Walking out of work

[Esotera]

I came incredibly near to quitting work today, by just walking out and never coming back. And I'm fairly sure there are plenty of people on here who have thought the same thing, or possibly even done it. We haven't had a thread bitching about work in a while, so here goes.

What has your worst day at work ever been, and did you do anything in response to it?

Spoiler: My Day

It wasn't even anything particularly bad, I just didn't want to be there from the start. My supervisor passing on concerns from other colleagues about minor mistakes I made months ago just pushed me over the edge...by 1pm I was 50/50 on just walking the fuck out of there and never coming back. At least it isn't just me, we've had about 5 people from a team of 30 quit these last 10 months.

The only thing that stopped me is that my contract ends in 8 weeks, and I really need the reference. I am literally counting down the days, I have a post-it note on my desk and I cross each day off after finishing it.

tl;dr It's the little things that drive you over the edge...

 

[Mr Fixit]

I walked out of a place after only working for 3 hours because they were just going to lay me off in two weeks anyway & they wanted me 12 hours a day & not get paid overtime. So I said fuck that and walked out, it felt so damn good, but I wouldn't advise it if you really need a job.

 

[Vendor-Lazarus]

Does it count if you think it every day? No? Well, I'll just tell you about my worst day then.

I work for a company that drives certain people to and from home/hospital/activity center/school.
The work it mostly gratifying, but some of those people are double-manned.
Meaning their condition can make them violent and prone to outbursts, of any kind.
They usually have an escort or 2-3-4 people each from their school/activity center escorting them to the car.

On my worst day, We drove 2 such persons at the same time, in the same car, for ...some..time.. through heavy traffic.
And I was meant to watch them alone, since my colleague is, of course, driving.
They must have their seat-belts on ( several preferably ) and remain seated.
My job is to see that happens, and prevent them from unbuckling their seat-belts and move around or attack the driver.
It is not uncommon to be spit at, vomited on, screamed to, kicked, bitten, scratched, punched, etc.
Now then, these two also hate each-other as well. To make a long story shorter, I ended up wrestling both of them for over 30 minutes, in a driving car, with all sorts of sharp edges and what not.

And I never know if this day or the next will include such a driving again. ,)


EDIT: You also asked what I did in response to it.
I, ..filed a report. As per standard guidelines.
Yup, really needed that work just then (was still on probation, is that the right word?).

 

[Private Custard]

I walked out once. I had a decent job in telecoms and was handling a billing run worth £1.1m per month. I was also very underpaid, but I stuck at it knowing it'd be worth it when pay-rise time came.

Turns out they spent all their budget on everyone but me, so they offered me a raise of £500 per year. Obviously I told them what they could do with that idea.

A few weeks later, when I was already on the edge, the lady from HR said in a staff meeting that we didn't get any perks such as gym memberships etc.. as they felt we were paid well enough. 150 people soon knew how I felt about that as I told her to fuck off, rather loudly. Now I wasn't fired for this, even though the directors were present too, which means they knew they were talking crap!

A new department manager came in from the failed ITV digital venture, he was a total dick. At one point he asked me to hold back a million-pound billing run so I could mess about with one of his spreadsheets. He didn't like it when I refused. I'd previously been employee of the month when we switched billing systems over and did two runs in one month....I knew what was best.....his last company had failed spectacularly!

Anyway, we had a row, I got up, said "fuck this" and went home. It was about ten minutes after I got there that I got a call asking me to go back!

I handed my notice in shortly after!

With two days to go, someone hit my car in the car park. I knew who it was, I just wanted them to own up, so I sent an email to the entire company, not pointing the finger, just asking if anyone had seen anything. I got a rude e-mail back from the girl. Unfortunately she hit 'reply to all', so I did the same, told the entire company to fuck themselves, left, and never went back.

It was a decent place in the early days, during the dot-com boom, but I wasn't going to sit around and take their shit any more.

I'm not cut out for offices, I'm to open and honest......not back-stabby enough!!

 

[Johnny Impact]

Almost quit any number of times because of the boss and his kid.

Simply put, the kid is a lazy, whiny, mouthy, arrogant, ignorant, insubordinate, unreliable, self-aggrandizing, entitled, dishonest little jerkoff. The only good thing I can say is that he's part-time.

Typical six hour shift goes like so:

-Shows up 45 minutes late. Supervisor (that would be me) asks why. No good reason.
-Punches in. Goes immediately into bathroom for 1/2 hour. It is now 1:15 into his shift and he hasn't lifted a finger.
-Does about half a task, taking three times longer than anyone else would.
-Messes with cell phone for 30 minutes. Texting, video poker. Still on the clock, mind you.
-Bitches about _________. It is now 2:30 into his shift and he has done about 10 minutes worth of work.
-Sits down for over an hour. (It's a standup job, if you're EVER sitting it means you are jacking off on company time)
-Is told to get back on task by supervisor. Mouths off to supervisor. Sits around another hour.
-Does half of another task. Does it wrong. Supervisor calls him on it. He mouths off and doesn't correct his work.
-Ruins, delays, or otherwise interferes with large order. When supervisor calls him on it, he just laughs.
-Whines about _________. 4:30 into his shift, he has done about 30 minutes worth of work and cost the company a regular customer.
-Excuses self an hour early without asking required permission or even saying he is leaving. Just punches out and goes. Supervisor says nothing, happy just to be rid of him.
-Rinse and repeat 4 days a week for 3 years.
-Boss knows this is the situation. Boss does nothing. Boss thinks it's funny. So does kid.

For over 3 years I drove home every night with a white-knuckled grip on the wheel. It's a good thing I have so much more restraint than the boss gives me credit for. I imagined the rest of the crew watching while I knocked the little punk down and smashed his face into the floor over and over until I collapsed from exhaustion. I imagined a scene that would make

Spoiler: this

skip to 1 minute mark

seem tame and reasonable. Quitting? Oh no. That would have been too good for him. A shallow, umarked grave would have been too good for him.

 

[Rylot]

I worked in customer support for AT&T cellphones. Every Goddamn day sucked. Between customers not being able to explain their problem (I had to walk an elderly lady through how to turn her phone on and off) and people who just want to be assholes it was pretty much the worst job I've had. Add into the mix that my bosses wanted every call under four minutes and started wanting me to sell services (sorry your phone isn't working, would you like some more texts per month?) it just got to the point where I couldn't take it any more. Unfortunately I did like some of the people I worked with. A few of the team leaders were asses but the one I was under was pretty cool. Never work in a call center, they're the eighth layer of Hell.

 

[Fappy]

I haven't seriously considered leaving, but work is pretty hellish right now. It's crunch-time on our project and we're way behind. I feel like my brain's about to explode D:

 

[IndomitableSam]

I worked at a Winners when I was younger. TJ Maxx in the States, I believe.

One of my worst jobs ever. EMployees were treated like crap, timeclock had to be precise or you got hell, bathrooms needed to be cleaned (never, ever, EVER again will I do that), and Managers hated everyone else. I was forced to work alone in situations that called for (by policy) 1-2 more people and yelled at when things weren't done or were slow. WHen customers complained about you, you were written up and yelled at in the middle of the store, no matter what you did or even if it really was you the customer meant.

It was awful. I got a better (marginally) job a few months into that one, called them and said I wasn't coming back again. Counts as a walk-out, I guess? ... That job sucked, too, in the end, though.

I once volunteered at a pet store for work experience through my school. I was supposed to see how the business worked and learn about things like how to deal with customers and money and such. I was about 14. First day, they had me cleaning the animal's cages. Fine, I had pets at home and didn't mind it. All I did all day was clean the cages. Second day I get there, they point to the cages and tell me to clean again. Now, I'm supposed to be there to learn about business. Not be a slave. Halfway through the day (and after a rat bit me), I ask if I can do something else, and I am actually told to start cleaning all of the cages again.

I went into the back, grabbed my bag, and walked out the back door, got on a bus, and went home. ... Not smart, since I was technically under their care and no one could find me as I was over an hour's bus ride from home. I got home and my mom had been on the phone with the school and the store as I was missing (this was before cell phones). I told my mom what had happened, and she called and complained about how I was treated, and I didn't go back. I love my mom.

There have been other jobs I just never went back to. I was unemployed in 2011 for about 6 months, and I got hired on at a Motel once. I went in, it's dodgy and dirty and there is no computer system for anything. But, I'm broke, so I give it a go. Until an hour in and the manager walks outside, gets in his car, and drives away. People come to the desk and I'm at a loss, but muddle my way through. The phone rings and it's the owner. I saw the manager is not here, and get yelled at and he hangs up. An hour later, still no manager, and the owner phones again. I obviously don't recognise the voice. Cue total meltdown from the owner - he's swearing and screaming at me through the phone for not knowing it was him. ... the day continues, and an hour or so before I'm to go home the manager comes back. ... and starts asking me about my sex life. And my twin sister's sex life as I'd told him I had a twin. And he talks about his own.

I don't know why I didn't walk out then and there, but I made it through the day. I never went back, and I never got paid.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

I'm not cut out for offices, I'm to open and honest......not back-stabby enough!!

Same for me.

I walked out when I realised my boss's wife (who had no training of any sort in design and art) was putting on a show for customers that she knew what she was talking about and suggesting things that would "look good". Now, in itself, it isn't unusual, and that wouldn't have pushed me that far. But then I found out she was charging people more for the "extra" work we'd put in thanks to her "suggestions", even after the customers had given their OK on the work. Basically, she was manipulating gullible people, and there was nothing we could do about it. The fact that I was still getting minimum wages after a couple of years and was given the biggest, most annoying print jobs in the place kind of helped, too.

 

[Private Custard]

I'm not cut out for offices, I'm to open and honest......not back-stabby enough!!

Same for me.

I walked out when I realised my boss's wife (who had no training of any sort in design and art) was putting on a show for customers that she knew what she was talking about and suggesting things that would "look good". Now, in itself, it isn't unusual, and that wouldn't have pushed me that far. But then I found out she was charging people more for the "extra" work we'd put in thanks to her "suggestions", even after the customers had given their OK on the work. Basically, she was manipulating gullible people, and there was nothing we could do about it. The fact that I was still getting minimum wages after a couple of years and was given the biggest, most annoying print jobs in the place kind of helped, too.

There's only so much shit I'm willing to take. Glad I'm not alone!

 

[an annoyed writer]

I worked at a Winners when I was younger. TJ Maxx in the States, I believe.

One of my worst jobs ever. EMployees were treated like crap, timeclock had to be precise or you got hell, bathrooms needed to be cleaned (never, ever, EVER again will I do that), and Managers hated everyone else. I was forced to work alone in situations that called for (by policy) 1-2 more people and yelled at when things weren't done or were slow. WHen customers complained about you, you were written up and yelled at in the middle of the store, no matter what you did or even if it really was you the customer meant.

It was awful. I got a better (marginally) job a few months into that one, called them and said I wasn't coming back again. Counts as a walk-out, I guess? ... That job sucked, too, in the end, though.

I worked at a Wal Mart and it was just like this. It's the reason you see such a high turnover rate at places like that: employees get sick of it and walk out regularly. I'm surprised I put up with it for as long as I did: two years. two of the most miserable years of my life. Unemployment is better and healthier than that. I'll just let that sink in for a moment. Not having an income is better than having walmart sign your paycheck. Underpaid, understaffed, mismanaged, and cutthroat were the common lingo. It was all of the worst bullshit of office politics with a tenth of the wages. Don't go there. Don't ever go there, if you value your life and sanity.

 

[Kolby Jack]

I walked out on the only civilian job I've ever had (grocery store bagger). My manager was a jerk, and one day he was messing with me and accidentally ripped a whole in my pants. I just walked out, even as he was threatening to punch me in the face if I did. However, I was a teenager at the time and he wasn't much older than me, so I don't really count this as much more than typical teenage angst. Sure, it was fucked up of him to rip my pants, but it was an accident, and I was just looking for an excuse to quit anyway. Much as I felt I was "being brave" and had "showed him" and "stuck it to the man" afterwards, once I got home, my Dad calmly explained me how wrong I was. I didn't feel like a man after that, just a child. But again, teenager.

I highly doubt such an incident could come back to bite me as an adult, especially after serving in the military. But honestly, if a potential employer really raises an issue about something stupid I did as a teenager and "I was a teenager" isn't a good enough reason, I wouldn't want to work there anyway.

 

[Remus]

I worked at a Winners when I was younger. TJ Maxx in the States, I believe.

One of my worst jobs ever. EMployees were treated like crap, timeclock had to be precise or you got hell, bathrooms needed to be cleaned (never, ever, EVER again will I do that), and Managers hated everyone else. I was forced to work alone in situations that called for (by policy) 1-2 more people and yelled at when things weren't done or were slow. WHen customers complained about you, you were written up and yelled at in the middle of the store, no matter what you did or even if it really was you the customer meant.

It was awful. I got a better (marginally) job a few months into that one, called them and said I wasn't coming back again. Counts as a walk-out, I guess? ... That job sucked, too, in the end, though.

I worked at a Wal Mart and it was just like this. It's the reason you see such a high turnover rate at places like that: employees get sick of it and walk out regularly. I'm surprised I put up with it for as long as I did: two years. two of the most miserable years of my life. Unemployment is better and healthier than that. I'll just let that sink in for a moment. Not having an income is better than having walmart sign your paycheck. Underpaid, understaffed, mismanaged, and cutthroat were the common lingo. It was all of the worst bullshit of office politics with a tenth of the wages. Don't go there. Don't ever go there, if you value your life and sanity.

I concur. I worked receiving at Wal-Mart for 1 1/2 years. Over the course of my time there I was asked to do stupid things like carry lawnmowers up an 18 ft ladder - yes, carry, in my arms, up a ladder, huge unwieldy boxes that were marked as team lift. Perfectly safe. The only serious wage increases I received in my time there were from increases in national and state minimum wage. They wouldn't want me working there illegally after all, earning less than their new hires. I quickly learned that the longer I worked there the worse I was treated, as if they were subversively trying to force me out of the job after finding no reason to actually fire me without looking suspicious. I finally quit when the receiving area became so hot one day that people were literally passing out from working there and management not letting us have bottled water or leave to rehydrate. I draw a thick easy to see line at being treated inhumanely. Later that year I received paperwork, part of a class action lawsuit against Wal-Mart. My share of the suit paid for the computer I now use to play Bioshock and fill out applications.

 

[hazabaza1]

I think I'm the only one at work not thinking that. Our boss left recently and everyone's hating on the new one because our old one was a pretty cool dude, and this new lady is... not so socially amazing, putting it nicely.

 

[kypsilon]

I worked at a Wal Mart and it was just like this. It's the reason you see such a high turnover rate at places like that: employees get sick of it and walk out regularly. I'm surprised I put up with it for as long as I did: two years. two of the most miserable years of my life. Unemployment is better and healthier than that. I'll just let that sink in for a moment. Not having an income is better than having walmart sign your paycheck. Underpaid, understaffed, mismanaged, and cutthroat were the common lingo. It was all of the worst bullshit of office politics with a tenth of the wages. Don't go there. Don't ever go there, if you value your life and sanity.

Lol...it seems we have a lot in common there, previous Wal-Mart employees and currently unemployed and broke.

OT: I've had a few bad experiences in my day a bunch at Wal-Mart, but in the interest of being different I'll tell you about my first bad experience:

I had just become a stock-boy at a local big-chain grocery store. It was literally my third day of work putting stuff out on the shelves at 5:00 AM and facing the product so the shelves looked nice and full...all that kinda stuff. It had been a long morning with lots of stock to put out which we managed to finish before the store opened. I felt pretty damned good about it. That's when the assistant manager pulled me into his office and gave me a harsh dressing down claiming that I wasn't fast enough and that the store shouldn't even be opened after all that.

I was purely baffled; the place looked immaculate. Fortunately, I was also pissed off and not feeling like taking other people's bullshit, so I told him that he could stock it himself if he could ply his fat ass from his boss's chair and I left. My friend later told me that they do that with all the new guys. I told my friend that perhaps that wasn't okay. I think my friend was there for about a year before he got tired of it and left.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Done it twice.

Once at a shitty budget shop, the other at a hardware store. Both were woefully mis-managed. The first was me not wanting to be around those people. At the hardware store they tried to stick me with a 12 hour shift just working on the cash-register. I thought about that for a brief moment, decided they clearly didn't respect me and told them they could shove it.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Nope, I've been holding the same job (though it is just a thing on the side) for about 7 years now. But bloody hell did I come close. I usually just let all the bullshit flow right through me, Litany of Fear style, and I just do my duty to everyone's liking.

There's gross mismanagement and general failing in the shop where I work but as long as it doesn't affect me directly I'll keep buggering on. I am counting the days though, plain ol' sick of that place after so many years doing the same shit.

Going by the responses in this thread though I'm counting myself lucky my own supermarket isn't like Wall-Mart. Not even remotely. My worst day was when we had a temporary boss who pretty much wrecked the entire place. Everyone hated his guts but high management, the guys who don't even leave their pretty little office many miles away, kept him on for some bloody reason.

Suddenly he asked me to, basically, work for two people at once at two places at once while he was in the break room sitting on his ass reading a newspaper. After slaving me all day to boot. I literally screamed the pure idiocy of what he just said straight in his face and yelled that if he wanted to get that done he had to come off his ass and help me.

He was so taken abash by that that he pretty much failed to respond. After that I finished what I was doing, ignoring his request. But I didn't quit.

snip

I'm not cut out for offices, I'm to open and honest......not back-stabby enough!!

Welp, fuck that shit indeed. That story did make me very curious; what do you do now?

 

[Private Custard]

snip

I'm not cut out for offices, I'm to open and honest......not back-stabby enough!!

Welp, fuck that shit indeed. That story did make me very curious; what do you do now?

I now do something entirely different, I work in a bodyshop doing accident repairs, or anything else paint and body related (my avatar is a decent example of the fun stuff!).

The pay's crap compared to what I could be getting, but sometimes you have to decide what's more important, even if a sacrifice is required.

 

[Ratties]

Supervisor was having an affair with a younger woman. The guy thought it would be a great idea if she worked with us. Of course she was a total **** rag. You know the kind of person that is so bitchy and annoying, that it is not even worth it to get mad at her. The girl didn't exist as far as I was concerned, I almost ran into her a couple of times because I refused to accept that she was real. Literally let her get away with murder. After finding out that some big wigs were coming to visit us in one month, I pretended like nothing was going on with me. Knew my supervisor was a lazy piece of shit, he was just going to blame all the problems on us anyways. Did nothing at all on my final day of being there. Since I did sanitation, my area was filthy. Then proceeded to take all the garbage bags full of trash and dump them in the break room. Of course I didn't dump actual garbage, I just put all the bags in there. You know the girl that he was having an affair with, didn't show up that night. The funny thing was, I knew my supervisor wasn't going to come downstairs to check on us because he never does. The guy came down for lunch, hes so oblivious that he didn't really notice. Literally around 6:00 am, I told my boss that I quit. Also told him I didn't do anything. Now as I was walking to my car, I saw the big wigs getting out of their cars. Didn't say hello to them when they said hi to me and I just drove off.+