Well, that's one way to tell
your boss you're going. Photograph: Dan Chung for the Guardian
In a difficult job market, the
pressure is greater than ever on workers to keep their heads down, accept poor
terms and conditions, and serve and flip those burgers with a winning smile for
their boss and a kind word for the most irritating customers. Sometimes,
though, a tiny voice of frustration breaks through. This month it was reported
that one troubled, alcoholic court stenographer in New York had made his
feelings known with surprising directness – instead of typing up court
transcripts, it is alleged, he simply typed "I HATE MY JOB" over and
over and over again.
If you are contemplating the
moment when you finally light that torch and set every bridge ablaze, here are
some other sources of inspiration.
1 Stuff your food
The epic screed that denounced
Whole Foods philosophies as "complete and utter bullshit" has to be
among the greatest of resignation letters. The anonymous Toronto employee went
on to say the shop's "sandwiches are the stuff of nightmares". Then
the writer took apart their most-hated colleagues. They suspected one of being
a sociopath, another of being a chauvinist. One unlucky colleague was simply
advised: "We get it, we get it. You go to the gym. Nobody is impressed. In
fact we all just laugh at your inferiority complex." Years of frustration,
perfectly vented.
2 And the band played on
Joey DeFrancesco, a
23-year-old room service worker at a hotel in Rhode Island, delivered his
resignation letter in 2011 – along with his very own marching band. During more
than three years at the hotel, he had supported a drive to unionise employees,
and his relationship with management had grown rocky. The video of him handing
the letter to his angry manager, while the band strikes up a fanfare, has now
been viewed almost 4.5m times on YouTube. And it led to the website Joey Quits,
where hotel and restaurant workers write about their experiences and organise
for better terms and conditions.
