20 Wild Workplace Stories That Prove Chaos Runs the Office

Life is like a movie; it consists of various genres for each person, and drama seems to be present in each person's cinema. The workplace is no exception for such drama, and here are some narratives from people who witnessed or experienced it. Let's dive into these quitting job stories.

• We had three people running a department, which happened to be the most important department in the organization. Each person had a section of the city for which they were responsible. A new CEO comes sweeping in and starts shaking everything up, like new CEOs love to do. The new CEO says, "Why have three people with the same job title when surely one person should be able to do it?"
  The new CEO fires John and Jeff and says, "Congratulations, Jane, you now run the department!" The new CEO failed to triple Jane's salary in exchange for tripling her workload. Jane meets with the New CEO immediately before the New CEO is scheduled to announce the change in department leadership.
  Jane comes into the meeting and says, "Thanks for firing my friends and tripling my workload for no benefit. I quit. Good luck running the most important department in the organization, which you know nothing whatsoever about. Careful not to catch a lawsuit!" © FlockOfDramaLlamas / Reddit
• They tried to have me come in and run the store, literally, as I was coming out of anesthesia from surgery for an injury I got working there, "Hey, I know you just had surgery and are still in post-op. I need you to close tonight. You don't have an option."
  I quit and let an attorney deal with it. © pikadegallito / Reddit

• My team leader was extremely horrible to me over a few weeks and the behavior progressed to being completely ignored. She purposely came back from lunch late so I’d miss part of my lunch break. I happened to be in a pretty bad mood that day, so the second I went on my break I resigned via email and told my manager I was leaving. I moved states 2 weeks later. © AggravatedAnt / Reddit
• After rushing home from college so I could cover the store for her while her husband had surgery a few months earlier, I asked my boss for 2 specific Saturdays off to go out of town with my girlfriend. At the time, knowing my boss, I said, “It’s the 2nd & 4th Saturdays. The other Saturdays won’t work.”
  On the first Friday of that month, she said, “So you won’t be in tomorrow, right?” “Oh, no! That’s NEXT Saturday I requested off, not tomorrow.” She replied, “Well, I won’t have my employees telling me when they will and won’t work.” “Then I guess I’m no longer your employee,” and left.
  I’m sure her husband was pissed off at her, as he also knew how she was, and was probably pleased about having his whole summer to recuperate. © Wiseb***98 / Reddit
• I worked retail at the time. I was low on the totem pole, so I had to show up all weekend, every weekend. Had a relative pass away, and the service was on a Sunday.
  When I asked for Sunday off (two weeks beforehand), my manager accidentally sent me an email reply meant for my coworker, complaining about my lack of courtesy and using all types of profanity to describe me as a person. I didn't know that she was planning a last-minute Bahamas trip for the same weekend, so the funeral I was attending interfered with her vacation.
  Instead of apologizing, she doubled down and said it wasn't a personal attack, it was strictly about "professionalism", and I should learn how to be more considerate of my coworkers. If she had apologized and owned up to just losing her cool or letting pressures get the best of her or something, I probably would have stayed. I quit on the spot. © Looky-Loo-92 / Reddit

• Someone has been stealing things from everyone's desks in our office. I set up a teddy cam on someone's desk (with their permission) to find out who was doing it. Turns out it was the owner of the company.
  I confronted him about it in private. Over the course of 2–3 months, the majority of things started reappearing, and the stealing came to a stop after that. At least for the most part, occasionally something would go missing, but it wasn't near as often. © Golden_Moth / Reddit
• I found out that my previous employer was using social dumping as a tool. Also, when I had an accident at work (hand crushed between a conveyor belt), my boss wrapped my hand in toilet paper. And asked me to call my parents to bring me to the hospital while I was forced to wait in a sweated t-shirt outside in freezing temps. My job was sorting medical supplies.
  Once I was treated in the hospital, the doctor said to my mum: "Mam, get your son out of there, for his own welfare." So I returned to work when I was patched up and said my final goodbye on the spot. I was 18 at the time. © Suspicious_Corgi5994 / Reddit
• Had a delivery driver job. Also had an old car that misted up like crazy when it rained. Took my first job, and it was raining so hard I could barely see 15 meters, even with headlights. Had to go about 30kmph in a 60 zone just to get there.
  I peered through the windshield and frantically wiped away the mist. Got back and said I wasn't doing any more as it wasn't safe. The manager said I could keep doing deliveries, or I could hand my shirt back then and there. Took my shirt off in the middle of the store and left. Incredibly satisfying. © Red_Desert_Phoenix / Reddit

• [Edited] I was denied promotion for the third time in 4 years. Always great performance reviews. Max score. "Example to others".
  The first time it was "too soon" as I had only been in the Company for 10 months, but of those 10, 5 were a complete crisis where management gave up/burned out, and I had to save the date. The second time, the acting manager convinced his buddy to run for promotion as well so he could pick him, but I was made "high potential" without any benefits or raise or projects or training...
  The third time, they didn't even post the job internally. When I asked for a reason, I was called into the HR manager who said that I showed a lack of commitment just because I stayed at home for two weeks for a valid reason. I was working an extra day on overtime for 3 years on that point. At least 20 days a year.
  I told her I would be taking up all my paid overtime and send in my resignation at the end of the day and that I will also be requesting a formal exit conversation with the VP (he knew me from my first year when I had to save the ship). It hit the fan really fast after that. © impliedfoldequity / Reddit

• I worked at a grocery store as a teenager and was on call the night before a final exam. He called in the afternoon after school, demanding that I report for the 6 pm to midnight shift. I told him about the exam, and his response was, “You need to think very carefully about what you want to do with your life.” I laughed at him and quit over the phone. © jbcatl / Reddit
• At my old job, an HR manager was fired right after returning from maternity leave and replaced by the guy she had trained to fill in for her while she was gone. She then sent a company-wide email listing everyone's pay, from the plant manager on down.
  As it turns out, this one email was the reason why a lot of pay rates were wildly different in management/supervision and maintenance. There were talks of workstop strikes and slowdowns, even threats of unionizing. I believe that this one act led to the eventual closure of the plant. It was a crazy time. © Buwaro / Reddit
• I quit without notice after around 6 months of being promised a raise/promotion. I was one of the pillars there, unofficially a supervisor, and I was doing the work of 2–3 people, but that wasn't enough to get what I felt was fair. I also quit the night before we received the shipment, which needed the right kind of people to get it organized as soon as possible.
  For nearly a year, a former co-worker would occasionally tell me about how things got after I left. It seems like they never recovered, and my leaving was the start of worse things to come for the job/bad supervisors I had. © guyinthechair1210 / Reddit

• Not me, but a middle-aged tradesman where I work: I work underground, and it isn’t for everybody, terrible environment and whatnot. This particular individual started working, and after a few weeks decided that it wasn’t for him. Bad conditions and a hostile supervisor.
  He approached the boss at the morning meeting and told him that he wasn’t going underground and that he was quitting. The boss told him that he had to give him 2 weeks' notice, and without missing a beat, the guy replied, “For the next 2 weeks, you’re gonna notice that I’m not here.” He turned around, packed his stuff, and left. © Queen_pixies / Reddit
• I was doing a job with a title above mine for about a year, as my boss kept dangling the promotion. I was doing well, too, beating every metric. Come review time to see whether I’d get the promotion or not, I was told it still wasn’t enough.
  I said, “You know what? I don’t want it anymore. I’m going to just stick to doing my actual job title’s duties (which I was also really good at, objectively).” The boss didn’t like this and insisted I still had to do the promotion job’s duties.
  I said, “No, that’s not in my job description.” They couldn’t touch me because by every metric, I was doing extremely well at the job for which I was actually being paid. Felt good.
  I quit this company shortly thereafter (I’d been there for 12 years) to a competitor that actually paid me for the job I’d been temporarily doing for free at the old company. © Defnotabotok / Reddit
• [Edited] Gave my boss 2 MONTHS' notice, and his response was to act rudely, so a couple weeks later, I just packed up my stuff and left. He went bananas, and a bunch of other employees left as a result, and ultimately, the business closed lol. © Quiet-neighbour / Reddit

• I sat for my pitiful 5/10-minute lunch break with a hungry and troubling stomach, and she started complaining about how we all are sitting all the time and how she is the only person in the whole market who does stuff properly.
  Overwhelmed and annoyed from everything that day, and her day over day, unjustified complaining about everyone the most, I answered that I can easily pack up and go home if she prefers, since I, like everybody else, am useless here, and she can work alone in peace (worked at receiving, validating quantity and quality, sorting and storing products at shelves too, also drove forklift when big trucks come).
  Did not get fired, but I did shut her mouth for a while, made her angry, and later that day, at the end of my shift, quit my job myself. It was the best decision and most satisfying answer of my life. © Unknown Author / Reddit
• I worked as the catering manager for 3 days. The first two days were typical: some training videos, made some food, just getting a feel for the place. The third day I went in and was informed 3 people had called out, so I had to make like 100 sandwiches and then go deliver them somewhere.
  I was suddenly overcome with crazy panic and said, "Great! I'll get right on that. I just need to grab my hat from the car!" Smiled, walked out the door, got in my car, drove home, and never looked. © teal_hair_dont_care / Reddit
• My manager was intentionally trying to sabotage me and write me up for nonsense things because I challenged her at times (I was the assistant manager). Didn’t want to get fired, so I just told her I’m done and walked out. © The__virtuosa / Reddit

• I was working for a major video game company back in 2003. We were in crunch time, working from 7:00 am to 2:00 am, 6 days a week. Right before lunch, our supervisor walks in and says, "Good news everyone, we get to come in on Sundays now, but it's only a half day!" The moment he was done with his speech, I walked over to his desk and told him I was quitting immediately.
  He warned me that I would never work in the game industry again. I didn't give a proper 2 weeks; I told him that was fine and finished my day. I ended up working in the industry for another 3 years until I freaked out and quit for good! © nomercyvideo / Reddit
• I've done it twice: The first time, the district manager decided that my request off for a school competition that I had put in months earlier and had been approved already was just not gonna work anymore and changed the schedule without telling me. I didn't come in because I didn't know.
  Then, like 2 months later, my mom called in for me because I was projectile puking from the flu or food poisoning, and he yelled at her. As soon as I could walk without barfing, I took my uniform in, handed it to him, and left.
  The second time, I was working at a daycare while looking for work as a teacher. The daycare charged by the hour, so they only got money if their kids were there. They wouldn't call parents if the kids were sick or had fevers.
  One day, I was left in a room by myself with NINE infants. No break. Not only is that ILLEGAL, but it is also super dangerous. I called her after relief showed up and quit. © lucy_inthessky / Reddit

Workplace drama can be stressful, just as the experiences shared above that led to resignation. Problems and challenges with co-workers may arise at any time. Find out how you can deal with them with this link.