10 Outrageous Ways People Have Quit Their Jobs From a live news broadcast to a personalized Mario video game, people have come up with the strangest ways to walk out on work.
By Rose Leadem •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Typically when quitting or resigning from a position, you hand in your letter of resignation and bow out gracefully. But that's not always the case.
A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology that looked at more than 500 recent grads and online participants who recently quit their jobs provided insight into their method of resignation.
Almost a third of participants took the professional route -- writing out letters of resignation and discussing the departure with their employer. Other respondents admitted to quitting without full transparency, quitting on impulse or having someone else quit for them. A full 10 percent admitted to a "bridge burning" or "screw it" style of goodbye.
So who are these gutsy 10 percenters? We did some digging and found some individuals who fit the bill. Here are 10 outrageous ways people have quit their jobs.
With a marching band
Now this is going out with a bang.
Joey DeFranceso, a disgruntled employee of the Renaissance Hotel in Providence, R.I., quit his job with the assistance of a marching band.
Handing over his resignation later, the brass band broke out into boisterous song behind him -- sending a powerful message to people around the world unhappy with their jobs.
The video went viral -- with more than 5 millions YouTube views as of today.
Steven Slater | FacebookSliding down an emergency evacuation chute
Jetblue flight attendant Steve Slater took a little joy ride on his way out the door.
The fed-up flight attendant yelled over the intercom and swore at a "rude" passenger, cracked open a beer and slid down the emergency evacuation shoot after the plane landed at JFK airport in New York.
Quitting his job in a blaze of glory made Slater a hot topic around the world, but his reckless behavior almost landed him in jail.
On a live broadcast
Alaskan news anchor Charlo Greene left her job during a live broadcast. While reporting on marijuana legalization, the anchor announced, "f*ck it, I quit."
But -- plot twist -- there's more to the story. Before her abrupt departure, the presenter announced her support for legalizing marijuana. As the owner of Alaska Cannabis Club, she says she'll be dedicating her time for fighting to legalize the controversial herb.
With a musical performance
One afternoon, Doug Walker walked into his workplace with a performance art piece to "Also Sparch Zarathustra."
Walker stood up on a chair and on queue ripped open his shirt to reveal his bare chest with the words "I quit" across his body.
As he continued his brave performance, the iconic tone poem abruptly switched to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Walker is chased out of the office by security.
With a cake
Many frustrated employees burn bridges on their way out. Not Chris Holmes, AKA "Mr. Cake."
The aspiring baker quit his job at the U.K. Border Agency at Stansted Airport with a homemade cake. To pursue his dreams of running his own cake business, it was only natural for the civil servant to resign in such a manner.
"Hopefully [it] left a nice taste in their mouths," Holmes said.
Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWith a window sign
Mistreated employees at a Chipotle franchise in State College, Penn., collectively quit their jobs with a simple letter hanging in the store's window.
Angered by the conditions of their workplace, the employees were blunt and straight to the point, with the sign reading: "Ask our corporate offices why their employees are forced to work in borderline sweatshop conditions."
Epoxydude | Getty ImagesWith an error message
In the most clever way possible, this pissed off employee demanded change.
A unnamed website designer created an error message giving his boss the options to click "Ignore," "Renegotiate" or "HR…" to find out more.
Blend Images/Ariel Skelley | Getty ImagesWith a public farewell sign
Working 22 days straight, a Taco Bell employee named Adam was tired of chalupas.
Posting a public farewell sign exclaiming his departure from the fast food franchise, this shift manager also put a little attitude with a nice "f*ck you" in his message, when the company denied him off for the Fourth of July.
RyanJLane | Getty ImagesIn a banana suit with a mariachi band
Although you may question this guy's sanity, this insurance agent quit his job in a banana suit with a mariachi band.
Parading around the office with the Mexican musical ensemble in tow, the man hands in his letter of resignation and dances for joy outside the office building to "La Bamba."
Apparently working at the insurance agency really "sucked," the man writes in the video.
Sebastien Berda | Getty ImagesThrough an online game
With the help of Mario, game developer Jarrad Farbs resigned in the manner he knows best -- through an online game.
Resigning from his position at 2K Australia, the creative techie concocted a Flash game featuring Mario, who delivered the news of his leave at the end of each round.
