People are 'revenge quitting' their jobs and it has a serious impact
A new employment trend has left companies around the world quaking in their boots, as 2026 has been labelled the year of ‘revenge quitting’.
The unique term is the phrase used to describe when an employee is so dissatisfied with a company they deem it toxic, that they actually decide to quit on the spot without warning or any notice period.
It follows hot on the heels of two other career trends in recent years, ‘quiet-quitting’ – the art of doing the bare minimum to still receive a paycheck, and ‘loud-quitting’ – when you leave very publicly and often with a lot of criticism for your workplace.
According to a report on revenge quitting by the job board Monster, nearly half of US workers say they’ve opted for ‘revenge-quitting’ in recent years, and unceremoniously quit on the spot and walked that very same day.
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Interestingly, it’s often not just young employees making the decision either, as many seasoned employees, some of which have spent over two years at a company, have decided to opt for the practice after reaching breaking point.
It is thought the practice largely stems from drawing a line in the sand over toxic workplaces, which could be impacting employee satisfaction due to management, working hours, or workload issues.
“Sudden resignations aren’t just individual exits, they’re warning signals flashing across workplace culture,” says Monster’s career expert Vicki Salemi. “When workers walk out without notice, it’s often because they’ve lost trust in leadership or feel their voices aren’t heard.”
According to a survey of 3,600 workers, they blamed toxic workplaces (32 percent), poor management (31 percent), and feeling undervalued (23 percent) as the main reasons employees might opt to quit effective-immediately, with just four percent of respondents saying the issue was over pay.
Yet while nobody can fault an employee for taking command of their employment and deciding when to quit, almost 60 percent of US employees have reported working alongside a colleague that has ‘revenge quit’ and been left to pick up the slack in their absence.
The knock on effect is that projects stall, remaining employees scramble to fill the gaps, and the general morale of the remaining team takes a significant hit. All of which can contribute to the same toxic work environment that prompted others to leave in the first place.
Although the practice is acknowledged to be disruptive to colleagues, nearly 90 percent of US employees have admitted they would support a colleague ‘revenge quitting’ if it’s a direct response to a poor work environment.
So what can companies do to avoid this happening?
The main deterrent for companies is to try and maintain a positive and welcoming work environment with stable and accessible management that properly listens to the concerns of staff and addresses issues accordingly.
The report also suggests having a clear career progression framework that allows employees to improve professionally, while also rewarding time served and valuing the unique skills and perspectives individual employees can bring.
Fair and competitive pay is also another key area that the researchers suggest could help with employee retention.
“In today’s competitive job market, addressing these issues proactively could mean the difference between losing talent suddenly—or building a loyal, long-term workforce,” the report concluded.
What should you do if you feel like ‘revenge quitting?’
Emily Button-Lynham, the founder of EBC, a coaching consultancy told Harper’s Bazaar that the ‘key advice is not to make any snap decisions, especially driven by emotions'.
She said: “I always advise my clients to spend time assessing if leaving their job is the only option. A helpful exercise can be to ask what success means to you, and to explore the future life you want to be living and how the work you do now can elevate you to that.”
She also suggests looking at what would incentivise you to stay, such as more responsibility, flexibility, money or recognition – and then approaching your employer for an open conversation about what is and isn’t possible in your current role.
Topics: Jobs
Phoebe Tonks