‘Revenge quitting’ trend on the rise in Australian workplaces
Employees and bosses alike have been warned against a brutal work trend taking off in 2025 - and it’s already impacting Australian workplaces.
Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
We are not even a full month into 2025 and already there is a new work trend sweeping through workplaces, and it is one that experts warn could easily get out of hand.
The trend has been branded “revenge quitting” and it is where employees abruptly leave their jobs as a way to get back at their employer.
This is usually in response to negative workplace experiences and frustrations and can even be accompanied by destructive actions, such as blasting the company online, “accidentally” erasing important documents, or secretly changing account passwords.
A quick search on TikTok brings up a multitude of videos of young workers talking about how they quit their “toxic” jobs.
One UK user, who goes by Lily Rose, revealed she quit her full-time job with no plan in place, in what she described as a “dramatic exit”.
“They think that I won’t say s**t. I was like ‘it’s f**king toxic’,” she said.
“I was like ‘I’m done’, and then they were like ‘No, no, no don’t leave’.”
A worker from the US, Lisa, filmed the moment she told her boss that she was quitting with just four day’s notice.
After the call, she received a text from her boss that said, “the short notice leave a sour taste of departure”.
Another employee, Carlie, shared a text she sent to her boss quitting after they didn’t schedule her to work for two weeks in a row.
Another TikTok user, Isabella, claimed that just quitting her toxic job wasn’t enough and she wanted them to “go out of business” after she leaves.
A recent survey of more than 1000 full time employees found that 17 per cent have revenge quit in the past.
The survey, conducted by US company Software Finder, also found a whopping 25 per cent expect revenge quitting to occur at their workplace in 2025.
Another survey of 2300 employees found nearly one in six had witnessed a co-worker deliberately deleting crucial employer data prior to quitting.
CrashPlan’s 2024 Work Trend Security Report also found that one in ten admitted to destroying files themselves before leaving.
This isn’t just something that is happening overseas, with recruitment specialist Roxanne Calder warning that revenge quitting is already happening across Australian workplaces.
“Revenge quitting isn’t so new. We have always witnessed impetuous and emotional quitting of jobs. Typically, these behaviours have been with the less mature and experienced workers,” she told news.com.au.
“Revenge quitting is on the increase though and Australia can expect to see more of it occurring in 2025.”
Ms Calder said the rise of this trend is partly due to younger workers making up a higher percentage of the workforce. As they don’t have as much experience as their older counterparts, she said this can sometimes lead to having less knowledge on how to appropriately deal with stressful and challenging situations.
Have your say in The Great Aussie Debate. Take the survey here:
Another factor is these types of behaviours being “normalised” by social media.
It is not uncommon to come across a video or a post of someone detailing the reasons behind their resignation, filming conversations with their employer, or sharing internal email communications.
“Posts such as these receive social validation with likes, thumbs up and follows. It might feel empowering. But it’s not real. See if these people will quit with you and you quickly witness and a sudden disappearance of all those ‘supporters’,” Ms Calder warned.
According to leadership specialist, Stephanie Brown, revenge quitters “don’t care” if they burn bridges with the company in the process.
While Ms Brown agreed that this trend is not new, she did note that the stakes are now “higher” as employees have the ability to impact a brand’s reputation through social media channels.
“With more job options available and skills shortages on the rise, employees can afford to be more discerning about the companies they join,” she said.
“A bad review by a former employee on LinkedIn or any other online format has potentially catastrophic consequences for employers competing for talent.”
For employers, Ms Brown believes they would be wise to keep an eye on this trend and ensure they are doing what they can to properly support staff.
“Whilst a slower economy and price pressures make it difficult for some employers to offer annual salary increases, being transparent about the margins the business is operating towards and offering annual salary reviews will ensure employees understand that their remuneration is commensurate to business performance,” she said.
The leadership specialist said having an annual salary review doesn’t necessarily equate to a salary increase each year, but it facilitates an open conversation about expectations and performance.
“Regardless of whether a salary increase is on offer, employees can demonstrate how they value employees through other means, such as performance-based bonuses, additional paid leave, more flexible working arrangements and better life balance,” she said.
The rise in revenge quitting can also be linked back to the increased return to office pressure, which really ramped up towards the end of 2024.
In the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, employees have enjoyed having more leverage due to low unemployment rates.
Recently, the pendulum has started to swing back in favour of employers, with working from home being one of the big areas of focus.
This has obviously been a shock for some workers and can amplify frustrations and result in staff wanting to take drastic actions.
There are also scenarios where staff may consider revenge quitting in response to toxic behaviour from bosses and negative working environments pushing people to breaking point.
Whatever the scenario, Ms Calder says revenge quitting is not the answer.
“My advice has always been to never quit, but rather resign and do so on your terms. It should be a well thought out decision that benefits you,” she said.
“Revenge quitting rarely benefits the ‘quitter’. For a very short period, it might provide some form of justice or closure. Typically, it is short lived and then you are left to face the consequences.”
Originally published as ‘Revenge quitting’ trend on the rise in Australian workplaces
‘Ordinary’ Aussie dad’s insane double life
He’s a seemingly ordinary Aussie dad but as soon as he gets home from his 9-5, he begins his second job – catching scammers.
Egg shortage rocks Aussie supermarkets
Aussie supermarkets are being rocked by a shortage of a common dairy staple - blamed on high demand and flow-on from a devastating disease.