The promise of promotion is a proverbial carrot on a stick that often gets dangled over workers' heads, encouraging them to do more and work harder for longer hours, taking on additional responsibilities, under the guise that this “growth” will soon earn them a promotion that pays them properly for the work they have been doing. Of course, while this holds merit when honest intentions are had, all too often this is exploited to get workers to do things they're not being paid to do… This employe…

If this new hire doesn't shape up, she's going to lose that brand-new job . Imagine fumbling the ball that badly! They say you get one chance to make a first impression, and there are few times in life when that's more important than your first weeks at a new gig. If a company has just hired you, you should probably be acting happy to be there, ready to learn, and eager to get to know how the team operates. You're learning where you fit into the bigger picture of the company. During this period…

It's weird to think that at one point, workers derided the cubicle, the confines of those grey-carpeted walls symbolizing their oppression. Whereas now, anyone in open-plan hot-desking office spaces would trade anything for the privacy that those same grey walls offered—a space to call your own outside of the immediate watchful gaze of your micromanaging boss where you can keep your things and not have to cart them around with you every day. So, in a way, it's easy to see where this coworker wa…

You never know what you've got until it's gone… An old philosophical adage that rings true throughout all areas of our lives, speaking to the fact that we don't really appreciate something's worth until we no longer have it, whether that be a time in our lives, an object, or even an individual. It's easy to take things for granted when they're right in front of you, and it's easy to think that how things are now is how they will be forever, evoking a resigned, almost begrudging feeling towards…

Another day in retail work, another entitled customer . That's the way of the world for the brave souls who work at retail shops, including u/CmdrGrayson, an assistant manager at a clothing store. There are customers who treat retail workers like people. Maybe they've worked in retail themselves, and know how grueling that job can be. But other customers do not care about the thoughts or feelings of the workers at all. They're happy to belittle them or mock them for no reason at all. It makes y…

There's this interesting thing that happens with KPIs, targets, and business focus. Sure, putting impetus into these areas will usually result in increasing them, creating the image of a larger, healthier, more profitable business. But what is the cost? More, importantly, where is the cost? You're not looking for it, you're not tracking it, and you won't know what it is and probably won't even know where it was or how to measure it until it's too late. This happens all the time in businesses wh…

You know your work environment is toxic if you have to describe your supervisor as a “tyrant.” This employee had one of those bosses that no one likes. Not a single person in the company is happy to see that boss when she walks in the door, probably because she had a habit of flipping out over any and everything. No one wants to have a micromanager boss , especially not one who is constantly flipping out. It's not good to have to be in a constant state of fight or flight over office work! And t…

Even if the business has needs for weekend coverage or is experiencing an emergency period of high load and you did need your workers to work an additional day… it would be best to—no, anyone in their right mind would—approach the subject delicately, respectfully, and tactfully. Coming out and declaring to your workers that they should “Kiss their weekend hiking trips goodbye” or anything of that nature would be downright inadvisable… Especially when it's intended to be a pointed comment person…

There's nothing better than getting along with your coworkers. After all, you're together a lot, and there's nothing like bonding with your coworkers over the shared misery of sitting in a cubicle for eight hours a day. You've got someone to share your coffee breaks with, someone to help you with that pesky Excel spreadsheet, and someone to vent to when your boss schedules a meeting on Friday afternoon. It's like having a built-in support system, except instead of therapy sessions, you just g...

The finance department at this company learned exactly who they shouldn't be messing with. U/thelastword4343 shared their story of some very petty revenge within their job as a project manager for a small company. Project managers have a lot to take on, and they need to be very organized. This person claims they are, but the company's finance department just doesn't see eye to eye with them. That can happen in companies: different departments feel territorial or hold petty grudges, and it can a…

They say the best revenge in life is success… That teacher who said you'd never make it? That bully in high school? Anyone who doubted you or tried to keep you down. Well, the best thing you can do is go on to prove that you're not as weak or insignificant as they're telling you you are. Of course, although not as often discussed, going on to leave a peaceable existence of mediocrity is also an acceptable option if that's what you prefer, though decidedly less exciting of a story. This employee…

When you have someone in your organization, or externally who your organization is paying, specifically to do a task… It makes sense to let them do that task; if you insist on your involvement and time being spent on that same task, all you're doing is double handling and wasting your own time and the organization's money. And, yet, so many managers struggle with this simple concept, refusing to relinquish even the smallest, most important things to those who should be responsible for them, bog…

If you're in a customer service position , you deal with all types of people. You meet some folks who are super friendly and bubbly, especially if you're working at a tattoo studio , like these people are. Many people are thrilled to be getting tattooed—they might have planned out their design for quite some time, so they're excited to finally be putting the ink on/under their skin. Other people have a bit of an attitude problem, as the folks on r/TattooArtists will tell you. Instead of being e…

This dude had the worst first day at work ever, as his manager can tell you. I mean, you have to be a memorably bad worker to get the boot after a single eight-hour shift. Poor u/LazerMoonCentaur was a manager at a cafe, and one day, they got stuck with the least competent employee ever. Next up, these people shared stories of the most tech-illiterate people they know like the person who had to show someone “multiple times how to open Excel .”

In jobs and industries that operate off of shift work “The Schedule” is hailed by management as an ancient relic of extreme importance

Starting a small business is a scary thing, putting it all on the line to try and create a successful business, which will see you solely reaping possibly unlimited benefits—if you can make it that far. But, hey, you take on all of the risks, you get all of the rewards; that's fundamentally how we've decided things should work in this world… and when it works well for someone, you're not going to see them complaining. However, taking on the risk means taking on the risk. Which is something a lo…