Organizations really, more than anything else, love scapegoating lowest-level workers for mistakes made by management and general organizational incompetence. The only thing that comes close is their love for simultaneously insisting that you should have just “handled” something on your own, even though the process you were following stated explicitly otherwise. Really, the truth of the matter is that they just hate having to handle any customer issue that has escalated to them, so there's no w…

There's this idea that sums up how we end up with so many incompetent managers, which is called the “Peter Principle." You've probably heard of it before, but if you're just coming across the term for the first time, it's basically surmising that people who are good at a job get promoted to the next level, even if that promoted position really has nothing to do with the skills they've proven to be apt at. What's unfortunate about these situations is moving into management is really the only way…

Earlier in my career, working for a retail organization that also had a workshop providing maintenance and break-fix work, I received some sage advice from a wizened and weary mechanic who had been dealing with unruly customers for far too long. “Bend over backward to solve their problem today, and they become your permanent problem.” See, there are plenty of people in this world just looking for the attention of someone, and if you make it your problem to help them, they'll identify you as som…

There's something about the realization that your manager is younger than you that triggers complex and deeply confrontational psychological crises and self-evaluation, making you wonder how and why you never progressed to that point, or at least passed the point you're at. What happened? What went wrong? Where did things go off course? Even if you never really wanted to be promoted to a management position in the first place, having someone younger than you as a manager for the first time may…

One of the worst parts about shift work is being sent home early—despite all the memes and jokes to the contrary. Sure, when you're a student, you might gladly raise your hand to be sent home early since you probably don't want to be there in the first place and would rather be out studying or partying. And you're young enough and in enough debt already from your student loans that it's hard to see how a few hours working is going to make any difference… That or your parents are paying for ever…

Typically, earning a bonus is a sign that you have assuredly gone above and beyond your employer's expectations for your role; it's more than likely you've contributed considerably to any increased revenue the company might have reported, and so, in a sense, you're just getting your cut. The thing is, this is cash in your pocket for you (after taxes, of course), and you'd probably never imagine that the company is going to come looking for it. This worker reported that once they had handed in t…

This guy is living the life that many people wish that they had; instead of being stuck on site or in the office for 40 hours a week, he has managed to finish his work in only 25 hours, even taking showers during meetings to cut down on personal responsibilities. "The dream," as some may call it, though there are debatable ethics involved in doing this. On the one hand, if you're completing your tasks and even performing well above standard, Is there really any problem with doing this? Even wit…

Another week of the grind

“You're going to stay here until it's finished,” is a command usually reserved for unruly children who are refusing to eat their vegetables at dinner. It's not the sort of thing you'd expect to hear as an adult at work.

If you're an employee putting in extra work at your company to excel, typically, you're going to expect some kind of reward for your efforts. We're not talking about some boring pizza party or a jeans pass for the office; we're talking about a raise, a bonus, or some other monetary value that shows that our company values our efforts. That's how you create employee retention. Well, this entitled boss seems to think otherwise. This employee worked at a Fortune 200 company and was one day in a co…

Demanding customers are the worst, but let's be honest, we've all probably been one at some point. Sometimes, you just need to put a little pressure and weight behind your requests in order to ensure your needs are heard through the muffled din of tedious bureaucratic process. This is true now more than ever with more and more corporations choosing to employ fewer customer service workers, relying on automated systems to weed out requests before anyone ever needs to lift a finger. Of course, by…

Life can deal you some funny and unexpected hands. Sometimes, in the form of things that seem so unlikely that you'd consider it next to impossible, they become a reality. Yet, still, these things can happen, and these moments of happenstance can be defining. When this college student bought themself their first real phone in university, they were annoyed to find that their new phone number had previously belonged to someone who numerous financial institutions were trying desperately to reach.…

The world of small-time amateur musicians and semi-professional audio/visual techs is no joke and, like any small niche hobbyist community, is handled with deadly seriousness and rigorous hierarchy—with out-of-control egos abound. To a degree, this is fair… poorly engineered audio/visual setups are one of those things that can go hilariously and disastrously wrong, and even small mistakes or technical hiccups can ruin events and severely hamper their intended purpose. And I promise you; it's in…

Not one of us is as infallible as we'd like to think. Draw a line in the sand for where you think you've been right or wrong in disagreements in your life and then take a couple of steps backward. That perspective will probably show you that you're not really as “corect” as you might think and that line is probably closer to where you're now standing. After all, we're all determinately fastened into our own narritaves and tend to have

For the purpose of readability on this one, keep in mind that “MNC” is likely “Multi-National Corporation,” and “grandfather” is likely just a translational error of the author referring to their boss' boss.

When you owe someone money, nothing is going to go over like a lead balloon, quite like showing up with something new and shiny to show off. You probably even did it at least once to your parents as a kid when they gave you money for lunch, and you went out and bought Pokemon cards instead. You know the type, that friend who you loaned 100 dollars to for rent, yet they still somehow have new clothes every time you see them. Your roommate who borrowed money for groceries but always seems to have…