The willingness of superiors to apply rules to themselves that they make for others speaks volumes to the character and quality of an organization. An undercurrent of issues surrounding fairness in leadership can give you a great indication of the toxicity of the workplace. This reaches levels of ridiculousness that can't be rationalized when it begins involving matters that aren't even specifically related to your performance or time that you spend at work and begins leaching into personal and…

Job interviews are never easy. It can be exciting after searching countless job listings for one you like, submitting all your application materials, and finally hearing back that you got an interview. But how do you prepare? You don't want to overprepare because, at the time of the interview, your nerves are high, and it can be hard to remember every detail you want to say precisely. But you also definitely don't want to be underprepared and get stuck with questions about the company's values…

If you ever find yourself talking to someone who is not from the US about college, they are always shocked by how much college students have to pay for tuition. Some countries in Europe have actual free universities , and here in good ol' America, people carry their student loans for literal decades. That is why when we hear of stories in which colleges and universities take even more money from their students, without an actual valid reason, it simply makes us see red. For example, can someone…

Anyone who ever took a class in Communication and talked about the concept of reality TV shows knows how much the need to know what is going on in other people's lives is set in human nature. In social studies, they call it ‘Peep Culture’, and the name is pretty self-explanatory. But even after sitting through those classes, the amount of energy and time people waste in being unnecessarily invested in other people's businesses can still boggle my mind, and even more so when they feel the need t…

At some jobs, there is no winning solution to the boss's problems . It's often an issue that management has, then insists on passing down to their workers. This malicious compliance story is a great example of that dynamic. This person shared that as a college student, they needed a new gig, and found one with a manager who was “ one of the biggest Karens you have ever met .” Off to a great start! As a new employee, this person was swamped. While Karen was changing the procedures, it meant that…

There are things in life that you'll encounter, and you'll find nothing you've encountered previously has properly prepared you for it. Usually, these things will be so off-the-wall that there's no way anything could have properly anticipated them. The very idea of being flown out to a final interview and accepting a position, enjoying lavish dinner with the company's owner, only to go into the office and meet the guy who has just started working in the role you thought you had been accepting,…

It can't be simple to work in the hospitality sector. There's something about the entitled vacationers that never fails to stun the dedicated crew. Having said that, how would you respond if a haughty client barged into your establishment expecting to be taken advantage of and let down? Would you face the hard truth that this isn't a conflict worth waging, or would you try to prove him wrong and give him the trip of a lifetime? The story that follows is the story of a confused hotel worker. The…

...only because they missed an exit

Sometimes, when you mess around too much, you find out the hard way that there are very real consequences associated with your actions. It's all well and good for you to do as you'd like and act as you please, but when it comes to facing the consequences you'd better come to terms with it. That's what this employer is going to have to do when they realize that their driver went ahead and found another job (with better pay) after being told that his job was no longer available when he tried to c…

Much like the used car sales industry, the rental car biz can be a little shady. Like so many industries that take advantage of their customers being stranded, rental car companies are known to try and rip off their customers for every cent–however, one diligently vengeful traveling employee saw to it that his continued business was far more valuable than a tack-on fee.

Generally, in your working life, you might expect that, as you gain experience, skills, and knowledge, you'll be making more money… throughout your career as well as your time in a singular role. Where you might not be too surprised and even expect to be rejected a request for a raise or two, you'd never expect to have your boss approach you telling you that they're slashing your pay in order to get “more bang for their buck." Openly telling you that they're going to be saving money solely at y…

It can be challenging to comprehend how someone can start working for a company and not get paid for their workdays for a while after they start the job. This means that while they drive to work every day, they have to spend money on gas and transportation, buy food, and still manage their everyday life, and they do it without yet seeing a penny from the company. Of course, it does not happen for every company, but it does happen in the company from this Reddit story. A manager turned to Reddit…

When enforcing strict adherence to company policy and legal employment obligations, it's probably important that you understand those obligations first. It's also incredibly likely that someone who has been navigating the ins and outs of those legal obligations out of necessity for their livelihood will know more about them than you, an average Joe manager, do. Just an important reminder of the fact that being in charge doesn't necessarily mean that you have the most experience in every given s…

Sometimes you need to seek out karma, sometimes karma is thurst upon you.

Working with a team that you really enjoy being a part of is one of the smallest graces you can hope for in what's otherwise deep, begrudging resignation to your working life. Unfortunately, like most of the good things in life, the balance is delicately struck, and one small change can turn them on their heads. After spending almost seven years at this tech company working with a true leader of a manager who always stood up for his workers and encouraged autonomy and a healthy work-life balanc…

When you decide to leave a job, it's the norm to give a two-week notice to your employer. This provides management with a heads-up and helps them prepare for your departure. Although two weeks is obviously not enough time for your employer to hire and fill your position, it is enough for you to wrap up any remaining work and prepare your role for someone else. There are tons of reasons for leaving a job, and it is not always personal. Sometimes, people want to take some time off to spend with t…