A housekeeper penned a scathing resignation letter addressing why they quit their job and calling out work conditions and their manager's behavior.
Many of us have either heard about or experienced toxic work environments firsthand. These situations arise when an employee struggles to perform at their best because of a superior’s unprofessional behavior or a dysfunctional work culture. When no improvements are made despite repeated complaints, employees often decide to leave, just like Reddit user u/lurking_strawb3rry. This housekeeper shared a detailed resignation letter on Reddit, explaining why they chose to quit their job.
In the screenshot of the email, they wrote, "Good morning, I hope this email finds you well. I removed teams and I have decided that I will not do a 2-week notice. I am ready to leave and have been for a while. I loved my job and took great pride in it from the beginning." They talked about how this job made them feel and how they lost motivation and dreaded working every day. The housekeeper then spoke about the issues at work with their manager daily. "You are a micromanager. You feel the need to be involved in every little thing that is happening. That is to be expected of a manager- to an extent. I'm sorry to say this, but I eventually became anxious at work and would go out of my way to avoid you because I didn't want to be hounded about the work I've done so far, what I am doing now and what I'll be doing after," they explained.
The housekeeper also noted that they weren’t allowed to converse with coworkers, creating a "lonely workplace." They shared, "Really, work became so depressing because while there were people everywhere, I was totally by myself for no apparent reason." They also wrote about how the manager wouldn't let the employees give ideas during staff meetings. They added, "It's just a free lunch and upper management, making it seem like they care what employees have to say, but all that matters is what they have to say."
The housekeeper then went on to talk about the daily issues they faced at work. "I don't feel like you value the housekeepers at all. We get donations, yet we don't have cleaning supplies. Constantly out of gloves (because only two pairs are purchased), Clorox wipes and floor solution. Families cannot stay in the rooms if they are not clean and it is not okay to expect the housekeepers to handle strong cleaning chemicals with our bare hands," they wrote.
The employee claimed that these issues were never big enough for the manager. "Also, the toilet. I found it a bit disrespectful to think anyone would bend down and scrub a dirty toilet (sometimes an absolute biohazard, filled to the brim with human waste) with no protection. There have been multiple times when I considered just clocking out and heading home once I realized there were no gloves," they added. They said they worked hard to keep the space clean for sick children, but there was no regard for their own safety. "That is it. As with most jobs, management can make or break it. My job was broken. I am very hurt by it, as this was a great job for me. I no longer need to stay here and work a job that doesn't value the hard work I once put in," they concluded.
They also gave more information about their job in the post. They wrote, "I have never sent an employer such an email, but I am very hurt. This job was one of the best I have had, yet my manager managed to suck the spirit out of me and I grew to hate it with a passion." The housekeeper also spoke about the things they have seen at work, writing: "We have had multiple bedbug outbreaks, and my manager failed to follow the protocol and would send me into an infested room to clean anyway and would just say, 'Make sure you disinfect really well and when you get home just drop your clothes at the door and put them into the wash.'" They ended the post by saying their best employees quit a month ago due to the manager's poor management. "She wants robots, but we are people. I started another job where I won't have to worry about this anymore," they wrote.
People in the comments suggested the worker report the workplace. u/dukeofgibbon commented, "The refusal to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) is an OSHA violation." u/false-strawberry-319 wrote, "Cc every email address in the company you can lay your hands on. Otherwise, your boss won't even read it to the end." u/the__moops expressed, "Well said and good for you. Cc HR, every manager, and big wig you can think of, and bcc your personal email." u/wrastleguy advised, "No one will care, you will be written off as a crazy person. What they might care about is OSHA violations, but you would need to highlight it as such."