When you actually like the place you work and can tolerate the people you work with, it's easy to reason that going into an office once in a while might present some benefit. But if you're being forced to go into an office where no one talks to each other (except under duress) just to do all of your work alone in an isolated room and all your meetings over Zoom anyway… It's easy to scratch your head and wonder what the point of all this really is. This worker shared how their employer made the…

Let this serve as our weekly reminder that bosses should be careful with their choice of words. Here, we have an employer who got increasingly frustrated with a piano technician for being under five minutes late on more than one occasion. Under five minutes should be considered negligible, but if an employer really feels that a conversation is necessary, there is a much better way of having it than what this dude ended up doing. He used vaguely threatening phrasing that almost begged to be chal…

Hiring—especially in the way it's usually conducted—is not an exact science. There's a whole lot of speculation and social shadowboxing going on with elaborately constructed facades masking true personalities in order to seem more put together and desirable according to the bizarre decorum of the entire process. The entire thing is based more on “vibes” than any concrete Superstition seems to reign on both sides of the interview table, with everyone having their own tricks. Even the most well-i…

When you're in charge, it's pretty important that you follow your own rules, drinking the Kool-Aid that you've set out for everyone else to drink. Anything else would be hypocritical at best, causing dissension and demotivating those you're supposed to be leading and generally just setting a bad example. Conversely, being consistent and fair in your leadership helps foster a culture of accountability; by holding yourself to the same standards you've set for everyone else, you demonstrate the in…

Have you ever come across a job listing and immediately knew you wouldn't want to work there? Maybe the listing used phrases to describe the company culture, like "we're a big family," or stated that they required candidates who could "perform well under stress," setting off major red flags in your head. That's not really the type of environment you're looking for when you're trying to find your dream job. But the kinds of red flags you can find at companies go way further than those examples.

Taking time off work is probably just as important as the work itself. Being able to step away, take a break, and come back with a new perspective will likely benefit your work—besides, you've earned it. Although, of course, what you'll often find happens is that the freedom and relaxation your vacation offers you makes returning to work even more difficult than it already is on a normal Monday. Being denied the chance to take leave can mean missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, fami…

Don't you just love it when the new manager makes things exponentially worse for everyone else? It's a common mistake that these horrible bosses tend to make. They come in and immediately feel like they know a better solution to the current system. Without properly hearing out all the employees' voices, they decide it would be more impressive to flex their muscles and insist that their solution is the proper one. Well, time and time again when this happens, the new manager stumbles. Either the…

There are always going to be certain things that are best off communicated to only their intended audience. For example, you'd probably hate to accidentally send your parents a text detailing your weekend plans with your friends or other intimate details about another personal relationship. No matter what age you are or how close you are to your parents, certain things are better off left undisclosed. The same goes for an employee-employer relationship. Professional decorum relies on certain th…

Calling your employees by their preferred name seems like the bare minimum regarding proper workplace treatment. It doesn't really get more disrespectful than ignoring someone's constant corrections. This Redditor's name ends with an -a but is constantly referred to by a similar-sounding name that ends with an -e. If this were perhaps their first few weeks on the job, then the mistakes would be understandable. But there's really no excuse for the mixups at this point, especially when the Origin…

Unless the issues being raised are completely out of left field and hold no water, an organization should always treat them seriously. Even purely as a means of covering themselves from any legal or operational vulnerabilities. Being dismissive or even retaliatory against a complainant might make the headache or “problem” of them calling attention to it go away, but there's a good chance that their fears coming to fruition and the ensuing grievance will be much more of a headache than dealing w…

No employee can be “on” all the time. Everyone needs a break during the work day to recharge, zone out, and center

Some bosses think that they have certain rights and privileges that they simply do not possess. This employee was entitled to their PTO time, they submitted their request months in advance, and their request was approved. Everything was good to go, flights were booked, and a much-needed vacation was planned. That is, until the boss decided last minute that he could reject those plans and go back on his word, all so another coworker could take off that same week. We understand losing two employe…

This workplace debacle pretty much epitomizes the idea that HR protects the employer, not the employees. When the evidence of wrongdoing is so definitive, it's hard to imagine the human resources department coming up with a justified reason to side with the boss. However, this team managed to side with her anyway. Here, we have an employee who caught her boss stealing her bag after work hours. Furthermore, the security cameras even captured the boss leaving the office with the employee's bag an…

One day, you're going to quit your job—and that's a fact… Whether it's over a disagreement, for relocation, for growth—or because you're leaving the workforce for good. When that time comes, it will be up to you (mostly) on what terms you want to leave on. Do you want to leave on good terms, possibly even despite long-held grudges? Or do you want to set the world ablaze—full scorched earth policy—burning every bridge behind you as you go? This worker shared the resignation they were planning on…

Something shady this way comes! Let's preface this with the fact that several folks who work in IT have already deemed this a nightmare in the making. This company thought it would be a good idea to give in to employees' requests for fully remote work, but there was a catch. That catch was that the company would provide all work-from-home employees with a router and a document for them to sign that would permit IT to monitor all of their at-home network traffic 24/7. That's right. We're not eve…

Oftentimes, a little push is the only thing it takes to topple the facade of power presented by someone abusing it. They want you to think there's nothing you can do to circumvent their authority, but they forget that they're just managing an IT department at a medical center, and their authority really isn't all that far-reaching at all. So that one little push (or notifying their boss) is all it takes to reveal the man behind the curtain. This IT worker was responsible for issuing equipment t…