Horrible Bosses

Manager gives employee a formal warning for following a protocol she created: ‘I wrote a detailed breakdown of every single violation’

Lana DeGaetano

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Micromanager tries to blame project delay on employee after employee reports her to HR: 'She now questions everything I do'

Ben Weiss

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Employee forced to take meetings during his lunch break, makes his boss regretful by eating obnoxiously during meetings: 'My 1:00 to 2:00 PM slot has been completely free of meetings ever since'

Ben Weiss

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Toxic boss lays off employee and gives them 8 weeks' severance, unaware that they landed a new job and were planning to resign that day: ‘I posted my… LinkedIn update crowing about my new job’

Lana DeGaetano

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Employee floods the boss's DMs, dutifully reporting every single moment away from their desk after the micromanager demands to keep tabs on their whereabouts: 'Every time I leave my desk'

Jesse Kessenheimer

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Employee changes strategy to "show, not tell" his boss that his ideas are terrible: 'I didn't have to say a word. He saw the error himself'

Ben Weiss

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Employee turns the tables, uses micromanaging boss's own reports to trick her and expose her hypocrisy in her criticism of his work: 'I found the folder online and used her past work verbatim'

Brad Dickson

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Employee gets even with critical boss by using her flawed format for submitting reports before quitting: 'I hope you're having a bad day, Paula. You deserve it!'

Ben Weiss

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Marketing intern sparks office debate after being told not to ask questions even when instructions are incomplete: 'Red flags galore!'

Ben Weiss

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Department head advises employee to disregard data issues for a product launch, then tries to distance himself when senior management questions the validity of the launch: ‘[A] written trail made it clear’

Lana DeGaetano

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Employee blindsided by manager and HR after demanding "accountability" from their manager over their mishandling of scheduling and workplace accommodations: 'They threatened to fire me if I expressed myself “that way” again'

Brad Dickson

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Manager gets a day of overtime pay for answering employee text when HR refuses to acknowledge their work-life boundaries, HR tries to get them fired, they counter with their own warning: '[If] they wanted to punish me for it, they could see me in court'

Brad Dickson

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Employee forced to "prove" himself or get fired, he hands in his resignation instead: 'You were lucky to have me!'

Ben Weiss

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Restraint in the face of temptation is an important skill for professionals: 10+ employees share why it is important not to burn bridges through their own experiences

Brad Dickson

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Massage therapist calls out boss for unfair 40% pay cut, he fires her and tries to get away with not paying her unemployment: 'He claimed that I had quit by refusing his 'generous offer'"

Ben Weiss

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Employee learns that employer is hiring at $18k more than what they're earning for the same job, prompting a defensive response from their manager: 'Someone walking in off the street with zero knowledge of our systems is worth 15k more than me?'

Brad Dickson

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