18 People That Lasted Less Time in Their New Job Than Their Commute

The first day of work makes us feel excitement and nervousness in equal parts. We tend to imagine that it is the beginning of a new stage of our life, where we will learn to perform new tasks, meet interesting people and earn money in return. However, sometimes it only takes a few hours to realize that this will not be the case.

• Selling donuts was my first job. My managers were awful, and nobody worked if I was there (I learned the hard way not to prove yourself), but I took the pooled tips anyway, which I relied on for food and gas as a student. Never again. © 1spicytunaroll / Reddit
• The interview went well, with many promises for “Growth and earning potential.” The guy offered me the job, and we had a genuinely nice conversation. He tells me to jump in his car. I asked where we were going. He simply said, “The job site.” I then realized I had no idea what the job I’d taken actually was. So, I follow him, and we pull into an electronic store. He now hands me the clip board, points to a couple shopping, and says, “Go sell!”. I handed him the clipboard, thanked him for wasting my time, and walked out the door. Total Time: Less than an hour. © Lurkist / Reddit
• I was starting college. I was scheduled for a night shift at a new restaurant as a dishwasher ended at 11 pm. I never even had time to take a break, as every time I finished one mountain of dishes, there was another one there and another taking shape behind it. Meanwhile, at the end of the night, after the restaurant closed, the servers, cooks, and my boss were out at the bar having free shift drinks while I was meant to continue toiling away. I suffered one more night of it and quit, lol. © 12stepCornelius / Reddit
• A random guy offered me a job interview at a bank. He made it sound like, y’know, what you’d expect from a bank job. So I went to the interview, and it went well. I was offered the job and given some orientation material to review. The orientation material revealed it was actually a call center job: cold-calling people about house loans, with a vague pyramid-scheme structure. I bowed out. © N_Who / Reddit

• I was a line cook for 10 days in a row because of callouts and finally had a Saturday off. The phone rang early in the morning, and I picked it up... That was my mistake. The boss needed me. I was livid, but money is money, and went in. No “thanks for helping me out.” Just like it was expected, he started barking orders at me while sitting out in the dining room, drinking coffee with the servers. No. If you’re claiming to be shorthanded, you don’t get to do that stuff. I didn’t come in to make your day easier. I took off my apron and said, “See you later,” and that was that. Got a job at another restaurant a couple of days later. © Frodo_71 / Reddit
• I was selling coupon books door to door after being driven out to the middle of nowhere. But there was NO WAY I would do that for six or eight hours. “Sorry, not for me.” “But you don’t have a car. You might as well give this a shot.” Nope. I walked about a mile to a pay phone and called a friend to come to pick me up. © Funny-Berry-807 / Reddit
• I had taken the job as a second job to help pay down some bills. My first shift was supposed to be four hours of training and then four hours working the front counter. I was getting a bad vibe during the training and then decided I didn’t need a second job that bad and quit. © FrostyBeav / Reddit
• I was a delivery driver. Dead tired after trying to complete 71 stops with almost 200 packages. Still 5 hours before my 12-hour shift ends. They told me to go help other drivers. Then traffic occurred, and I ended up doing a 14-hour shift. But they said they would only pay me for the 12 hours. I hadn’t taken a lunch break the whole day. After that one day, I called in and said I’m no longer interested. © Simulator587 / Reddit

• When I was 17, I made it 3 days (about 12 hours total) at a restaurant that one of my mom’s friends had just opened. I already had a day job that I liked and had done restaurant work. It was summertime, so I had the time, and it was for my mom’s friend. I had worked since I was 12, and no employer had ever treated me like that. I left after my shift and never returned or called to say I was quitting. I didn’t even pick up my paycheck because it probably would just cover my uniform, which we had to reimburse them. © Bob_12_Pack / Reddit
• I worked as a cashier for three weeks when I was 18. That was over 20 years ago, and it scarred me so much that I will never work retail again. I saw a side of humanity I never knew existed. © TheCervus / Reddit
• My first ’job’ was at a gelato shop. The owner didn’t understand the need to advertise, so she had like 3 customers a shift. She told me “You’re hired” after 1 conversation, but didn’t complete any hiring paperwork whatsoever. Whenever I asked about pay, she just said I’ll start getting paid when I’m more experienced. So I spent about a week standing behind the counter waiting for the rare customer to show up. At which point she would yell at me in front of them or suddenly decide to start training me on the register after they had already ordered, lol. After that week, I pretty much just stopped coming in! © Stellathewizard / Reddit
• I worked at a fast food restaurant for a week. Put me on register my first day, wouldn’t tell me how to figure out the system, and they’d get mad when I’d ring something in the wrong or go ask the manager a question. Wasn’t worth it to me. © smallemochick / Reddit

• On the first day, they told me they didn’t have anyone to train me and to spend 8 HOURS walking around the store familiarizing myself with the products. An hour later I left, and the boss called me asking to give it another shot. The next day, the miserable assistant manager complained about the company and when I asked how long she had worked there, she responded “way too long”. I left again and never looked back. © Top_Equal9178 / Reddit
• Kids soccer referee. The parents were just horrible. These kids were 6-8, they were not coordinated, and they tripped over each other constantly, but the parents would scream at me whenever they fell over or kicked the ball at the kid picking flowers. I think I lasted 3 games. © CamelSpotting / Reddit

What was your shortest work experience? What happened to make it so?