15+ People Shared Why Their First Day at Work Became Their Last

The first day at a new job is often an exciting event. You want to show yourself at your best, get used to the new place quickly, and find a common language with your coworkers. But sometimes reality brings surprises that make you wish you had a “cancel” button. Our readers shared similar real-life stories.

• I once got a job at a funeral agency. I had to take orders and put the money from the order in a common table. There were 2 other people sitting in the room with me.
  I asked the boss, “What if some money goes missing? How do we deal with it?” And he said, “I’ve known these 2 girls for a long time, so if there’s cash shortage, only you are to blame.”
  You also had to have beautiful handwriting to sign the ribbons on the wreaths. There were no day offs. On Sunday, we were supposed to work until 2 p.m. For all this, they paid half the minimum wage. © Lyalya Patorzhinskaya
• I worked as an administrator for one day. During this day, I walked 15 miles in a 4-story building. I quit the same day and didn’t come back.
  I lay still for another 3 days. My family laughed at me. They said, I worked one day and was in a coma for 3. © Nasyykat Kalmurat Kyzy
• I traveled there for a long time, with a few transfers. I realize that I’m late, and I haven’t even had coffee. So, I paused, bought a coffee, ate a croissant. I decided I didn’t need races like this, wrote back that I wasn’t interested in this job, got on the subway, and went home. © Oleg Smith
• The director started a long discussion about something important at the end of the working day. I hinted that it was a bit late and that my husband would divorce me because of delays like this. She happily replied, “Well, that’s a good riddance.”
  I had the nerve to turn off my computer in the middle of the conversation and put on my coat. When asked, “Where are you going?” I calmly replied, “I have to go.” And left. © Celestial Heel / ADME

• I got a new job. The boss warned me that the department lives by her orders. Everyone goes to lunch together, and it’s forbidden to socialize with other employees. In the end, she fired me with the words, “Well, you refused to go to lunch with everyone else.” © Daria Shagalina
• I was at an early stage of pregnancy. I didn’t want to lie to the management, I told it like it was. But they hired me anyway, apparently they couldn’t find anyone else.
  In the end, I sat for 12 hours, and by evening my legs were swollen. And then I learned that my boss was watching me through a camera all this time. I didn’t stay there long, I left and never came back. © Regina Yerbulatovna Segizekova
• At the interview, they were beating around the bush without telling me exactly why my duties were. It turned out that I was supposed to work outside, catching people and counselling them, offering services. A bit different from how I imagined the work of a sales manager.
  I wasn’t dressed for the weather, and it was raining outside. I had enough after 20 minutes. © Olena Chemoidan
• After university, I couldn’t find a job in my profession. I decided to work at any place where they would take me. One day I worked as a taxi operator.
  Firstly, my ears “wilted” from the selected profanity of my female coworkers. Secondly, I had to lie that the taxi will arrive in 5 minutes, although I knew for sure that it won’t arrive even in 20 minutes. And, consequently, I had to listen to angry customers. I went home after the first day and never came back. © Yadviga Günther

• I left after 20 minutes: the rudeness of the “manager” was off the scale. It’s good that I made up my mind that quickly and didn’t put up with it for, say, a month. © Jelena Kamarik
• I drove an hour and a half to work, almost had an accident twice, almost broke my leg on the office stairs. Then they gave me a bunch of tasks with traveling around the city without covering travel expenses. The workload was so big that it was unreal to do it without teleport. In the evening, I went home and didn’t come back. © Gelya Voronina
• This has happened to me twice. The first time, my coworker turned out to be a foul-mouthed woman: she just talked with profanities. I couldn’t stand it for half a day.
  And the second time, the firm’s office was in some old building. There was a strange odor everywhere, unbearable for me. Both times I didn’t name the real reasons for leaving. © Olga Pens
• This happened 25 years ago. There was a competition for the head of a department. It lasted almost 3 months. The salary at that time was exorbitant — $8,000.
  I won the competition, though it wasn’t easy. I came in to take over the business. And then they show me a contract for work, where my salary was indicated as $3,000. I had a legitimate question, how come? The terms of the competition were very clear.
  I was told that I need to show how I work first, and then they will increase it to $8,000. To which I replied that if the work begins with deceit, there is no point in expecting anything good in the future, and left. © Alexei Slivaev
• I worked as a waitress for a couple of hours. I was insulted by a customer, and I talked back. I was kicked out. © Irina Anish

• I worked in a restaurant for one day. I saw what they feed people there with and decided that I wouldn’t be able to bring it to people and tell them to enjoy their meal. © Jekaterina Maknickas
• I got a job in a care home for the elderly. In the evening, I burst into tears and quit. © Elizaveta Kovalenko
• They started telling me how to forge a stamp in Photoshop. It was supposed to be a marketing job. I left and never came back. © Tatiana Smolenskaya
• Quit in the first 10 minutes of work. We discussed everything in detail over the phone, but when I came, it turned out that the schedule would be different. © Anya Vashchenko
• My first day on cold calls in a large telecoms company. I realized that I would never talk anyone into buying something they don’t need. I quit before lunch. © Zali Assai

• My supervisor was talking to me on the phone and eating. I don’t allow this even to my family. © Natalia Sokolova
• It was a factory producing plastic containers. The office was in one of the wings of the factory, but that smell... It was everywhere.
  When I came home, both my clothes and my hair smelled of plastic. It was horrible. I didn’t come back the following day. © Nagima Kernei
• I looked for people who had been working there for a long time to ask a few questions, and I couldn’t find any. Everyone had been working there for 2 or 3 months. It made me think.
  It turned out that during the probationary period the salary was significantly lower, and at the end of the probationary period, people were fired. They were saving on salary. So, I left immediately. © Tatjana Zueva
• I “quit” even before the interview. I was 18 years old, applying for a job as a shop assistant in a clothing store. While waiting for the interview, I overheard the hiring manager talking.
  They were talking about who in their right mind would work 12 hours for a salary like this... I agreed with him and left. © Caterina Libro

And these people ran out of luck on their first working day.