Career stress often pushes people to their breaking point in quiet, unexpected ways.

So when one longtime employee decided to quit a Fortune 500 job by simply clicking the “resign” button and disappearing, his former coworker was left wondering what in the world happened.

Keep reading for the full story!

Coworker quit by hitting the resign button in workday

I worked with a coworker for about four years at a company I used to work for. He was my work bestie because he was the only one in my office who played video games like me.

There was a big transition earlier this year when a competitor bought our whole division in June. I went to work for the competitor after the transition, but my coworker stayed in a different role entirely.

Soon, he learned his coworker was no longer at this company.

I grabbed lunch with him last week and found out he had quit two weeks earlier because he was super stressed and the role wasn’t a good fit.

I’ve been trying to get him to come over to the new company because it’s a similar role to what we had, but better in every way.

But the way he chose to quit was quite striking.

However, I found out through my team lead, who is still in contact with the old company, that my coworker quit by hitting the resign button in Workday.

No email. No call to his manager. He didn’t notify anyone.

He just woke up one morning, clicked the resign button in Workday, and stopped working. This was a company he worked for for over four years, a Fortune 500 career job, and he quit without notice or having anything lined up.

This really confused the HR department, and everyone else around him too.

HR was calling him repeatedly for two days wondering if he was okay because they obviously thought the Workday submission was a mistake. Who even does that?

It honestly makes me hesitant to refer him to my company if he’s pulling stuff like that.

I thought it was crazy when I found out earlier today.

Who would do that, especially in this economy and job market?

Everybody has a breaking point…

What did Reddit think?

The whole “giving two-week notice” thing is completely optional in most cases.

Most people don’t rely on their previous employer’s HR team to give them recommendations anyway.

This commenter thinks it’s all part of matching employers’ energy.

This commenter is about one bad day from hitting the resign button themselves.

In this economy, it’s a bold move — maybe too bold.

Some people click first and think later.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.