From Network, Bridget Jones's Diary, Office Space, Jerry Maguire, The Devil Wears Prada and our personal favorite Half-Baked, quitting one's job can be pretty damn cinematic. But for us real working stiffs, quitting — or at least talking about how badly you want to quit — can be as simple as a tweet.
And few do it better, er, more, than Texas.
Twitter data reveals that Texas is among the top five states when it comes to people making posts about quitting their job. In the past month, Twitter found more than one million geo-tagged tweets that use phrases such as "quit my job" or "find new job" or "quitting my job," according to Michigan TV station WDIV.
While plenty of Texans tweet about wanting to tell their boss which orifice he can file his TPS reports in, folks in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona and Oregon, respectively, were even higher up the list. Alaska, Kentucky, and the Dakotas are among the states whose residents tweet the least about quitting.
I’m going to quit my job, run away to the woods and do something with turquoise
— ryliiiii (@dragonslayer367) October 19, 2021
I would like to quit my job. I think I’m at a point where I could and make it work. But my bank account has a different opinion on the matter.
— Mr. Nimbus (@kevin_jerrell) October 13, 2021
shoutout to the youtube channel that inspired me to quit my terrible abusive day job
— lauren badillo milici 🔪 (@motelsiren) October 13, 2021
And this Twitter chatter isn't just talk. Per the U.S. Labor Department, August was a big month for people actively quitting their jobs, with 4.3 million people — or 3% of the country's workforce — giving the big F-U to their employers.
That's the highest reported number of resignations since 2000, which is when the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking employment data. This phenomenon is being touted as "The Great Resignation," as people have, as a result of the pandemic, come to value their time more and are now prioritizing higher wages, healthier working environments and better benefits.
Just a reminder to all our disgruntled readers: You are ineligible to collect unemployment benefits if you quit your job without a good reason that is "attributable to the employer." Trying to get fired? Well, that might disqualify you, too, depending on how naughty you are, ie; being late, destroying property, refusing to work, or flipping the bird. Remember, this isn't a movie.
A version of the story first appeared in Detroit Metro Times, an affiliated publication. San Antonio Current Editor-in-Chief Sanford Nowlin also contributed to this report.
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