‘I’m Joining the Circus’ Among Odd Reasons Given for Quitting Jobs

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(MENLO PARK, Calif.) — An improving economy often gives many workers courage to change jobs, but quitting a position to join the circus or handing in your notice simply because you don’t like the carpet seems a bit unusual.  Those reasons may be odd, but they are completely real, according to a new survey commissioned by OfficeTeam.

The OfficeTeam survey questioned 1,300 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the U.S. to find the most bizarre reasons employees have given for quitting a job.  They include:

— “Someone left because her boss lost the dog she had given him.”
— “Our employee said he was joining the circus.”
— “One person left because she lost her cell phone too many times at work.”
— “We had someone quit to participate in a reality show.”
— “An employee said it was his routine to change jobs every six months.”

These individuals apparently wanted to follow their true calling:

— “One worker left to become an apple farmer.”
— “A staff member quit to climb Mount Everest.”
— “There was an individual who left to play the trombone.”
— “An employee wanted to enter a beauty contest.”
— “One worker quit to join a rock band.”

You can’t fault these employees for their honesty:

— “A guy said he was making too much money and didn’t feel he was worth it.”
— “One person left because she didn’t want to work so hard.”
— “An individual said he was bored.”
— “Someone quit because she was going to live off her trust fund.”
— “An employee said work was getting in the way of having fun.”
— “A person quit because informal dress was not allowed.”
— “The worker told us he just couldn’t get up in the morning.”

And there were other workers who suffered from sensory overload:

— “He quit because he didn’t like the way the office smelled.”
— “One employee didn’t enjoy the cafeteria food.”
— “An individual did not like the sound of file cabinets being slammed.”

These workers handed in their notice when a day off might have sufficed:

— “One person quit to watch a soccer tournament.”
— “We had someone leave because he had to stay home to feed his dog.”
— “An employee left because he wanted to watch a movie with his girlfriend during work hours.”

Other employees had a problem with their company’s interior design:

— “A person quit because he hated the carpet.”
— “One worker did not like the colors of the walls.”
— “The employee quit because the office building was unattractive.”
— “Someone felt the lobby area was too small.”
— “She hated the lighting in the building.”

And finally, one senior manager recalled a worker who simply got up and left: “He just walked out without a peep.  We have no idea why he left, and we were not able to contact him.”

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio