In the past year, the rate of job quitting in the U.S. reached highs not seen since December 2000, as part of the recent phenomenon known as the “Great Resignation,” said Maury Gittleman, a research economist in the Office of Compensation and Working Conditions of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in a July 2022 article for the agency.
The country’s “quit rate” reached a 20-year high in November 2021. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in February 2022 found that low pay, a lack of opportunities for advancement, and feeling disrespected at work were among the top reasons why employees in the U.S. resigned their jobs last year.
The survey also found that those who quit and are now working elsewhere “are more likely than not to say their current job has better pay, more opportunities for advancement and more work-life balance and flexibility.”
In the latest viral post shared on Reddit Sunday, user American_Psycho34, a full-time college student who was working as a hotel bartender, said: “I’m thinking of ghosting my job.”
American_Psycho34 said they’d requested to take the week of August 8 off about a month ago because their classes would be starting and “when they do I won’t be able to work at the bar at all.” Yet the user was still put on the work schedule.
When American_Psycho34 confronted their boss, the latter allegedly said: “well I’m your boss and I’m telling you what to do” and “request offs are never guaranteed.”
“He basically said because I was scheduled for work,” according to American_Psycho34, “I had to take responsibility for the shifts and call off, which will fall on me. I told him that I put in my request a month ago, I shouldn’t even have been on the schedule.”
The employer allegedly answered, “Well I’m your boss and I’m telling you what to do” and “request offs are never guaranteed,” and then ended the conversation with “I don’t need a response I will see you on Monday when you return.”
American_Psycho34 said that they’re in “an alright place financially” and have another job as well as a paid research mentorship lined up for the fall semester.
“This isn’t a job I was thinking about putting on my resume anyway.”
In a later update, American_Psycho34 said: “I will not be going in tomorrow and I will not give him notice…I wasn’t making any money from the job. All the other bartenders hate him and know he’s a s***ty manager.”
Several Redditors showed support for the original poster.
In a comment that got 7,700 upvotes, user cleon42 simply referred to American_Psycho34 saying this wasn’t a job they were going to add to their resume and said: “There’s your answer.”
V_Knives remarked: “There is literally nothing they can do to you if you just stop going.”
In a comment that got 1,500 upvotes, JediSpaghetti11 said: “Yep. GTFO [get the f*** out] !! If you don’t need the reference then you don’t need to be good about leaving.”
Soulbandaid said: “The only response is showing the boss you mean what you said. You tried to talk it out and they didn’t listen. There’s nothing else to say. Don’t show up and don’t look back.” That comment got 354 upvotes.
800ftSpaceBurrito wrote: “People don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. Disrespect is earned and I’d say your boss has more than earned your disrespect.”
Deaconse was a bit more diplomatic, stating: “Yeah, GTFO. But don’t ghost them - send him a text this evening or tomorrow early, saying you’re not [coming] in, Tell him you’re sorry he was unwilling to accommodate your scheduling needs, and that you aren’t willing to accommodate his.
“Then never communicate with him again. Don’t block, because his texts and VMs might be interesting, but do NOT reply,” Deaconse added in a comment that generated 165 upvotes.
Newsweek reached out to American_Psycho34 for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.