Last Day At My Awful Job!

By Kade
Los Angeles, California
January 18, 2022 2:41pm CST
This is it, fam! Today is the last shift I will ever have at this incredibly toxic job. I have no other job lined up and I should be terrified about that because I just hit 40 and I've been holding a job regularly since I started volunteer work at 14. And yet, I'm not scared at all. I can't remember the last time I've been this happy! I think my generation has a hard time with the concept of not having to be stuck at a job that you hate. We were taught all our lives that in order to be "winning in life" you have to have a steady career with benefits and retirement and all that. We've been told "too bad if you're miserable now, you'll be glad later when you retire." ... I don't want to be happy "later." What if my car flips off the freeway tomorrow or something? What if I get caught in a robbery the next time I go to the store just to pick up milk? What if I go to sleep tonight and just don't wake up because my body decided it was time? The point is, I want to be happy now. Yes, it's okay to worry about your future, but if it's making you miserable every day right now, it's not worth it. Today I will finish my last five hour shift, and it will be the longest five hours of my life, but I will walk out of that store feeling happy and free for the first time in over two years.
11 people like this
12 responses
@JimBo452020 (42639)
• United Kingdom
18 Jan 22
Live for the moment.
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
18 Jan 22
@akruser13 That's the spirit!
2 people like this
@JimBo452020 (42639)
• United Kingdom
18 Jan 22
@akruser13 I walked out of my job one day and never went back. Best thing I ever did. And then soon after got a job working with motorbikes and I never looked back. Work needs to be fun.
3 people like this
• Los Angeles, California
18 Jan 22
Exactly. I can find something else easy, I have decades of retail and pet care and hospitality under my wing. Not to mention marketing and social media experience. There's no reason for me to stay at a job I hate when I have other opportunities. I'm going to take a couple weeks to myself to find my center, then I'll hit the workforce once again.
6 people like this
@Bensen32 (27452)
• United States
18 Jan 22
sometimes you have to leave a job to stay happy and sane LOL
1 person likes this
@Bensen32 (27452)
• United States
19 Jan 22
@akruser13 yeah been there before. Best of luck in your future endeavors
1 person likes this
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jan 22
Yes, my goodness! I've been visibly happier and happier each day I've gotten closer to today. Everyone is like I can't remember ever seeing you this happy! And it's all because I know I don't have to deal with this stress anymore.
1 person likes this
@sabtraversa (12440)
• Italy
18 Jan 22
Your physical and mental health is worth more than anything else, not taking care of that can make you miserable in the future as well. Hey, you might end up retiring with less money but you might also end up spending less than average when it comes to medical expenses. It's a matter of priorities. I really wish you to find a job that suits you, in a nice enviroment.
1 person likes this
@franxav (13583)
• India
18 Jan 22
I agree. It's important to stay free of illness and live in the present.
1 person likes this
@yoalldudes (35042)
• Philippines
18 Jan 22
Love your post. Im miserable too when it comes to work.
1 person likes this
@Kouponkaren (5427)
• United States
19 Jan 22
Yay for you. I am very happy for you. I am about 20 years older than you, but yes I was always told to never quit 1 job unless you have another job lined up. But if you have some money set aside to get you through until you decide what is next in your life, then you should be fine. My daughter was in between jobs at one point and she walked dogs through a company called Wag. She loved it and eventually found a full-time job that she really enjoys.
1 person likes this
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jan 22
I'm on Wag, lol! I haven't done it for awhile but I could definitely go back to that until I find something better.
@dodo19 (47034)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
18 Jan 22
I'm glad that this is the last shift. Definitely sounds like the right decision. I'm happy for you.
• Los Angeles, California
18 Jan 22
Thank you! I'm so ready to be out of there. It was just bad times all around.
1 person likes this
@marlina (154183)
• Canada
19 Jan 22
But how will you pay your bills?
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jan 22
I'm still going to look for another job, it's not like I'm planning to not work ever again. I knew I was headed this direction so I've been saving up, my housemates are waiving rent right now, so I'm good for about a month at least before I need to get myself into something else. I'm hoping to get into a job I really love by then, but I'm also experimenting with some at home stuff in hopes that I can just run my own business. It's not that I mind working at all, I'm just tired of working for people who don't value their employees.
@MALUSE (69428)
• Germany
18 Jan 22
The way you describe the situation it was the right decision. You may have avoided diseases like an ulcer because of your frustration.
• Los Angeles, California
18 Jan 22
Actually that's what pushed me into the decision to quit to begin with. I was in and out of the doctor with new cysts just everywhere internally and they all kept telling me it was due to stress. So I tried first by giving my employers a sort of ultimatum. I'm one of their best managers but I told them back in August that if they did not remove the supervisor above me who was causing all the problems in our store that I would walk. There was a whole HR investigation and everything, and while he did stop with the worst of the issues (all the bigotry and harassment), he still makes the work place completely miserable. They won't remove him because he's a cousin to the company's CEO. So. I got them through the holiday season and then said here's my two weeks. And my employees underneath me also gave their two weeks so there's going to be a jam with no one to run their store lol. Not my problem though. I gave them plenty of chances to make it right and they didn't.
1 person likes this
• United States
19 Jan 22
@akruser13 Good for you. You can leave with your head held high because it seems like you did everything right!
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (42913)
• Staten Island, New York
18 Jan 22
A person shouldn't be at a job that leaves them constantly miserable unless the pay is so huge that they can't give that up. Hope you won't have a hard time finding a new job. I've been told not to leave a job until you find a new one first. Wonder if it really matters?
@lovebuglena (42913)
• Staten Island, New York
19 Jan 22
@akruser13 Good for you!
1 person likes this
• Los Angeles, California
19 Jan 22
If you have the means to take a little time off then I think it's okay. I knew this was coming so I've been saving up, plus my housemates are helping me. It was more important for me in this instance to get out before it destroyed my mental health entirely.
1 person likes this
@sharonelton (24349)
• Lichfield, England
19 Jan 22
Congratulations! I'm glad you're getting out of that toxic job.
@Faster16 (2930)
• Indonesia
19 Jan 22
bullshit with love work, only love money, if you leave, at work you will be replaced by someone else