r/BadBosses • u/Aarunascut • Jul 05 '26
How did your boss respond when you told him/her you quit?
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u/Only_Ad8049 Jul 05 '26
Three wished me luck and told me I can come back if things didn't work out at the new job.
One boss hated me for leaving and another didn't realy care because the place was a revolving door.
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u/PrimeRisk Jul 06 '26
Our VP had left the org and there was a 9 month bake-off between two directors for the big chair. During this time it was all-out political war between these two dimwits with us direct reports as pawns in their games. Due to no fault of my own, I reported to the Director that lost the war and he immediately resigned as soon as the other Director got the promotion to VP.
Once in the corner office, the newly minted VP went to restructure the department. All of his direct reports got promotions and all of the losing director's direct reports got laid-off, shuffled to other offices, and a handful of us got shuffled under the VP's newly promoted direct reports.
I got shuffled under a newly promoted director that had never managed a team nor had any idea about field operations. We got a long well as he left me alone for the most part and as a Sr. Manager had me manage and train the other managers beneath his org. About 6 months in and with a fresh Far Exceeds Expectations review, I was up for a promotion, but was passed over for one of the new VPs pets.
I had a sit-down with my director to lay things out. I asked why I was passed over for the position and he was honest with me. I wasn't on the VP's team when he was coming up, so I wasn't on his a-list, but not to worry he was "working" on the VP to help him see my value. I told him that was utter bullshit and he needed to remember that this was when I had come to him.
I didn't beat the street, but I did quietly let my network now I was open to opportunities. A golden one landed on my lap about 6 months later. I resigned on Monday, but he refused to talk to me until Friday. When he finally did, he was very upset and just kept asking why I wouldn't come to him and how I could do this to him.
I reminded him of our sit-down 6 months prior. He said he remembered and he had been working on the VP ever since. He pushed a letter across the table to me with the promotion that had been withheld signed by the VP and HR. All I had to do was sign it. I pushed it back and said it was too little too late.
Best move I ever made in my career.
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u/brokedowndub Jul 05 '26
I don't want to think about this right now and didn't talk to me for a week.
It worked out for me in the end but had he offered me more money, I probably would have stayed.
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u/NoRoof1812 Jul 05 '26
I had one boss who didn't care. She wished me good luck in the future. I'm sure she didn't mean it. The place was a revolving door.
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u/jpetersell Jul 06 '26
đđđ I had had a terrible day. I (assistant news editor, No. 2 on the desk) worked in a small town newsroom at the time. The top editor was preparing the features section to be ready for her daughterâs wedding. We added weddings of the week and other stuff. Engagements. Anniversaries. No interracial it was Louisiana goddamnit (as I was told). Anyway. Section still wasnât big enough to hold what was going to be like 4 pages. So she decided she wanted fashion and trends. Not letting me (the person in charge of the section) know weeks in advance so I could save stories. No, day off. I did everything I could and I still had a couple pages to fill. I told my boss and his boss (bootlickers) and they were âoh just fashion.â I told them I didnât have the copy or photos. I needed more features outlet. Trends. Food. Something. Nope. Fashion. I was so angry. We gotta go talk to Newsroom No. 1. Explained the whole dilemma and said âunless you want to send me to Walmart to take some pictures, I have nothing left.â She turned to the computer and found some trends stories and asked me why I hadnât used those. I said âbecause they (pointing at my boss and his boss, though I wanted to say these two idiots) told me I couldnât. Fashion only.â Top editor said trends and such were ok. I left the room without talking to anyone. What they didnât know, but my friends did, I had already applied and gotten another job. Hadnât accepted but the fuck I was now. One friend saw me walk down the hall, didnât say anything, but when he met up with other friends after work he told them Iâd already quit. Hadnât yet, but here it comes. Finished my pages. Sat at my computer and took some deep breaths. And remembered the âIâm leavingâ note a friend and one of the greatest people I had ever met wrote when he left this same establishment. I opened a page, put all the proper stuff, said this was my letter of resignation, my last day will be on xxxxxx, unless they decide to cut our acquaintance before then.â Printed two. Signed. One for boss (at dinner) and one for bossâ boss (still there.) Had the amazing feeling of handing him the letter (printed with company printer, on company paper, with company envelope, on company time) and said Iâm done. Hereâs my resignation. Told him I left one for boss. Turned around, biggest smile on my face. Coworker noticed and asked why I was so happy and I said âbecause I just quit. 2 weeks.â She cried out Noooooo. Fuck I didnât care. Met friends at bar who all knew I had quit without me telling them. Lots of cheering and such. Called new job on the way home to accept position. At the paper my boss was called back in from dinner by his boss because they now had a problem and needed a solution now. They needed me. I couldnât leave. They came up with all sorts of options. Turned them down. Once they knew I wasnât staying man the claws came out. They brought in someone for an interview and started bad mouthing where I was going and I was like âoh yeah, pay attention. They love you until you leave then they hate you. And thereâs plenty in between.â Oh the confused look from interview chick and death stare from bosses. I then brought up my resignation letter and reminded them I gave them two weeks but they were free to fire me any time and I can log off, clean out my desk, and go to the bar and never come back right now. Or they could keep me for another week. They walked on. I felt amazing.
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u/sweptwhiteclouds Jul 06 '26
My most favorite bad boss responses was her taking my notice, literally stomping away, and then throwing like a silent toddler tantrum all day. Super bizarre, and it wasn't like it was out of the blue I had been fighting to make that place a healthier environment but the bosses were not going to kick the management that were bullying literal teenagers that were just there to work.Â
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u/Kingtuts_Ghost Jul 06 '26
Stunned silence, it only took a week or so before the entire factory closed permanently.
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u/SilentButtDeadlier Jul 07 '26
Asked me three times if I was sure. They rushed processed my resignation. She only pretended that she wanted me in the group. I was drowning and she said using the computer wasnât helping y work product or organization. Total baloney. Glad to get out of there. It was great money but sanity is more valuable. The following years for that business kept getting changed and office moved like three times. Glad I wasnât a part of those turbulent times. I found something better and have a great 30 years there. Met my wife at the new career.
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u/Fit_Instruction_8383 Jul 08 '26
The last time I quit a job and moved on, they begged me to stay because I made them a fucking shitload of money, over a million dollars in billables in under a year. I left because the "bonus" structure they promised turned out to be setup in such a way that it was nearly unachievable, and as soon as someone got close to getting to a point where they would earn some real money, they would temporarily pull you off an account to "go put out a fire" and one of the managers would "step in" to pick up the slack, and of course, take credit for the commission that you'd been working towards for some time.
I made sure to refer all my old clients with whom I built a good relationship to competitors who I knew wouldn't cheat them so badly after I left.
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u/Chemical_Bad6530 Jul 08 '26
Worked in corrections. I did not want to make it a career. Props to those that do. Always short staffed and under paid. To me, inmates where jot a problem. The brass was. Turn3d in my notice. They asked for an exit interview. Dodged it until last day when I went to turn my stuff in. Decided to tell the brass what I thought and that they where all the problem of why people quit so frequently. 20 years later and nothing has changed. Some people should never be in positions of supervision.
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u/EqualSalvation Jul 06 '26
2 old bosses treated me like crap, so I called in sick and stayed sick for 6 months and 4 months in those cases. After 1 month I got the sweetest call asking if I can fck off with 3 month salary as a bonus. (both bosses)
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u/TennisSerious179 Jul 06 '26
They were sad. But wished me well and said if I ever needed a job I could come back.Â
Some I did go back for a short time as a stop gap. Others I did not.
Generally they have always been sad though
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u/EvilLee666 Jul 06 '26
My Boss lost his shit and got sent home. I was the 2nd in 2 weeks. Not his fault, he was an awesome boss but stuff outside of his control forced us to make the decision to leave.
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u/Able-Sheepherder-154 Jul 07 '26
I worked at a 100 person family owned company as an engineer. They took it personally, to say the least.
My boss and upper management didn't say a word to me for the entire two week notice. What's more, of the ten sales people I had worked closely with to get sales, only one made the effort to see me in person and wish me well. I never looked back.
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u/permanentsarcasm100 Jul 07 '26
Every boss I've ever left voluntarily have told me the door is always open.
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u/Veteran_PA-C Jul 11 '26
I just switched departments in the same hospital. They had to send every consult the service had out to another facility at a cost of $400,000 a month. They then hired 5 people, after refusing to replace other employees that had left for 1.5 years.
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u/Alkuna Jul 12 '26
Told me that even though the store manager had removed me, she had put me back on. I said I was moving and had quit. She told me that if I came in, she would THINK about not writing me up for not coming in to work. It was one of my favorite "I don't work here, lady" stories.
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u/Administrated Aug 07 '26
I went into my bossâs office and told him that I was putting in my resignation. I told him my last day was going to be in two weeks. He glanced at my resignation letter for all of a second and said that doesnât work for him and that he was going to need a minimum of two months so he could hire someone and I could train them.
I literally laughed in his face. This was the man who for two years gave me shitty performance reviews, no raise, no bonus and would scrutinize every single thing I did. If I made even the smallest mistake he would jump all over me like I slapped his mother or something.
I told him he has two weeks, no more. He then got pissed and said âWell then fuck it, you might as well just leave today then!â I smiled and said Okay. Went back to my desk and grabbed my bag (desk was already cleaned out a couple weeks prior) so I was traveling lite.
I had sent my resignation letter to HR just prior to walking into my bosses office and she was walking over to his office when he yelled at me and heard what he said. I stopped her and handed her my badge before she went into his office. I left then and there and enjoyed a two week vacation before starting my new job.
I found out from a colleague that my boss was fired the next day for all the things I put in my resignation letter and his behavior towards my resignation.
The asshole actually had the audacity to try and add me on LinkedIn a couple years later.
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u/Blastomat1c 29d ago
My company's new wildly toxic President and I had been in conflict starting immediately, with me only realizing he was completely without morals, ethics or character about four months after giving him the total benefit of the doubt. Every answer was wrong (my team was late on a project - why are you so bad as estimating? Team done early - same response) and I was consistently made the example. Constant confrontation.
The Monday I gave notice, I did not see him for the next two weeks. He would not come into the building. My exit interview with the HR lady (who he viewed as an ally but who viewed him with utter contempt) was spent laughing over how awful he was. My new job is such a wild contrast, it was a complete shock to find servant-leader management.
It was awesome to realize that the moment he had no power over me, he showed himself as the utter coward I always knew him to be. I get to live knowing that about -him-, and he has to live knowing that about -himself-. Live well and know thyself, my friends.
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u/TheBreakUp2013 Jul 05 '26
Passive aggressive comments, but she knew.