There's nothing worse than working for someone who is as arrogant as they are irresponsible. You'll soon find yourself doing all of the work to keep the company above water while getting absolutely no recognition or thanks for it. That's the situation this worker found themselves in tasked with expanding production and business operations for the small business owner that they worked for. They crafted and executed their plan only to be stonewalled by their boss when it came to paying to hire th…

Being told that you should “know your place” by the person who has been benefiting

Sometimes in life you just have to grab the bull by the horns and take the reigns into your own hands, taking charge so that the ship rightens straight on to the course that it was set—you know, and all that jazz. Of course, those who were supposed to be in charge and were steering the ship straight into a sandbar or a reef (with utter confidence) may not appreciate you doing so. No, the people in charge don't really appreciate being told they're wrong, even when they are frequently and with fe…

We all love our sleep—and that's a fact–and we equally deride anything that interrupts that sleep. Late-night garden parties with blaring music and loud-talking attendees; your neighbor warming his modded diesel truck at 4:30 am, an hour before he actually leaves for work; your pesky employees from the shop you manage calling you at 5:00 AM just to let you know that they're ditching out and are going to leave you battling a tediously understaffed day of work, while also now conveniently sleep d…

It's rather poetic when, in life, someone's misdeeds come back full circle to bring their entitled approach to life back down to earth. It's the kind of thing you only really expect to see in stories—namely the type you read in high school literally class that your teacher picks apart and overanalyses in excruciating detail. But, it does happen, and you won't forget it when it does. In the workplace, it usually occurs in the form of an ill-mannered ex-colleague or boss applying for a job at you…

All too often in life, it's the people who are the most commanding of respect who are the least deserving. You can spot these wanna be types of “leaders” from a mile away and within moments of meeting them. They'll usually be the one swaggering around with a a puffed up chest and a massive chip on their shoulder trying to make themselves bigger than they actually are. Of course, being in any position where you're subordinate to one of these people is going to be a nightmare, as they'll do anyth…

Public transport is a great way to get around in cities that have properly invested in it. If you live in one of these cities, chances are you just take for granted how seamless an effective public transport system can be for getting around the city easily. For those of us who live in cities where public transport is mismanaged or underfunded risking being late for work because the bus was 20 minutes late or just didn't show up makes it not worth it. When we visit those cities with working publ…

What would you do if your roommate was a leech, sucking you dry of money and food? I think a lot of people might run of the rails, but some people are less comfortable with conflict. Myself included. I shudder when I think back to my ‘roommate’ days… Thankfully I have since grown a spine. You need some nerve to force someone to pay your half of the rent, and even more nerve to eat all of their dinner, and refuse to pay them back. But this woman was a bold freeloader, and her parents obviously d…

So did they get the job or not?.. and who the heck is Matt?

Flexibility, accommodation, and adaptation are all important when it comes to having a happy working life. What better feeling is there than knowing that your employer cares enough to take your needs into consideration? Still, while it's nice to have an employer spending the time and resources to ensure you have the things you need… Is it really an accommodation when you're forced to have the accommodation? That really doesn't sound all that accommodating, and it sounds more like someone is try…

There's this thing that happens in the earliest levels of grade school where you're required to notify your teacher that you're going to be going to use the “facilities.” Really, this is just for the sake of accountability and so that the adult responsible for your care knows where you are, that you'll soon be back, and that you haven't just wandered off to explore the world through the dreamy lens of your undeveloped prefrontal cortex. Even at that age, it's weird when the adults decide to mak…

HR is infamous for its strange and often frustratingly rigid ways. Their job is to serve the company, which is fair, as that's what they're getting paid to do. On the other hand, they can overlook employee's complaints in the process, or enforce petty rules that nobody really cares about. For instance, what's wrong with an employee giving their coworkers bagels? Apparently, this HR lady did not appreciate being 'one-upped', although it's hard to understand how exactly she felt inferior in the s…

Being a manager is all about knowing people, and believe it or not, in order to be a good manager you also have to care about people. Of course, you have to protect the business interests too (if you want to keep your job) but there's a balance to be struck here—and the best managers strike it true. See, the thing is, having a motivated and cohesive team is actually the best asset a company can have—heck, even if your morals are based on a balanced checkbook, it stands to reason that the best i…

One of the best things to come out of the train wreck that was the last four years of existence globally was the newfound discovery that working remotely was indeed possible for many jobs. Of course, this was something that workers everywhere had been trying to tell their bosses for years, but the top brass, afraid of upsetting the status quo and sending their companies into a tailspin—and wanting to maintain every last ounce of control over their workers—insisted that it just wasn't possible.…

When we usually think of “quitting the gym,” it's usually nothing like this waking nightmare…

Why does IT always get blamed? Employees always expect them to read minds, to predict the future… But they're humans with a lot on their plate, and they don't bow to snobby managers from various departments who are trying to cover for their incompetent employees. One such employee approached OP (who was working in IT) after she failed to receive emails. OP immediately began troubleshooting and found the problem relatively quickly. The issue was a rule that she had set up, and OP pointed her to…