A woman on TikTok recorded herself quitting her corporate job. The video is going viral for the simple fact that she did not once use the word “quit” in the conversation with her manager.
User Darby (@durbinmalonste) is visibly nervous on what seems to be a video call with her boss. The text overlay on the videos reads, “Watch me quit my job without actually saying I quit hahaha.”
Her boss greets her cheerfully, and Darby’s face almost immediately crumples as she covers half of her face with her hand.
“I can’t say it, I don’t know how to say it,” Darby tells her boss.
Her manager immediately catches on to the fact that Darby is leaving her job.
“I know, I knew it was coming when you said that,” the manager responds.
Darby expresses that she feels like she’s going to cry, but that leaving the job is what she knows she has to do. Her boss is supportive and reassuring throughout the entire 42-second clip, even though she says she’ll miss having Darby on the team.
@durbinmalonster Quitting my corporate stable job that I love in this economy??? Y’all should have seen my dads face when I told him hahaha.
♬ original sound – Darby
“If it’s what you feel like you need to do then I totally get it. We will be so sad and we’ll miss you, but I’m excited for you and you’ll do awesome,” her boss says.
In a follow-up video, Darby explains that she left her corporate job to join a small startup because she wanted the benefit of owning a small part of the company. She adds that she doesn’t have children or a mortgage, so this felt like a great time to take a risk.
The viral TikTok has nearly 7 million views and more than 1,600 comments.
“Quitting my corporate stable job that I love in this economy??? Y’all should have seen my dads face when I told him hahaha,” the caption reads.
Many comments affirmed how emotional it can be to leave a job, especially one you still like, and were hyping up how graciously the manager handled the news.
“That’s not a manager….that’s a leader. They inspire, support, and celebrate you!” one person said.
“Quitting a job is never easy but you always have to do what’s best for YOU! Your boss seems like a gem,” another wrote.
Others shared stories of their own attempts to quit that were met with a much more disappointing reaction. One person claimed that when they put in their two-week notice they were fired on the spot. Another said their manager “just said okay and walked away” and then didn’t speak to them at all during their last two weeks on the job.
The Daily Dot reached out to Darby via TikTok comment but did not immediately hear back.
