Store employee quits after she was the only one to turn up to work: 'Today's my last day'

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 14, 2023. It has since been updated.

You have probably heard of a toxic work environment. It is a term used to describe a workplace where people dislike working because of an unproductive atmosphere or intolerable daily actions by superiors or co-workers. It is often caused by a continuous cycle of poor leadership or a corrupt culture.

It affects productivity and makes employees dread coming to work or desperate to seek other opportunities. While you might be in a toxic work environment, you may not have the luxury of quitting immediately. Maybe you signed a contract or are committed to work for some time; these constraints can potentially affect your mental health even more.

Toxic environments are established when leaders or people within the organization do something seemingly 'harmless' but impact the mental health and productivity of the people at the receiving end. So if you have been feeling rebellious or have the urge to walk out of a toxic work environment, this video is just for you. In the video, a Dollar General worker said she would close the store and call it quits after being the only one to show up to work.

“Today’s my last day,” said TikTok user Dani (@danisodope) as she expressed frustration for being the sole worker present during her shift. The video has amassed over 1.2 million views with 200K likes. Toxic work culture is draining, and this video is a perfect example of why enforcing proper management and boundaries is so important. 

“And this is why working for other people is not for me. These companies will literally throw you to the wolves and tell you ‘good luck' and then have the audacity to be upset at you for not succeeding to their standards,” she captioned the video and added: "F**k DG." Dani shared several videos to TikTok of her frustration and disappointment with the operating system of Dollar General at her location in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Many viewers stormed to the comment section expressing their disbelief or shared experiences with the dollar chain company. In a follow-up video, Dani responded to a comment saying, "They do not care! If you shut down the store, you are GONE." 

Dani replied by saying that they would be doing a favor by firing her before she walks out on her own accord. The overlay text in the video also sheds light on the poor managerial administration in her company. "They expect us to work in a store that has had no air conditioning for the last three months, not enough bags or receipt paper to do transactions, and work with a smile on our face while they are pressuring us, with the threat of being fired," Dani wrote.

She also highlighted that it is not that people do not want to work, but people should not become slave workers for big capitalist companies who don't care about the welfare of their company and its employees. 

"Not only did they shut down the store for an entire month, but they also fired the entire staff. During the month that they were shut down, they did not remodel the store, like all the other stores, or fix anything the previous employees neglected, but expected us to correct everything within two weeks," Dani added. All employees have personal lives and personal problems. However, when your manager or a superior in the office begins offloading their problems onto their team members, you need to mentally and physically check out at that moment or call out on their behavior. This makes an office a stressful place to be as not only is the employee responsible for their job, but they also become responsible for the mental load and consequence of their boss’s problems.