Just because finding work is a tough task, it doesn't mean all job positions are worthy enough to keep.
Employees should be valued as the jobs they're hired for.
And when that imbalance is glaringly evident, something is gotta give.
Curious to hear examples of when a job contract was cut short, Redditor jakeakabigdub asked:
"What’s the fastest you’ve ever quit a job and why?"
Your superiors should have a level of respect for you, unlike these so-called leaders.
Turning Point
"1.5 days."
"I was beyond desperate for money and I took a job in telemarketing. I could barely scrape together the gas money to drive there and the bills were piling up. The first day was listening to calls so I just sat there."
"The second day I had Mr. Selling King behind me listening to calls as I made them. He kept yelling at me to be pushy and obnoxious when people would be polite and kind when asking me to please never call again. I excused myself to go take a leak and just drove away."
"I'm happy that I turned things around. I have a job I love and make a decent living with a good company. I needed that low point to motivate me."
– casino_night
The Intimidator
"2 hours. Got a job in a start up bio research lab after college because I had a lot of training and experience in certain equipment and procedures."
"Within an hour, saw the boss publicly humiliate someone else for reporting that they messed up a particular run. Really not a big deal, maybe an hour gone and $10 worth of reagents at the time. You really don’t want people hiding oopsies from you in research studies with many and complex procedures/protocols."
"Then I saw that we were fast running out of a desiccating (drying) agent and that we’d have to slow down or stop until more came. Boss said nah, just reuse it. Tried to object but he jammed his finger into my chest and told me that as the FNG he owned my a**. I said ok and quit."
"That was nearly 20 years ago. I ended up tutoring college kids to save up for grad school."
– AgingLemon
The Temper Tantrum
"I have a full-time job as a crew member at a new fast food franchise. The owner must've had some emotional issues because I had just started my shift at the drive-thru and was grabbing a few pastries for a customer when the owner came around the corner yelling at the top of her lungs at me in front of an entire store of customers and employees to tell me I should've restocked the front display."
"Bro I started 3 minutes ago and it's packed in there, chill. In that moment I handed her my name tag and that and said I quit. She yelled 'so what, you're just going to quit on me??? I wasn't yelling at you!'"
"And that was before I said anything about her yelling at anyone. I said 'yeah, you kinda were' and THREE PEOPLE QUIT THE NEXT DAY. It was toxic to say the least."
– PSh42WallabyWaySyd
These are not what we sign up for.
Conflicting Appearance Guideline
"I showed up for the first day ready to start a sales job. I'd been hired with some stubble, but not yet a full beard the month prior. I thought nothing of it. The beard was neatly kept and short."
"The hiring manager pulled me aside after the first hour of onboarding right as I started filling out the new hire paperwork. The boss started, 'We have a challenge today.' Oh, boy. Already with the corporate speak. He told me that this was a clean-shaven outfit, and that I was to please return home and shave."
"I went home, opened a beer and sat on my porch thinking of my next move. After an hour or so, I got a text asking if I'd be back. I replied by sending a pic of the company's ad in the local paper looking for new representatives. The person in the ad had a beard. I never went back."
– OFool_Ishallgomad
Pay Discrepancy
"I've walked out of one interview 1 minute after it began because they handed me a piece of paper detailing the job and the salary differed from the job description I had applied for (it was about 20% lower)."
"I questioned this and they said that no, the salary they just gave me was accurate. I thanked them for their time and said I wouldn't be proceeding since you've already proven to me you will mess with my paycheck before I'm even hired."
– zerbey
Equipment Requirement
"I once went to a day one orientation for an office job, where they told us we had to supply a laptop, monitor and headset for THEIR office environment."
"I told them it's normal for the employer to supply these devices and it should have been made clear in the interview process this was on employees."
"I walked out never looked back."
– bevymartbc
Best Bye
"Best buy, before shift even began."
"got back from a summer away. got hired at a local best buy they asked when i could start told them any day except the coming Tuesday as i had a pre existing ticketed event which they already said was no issue in the interview. next day get emailed schedule; a single shift, on the one Tuesday evening i was assured id be off."
"Planned to call after class but as i walked out my phone rang, my old boss from a few years ago at a game stop offered me my old job so he wouldn't have to train someone because he was lazy. Told him i could start Wednesday he agreed, i called best buy and told them to suck a d*ck."
"I remember the manager saying 'don't be so rash, do you really want to burn this bridge?' I said 'yes,' and hung up."
"I think retail managers are trained to intentionally schedule new hires on agreed off days to break them down immediately and see if they're desperate enough to take dog sh*t treatment.."
– nmeofst8
A Telling Interaction
"I got one of those knife salesmen jobs. During the interview we were told to take notes. After the interview the interviewer told me to stay after the group left."
"He told me he liked me and he was going to hire me but that I shouldn't be on my phone during the interview that he saw me in the zoom camera looking down."
"I was taking notes the whole time I showed him my notes and told him I quit. I could see the micromanaging in his teeth. Plus I would have never made sales in that job."
– kilroyx3
These Redditors knew they weren't a good fit for their respective job positions.
Shady Work Responsibility
"I quit a temp job after less than half a day because they told me I would have to hold paychecks for employees who didn't return company property."
"When I told them that was illegal and showed them the law they said I had to do it anyway so I quit and went back on unemployment for a few more weeks until I found a real job."
– snarkdetector4000
"You should have taken the job, and explicitly told them 'I will not commit crimes for this company', and leave it at that."
"Someone gets fired, starts asking about their check, you provide it to them."
"Company comes back up your @ss and fires you, not only are you back on unemployment, but you have a nice little nest egg of a labor rights lawsuit."
– HaElfParagon
The Break Requirement
"In high school, I quit my job at Wendy's for a Heidi's (deli sandwich chain.) Their policy was that employees were entitled to a sandwich any time they worked over 3 hours, so the manager made sure every shift was 2.5-3 hours."
"Forget the sandwich, it wasn't worth it to drive in. I found another job in under 2 weeks."
– dont_f'kin_die
"The guy was probably losing more money due to inconsistent customer service than the $15/day on sandwiches."
– Hungry–Moose
Sticky Mess
"Tar roofing, 1 week. Each day I worked I gained a half inch in height from the roofing tar. My boots were like 15 pounds each by Friday, and I ruined all my pants and shirts."
"The Hispanic guys never got a drop of tar on them or their tools. Cheers to them for knowing what to do, and doing it so well. I just couldn't get the groove of it and I wasn't cut out to be on hot roofs on the most brutal humid days of the year."
– Sea-Lab3155
"Shingle roofing, two days. I was 17."
"I was told on day one that I would be getting paid cash daily, end of each shift."
"Day one, no pay."
"Day two, no pay."
"The boss then said he had no work lined up for the next week. Still no pay."
"A couple weeks later, he showed up at my parents house at like 5am because two guys just quit. I told him I wasn’t leaving my house until he handed me the two days pay he owed me. $120."
"He ran off to an atm, handed me the cash, and I shut the door on him."
"That job was no joke, I busted my a** those two days carrying packs of shingles up a ladder- day one, he was mad because I wasn’t carrying two packs at a time like the other dudes could- like, they would hold one pack on each shoulder and just walk up the ladder with no hands. Somehow I wasn’t able to develop that skill on day one."
– blind30
It Was A Natural Disaster
"Got a job at Walmart as a cart pusher, the first day out of training we experienced flash flooding. Not only did they not offer any ppe the shift supervisor just said tough luck. I quietly walked to the back clocked out and never came back."
– JayDonk1394
"I was a cart pusher for Walmart too. They were usually pretty good about letting us come inside if the weather was too bad, especially if there was lightning. And they always made sure the cooler had plenty of water if it is was hot out."
"I did have to go out in the snow a few times and push carts by hand because the tires of the little pusher vehicle thing we had couldn't move in the snow, but other than that I enjoyed it."
– FearTheKeflex
Not That Desperate
"I was freshly released from incarceration (back in 2007) and went to an 'open interview' I saw advertised, as I was kinda desperate to find work."
"Turns out it was for selling cutco knives. I was too polite to leave once I knew. I got an 'offer" but immediately turned it down. I was desperate, but not that desperate."
"Plus, who the f'k wants a 6'3, tattooed ex con with prominent facial scars showing up at their house with a f'kload knives?"
– skrilledcheese
Sometimes, being unemployed again to allow time to look for a better job where you're respected more is worth it.
But not everyone has the luxury of being in a position where they can afford to make those tough decisions.
In that case, the best thing to do is to continue looking for better opportunities while collecting that paycheck.
Know your worth, but also trust that with determination and perseverance, a better opportunity may just be around the corner.