Dealing with needless paperwork and bureaucratic annoyances is just a part of working for an organization. Chances are the larger the organization, the more they're going to have a strong attachment to arduous processes and ever-increasing stacks of paperwork. There are other factors, too; depending on how controlling and pedantic each manager up the chain of command is, you might end up with more or less paperwork than the expected amount for your organization. If the biggest baddest boss love…

One employee found themself without a car, and it was only because their workplace refused to give it up. It was a weird situation to be in! The employee, u/FMLitsSML, shared their story of the petty revenge route they had to take just to get their own car back. Layers of bureaucracy don't help any employee to be independent in their work. This person was responsible for showing clients around and entertaining them. It's pretty common practice in certain industries: it's a way to reassure payin…

Knowing how to effectively communicate with your peers, subordinates—and especially your managers—is (unfortunately) one of the greatest determining factors not only in the success of projects but in how you're regarded within the company, too. Work too hard and say too little, and you'll still find yourself first on the chopping block when it comes time to lighten up the load of payroll, while saying too much and not doing much at all will usually keep you moving up the chain of command. Yes,…

What the customer wants, the customer gets. That's the rule of the land at one company, but this person's boss had them take that idea way too far. Companies make their employees go through the hiring process . They read their resumes, make sure they have a college degree, and reach out to references. Then, when that highly qualified employee actually does start their job, the company doesn't care about their qualifications one bit. It must be infuriating, especially for people who are talented…

This manager could only do one thing: sink every department he was put in charge of. As much fun as it probably is to hire a bunch of your friends to work with you, that strategy is going to come with some drawbacks. Next up, these people had some completely awful meals at the weddings they attended, like one person who had to eat “plain boiled chicken with no seasonings.”

If you think your boss is goofy, just wait until you hear about how other peoples' bosses act.

This CEO just made a huge mistake . Better still, he has no idea what he's done, or how colossal his mistake has become. When you finally get a job with a nice salary , it can transform your life overnight. You can pay off your debts, stop worrying about making rent, and have a little extra to treat yourself with. It makes it feel like all those years of working unpaid internships or minimum-wage jobs have finally paid off. This worker found a startup company that was willing to double their cu…

If you've ever worked a job that relies on timesheets, you know how this goes… Management (usually of the upper variety) wants to keep better track of how and where staff are spending their time, they pressure staff to charge out more hours to jobs, trying to keep them from posting “unproductive” uncharged hours. Suddenly, clients are getting charged more hours, and therefor paying more, for services implement The really interesting thing about management wanting to better track

Strict adherence to policy is a double-edged sword; if you demand unquestioning obedience to the rules when it benefits you, then you need to hold that same zealous ideal when things aren't stacked to go your way. Unfortunately, we humans seem to really struggle with this and love nothing more than changing rules, or our interpretation of them, to suit us best—sometimes without realizing we're doing so. After all, we're all the heroes of our own stories, and we have the uncanny ability to hold…

This person got roped into a job that was full of red flags from the very beginning. But when you're a college dropout desperate for work, those red flags might be easy to ignore. You've got to be careful with startup companies . While some are reputable and have bright futures ahead of them, most fail. You've probably heard the old adage that about 90% of startups fail, and that most fail within their first five years of business. That's because some are created by people like Chad, the boss i…

Contracting is a tough gig, yet it is becoming increasingly common as companies seek to shift further towards a low-cost, low-obligation workforce. The thing is, as a contractor, you have fewer benefits and less guarantee of income, but while that uncertainty can be hard to manage, it makes up for that in flexibility. See, when you're a contractor, your “employer” (clients) really can't make you do anything outside of the contracted production they're paying you for. They can't set when or how…

Getting denied a raise stinks, but at least you've left your thoughts and intentions on the table for consideration, hopefully setting yourself up for a pay bump in the near future when the next round of budgeting is finalized. Of course, this isn't always the case, and your employer may go the route of stonewalling you indefinitely—or gaslighting you by dangling the potential of a raise in front of you like a carrot on a stick in order to get you to do more work. Still, in most cases, it's alm…

Yikes… this person has an awkward question for their coworker . It’s not every day you ask someone why they’re married. The answer should be obvious: they’re married because they love each other and want to build a life together. But this worker, sharing their story from a throwaway account, was baffled why their coworker James had ever married his wife. James seems like he’s one of those husbands who “pretends” to hate his wife. He calls her the old ball and chain, and acts like she just nags…

This company got bought out over and over again. It's no wonder the employees who remained had to deal with so many shenanigans from their managers. One of the best parts of working a salaried job is racking up paid time off days . Everyone uses their allotted time a little differently---some people love to take the family to Disney or on a camping trip a couple of times a year, while others take a few days here and there to do weekend adventures. No matter where you go, you come back feeling r…

There's this thing that happens every now and again in organizations where someone, usually high up on the food chain, decides that everything—every decision, order, expense, or report—needs to pass across their desk. They do so severely underestimating the gravitas of what they've just requested, with little comprehension of just how many things they're going to be handling, dependent on their pen stroke to proceed. Of course, maybe not right away, but at some point, things are going to begin…

These bosses picked the exact wrong employee to mess with. Some companies think so highly of themselves that they forget to show appreciation to the employees who make the magic happen. We all know that in today's day and age, the best way to grow your salary and gain extra PTO is by job hopping (aka moving companies every couple years). But it wasn't always like that. Just ask Jimmy, an older employee at a company who stayed at the same job for more than four decades ! That's real loyalty ther…