their job location in rough areas where robbing the store was common.

They either had close encounters or decided that it wasn’t worth the meager pay to stick around and run into that situation for themselves.

#15. Reducing Pay To Save Money

There are numerous stories of employers not paying employees their hard-earned money.

Some will provide extremely low pay for training periods that require much work and time. This has caused people to walk out on the job almost immediately.

Others talk about their employers’ making excuses. This is a reason why someone else has walked out as well.

If employers were already engaging in illegal or immoral practices to save a quick buck, those who walked out dodged a bullet by seeing the red flag immediately.

#16. Unreasonable Hours

One of the most common reasons for employees to leave shortly after hiring is due to the fact that they may be asked to work unreasonably long hours. 

n some cases, this can be due to a lack of adequate staff or resources allocated from the employer side; in other cases, it could be a reflection of an employer’s desire for their workers to maintain unrealistic expectations.

Regardless of the reason, this can lead to burnout and a lack of job satisfaction for employees, who may end up walking away from their positions in a matter of weeks or months.

#17. Not Covering Work Expenses

Another common issue is when employers are not willing to cover certain work-related expenses, such as transportation or training.

These types of costs can add up over time and put a strain on employees’ budgets, which can lead them to seek out other job opportunities that provide better compensation.

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This article was inspired by the thread found here.