New Hire Ignores Manager’s Warning and Gets Fired Before First Shift Even Starts

Workplace onboarding is traditionally intended to introduce new hires to company policy, workflow, and safety standards, but some onboarding processes end almost as quickly as they begin. A viral discussion on Reddit gained widespread attention after user u/cuddly_trex posted a question to the r/AskReddit community, asking, “What’s the fastest you’ve seen someone go from first day to fired?” The prompt quickly compiled an extensive catalog of alarming lapses in judgment, policy breaches, and rapid managerial interventions.

Catastrophic Mistakes Before and During Early Shifts

Several contributors shared instances where employees sealed their professional fates within hours—or even minutes—of stepping on site. In one widely noted anecdote, an incoming forklift operator arrived early and disregarded direct orders to wait for designated supervision. Despite his manager explicitly instructing him to leave all equipment alone until his trainer arrived, the worker commandeered a pallet jack and promptly crashed it directly into a packaging machine. Reflecting on the premature catastrophe, another user quipped, “I think being fired at negative fifteen minutes might be the record here.”

Technical blunders also surfaced in the discussion, including a disastrous start for an IT professional. According to a commenter, a newly appointed server manager received an email with an attachment that had been actively blocked by internal antivirus software. Rather than treating the alert with caution, the specialist went directly into the server room, circumvented the company’s protective controls, and forced the file through. The attachment unleashed a live virus onto the network, resulting in the manager’s removal within three hours and sparking immediate questions about why administrator-level access had been granted so prematurely.

Severe Misconduct and Inappropriate Behavior During Orientation

Beyond technical and operational failures, multiple anecdotes detailed blatant personal misconduct that left employers with no choice but immediate termination. One user recounted a new team member tasked with watching onboarding training videos who instead searched for videos of dogfighting. The employee openly displayed the violent media to nearby colleagues, eagerly detailed his personal fascination with the illicit activity, and allowed pornographic pop-ups to clutter his workstation screen. Expressing lingering anger over the incident, the commenter noted, “Security was put in place that day so it couldn’t happen again,” adding that they personally informed management to ensure the employee was removed on the spot.

Unfiltered commentary toward colleagues and superiors accounted for other swift dismissals. In a warehouse setting, a new recruit startled leadership after remarking directly to his boss, “I’m gonna show up in yoga pants tomorrow so these bitches know how hard it is not to look.” The supervisor escorted the worker off the premises immediately. In contrast, one former employee recounted being terminated on their first day at a credit card firm following an unexpected exchange with an orientation instructor. After the trainer asked if the worker found her attractive, the employee answered, “I guess? I didn’t really think about it, I have a girlfriend.” Within an hour, management dismissed the worker, leaving the respondent confused as to what the appropriate response should have been.

Why This Matters

The stories highlighted in the discussion shed light on recurring vulnerabilities in human resources vetting, onboarding security, and access control. While these accounts reflect self-reported experiences on social media rather than formally verified case studies, they illustrate how quickly catastrophic behavior can occur without strict Day 1 supervision. For organizations, granting advanced systems access—such as administrative IT privileges—before vetting competence can lead to immediate operational fallout. Furthermore, the rapid dismissals highlight the non-negotiable nature of workplace harassment policies and baseline professional safety standards from the moment a candidate enters a work environment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where did these workplace termination stories originate?
The accounts were shared publicly by community members in a thread hosted on the r/AskReddit subreddit, initiated by user u/cuddly_trex.

What was the fastest termination reported in the discussion?
One of the most immediate dismissals involved a warehouse hire who was fired roughly fifteen minutes before his first shift officially began, after defying direct orders and crashing a pallet jack into packaging machinery.

Have the individual stories in the thread been verified?
No. The published accounts rely on personal recollections from anonymous forum contributors and represent unverified, individual anecdotes.