Fired on the first day

Getting fired on your first day at work? Now that’s a special kind of achievement. I still remember my first day at my first real job, sweating through my shirt, hoping I wouldn’t trip over myself. Fortunately, I made it to day two (and beyond), but apparently, some people are just too impressive in their ineptitude to make it that far. These stories of employees getting fired on the first day are next-level job fails that will have you wondering how they even got hired in the first place. If you’ve ever had a rough start to a job, at least you can take comfort in knowing it wasn’t this bad.

These photos capture the sheer magnitude of workplace incompetence that led to employees being fired on their very first day. Whether it’s gross misunderstandings of basic job responsibilities, shockingly bad decision-making, or just plain apathy, the images tell stories of epic job fails that make you cringe—and laugh. Each story featured here reflects a moment when managers had to make the tough call of letting someone go before they even had a chance to figure out where the break room was. From broken equipment to unprofessional behavior, these snapshots highlight the absurd and often hilarious reasons people were sent packing before they even clocked out.

You’ve just witnessed some of the most spectacular first-day fails in the history of employment. From poor judgment calls to outright negligence, these 35 stories of employees getting fired on their first day gave you a front-row seat to some hilarious and painful job misadventures. After reading through these moments of epic failure, you might even feel a little better about your own workplace blunders.

If these stories of first-day job fails made you laugh (and cringe), then there’s more workplace hilarity waiting for you in our meme galleries. Explore content featuring funny workplace fails, awkward office interactions, or epic stories of employees and bosses not quite seeing eye to eye. We have a ton of meme collections that’ll make you appreciate your job—or at least give you a good laugh at someone else’s expense. Keep scrolling and enjoy more stories of people figuring out work the hard way.