For some unknown reason, there are employees who do not feel the need to use all of their PTO. They are fine with their PTO just sitting there, not being used for what it is meant to do – give people a break. I am a firm believer that PTO is there to be used, and I don't think I ever let a year pass by in a company without using all of the time off I am entitled to. For one, because how can a person go through an entire year without taking time off? And second, because letting it just sit there…

Having a conversation with your boss asking for a raise is something employees should seriously prepare for, and not take lightly. One should come with receipts and proof of all the hard work they've been putting into the company, while also providing data that supports their claim for more pay. The more prepared you are for this conversation, the higher your chances of actually getting what you are after. Even so, many employees get denied when asking for a raise, and then they have to decide…

Your first interaction with the people you intend to work with says a lot about the workplace you are about to enter, and it should not be ignored, no matter how much you need a job. If you sense that a job, or more specifically, a manager, interacts with you in a matter that raises red flags, you should definitely reconsider your position there. Luckily, the person who wrote this Reddit post was in a position where they could say ‘no’ to the position they were being offered. After receiving a…

Fighting the good fight

Getting fired is never a pleasant experience, but there are still some ways for it to be done that are better than others. If your manager has even a tiny shred of respect for you, then they will sit you down in their office, tell you the reasons they have to let you go, and send you off with a good luck wish. However, if your manager cares about no one but themselves, they might not even bother to fire you, and get someone else to do their dirty work for them. That is roughly what happened in…

Dr. Shadypants

Imagine helping build something from the ground up, only to have your contribution entirely dismissed and undervalued. This CEO is giving an Elizabeth Holmes level of ruthlessness after cheating her former CTO out of his promised shares in the company just before its official launch. This, of course, was after two years of contracted work on the CTO’s part in helping develop the app and raise funding for the startup. Once the CEO found an investor who signed onto the company as her COO, this Re…

To be fair, this boss had it coming. The concept of 'work-life balance' is becoming increasingly normalized throughout the workforce, as it should. No one wants to spend their entire lives planning around their jobs. And although that used to be the case in generations past, nowadays, employees don't stand for mistreatment; instead, they just leave. Well, this Gen X employee can't really leave the company. He's been there for years and is nearing his retirement. So, instead of up and quitting,…

"Put those union dues to work"

Every unemployment period reaches its peak when an unemployed individual feels like they cannot let another day go by without them finding a job. Perhaps because of financial reasons, perhaps because they cannot stand another day at home, probably both. Either way, when one reaches that period of unemployment, they would do anything to simply find a job, and would probably accept a job no matter what. This means that they are willing to ignore a lot of red flags just so they would get to be emp…

There are so many rules protecting the employer from employees doing whatever they want, but it is time to protest that there are not enough rules protecting employees from their employers. If an employee informs their employer of their time off, two months before it is due, there should absolutely be a rule prohibiting the employer from saying no. Employees should be allowed to use their time off whenever they want to, and if they bring it up a sufficient time in advance, employers should have…

Truthfully, the excitement of your first paycheck wears off pretty quickly…

Every person who has ever worked in IT or Tech Support knows that having sharp 'people skills' is just as important as understanding computers and technology. Every day, those employees have to deal with people having technological issues, so they need to know not only how to handle the problem, but also how to handle the people with that problem. That can get incredibly tricky, as people are not at their best when they are having issues, and many simply don't want to learn when their issues ha…

Finally, a greedy company gets what they deserve!

Work smarter, not harder

Every person struggles with self-fulfillment when it comes to their jobs. We all want to feel fulfilled with our jobs, we all want to have a purpose in life, and to feel like we truly enjoy what we do on a daily basis. But more often than not, it is impossible to both feel fulfilled and get to have sufficient time off of work, when you enjoy your own privacy. So if you were given the choice to get paid for your job, but do no work whatsoever, would you accept? Would you be willing to give up on…