It’s only 3pm, and you’re desperately counting down the minutes until you can flee the office. You don’t like your colleagues, your manager undermines you and you’re not sure why you’re doing this job any more or what you’re working towards.

This may paint a bleak picture of office life but it will be all too resonant for the one in five people who report working in toxic environments. So, it’s only natural that on particularly bad days, you might feel tempted to get up, shut your laptop and walk away from it all for good.

But nobody (apart from maybe Bridget Jones) really does that, right? But it turns out they do: ‘revenge quitting’ was named by Forbes as one of 2025’s biggest career trends, and it has amassed over 41 million posts on TikTok. “Revenge quitting refers to an employee resigning from their job as a way of expressing their dissatisfaction with their workplace,” explains career coach and consultant Hannah Salton, and it seems to be a growing movement among younger workers. “Essentially, taking ‘revenge’ against their employer. Unlike quiet quitting, which involves gradually disengaging and pulling back from responsibilities, revenge quitting is about bold, decisive action driven by dissatisfaction.”

This trend seems to be on the rise, with Gen Z seemingly championing this exit strategy. “Impromptu quitting has always been around to some extent, but what feels different about revenge quitting is the emotion driving it – the urge to make a statement or to ‘get back’ at your employer,” says Salton. “In today’s tough job market with stagnant salaries and potentially limited opportunities, some people feel trapped in roles that make them miserable. This can lead to resentment building up, with some employees feeling they have no choice but to quit quickly as a way of prioritising their wellbeing over staying in a potentially toxic environment.”

While putting yourself and your happiness first is paramount, there are the obvious issues that come with not leaving on the best terms. So, can revenge quitting ever be a good idea or will it only come with negative consequences? Stylist spoke to career experts to find out.

What is ‘revenge quitting’, and is it ever a good idea?