To ask you - what's the fastest you've gone "f*** this" to a job

[Weston14]

Inspired by some chat in my office today.

Worked in one of those horrible, sickly, neon-lit dessert type places as a sixth former. Did one shift where I came straight from sixth form and was rota'd until 10pm, didn't end up getting out til about half midnight at which point I'd missed the last bus, I was covered in batter and chocolate, it was roasting, they had Capital on which just played the same three songs over and over again, and I ended up spending half the shift hidden in the fridge in the stock room. Ended up getting paid for a full week's work and blocked the recruiter's number and the manager's number in case they came asking for it.

About 3 hours into a shift at a pepper and spice factory I was coughing my guts up from all the dust/spices in the air. A woman told that I'd get used to it. I thought 'fuck that' and walked out. I got a better paid data entry job soon after so it was a good decision!

1 hour.

I was told it was a market research job, but it was cold calling sales appointments.

I just got up and said it wasn't for me.

When backpacking in Australia, quite a few totally dismal ones.

courgette harvesting - running after a tractor and dumping courgette in it - I couldn't keep up - quit after a day.

strawberry picking - piece work and I was incredibly slow. Quit after earning £5 for eight hours work

Door to door sales - after trying and failing to secure any sales after an hour I gave up and dumped a large handful of flyers in the bin, sat on a bench and smoked a cigarette. Then my mentor walked past and asked how I was doing😑

In uni holidays back in the 90s I did a lot of temping, usually receptionist work. I turned up at a new job and the boss told me the potato peeling machine wasn’t working. She handed me a peeler. I’m up for most things, but I’m very dyspraxic. I can type but I can’t peel potatoes. I gave it a go, but after 10 minutes we both agreed that it wasn’t going to work out. I went back to the agency and they found me something more suited to my lack of skills.

Supply teacher. 10 mins

Never done this before, always happy to sray with quite teicky classes.

Walked into a special school. No work or plan had been left. Kids in the corner self harming, others swinging on the doors.

Deputy head walks in and says what's your subject? I said science. He said "do something on animal.testing".

I said that I was leaving, as I was uncomfortable with all that was going on in the room and no proper lesson left.

I didn't get paid after my 2 hrs drive but I felt exhilarated to have told that arrogant shit of a deputy head to shove it.

Poor bloody kids though.

Worked for a charity for 2 weeks, had a weeks leave for a previously booked holiday and handed one weeks notice in whilst on leave. Found out that it was an unwritten rule that you were expected to work 10 hours extra a week unpaidAlso if you worked part time as I was that if your scheduled day wasn't on a bank holiday then you would be given an extra day off and still get paid for a bank holiday. The main boss never worked on Mondays when most fall on so I guess that's why! A few dubious things like that were happening.
The job wasn't as described either. They were really annoyed that I left esp as they had 6 people start and leave within the 6 months. My immediate boss and colleagues were lovely but a bit trodden on.

4 hours. I was told to come in for an interview. I walked in for the interview and got put straight to work. She barked orders at me for most of the morning. Shouted at me for taking a £50 note. Shouted at me for the clothes I was wearing. Shouted at me to go to lunch.

I went and got on the bus and went straight home and had my lunch without being shouted at.

Well done !

After one shift. The whole shift they were listing endless things that were my responsibility. Hundreds of things. I just saw endless misery of running around and endless fuckups in front of me. Went back to my old job after that shift!

Lasted a week in a fruit packing factory. Hours on a production line filling up the 4 apple trays before they got wrapped.

£3 an hour but we had to pay for the minibus to and from the factory. The journey was 2 hours each way. Out of the house for 14 hours only to get £20.

Urm….7 hours I think it was.

I went to work at a meat processing plant. I had no training. Was told to just do this and that was it.

I walked out after I nearly badly injured myself getting a crate down. It was a lot heavier than I thought it was and I only managed to avoid the injury when someone saw me and rushed over to help.

Then on top, the manager said everyone needs to do 6 hours over time. Nope. I went home and quit

Wouldn't you think an organisation dedicated to caring would care a bit about their staff?

I qualified as a hairdresser and out in the big bad world,I needed some experience

I was put in touch with a lady who would take me on

I rocked up-and was sent home to change as my long dress was 'too sexy'

She then refused to allow me to cut hair,touch anything,sit/stand anywhere and I was to sit around and listen to her personal problems and offer advice

I lasted a day-she then refused to pay me as 'I don't have the hours' and 'you where employed on a self employed basis' (first I knew of it)

I should have been paid for the 8 hours of free therapy I bloody gave her!

Not me but a colleague in a temping job - I wish I’d had the guts but was just out of uni and desperate to please.

it was in the HR dept of an insurance company, we worked in the same section as the finance team who were the biggest bunch of cunts I’ve yet encountered in a work environment. They took It upon themselves to relentlessly bully all the temps - the filing cabinets were next to their desks and when any of us went over to file our stuff at the end of the day they’d make really unpleasant comments about us - I remember once one girls attempting hair being commented on as age was wearing a vest too, intentionally within her earshot. There was a lot more that I’ve blocked out.

the people managing us in the HR dept weren’t much better, I remember one horrible woman completely fixating on my handwriting being too messy - it was totally irrelevant to my job but she kept mentioning it in a really unpleasant way.

one day she was talking to one of the other temps and the temp just stood up, shouted ‘why don’t you just fuck yourselves’ and walked out. I so wish I’d done that.

I got an interview for a marketing role but didn't really know much else about the company or the job I'd be doing. Same as a PP, I dressed smartly, thinking it would be a sitting down interview. It wasn't an interview at all but 'experience'. We got taken to a housing estate more than an hour away and I realised with a sinking feeling we were going to do door knocking for charities. The girl in charge was only about 18 and was on a huge power trip, ordering us to do silly dances in the car for her entertainment and making fun of us. Most people didn't even answer the door but if they did, I was told I had to be forceful and refuse to take no for an answer or they would give a really bad report to the manager and I would be in trouble. I was cold, bored rigid and miles from home. I told her I didn't think the job was for me and she told me in that case she couldn't take me back to the centre and I would have to make my own way back. It took three buses and more than three hours but it was a relief to escape that horrendous job.

Got made redundant during the first covid lockdown, so was applying for anything. Got a interview with a well known small supermarket/ convenience store, for a team leader role, in the interview I told them I had retail experience but no experience with being a team leader, they said “thats fine we will teach you”.

First shift was 2pm- 10pm, all was fine except the other team leader training me micromanaged everything I did and decided I had messed something up (even though he had watched everything I done for 8 hours) didn’t finish my shift until 1am! Was told by a colleague he did this all the time and nothing went wrong!

My next shift I was handed my keys by the store manager and told “Id had enough training” and I was on my own to close the store, which I hadn’t been shown how to do or how to cash the tills ect, I told him I had only 8 hours training and wasn’t shown these things, he huffed and said one of my colleagues who wasn’t a team leader will show me. Well obviously they didn’t know how to do it either.

Luckily one of my friends mums who worked their as a team leader came to the store at 10pm and did it with me, on her day off! The next day I called the store manger, gave him a earful and told him to stick the job up his arse.

2 hours.

I actually refused the job when it was offered to me but they talked me into accepting. I felt I didn't have the skills for the role, or the right experience, as the information about the role at the interview was different to the application information.

They promised training and shadowing. I turned up and they dropped me right in the shit, no training or support.

I walked out!

No.

I can think of worse stains.

Working in Boots when I was in sight form. All of the older women were so unbelievably nasty to me. I was shocked, was a dream job for someone like me at that age. I loved beauty, hair and makeup. I was so timid and they were so confrontational, always arguing with each other then when I didn't get involved with the bitching nasty to me too. I just left one day when I realised I shouldn't be crying before work, not at that age anyway. Que 15 phone calls from the manager on my landline leaving angry messages. She didn't realise I lived with my parents who heard them and were horrified. Popped in there for makeup a month after as a last resort and one of the girls on the til apologised saying it was normal to be bullied there by the older lot. Really awful, knocked my confidence for ages but luckily had nothing but lovely colleagues ever since.

4 weeks at 111...awful!! Worst place and management I've ever seen.

I had a p/t job as a glorified secretary in the HQ of a household name and had hardly any work to do for my four hour shift each afternoon. The very first day I was shown round the department and was eventually given the minutes of the firm's sports club to type which took all of 45 minutes. Then nothing at all. One summer I had the sum total of two memos to type. Trying to look busy when you've sod all to do is soul destroying. Not as exasperating as being rushed off your feet - I do understand that, having worked in the NHS previously.

It was a large open plan office so it's not as though I could sit behind my computer with a book because important visitors/clients walked by frequently. I must have had the cleanest keyboard and the tidiest stationery cupboard in the entire ruddy building. That first week I could/should have jacked it in but pride meant I had to suck it up. I stuck it out for three years - I simply couldn't stick the boredom any longer.

8 hour nightshift in a factory. It was so noisy that I couldn't hear what I needed to do. I had no idea how I'd ever know what to do if I literally couldn't hear anything being said.

Back in the 90’s I did something called ‘piecework’ for the younger readers. I think it’s illegal now. Basically a sweat shop based in the UK which paid you per item you put together in a factory. On paper, you could earn unlimited amounts of money if you worked fast. In reality, once me and my mate sussed the person who had been there longest and worked lightening fast was only making about £2 an hour because the amount they paid per item was tiny, we just walked out mid shift.

I remember the bewildered face of the factory owner as he stood in the car park watching us drive off as we laughed and stuck our middle finger up at him. I don’t think we lasted 2 hours.

I worked in Lush cosmetics for 3.5 days in the late 90s, had us hollowing out various bits of fruit and veg to slap face masks into (stood in a dingy basement).

Also stank to high heaven of the sweet sickly smell after a shift; similar I imagine to the smell of fat when working in a chippy.

Two days. Over 30 years ago now, temping for an engineering company. Very traditional company, old fashioned even then. However, the company was owned by a French parent company.

On my first day they found out I was fluent in French, and the next day hauled me into a meeting to interpret a conference call. I'm not trained in interpreting, and was particularly pissed off as the manager gleefully told me how pleased they were to have me as the local university charged £70 an hour for interpreting - I was on about £4 an hour. I was told that some managers were over from head office the following week and I would be doing two full days straight interpreting. I didn't go back!