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25 People Who Quit Toxic Jobs With No Backup Plan

Trista Smith October 20, 2024

Have you ever been stuck in a job you hate? Maybe you don’t have another option and simply need the money. When things get rough, a bad job can cause you to quit even if you don’t have a backup plan. Perhaps this has even happened to you at some point.

According to Pleated Jeans and Twitter, these people shared both good and bad stories about times they said goodbye to bad jobs. They did so without a backup plan, and needless to say, the results vary with each situation. Check them out below.

25. Being Forced To Move

Some jobs require you to move locations, possibly because they’re opening a new office somewhere else. Nevertheless, moving expenses and other related chores are things the company is supposed to take care of for you. That’s one way a company develops loyalty in their employees.

When @iamKierraD asked this question, she received a lot of answers. This company left their employee high and dry to take care of everything all by themselves within a week. However, instead of going through with it, they quit, studied up for a new job, and ended up better off. With two times the pay and a job they like, they made the right decision to quit.

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24. A Giant Leap Of Faith

If you’re stuck in a job you hate, it’s not easy to get your foot in the door somewhere else. Taking the risk to find another job can be quite scary But when push comes to shove, sometimes you just have to take that leap. Remember that you have to have your head screwed on right and think on the fly to get back on your feet again.

@JonathanFors figured things out by downsizing everything they had, selling what they didn’t need, and using that money to move to France. There, they found the perfect job to work remotely, making it easier for them to manage their time. They were overall happier with their work than they were before.

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23. Seeing The Warning Signs Early

Some people choose to quit because they’re no longer happy with the work they’re doing. Other people choose to quit because of the people they have to work with every day. Employees and bosses can make a work environment intolerable and sometimes hostile. There’s the hope that they could get fired eventually for their attitude, but that’s not always the case. They end up staying, and the workplace can feel like hell.

@JoshDeltener managed to see the warning signs when their boss tried to push them into tech support. They blatantly refused, and their boss ended up having a fit. That was the sign they needed to get out before things got much worse. And from the rest of their story, it did.

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22. Empty Promises

It’s a wonder that business owners will still treat their employees poorly. It costs more to train new people than keep the ones you already have, treat them like human beings, and give them decent wages. However, not everyone is lucky enough to be employed by such people. @lilinkwell was one of them and ended up sharing their employment story about a law firm.

Promise after promise they gave them ensuring that they would get full-time employment. At the same time, they were being harassed by an attorney. It added even more stress. Eventually, they gave up on waiting and quit. It only took them a month to find a new job, and they’re much happier with better pay and coworkers who appreciate them.

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21. When Privacy Is Violated

It’s one thing to have your boss looking over your shoulder, but it’s something else for them to start reading your emails. What you’re writing to other people is no one else’s business, but this boss wasn’t interested in that. They wanted to know everything that was going on in this woman’s life. @BenLesh didn’t take any guff and decided to quit.

Granted, they didn’t take all of the steps they needed to protect their emails, but they shouldn’t have had to in the first place. They made the smart move of changing their password too so that their boss wouldn’t check their e-mails after they left. This is one of the worse stories out there in terms of a boss overstepping boundaries. However, this person deserved to have those boundaries respected, especially about their personal life.

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20. Becoming Self-Reliant

Even if you have no safety net when you quit, it’s always a good idea to have money saved so you’re not struggling to pay bills in between jobs. It’s much better than living paycheck to paycheck, where you can struggle to make ends meet. That’s why @Dek00s ended up successful with their unplanned self-termination.

They shared their story about a manager they worked under who was downright abusive. Instead of sticking it out and hoping that things would get better, they left on the spot with no other job waiting in the wings. Thankfully, they had enough in their savings to pay bills for a few months, which gave them enough time to find a new job. They valued their own mental health above getting a paycheck, which worked out for them in the end.

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19. Seizing Your Own Destiny

The thing about dead-end jobs is that they steal your drive to do other things. They lock you down into a mindset where you can’t think of doing anything else, and that’s not good for your mental health. Settling for what you have instead of going for what you want can lead to a lifetime of regret. @aishrutendolkar decided not to let that happen to them and took matters into their own hands. They put their mental health first and left the job they were in with no other plan in place.

However, after getting out of that job, they took the initiative to go back to school to pursue the career they wanted. Thankfully, they had the support of their parents to keep them on their feet during that time, but it just goes to show that it’s not impossible once you set your mind on your goal.

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18. Jumping Into Danger

Working in the service industry isn’t easy, but they’re some of the easiest jobs you can get. Granted, employees in the service industry aren’t treated the best either, so take this advice with a grain of salt. It gives you some foundation of responsibility and the rigor of completing tasks on a schedule.

@ecrire831 working in this industry had a moment of clarity when they realized this wasn’t the kind of job they wanted to do for the rest of their lives. So they quit that very moment without a safety net. It’s unclear what they ended up doing afterward, but they must have ended up with a better faring job than working at a fast-food restaurant.

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17. Taking The Risk Will Be Worth It

Some people have to work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. As soon as they clock out from one job, they’re heading to the next one to ensure that they have enough to pay bills at the end of the month, as well as buy groceries and other things they may want in their lives. So quitting any of those jobs might leave them in a financial pothole for the rest of their lives.

Thankfully, @analchanel’s story is an inspiration to go for the things you enjoy doing instead of enduring the daily grind. After keeping a good gig, they got hired full-time. In turn, it made up for the difference in the job they quit. It’s essential to focus on a worth that brings you joy instead of chasing a paycheck if the option is open to you.

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16. Giving Up Everything

Some people will tell you it’s a mistake to throw everything away because you’re not happy at your job. In some ways, they’re right. If you have nothing to fall back on, then you’ll be floating with no income for a while. However, most times, the risk can be worth it if you put in the effort to make it work. It also means having a great support system in place so that you can take a step in the right direction towards your life goal.

That’s exactly what @writeonkiah did. They gave up their job that was killing their mental health, had no savings, and even broke their lease to get away from the situation. Thankfully, they had family who could support them in the meantime, and they ended up getting a great job that they now love. Sometimes it does pay to break the rules to get what you want instead of settling for what you don’t need.

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15. It Takes Guts

There’s only so much a person can take every day when they’re at work, especially if it’s a 9-to-5. A toxic working environment can make it difficult for a person to concentrate, much less want to get any work done. They want to do the most is leave and go home so that they’re not constantly feeling stressed all the time. So it’s either sink or swim. Thankfully @apollo_316 decided to jump ship and swim to shore to escape a horrible work environment.

On top of it all, they also had an eviction notice and had to work out where they and their family would live. It’s one thing only to have to worry about yourself, but taking care of your family too can add a lot of stress to the situation. However, six months later, this person ended up crawling out from emerging to land a good job that they’re happy to go to every single day.

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14. Someone Who Has No Connections

Going out into the world alone can be scary, but there’s no guilt involved if you suddenly have to leave a job you hate. You don’t want to give up those friendships you’ve developed, as well as the stable environment you’ve created for yourself. But if the job isn’t worth it, it can be a lot easier to pack up and go. There are no goodbyes to say or people you have to sever ties with.

However, having no connections can also be a downside, as you don’t have a support system to rely on. Luckily for @SavageTestam3nt, they had no regrets left behind, packed up all of their stuff, and left. They’re still living abroad, doing what they love and not regretting a single second of it. Remember that you have to keep your expectations flexible to make this kind of life work for you.

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​​13. Managers Are Supposed To Lift You Up

The expectation is that your manager is supposed to encourage you to do better at your job. They should be motivating you and whom you should go to if you have concerns. With the lack of encouragement, it was inevitable that this person would leave, and they did. Instead, @oliviadollxoxo had to deal with a manager to end up making them feel worse about their job.

One statement to their manager made them realize how awful they were being, but the damage was already done. They left without another word and ended up finding a new job within the week, which meant they didn’t have to worry about being without a job. It sucks for that manager, though; if they’d only changed their attitude, this person could have stayed for the long haul and enjoyed their job.

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12. When Your Employer Doesn’t Care

Another thing employers are supposed to be in charge of is the safety of their workers. They should be taking the measures necessary to ensure the well-being of their employees, including their health. If something goes wrong, there should be practices to take care of these problems to avoid employees leaving due to an unhappy work environment. But this story takes the cake Why? Because these employers didn’t care about their workers.

@Rhysdux’s story involved security guards keeping workers trapped inside a building that was obviously on fire. The why is a question we’ll never get an answer for, but this person didn’t wait around for it and decided to quit the very next day. Good on them for doing it, too; who would want to wait and risk their life being taken just to get the job done?

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11. Expanding Your Horizons

If you have the mindset of only ever working at one place, you’re not going to be very flexible for the workforce. Moreover, if you need to quit your job, you won’t be set up very well for working at something you’ve never done before. That’s why it’s best to have a wide array of skills under your belt so that you can be most employable in just about any industry out there.

If you talk and act like you know what you’re doing, then everyone else will believe it. It helps if you train yourself in your own time and gain some knowledge about the field you’re applying for, but otherwise, with the right amount of confidence, you can convince anyone that you’re the right fit for any job like @Kalichica1.

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10. Giving Your All

You want to feel appreciated in your job. That you’re putting your effort to prove to your employers you care about working for them. You put in extra hours and they still end up not being happy with you. That can put a real damper on your motivation levels, especially when they tell you that you “could have done more.” That’s what happened to @brandonkindred at a job they thought they loved.

However, even after putting in all of that hard work and raising their company’s profits by a significant margin, they still got a poor review. Knowing that they literally couldn’t have done any more work to make matters better, they quit. They were lucky enough to get another job offer a few days later. This person did find a better situation.

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9. Controlling and Awful

The majority of the stories here are focused on employers who don’t know how to treat their employees right. They’ve either been toxic and controlling, don’t care about their employees’ well-being, or are nosy. One would think that an employer would be more understanding towards the plights of their employees and care more about them, but that seems to be the opposite. The only thing they seem to care about is making money, regardless of whom they have to lose in the process.

@thunderratz seemed to have that experience with their employer and didn’t regret walking out as soon as they could. They provide some good advice, too, in quitting when it would be easiest to get another job, such as a great hiring season and focusing on your mental health over loyalty to a job.

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8. Time Away From Family

Another reason some people quit their jobs because they want to focus on the time they have with growing children. That is time that easily slips away, and you can never get it back. A job will always be there when you’re ready to start working again. That’s why @soldi3005_ decided to look for a job that was better suited to them spending more time with their child.

They eventually quit their job and hopped online to find a job two weeks later. It gave them better pay and much more time with their family to have their cake and eat it too. Be mindful that there are jobs out there that are fulfilling and won’t burden you with stress. You just have to know where to look.

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7. Having Money Makes It Easier

When the pressure is on, you can completely surprise yourself with what you’re capable of. It’s still a good idea to have some measures in place. @NicoleDeniseIAm shared their story that they had as much as six months’ worth of savings to rely on when they quit their job, making it much easier to find a job they wanted to work in.

They also determined not to let the idea of not having a job get to them, as that would be a self-defeating attitude. Instead, they kept their head up and persevered, looking for a great job in a new city that would be a good fit for them. They sound much happier with their new situation than they were with their old one. It’s the best outcome anyone can hope for when they’re thinking about leaving their current job.

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6. Your Best Talents Could Save Your Life

If you know you’re good at something, turning those talents into job prospects doesn’t hurt. It won’t be easy, but it’s better than having nothing at all. @AliciasAProblem quit their job without a plan. However, instead of sitting on their hands, they offered their services as a babysitter. This ended up being the best decision for them.

Because of the network and rapport they built with other families, they ended up making enough money to keep them afloat until they found another full-time job that they loved. They may not rely on babysitting anymore, but they still do it now and again because it gives them some extra money.

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5. A Job Isn’t Worth Your Mental Health

Everyone looks forward to being happy and stable at their job. They want it to be something fulfilling that they enjoy going to every day as part of their daily routine. It shouldn’t be something they dread going to, or else the work isn’t going to be worth it. So when @whereis_mo realized that their mental health wasn’t faring very well in the job they were in, they decided to get out.

They had a manager who constantly threatened to fire them over and over again. Maybe the manager was trying to motivate them to work harder, but this plan backfired because they ended up quitting right on the spot. Instead, they left and went to their local library to let off steam. That led to them finding a new career in music instead. Maybe that manager’s lousy attitude was why this person found a new career that they loved.

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4. Sometimes It Takes A Bad Employer

It can take one bad moment for you to discover what you want out of life: to be respected, to work on your own schedule, or even to just be happy in your work. It took this person’s employer to make them realize what they wanted out of a job. Even with no savings in their pocket, they quit on the spot. @jh3yy headed out into the world to find what they were looking for.

Furthermore, they weren’t disappointed once they put the work in to find something that they loved. They didn’t settle for the first thing that came along and held out for what they wanted instead. The adrenaline rush of not knowing what was going to happen was certainly a kick in the pants. Yet it sounds like they had no regrets about the choices they made to get to where they are now.

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3. It Pays To Stay Vigilant

It can be easy to get down on yourself, especially when it feels like nothing is going your way. But all of these shared stories have one thing in common: never giving up. Settling for a toxic environment is never the best choice. You have to persevere and stick with the search. That goes double even in the face of adversity to find what you’re looking for.

It’s a good idea to keep looking, even if nothing seems to be up your alley. It also doesn’t hurt to look in employment areas you’ve never considered before. You might be surprised to find how many skills you have that match their criteria that could land you that new job, like it did for @stefanotheone.

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2. Have A Plan Ahead

@anilop offered some very sound advice. Firstly, they state to have some savings to rely on so that you’re not accepting the first job that comes your way. That could end up being a mistake if it ends up being another dead-end job. Even if you want to quit your job that very day, it might be better to wait a week or two until you have a few things in place to help you stay afloat.

Another good idea is to give yourself a grace period of at least three weeks where you’re not doing anything. That way, you can prepare your headspace for looking for another job. It sounds like a waste of time. However, you’d be better off having a clear head to find the job you love than to look for one in a panic. If you can help it, don’t accept the first one that crosses your path.

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1. Quitting Becomes Easier To Do

Don’t think that just because you find the job, you love in the end that you have to stick with it. It’s quickly becoming a new trend for the next generation to routinely change jobs so that they can expand their talents and try out a variety of things they’ve never considered before.

As @Miss_Lillyrose can attest, they’ve already changed jobs three times. Then, they ended up becoming the owner of their own business. If the option is available to you and you have a great support system, take the plunge and start looking for a new job when you can. You might be surprised how much happier you can be somewhere else.

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