People are constantly asking about quitting their jobs, giving notice… how to step back from the master/servant relationship.
This story took place almost 30 years ago.
I was a kid, got a job in a video store. Started at the very bottom, became an assistant manager and then a mobile trainer opening new locations and indoctrinating fresh crews of employees. Never even had a name on my paycheck, always just a number. I watched the seasons change four times staring out and across the front parking lot. Graveyard shifts in between the travelling around. I barely made enough to scrape by and that was back when life was still cheap and I lived in communal housing the whole time.
The fourth year, watching the snow build up again, I just couldn't do it any longer. I hated the place. I was broken from the constant crap I had to eat from my boss. I loathed having to pretend I was thankful for the favour of employment. I simply couldn't stomach another hour in that space.
It was early evening. I always worked evenings on my own. I closed the doors. Shut off the lights. Deleted the late charges of the entire customer database and left a note saying “I quit” on the till. I pushed the key under the door on my way out. Fun fact, a video store back in the day had a huge pile of expected revenue stacked up in late penalties. You paid when you next came in or the company would sic a collection agency on you. I cleared out almost $200K before making my way back home that night.
The boss called me two days later, begged me to come back and then when I refused started screaming and threatening to sue me for damages over the lost revenue. I literally laughed. I told her to get f*cked and that she already knew what I was worth and good luck with that idiotic lawsuit.
That was the last I ever heard about it. The only thing I'd do differently now would be to have walked out earlier and made sure to unionize the place before I left.