Woman Says She Quit Her Job On Her First Day After She Was Refused A Lunch Break

There are various reasons employees choose to quit their jobs, whether it be poor management, being offered a new job elsewhere or a dislike of the job’s policies. However, it's rare for someone to quit on their first day on the job, as it typically takes time to settle into the position and determine if it's a fit.

But for one woman who described herself as a “non-quitter,” it took just one shift to determine that the job wasn't right for her.

In a TikTok video, the frustrated woman revealed details about the job that forced her to quit on her first day.

She began the video by stating that she recently accepted a job working as a sales associate at a store. Sales associates are typically responsible for greeting customers upon entering the store, helping customers find products, maintaining the floor appearance, and operating cash registers. 

However, when the woman arrived on her first day, the employee in charge of training began listing off duties the woman would be responsible for, which she believed were beyond the scope of her job title. 

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“She starts explaining how to open up the store, how to turn off the alarm, she starts counting the til, telling me that this is my job to count the til, check emails, send packages online…to work an entire system as a sales associate,” the woman shared. “If you have worked as a sales associate before, you know that’s not your job. A keyholder is a person who does all of this.” 

When she pointed this out to her trainer, her trainer argued that all of the tasks she listed were a part of the sales associates’ jobs. She also handed her a set of keys to the five stores in the area, expecting her to open and close the stores, count up the register at the end of the shift and manage the stores on her own. 

“If you want me to do these things, it’s really not a problem, but you’re paying me minimum wage when I should be getting paid at least one or two dollars more per hour,” the woman pointed out. “Even with all of this, I’m still like, ‘you know what, it’s a job, a job is a job, and I already know how to do all these things so it’s not a big deal, but they’re trying to rip me off.” 

The woman planned on sticking the job out until she learned about one policy she believed to be especially unfair. 

“What got me was no breaks,” she revealed. “That means I work eight-hour shifts because I’m the only one in the store, the entire shift I get no breaks.” 

She added that the no-break rule was not just a first-day policy and it would apply to the remainder of her days working at the store. The woman did not even get to eat lunch during her first shift since she was in charge of the entire store. 

“It just blows my mind how people work like this,” she said. 

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Surprisingly, there aren't any federal laws requiring paid rest or meal breaks while at work.

Despite breaks at work being proven to be essential to employee well-being and productivity, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's website, breaks are not required by federal law.

However, different states may have their own laws requiring paid or unpaid breaks for employees. 

For workers such as sales associates, this may mean stealing moments for quick bathroom breaks while the store isn't busy or eating lunch on their feet in between assisting customers or performing other duties.

Ultimately, the lack of scheduled breaks led this woman to quit the job. 

“I hate quitting, I’m not a quitter,” she said of herself before asking, “How can you expect this out of me, come on. How do these things even happen?” 

While she claimed that she has “no hate” toward the company she worked for and the employees she worked with, she disagreed with the expectations that were imposed on her, which many people in the comments section applauded her for.

In the comments, the woman added that she informed the company of her exact reasons for quitting, hoping that they would adjust their policies and pay rate. 

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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.