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20 People Who Quit Their Job This Year Reveal What Pushed Them Over The Line
Article created by: Mantas Kačerauskas
Chances are, you've heard the term the Great Resignation in 2021.
In the US, people are quitting their jobs as a result of low wages and hostile working environments, not to mention the concern that their employers aren't following proper safety protocols to protect them from contracting COVID.
To learn more about the reasons that push people to make such a life-changing decision, Redditor Wataru2001 made a post on the platform, saying: "A record number of Americans quit their jobs in the last few months. If you were one of them, why did you quit and what are you doing now?"
Here are some of the most memorable answers that paint a vivid picture of the country's current labor market.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I wasn't get paid enough at my former job. I was working with special needs children and it was an awesome job, I really felt like it was what I should be doing. But I was only making $250 a week...
Now I work at Costco for $17 an hour plus a ton of benefits. The work is not what I want to be doing. But I am more appreciated serving hot dogs and pizza.
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#2
I’m a veteran, have three degrees, and two decades of experience in the workforce. I was forced out of my job at a fortune 100 company during the pandemic and they took covid bailout money from the government. They bought stock instead of keeping us on payroll, then told the unemployment commission that I quit voluntarily. After fighting UI for about nine months I finally won but then had to pay all that money back immediately. The first interview I had out of about 40 applications only paid $13/hr, much less than I was was making. Employers aren’t offering a fair wage for my talent so I’m not participating in the workforce. My wife has a great job and I finally filed for VA benefits for war injuries so I get to ride bikes with my son all day and have fun with him. I’m going to spend time with my family and enjoy myself until it’s worth working again and it has done wonders for my mental health and relationships.
#3
Unbeknownst to me, I had a stroke. I was so stressed out by work, I just knew something was wrong. I wasn't able to comprehend things the same anymore, logic didn't work the same to me anymore. Crazy. Just found out a few days ago, after an MRI.
#4
I couldn't handle the stress of working at a clinic doing COVID testing. Most of my friends, and a decent portion of my family, are people who could literally die if they got exposed to COVID so I basically spent almost six months without seeing any people that I care about. And then I was being worked way more hours than I agreed to, on top of it there wasn't any overtime while I was trying to go to college, I just couldn't handle the stress.
I ended up needing to choose between a job and my education and I choose my education. Even with everything the clinic I worked at has a high turn over rate anyway, so it was probably better for my mental health in the long run to quit there.
I'm working at a local gamestore now where I work ~30 hours a week and can work on my school work when there's no customers in the store, my school and mental health are doing a lot better for it, and I get to talk about things I love with people all the time.
#5
They started to threaten to call us back into the office. At first they said one day a week, then 2, then 2-3, then 3 days minimum. My old commute was 2 hours per day (1 hour each way) by train. I was not about to willingly give up 6 hours a week of the 10 I’d gotten back since working from home.
I managed to find a nice stable state job where the office is a 10 minute drive from my house, but it’s majority remote work. Couldn’t be happier.
#6
In March 2020 I started working 10-12 hour days. Sometimes 10-13 day stretches. I was completely exhausted and burnt out by the end of 2020. I got pregnant in June 2021 and my husband got a new position at work that paid nearly double his previous salary. I quit in August and haven’t had one moment of regret. I took 2 months off to do some self care and mental health recovery. Now I’m a substitute teacher a few days a week.
#7
My wife got a raise at her job. She was gonna stay at home with our new baby since there is no daycare anywhere but with her raise and benefits it made more sense for me to stay home with the kid.
#8
I was being paid peanuts. Once I hit the 3 year mark at my last place, recruiters started coming out of the woodwork. Interviewed with a few and found I could be making ~20k more. Once I found someone really interested in me, I used that knowledge to give them a definition of salary I'd jump ship for. They matched it and went beyond. I told the old job what I was being offered and asked if they could match it. They would only match 50% of the difference, but wanted to see my job offer in writing. I understand why they required this, but it did feel like they didn't believe me. I got the job offer in writing, because I accepted it. 3 months into the new job, I was given a 5% raise to boot. The new guys are great and have business practices that much more align with my personal values.
#9
I quit a job where I was doing the work of multiple people and immediately moved to a job where I work significantly less for a 40% pay bump.
#10
Low pay and I was bored out of my mind and no matter how many times I asked they wouldn’t give me more work. I would be done my work in an hour and have to stare at the screen for the next 7 hours. It was torture. Then they announced a full return to the office and I was done.
Now in a job where I’m sufficiently challenged. And they’re staying remote forever.
#11
I was working 70-80 hours a week and utterly burnt out. I took a job working half the hours for half the pay. Worth it.
#12
17 years and not even at $20 an hour. Took a few weeks off and started a new job with better pay, benefits and retirement.
#13
Because I got tired of slaving away in a kitchen, putting my all into every dish I made, getting paid peanuts for it, and barely surviving. I'm going to school now. Thankful for the GI bill.
#14
Because I got tired coming home from work every single day in pain. I'm 22, I shouldn't be in so much pain that I walk like I'm a 75 year old. And the job just sucked as it was. Now, I work from home, apart of a huge company that takes calls all over the state to book non-emergency medical transportation
#15
I quit because of the commute and feeling unappreciated while getting paid too little. It wasn’t just one thing but I wanted to work somewhere that at least paid okay and was not a 1.5 hour commute each way. So yeah that is why I quit.
#16
I quit a fast food place to work in an office. I have a much better environment to work in, a schedule I make myself, weekends and nights always off unless I choose to work from home for extra money, a $3 raise (I’m an intern and making more than the managers at my old job who worked 55 hour weeks), and a 401k. My old manager loves to complain that no one wants to work these days, but I know all the people who have left my old job. Two of us went to better opportunities and all the rest moved away for college.
#17
I worked as a nurse for 10 years. Compassion fatigue and COVID burnout prompted me to leave the field. Probably forever. I’m living with my parents and taking the time to figure out what I want to do. I may go back to school for a different career path.
#18
The commute. The lack of acknowledgment for the previous 6 years of hard work. The overuse injuries. The body aging and not as resilient in healing said injuries (physically active job in the hard alcohol industry). The company restructuring in response to COVID and supply-chain issues, resulting in most of my peers and those who direct-reported to me losing their jobs. The demands of those vacated roles and responsibilities being passed on to the three of us left (in addition to our already over-burdened schedule).
I grew tired of it and decided not to continue to support the company. Thankfully I have a nice nest egg saved and a supportive spouse. Would rather support my spouse, work on home repairs, and love on friends and family that we haven’t seen much of thanks to Covid. My priorities have changed.
Thus I said ‘see ya and good luck’ to my former boss… who understood the litany of reasons.
#19
I quit my teaching job after 6 years for various reasons but primarily because of the commute and the ever growing ridiculous demands / expectations by administrators and parents.
I’ll be starting a government job soon and I couldn’t be happier.
#20
I quit because I was contracting and was told I would be hired after 6 months, but that didn’t happen. So now I’m contracting for a different company.
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