Stories about difficult workplace culture often surface online, especially from young employees who are just starting their careers and trying to understand what is considered normal at work. One such account recently caught attention after a man described how he was fired on the very first day of his internship, not for poor performance, but simply because he refused to return to the office late at night after already finishing his shift.
The experience was shared by the man on Reddit, where he explained how what began as a routine first day quickly turned into an unexpected termination.
First day at work did not go as expected
In his post, the man said he had joined a company which he described as a SAT preparation and coaching firm. According to him, the job’s official working hours were clearly defined from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Wanting to make a good impression on his first day, he said he stayed back slightly longer than required just to make sure everything was in order before leaving. He wrote, “The official hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. I stayed until 6:30 PM to make sure everything was wrapped up. I thought I was being a ‘good intern.’”
After finishing work, he went home believing the first day had gone smoothly.
Night call from boss
However, things took a sudden turn later that evening. The man said that around 7:30 PM, while he was already home, he received a phone call from one of the company’s partners. According to him, the partner asked him to come back to the office immediately. He said there was no emergency mentioned during the call and it seemed like a random demand.
Since he had already reached home and could not return at such short notice, he declined the request. That decision, he said, resulted in him losing the job right away. Describing the conversation, he said the partner told him, “Our company focuses on efficiency and profit, not on the employees’ personal time. Our philosophies do not align.”
The man said he found the situation shocking, especially because he had already worked beyond the official shift hours earlier that day. The employee also mentioned the pay offered for the internship, which he said was 200 RMB per day, roughly about $28.
He wrote, “Let’s do the math: The pay is 200 RMB (about $28 USD) per day. They expect to own my entire life for less than $2.50 an hour.”
According to him, the decision to share the experience publicly was not about the money but about raising concerns over workplace treatment. He explained in the post, “I’m sharing this because I refuse to accept this as ‘normal.’ This is a company that claims to ‘educate’ students for their future, yet they treat their own staff like disposable tools with zero human dignity.”
He also urged students and parents to think carefully about the kind of organisations they support when choosing coaching institutes.
Internet reacts to the incident
The post quickly drew attention on Reddit, where many users criticised the company’s alleged behaviour and offered support to the man. One Reddit user commented, “You’re lucky to be free.”
Another commenter suggested that he inform his school about the incident so that future interns would not face a similar situation. Some users also advised him to leave reviews on job platforms so others could be aware of the company’s work culture. Several commenters also shared their own experiences, saying that unclear expectations around working hours are a common issue in some workplaces.
Employee later receives apology
In an update added to his original post, the man later shared that someone from the company had contacted him after the incident. He said another leader from the organisation reached out personally and apologised for the way he had been treated.
Sharing the update, he wrote, “I’ve decided to forgive and move on. Another leader from the company reached out personally and offered a sincere apology for how I was treated.”
He added that for him, the matter was not about compensation but about professional respect and basic decency. “For me, this was never about the compensation. It was about professional ethics and basic human decency,” he wrote, adding that the apology helped him close the matter and move forward.