It's not personal; it's just business—a phrase you'll hear only when someone has decided to treat you quite poorly or has gone back on their word and is hoping that these simple words will prevent you from retaliating. The more accurate truth is that business is personal—it relies on trust and established relationships. And when you've established that you can't be trusted and have a habit of disregarding your relationships —well, don't be surprised when people no longer want to do business wit…

The practice of necessitating and checking job referrals during the interview process creates a system in which an employer can provide feedback about a worker's performance and contribution during their time in the company's employ. Sure, the candidate themselves often needs to volunteer the points of contact, but when certain key periods of employment are omitted in a candidate's references… it's easy for a hiring manager to read between the lines. So what, then, is an employee able to do to…

It's not uncommon for those in petty positions of power to vastly overestimate the reach of that power. Whatever the words of the message, the point this manager is trying to convey is clear: we know that you need us more than we need you, so we're going to see how far we can manipulate the conditions of your employment in our favor and you're just going to have to deal with it.

Should your boss suddenly decide to screw you over by reducing your hours… you'll seldom have the chance to settle the score. But, as we've learned many times on the internet, you should never backstab someone who knows where the skeletons in your closet lie; after all, it's pretty obvious that they'll just go ahead and expose them in retaliation. We're not saying that the path of vengeance is one that you should decide to take; you'll live a better life by just walking away in most of these si…

Being cheap is the worst quality one can possess. There are two kinds of cheapness: the kind that is endearing and has to do with being a financially responsible human being, and the one that is sometimes mocked and always hated. The story below is an account of a clever worker who came up with the perfect scheme to get even with his cheap boss. The manager, today known as the Grinch. decided to steal Christmas and force the entire staff to attend a corporate dinner. But as soon as the frustrat…

The great thermostat debate in office workplaces is extremely common and practically without a solution. It's almost like a real-life sort of “Trolley Problem” in that whichever side you take, there's going to be someone losing out. Some people run extremely cold and have poor circulation, preferring to live in literal infernos like some kind of demon lizard person. On the other hand, you have folk like myself who are the literal inferno and generate far too much heat as if we're a human nuclea…

For the rest of our lives, we can work ourselves to the bone every day and never receive credit for our commitment and hard work. Nobody can argue, though, that there is nothing better in the world than that moment of triumph when we are finally acknowledged and validated. The story below is of a hardworking and underappreciated CNC mechanic. OP, also known as Bobby, is the highest-producing mechanic in the company. However, it is important to note that his outstanding performance is a product…

We're not totally sure when open-plan offices became a thing, who first thought they were a good idea, or why they thought they were a good idea in the first place, but it's really hard to believe that the 90s pop-culture icon that was the workplace cubicle—once hated as a symbol of the worker's dehumanization as and entrapment—is now something that workers globally yearn for and miss every day… What we would give for even a cubicle (or any sort of space) at the office that we could call our ow…

A joke?.. In this economy?! Regardless, you know it's a good joke when it's so good that HR wants to hear it. It's no secret that employers can be a little sensitive to derogatory statements about the quality of the work environment that they're providing for their workers—even if those statements are completely irrefutably accurate. This usually involves remuneration but also extends to other aspects of the workplace culture and environment. Basically, the method of operation in these workplac…

It turns out they were essential to the business after all… Traditionally, layoffs were considered to be a point of shame in business, only used as a last resort as it was a sure sign that your business was failing—usually as a direct result of failures in leadership's decision-making and mismanagement. Really, this—along with the hit that was sure to follow the stock pricing of publically traded companies—was all that kept companies from considering using layoffs as a cost-saving measure. Nowa…

Why does it feel like this is giving Squid Game ? This boss decided that it was a good idea to have his employees fight over a piñata filled with money at the office Christmas party year after year. You would think given recent cultural conversations about toxic work environments that perhaps this dude would rethink this annual practice, but nope! This year, he decided to do it yet again. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/antiwork subreddit by u/schotte420 , whose girlfriend worked at this m…

Anyone who has worked a day in their life has dreamed of quitting their job. Show me someone who says otherwise, and I'll show you a liar… We've all endured experiences in the workplace that have made us fantasize about removing ourselves from the situation once and for all. Whether it was in your first job in high school with that condescending manager or the current toxic workplace environment you now find yourself in—chances are pretty good that you've had a day in your life where you've dre…

We will always be affected by favoritism. Parents make an effort to convince us that there is no such thing as favoritism and that people evaluate us based on our qualifications or lack thereof. As someone who has worked at over a dozen jobs, attended roughly six different schools during her life, and is one of twenty grandkids, I can vouch for the fact that favorites exist. The story below is of a strong single mother who is having a hard time providing for her kid. OP is a hard-working waitre…

Being a target of workplace bullying or harassment is almost always a no-win situation, particularly in a small organization. If the offending party is a long-time member of the organization or otherwise well-connected to the organization's decision-makers, reporting them for their behavior isn't going to do much of anything; in fact, it may cause them to turn on you instead in order to relieve themselves of “the problem.” Large corporations will have no tolerance for this type of behavior and…

One thing's for sure: there's no greater relief than quitting a bad job, especially when you already have another one lined up and ready to go. Everyone, at one point or another, has dreamed of doing this—preferably in explosive fashion. One day, walking and just letting your honest feelings fly before walking out —never to be seen again—while everyone is still sitting there stunned and processing what has just occurred.

A company's success is dependent on its workers, so you'd think it would be incredibly foolish for an employer to lay off every single member of their staff in some bizarre power play, expecting everyone to turn around and reapply for their roles, grateful for the chance to grovel and endure the unnecessary stress and emotional turmoil of having their livelihood threatened just so their employer could feel sufficiently powerful.