These days, it's not unusual to hear back from a job you applied to months ago asking if you're still interested in that first-round interview, and—hey, things happen and there are any number of reasons why the hiring process for the position you applied to might have gotten delayed. Sometimes, hiring gets sidelined in favor of more pressing concerns that the management team is dealing with. Sometimes, there is not quite as much room in the budget as management thought there was. Maybe they had…

Nothing like having to work the job of 2 other people, amiright??

It's hopefully no secret to anyone at this point that if you're given an anonymous questionnaire at work asking for your honest and critical feedback, there's a pretty good chance that that questionnaire is not, in fact, anonymous. That, or there are plenty of ways that it's going to be traced back to you regardless of how “anonymous” it actually is. After all, if they receive one response that's pointedly critical and you're usually the one who has no problem voicing your feedback, chances are…

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…

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…

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…

There are tons of marketing ploys out there nowadays by big corporations trying to make more money. They may not make sense to the consumers, or even the employees, but they are policies set in stone that only upper management can dictate. This phenomenon was confirmed by a former retail worker who shared that sales aren't always a good deal. But what about other industries? What are they not telling their customers? Keep reading to hear from 25+ employees about what their jobs won't let them...

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...

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…

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

Hotel disputes aren't uncommon, and dare I say it's usually the guest who starts them? Imagine working your shift, minding your own business, when a guest comes right up to you and demands a full refund because they are in fact, leaving now. The thing is, you just checked them in, 45 minutes ago. You know you can't give them a refund… It's against the hotel's policy. On the other hand, you don't really want to start an argument, and anyway, it's late. What would you do? Well, this front desk wo…

Working at the front desk, you get to see a lot of different guests in your lifetime. It's hard to keep up with the complaints that people have, it's ridiculous. Some people want a discount because the room wasn't the right temperature when they entered. Other people want a discount because you didn't smile enough. Then again, some people don't even want a discount, they just want to make you miserable. Honestly, I'm so glad my customer days are behind me… I don't know if I could put up with it…

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…