Sometimes, the best kind of leadership is stepping back when things are working perfectly fine. Here, we have a new boss who came from a more fast-paced startup environment. He decided that the best way to get his team members to like him was by enforcing an entirely new policy without their input that would prioritize efficiency over everything else, including quality. This was the kind of guy who didn't like any hint of hesitation, so this Redditor complied, albeit maliciously. He knew that a…

The interview process is a long and arduous one for both sides, really, and the last thing anyone wants is for their time to be wasted after such a long process. The relief that comes after simultaneously finally securing a role or finally having someone to fill an empty position on the team is understated, turning energies next towards developing and furthering the burgeoning relationship. While you can expect a lot of anxiety on the first day on the part of the candidate, the last thing you e…

"After all, I was just following orders."

It should come as no surprise to any manager that every once in a while, someone on your team is going to need to call out sick or miss work because of unforeseen circumstances. If the team is well-managed, things should be fine, nothing should implode, and it should be pretty easy to find another coworker to temporarily pick up the slack if necessary. However, if the team is not well-managed, it's easy for everything to fall apart and for the flaws in management to become grossly apparent. Her…

Enforcing new work policies on employees out of nowhere and without notice is bound to lead to some pushback. Contrary to the beliefs of bosses of a certain generation, not every fully remote or hybrid employee enjoys their situation because of laziness. Sometimes, it's about commuting. Sometimes, it's about the nature of their work and daily responsibilities. Other times, it's a medical issue, which is consistent with this Redditor's experience. After working remotely at a small company of und…

Hanlon's razor is one of my favorite adages for maintaining sanity in this crazy world, and if you've read a few of these posts, you've probably seen it mentioned almost as many times. The philosophical razor states that one should “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” This is all well and good and helps one to let go of the atrocious and selfish behaviors they witness from others while out and about in the world: they don't mean to be that way they're jus…

Many a misguided middle manager has had the idea of hosting meetings at a time that is convenient for everyone: say during lunch hour when everyone is on break, so won't have any meetings scheduled… except that break is unpaid and, well, when are people supposed to eat their actual lunch when there's suddenly a meeting jammed in there. No matter how fun they try to make it sound, “zazzing” it up and naming it something they think is cool, like “Power Hour Lunch Sync,” the reality remains the sa…

Almost certainly, at some point, those working shift work, or in other jobs where timesheets need to be kept, have been told by some manager not to “bother” reporting time that they worked over their shift because it's “inconvenient” for them to report it. Sometimes, this comes in the form of being told that it needs to be at least 15 minutes to be reported and counted for anything, but that's not really true—at all. If anything, if their system can't handle menial minutes overtime, then they s…

"They ended with 11 new complaints over the course of a week (not even counting the ones from years past from past employees who also left because of him)."

By the time you're training new hires in your department and taking on additional responsibilities and work, it's about time to start wondering when that promotion is coming. Let's face it: you're basically contributing at a level as if you'd been promoted already, so all that's left is to make the adjustment to your title and compensation. But, of course, no one likes paying for something they're already getting for free—and employers, first and foremost. So they'll drag out that promotion as…

The proverb “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush” postulates that you're better off with what you have or are able to get now rather than what you might be able to get in the future. Reson being that While working for an emergency telecommunications company, this worker fell into the all-too-common trap of taking on additional work with the promise that it would eventually lead to more pay. Spoiler alert: It didn't. With the proverbial carrot dangling just in front of them indefin…

"I'm being encouraged by management to 'reflect on my life to figure out where it all went wrong'..."

When asked to choose between a single work-sponsored lunch or a permanent raise , why would you ever choose the lunch? It's a long-running joke that companies love to provide pizza Fridays instead of doling out much-needed raises (which could, in turn, let employees buy their own pizza, or you know, more important things in life than that). The company only has to shell out a few hundred dollars for a pizza party, and it does raise employee's spirits for a few hours while their stomachs are ful…

We thought the titular contests of the “Hunger Games” series were just some SciFi hoopla, yet here is this eerily similar real-world equivalent: competing for the privilege of working so that you can continue to support your own survival. In fact, “Hunger Games” is a fitting name given the fact that the arena for this real-world analog was in a restaurant. Everyone who has ever worked in the service industry or retail knows that customer reviews are a total grab bag, you can do nothing exceptio…

Some revenge stories are smellier than others.

A double-edged sword cuts both ways, and you could probably get a paper cut from a double-sided print job, too. Cutting costs might seem like a good idea, but really, you're probably just going to slice right through other important things like customer satisfaction and, by extension, your company's profit. After all, as the old saying goes…You gotta spend money to make money. Overly inflexible policies are almost certainly a double-edged sword. When you demand rigid adherence to rules, leaving…