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'What a complete waste of my time': Manager tries to get employee written up for forgetting to take notes, manager's boss intervenes and fires her

'What a complete waste of my time': Micromanager tries to get employee written up for forgetting to take notes, manager's boss intervenes and fires her

Some managers spend way too much time micromanaging than getting anything productive done. We all know what it's like to have a manager who seemingly has made it their only job to watch you like a hawk. Perhaps that intense vigilance is just in your head… just kidding, you're probably not wrong. Most people with authority like to spend more time flexing that authority than using it for good. In fact, when I have found myself in a position like this employee, I don't even care if the manager use…
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'If you hire her, I'll quit': Employee terminates job candidate's offer after finding out the candidate is her old boss

'If you hire her, I'll quit': Employee terminates job candidate's offer after finding out the candidate is her old boss

One thought consistently haunts my brain, and that is you never know who might end up being your boss in the future… Karen from accounting who you suspect has taken your lunch at least seven times? You never know. It's not like upper management consists of the brightest crayons in the box… The proof is in the pudding with that one. This employee shared her own micromanager horror story on Reddit and explained the various ways in which her manager would make her feel like NOTHING she did was rig…
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'My screen was idle for 28 minutes': New manager accuses highest performer of being unproductive because of failed "screen audit"

There's nothing like hustling to go above and beyond in your role only to have your new boss turn around and throw some random metric that is vaguely associated with productivity back in your face for no reason. Your KPIs and contributions that are tied to actual revenue for the company are topping the charts, and yet your insecure micromanaging manager is concerned about the fact that your screen was “idle” for a few minutes. This is the problem with modern “productivity” tracking software tha…
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'You had it good here': Boss takes credit for employee's tech savvy, mocks her during her final days on the job

'You had it good here': Boss takes credit for employee's tech skills, mocks her during her final days on the job

It's always fascinating when bosses decide to get petty right before one of their employees walks out on them. They have absolutely nothing to gain from being savage and they're probably risking their already lukewarm reputation, yet sometimes folks in authority cannot help themselves. This boss had a habit of taking credit for other people's work, and he even did so when his employee (now off to bigger and better things) fixed a major tech issue at work. Not only did he get petty, but he had t…
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'Watch people's body language, particularly around management': 30+ red flags and questions to ask to avoid toxic work environments

'Watch people's body language, particularly around management': 30+ red flags and questions to ask to avoid toxic work environments

People often forget that in any job search, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you. That means that no matter what your level of desperation is, always keep in mind that you still have the power of choice during your interview and search process. That means that you should feel empowered to ask questions and not just the basic fundamentals like salary and benefits. You should feel entitled to ask your interviewer about their experience at the company, what their concerns…
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'We're going to be pursuing other candidates': Candidate loses job offer after "failing" salary guessing game interview tactic

Let's be honest: Missing out on a job in the last round of the interview can be tough, especially when you're desperate for a job… but if a prospective employer is using tactics like this, you probably didn't want to work there anyway. No honest hiring manager wants to waste their own time and spend more time recruiting than they have to.
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32 Memes for New Hires Who Begin Their New Job Just in Time for the New Year

32 Memes for New Hires Who Begin Their New Job Just in Time for the New Year

Yay for the New Year...
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workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work coworkers job seeker workplace job interview interview employment in the workplace - 23250181

'A great deal of free labor': Candidate withdraws their application after being asked to prepare entire presentation using real company data

Look, by nature, the interview process is going to require jumping through hoops and putting a little bit of yourself out there—and it's a lot like dating in that respect. The whole thing may seem like an unnecessary performance, but like with a first date, the idea is that setting a basic social exchange with some universal ground rules in place allows each party to assess the other party and decide whether there is any compatibility for proceeding further.
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'It's not like I singled her out': Coworker keeps hogging the microwave, employee confronts her, gets in trouble with HR

'It's not like I singled her out': Coworker keeps hogging the microwave, employee confronts her, gets in trouble with HR

There are definitely unwritten rules about using the communal microwave in an office. If you're heating up your lunch during an in-demand time and it's a frozen meal that takes more than five minutes to cook, you might want to step back and let other people use it first. Furthermore, if you're eating something particularly aromatic, consider eating in the break room and not right at your desk. This also applies when you're eating a messy meal. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen c…
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'Do you like to laugh?': 30+ Weirdest interview questions that had job-hunters running for the door

Since humans are creatures of preparedness, unemployed folks will often rehearse potential interview question responses, attempting to put their best foot forward in order to score a new job. But sometimes, an interviewer will throw in a saucy question (or two) into an interview in order to get an honest reaction out of a prospective employee– to which, most of the time, nobody has the right answer.
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'I've gotten my pay reduced twice in four months': HR blindsides employee, moves him from salary to hourly rate, pays him less per hour

'Get everything in writing': HR blindsides employee, moves him from salary to hourly rate, pays him less per hour

There is a reason why they say to make sure to get everything down in writing. This employee had the unfortunate experience of learning that life lesson the hard way after the HR representatives of the mental health facility in which he works kept shadily making adjustments to his contract. As someone who has worked freelance, part-time, full-time, and just about all the variations in between, I can confirm wholeheartedly that companies and bosses are going to make grand promises they cannot ke…
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'I'll get a doctor's note when you pay for doctors': Company changes sick day policy, employee gets shamed for calling in sick, forced to provide 'proof'

'I'll get a doctor's note when you pay for doctors': Company changes sick day policy, employee gets shamed for calling in sick, forced to provide 'proof'

Let's be real here: if your company is not willing to provide health insurance for you, they have no business enforcing a strict sick day policy. Such hypocrisy reveals nothing more than the blatant disregard for the employee's actual humanity, but before we get too serious about this matter, let's also acknowledge how hard it is for companies to enforce certain specific sick day rules and regulations. For instance, if they need you to come in and prove that you are, in fact, unwell as you have…
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'Stop crying and get back to work': Underpaid receptionist quits for a better job, learns 1.5 years later that her ex-boss still can't fill her position

'Stop crying and get back to work': Underpaid receptionist quits for a better job, learns 1.5 years later that her ex-boss still can't fill her position

It's not easy to remember your worth when you're desperate for work. The working world is engineered to make us feel grateful for signing any sort of contract in a highly competitive market with next to no jobs. That being said, even if you finally landed in a decent position after months and months of searching, always be sure to remember that if you end up taking on more responsibilities than the ones that were initially outlined upon getting hired, that means you have the right to advocate f…
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'I don't hire people with beards': 20+ Candidates share the reason they walked out of job interviews

Job searching can be a painful process, and trying to stand out from a crowd through an electronic submission is difficult to do, meaning that you'll probably submit hundreds of applications to jobs—most of which you'll never hear back from. In a hundred submissions, you might hear back from a few—let's say 5%—so five interviews per 100 applications, which is a generous estimate. Of these five, you'll actually sit a first-round interview for three, hopefully getting asked to come back by two of…
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'Good luck managing this sinking ship': Employee sends savage resignation email after CEO impulsively fires eight new people

'Good luck managing this sinking ship': Employee sends savage resignation email after CEO impulsively fires eight new people

Hopefully, this dude doesn't need a letter of recommendation any time soon. He certainly won't be getting one from his former employers after saying literally everything he could say in the most dramatic email since that time I asked my therapist to resume sessions because the “job search was proving stressful.” But that's another story! As for this employee's resignation email, there is definitely a vicarious fulfillment we got from reading this, as I'm sure like many of you, we all have forme…
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'After this I want to quit': Employee request PTO to attend family funeral, boss asks for proof of the service

'After this I want to quit': Employee requests PTO to attend family funeral, boss asks for proof of the service

Paid time off should never be met with these kinds of invasive questions. When you sign a contract that entitled you to paid vacation time, there simply should not be any sort of explanation necessary, as you are granted a set number of days to do whatever you like in that free time. Now, some employers think that they are owed an explanation for every choice you make. Or perhaps they throw shade at the fact that you are using those days. Or perhaps it's all just societal pressure in your head!…
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