Starting a new job is exciting, but in all too many cases, the excitement ends fast when you realize how toxic of an environment the company allows.

The worker in this story endured months of inappropriate jokes, lies about promotions, and even embarrassing demands from management with the hope that it would turn into a good job eventually. When his boss finally told him that he either had to quit or get fired, he burned through his PTO ‘thinking’ about the options and looking for a new job.

When he went back to the office, he told HR to fire him and he was able to collect unemployment while looking for a new job.

While getting fired is never fun, sometimes it really is the best option in a bad situation. Understanding your options and always putting your own interests first will help to ensure you do well in any situation.

You’d like me to resign? How about I fire myself from this job instead?

PART 1: New Job

Let’s see how this story begins.

This happened about a year ago now but I still think back to it from time to time and appreciate how well it unfolded.

I work in software and took a job at a small-medium sized software company in 2018. The company was family owned and I went to high school with the CEO’s daughter.

This is beyond a toxic workplace.

The place itself was rampant with nepotism and the company culture wasn’t great. Sexist comments and “humorous” racist remarks were common but I needed a job and this was one of the few options I had.

My title was Project Coordinator but I was quickly relegated to buying lunches for the team and such. At one point when the lottery reached 500 million, the CTO asked me to dress like Randy Savage and get a pool together.

This would be a humiliating experience.

I spent a whole day buying lottery tickets. I hated it but kept thinking if I paid my dues, I’d get a shot at some real work and growth.

Eventually I got a chance to handle recruiting and doing intro calls for new hires. It was brutal but yet again I kept pushing through.

PART 2: I HATE IT HERE

At least he is making a little more money.

It was a 6 month contract to hire situation and they made me an offer which I was able to negotiate from 40k to 55k which felt like validation finally.

Sadly nothing changed after this. I kept buying lunches and setting up calls that I wouldn’t be included in. Around this time 1:1’s essentially ended for me. What was a monthly cadence with my boss (the CTO) turned to once every 3 months and finally he had me reporting the CEO’s daughter who would then conduct my 1:1’s.

Of course, they don’t honor their promises.

I was open about my frustrations and I was promised that in January 2020 they would move me out of hiring. January came and went.

PART 3: MAL COMPLIANCE

February and I finally had a meeting with the CTO. I got to his office only to be told that there was no other role for me and now that we had hired more people, we didn’t have a need for my services anymore on the tech team. I pushed harder and essentially the CEO’s daughter didn’t have faith in me and that was that.

Wow, these people are absolutely awful.

He politely suggested I resign and they’d give me a letter of recommendation. We went back and forth and he finally mentioned that there was another opening on another team but he thought that would be a bad role for me.

This is where the malicious compliance comes in. He showed all his hands at that point and I knew I could make this work for me.

At least he is getting paid while looking for another job.

The next day I updated my dice profile and within 24 hours had 2 interviews set up. I then told him I needed a few days to think things over and that I was taking PTO.

I went home and waited, watched Nacho Libre and prepped for interviews. That day he texted me asking me general work questions. Day 2 he finally broke down and asked over text if I wanted to be let go or resign.

Good, he has everything documented.

He actually wrote that in text form. I told him I was still thinking about the other role and hadn’t made a decision.

I then had dinner with the Founder of the company (the other role was on his team). He was the CEO’s husband and he and I always got along. I laid out everything I went through.

What a shame that this guy isn’t happy with how he is handling things.

That night I emptied most of my office and the next day the CTO called livid telling me I was handling this the wrong way and this was making it difficult for them.

2 days later (after using some of my PTO) I walked into the VP of HR’s office and told her to fire me. She looked at me confused and said that a manager normally needs to tell her that.

He has made his choice.

I showed her printed out screen shots of our texts and a log of my 1:1’s. Stating that if they were firing me for cause then you’d think this would look more consistent.

FALLOUT:

Great job. He set himself up for success.

I was fired and at this point I had a job lined up already. Shutdown hit and that offer was delayed but because I was fired I could claim unemployment. This hit them and they even tried to claim the gave me severance but I had all my paystubs and proved otherwise.

The CEO’s daughter straight up stopped talking to me and they ended up giving up their office and moving into a co-working space.

It is great to see that things are working out well for him today.

I got a job as a legit PM at a fortune 50 software company. I bought a Lincoln. My life is 100x better.

My parents voted for the first time this year and I went with them. They live close to that co-working space and with as much salt as possible, I linked up with a few folks I actually liked at the company and they told me to come over.

Sometimes, getting fired is the best thing you can do.

I spent a half day working in the same space as them with the biggest grin on my face.

And that’s how I left my previous company. As a kid they tell you don’t get fired, as an adult, sometimes it’s the smartest option.

It is sometimes hard to believe just how poorly companies treat their employees. This person was smart to take steps to protect himself and his future, and it worked out well for him in the end.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who figured out how to stop his manager from constantly stealing his phone charger.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about this story.

Now this is funny. What kind of business is run like this?

Getting fired isn’t always a bad thing.

Businesses run like this are a nightmare to work for. While a paycheck is important, it isn’t everything.

This commenter is exactly right. Unfortunately, many companies go down the worst paths.

They thought they could just get rid of him, but he played his cards perfectly. Whenever you’re in a difficult and stressful situation, it is smart to take a moment and think it through. Understanding your options, and the implications of them, can help you to protect yourself like this guy did.

While he still lost his job, he made the transition much easier. Plus he got the satisfaction of upsetting the unethical management team at his old job, which is always fun. Definitely a win-win.