Those working in retail and service are no strangers to discomfort and, often times it can seem like employer's make it intentionally so.

The thought of being paid less than the legal minimum wage sounds outrageous to some people, especially to those outside of the US, but that's just how the bizarre nature of the US tipping culture works.

There are certain things in life that just make sense: Like hiring a plumber to help in your plumbing department and an electrician for the electrical department. Well, this mysteriously nameless “home improvement store” got their wires crossed when this manager decided to nepotistically appoint an electrician to the full-time plumbing department that they had just hired a plumber to work in. When the plumber came to start their full-time job… they were told by the manager that they actually ha…

Sometimes in life… the low road is the right one. This Karen brought a metaphorical knife to an actual nuclear arms race when she decided to go toe to toe with this IT guy and blamed him for all of her stupid nonexistent troubles. As readers have pointed out in the comments: It's never a good idea to pick a fight with the guy who writes code when your job is easily replaced by a single line of it — that's just begging for the unfortunate outcome that has occurred for Karen here. After the repea…

Working relationships are built on mutual trust — so why are so many recruiters determined to start things off with deceit?

We grow up naively believing that rules exist for a reason. It isn't until we're older that we realize that some rules exist because someone— just… decided that it was so, even if that deciding person wasn't qualified or didn't possess the brainpower and insight necessary to make said decision. This results in a whole lot of stupid rules that are blindly followed just because it's a rule. Meanwhile, said stupid rule followers couldn't make an actually informed, ethical, or empathetic decision t…

Sometimes it's not about the words being spoken; it's about the implication . When your boss suggests a singular place where you should take your lunch break, claims it's not a requirement but goes on to imply that you'll be disadvantaged in the workplace if you disagree… well, you don't really have a choice — do you?

This vindictive a-hole of a boss saw fit to mandate surprise overtime when they came to the conclusion that their employees had missed too much work. Sure, it's understandable that they were feeling some stress and pressure while looking at the loss of man-hours for the week. There were probably some slumping numbers and unfinished tasks that were contributing to their impulse to pick up the phone. But, as adults and professionals, it's important that we control our impulses; there will always…

It is simply HARD to believe that people would think THAT COMMUNICATING like this to their staff is in the SLIGHTEST bit effective or acceptable!

A stupid directive necessitates an even stupider response — that's why these employees decided to eat their lunch in the middle of their CEO's annual update when their boss told them the meeting was going to count as their lunch for the day. The boss would soon learn to regret their bold words when their entire team threw them right under the bus as soon as the CEO started asking questions about the buffet that was taking place before their very eyes. When put to sharp questioning, the boss dec…

The act of giving notice is one of mutual trust — especially when the worker isn't protected by an agreement or local law. The worker is showing their employer a sign of goodwill by allowing them the time to prepare other workers, maintain continuity, and execute a proper handover. The problem with giving notice is it's also like a breakup — “It's not you, it's me. I've just… Found someone else.” — and all too often, emotionally-stunted owners and middle managers take it exactly as such. This l…

There will always be employers out there who think that they can step on the little guy's toes while dipping their hand into their wallet in order to turn a profit. In reality, if you can't manage to make a business profitable in an honest way, it's probably a good sign that you shouldn't be in business at all. This college guy worked for a delivery company that insisted on taking a percentage of driver's tips under the guise of covering operating costs. This happened even if the employees then…

It's incredible how often new managers and owners fail to learn not to touch things until they understand them. Except, they're usually so wrapped up and embroiled in their own egos that they're blinded to logic or reason. Desperate to prove themselves and their competence — they proceed to make the most incompetent and inconceivable changes to things that should have been left well enough alone. From there, the predictable happens: The workplace and/or budgets spiral out of control, and the bo…

What is it with workplaces and stupid rules? Every workplace has at least one, whatever it may be…

It shouldn't be all that hard to behave like a reasonable and rational human individual — right? Like it's not that difficult to get up in the morning and put on your business persona and treat other people with the slightest amount of respect. Sure, there might be a deep fire of eternal rage burning somewhere deep inside you for the sheer disappointment that adult life holds — the field of your future littered with broken promises and unrealized dreams — but that doesn't mean that it's ok to t…

When this (very profitable) small family-owned business was sold off, the new owners greedily rubbed their greasy hands together and contemplated how they were going to ruin it.