FAIL Blog
Advertisement

Horrible Bosses

workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace - 25646341

'You can kiss your weekend hiking trips goodbye': Manager maliciously decries worker's desire for their weekends ordering them to work 6 days a week

Even if the business has needs for weekend coverage or is experiencing an emergency period of high load and you did need your workers to work an additional day… it would be best to—no, anyone in their right mind would—approach the subject delicately, respectfully, and tactfully. Coming out and declaring to your workers that they should “Kiss their weekend hiking trips goodbye” or anything of that nature would be downright inadvisable… Especially when it's intended to be a pointed comment person…
View List
'Micromanage me? Go ahead': Fast food workers band together to get micromanaging shift supervisor fired

'Micromanage me? Go ahead': Fast food workers band together to get micromanaging shift supervisor fired

Sure, it takes a detail-oriented person to manage a restaurant, but some supervisors are not cut out for it simply because they are too intense. These micromanagers tend to be unable to pivot if unforeseen circumstances arise. They also tend to be extremely frustrated when employees make judgment calls and handle their tasks differently. In other words, micromanagers rarely make genuinely good bosses. Instead, the only thing they are successful at is making enemies out of the people who work fo…
View List
Advertisement
'Never gonna happen': Micromanager assigns overworked employee more responsibilities, then cuts his pay in half, leading employee to leave company high and dry

'Never gonna happen': Micromanager assigns overworked employee more responsibilities, then cuts his pay in half, leading employee to leave company high and dry

The world of business isn't always fair. People would do whatever it took to succeed and build a name for themselves in the industry. That being stated, how would you react if your employers, who were strapped for cash, decided to offer you a fake promotion along with a pay cut? The story below is an account of a frustrated employee. The original poster (OP) had been employed by the same company for over a year. A few weeks ago, OP's managers approached him and said they would like to give him…
View List
workplace discussion workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance work workplace Horrible Bosses workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace - 25617925

Overachieving employee raises KPI averages higher just so their boss misses a promotion: 'The entire sector didn't get raises that year'

They say the best revenge in life is success… That teacher who said you'd never make it? That bully in high school? Anyone who doubted you or tried to keep you down. Well, the best thing you can do is go on to prove that you're not as weak or insignificant as they're telling you you are. Of course, although not as often discussed, going on to leave a peaceable existence of mediocrity is also an acceptable option if that's what you prefer, though decidedly less exciting of a story. This employee…
View List
workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace - 25593605

Worker reprimanded when their coworker who was supposed to cover their shift no-shows: 'I got in trouble for it'

In jobs and industries that operate off of shift work “The Schedule” is hailed by management as an ancient relic of extreme importance
View List
Advertisement
customer service workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job barista server waiter work customers waiting customer talesfromyourserver food service service workplace Horrible Bosses tales from your server employment service industry in the workplace - 25593349

Manager asks barista to a pay fine for calling out sick: 'Is there any way you can pay $50'

Starting a small business is a scary thing, putting it all on the line to try and create a successful business, which will see you solely reaping possibly unlimited benefits—if you can make it that far. But, hey, you take on all of the risks, you get all of the rewards; that's fundamentally how we've decided things should work in this world… and when it works well for someone, you're not going to see them complaining. However, taking on the risk means taking on the risk. Which is something a lo…
View List
workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs fired employment-discussion job work workplace Horrible Bosses bad bosses employment in the workplace - 25594373

'She was fired': Hybrid employee takes a take a sick day instead after being admonished by boss for working an additional day from home while sick

Working remotely has its advantages and disadvantages… While you no longer have to use your own time and money to commute into an office, which is probably open plan (which you loathe,) crammed directly adjacent to your other disgruntled coworkers (whom you abhor,) all that in order to have your time and productivity wasted by meaningless small talk and because you need to “look" busy even though that actually means you're being less productive. On the flip side, while remote working would cert…
View List
'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

If micromanaging bosses would rather do all of the work themselves, perhaps everyone would be happier if they just did. That way, no one would be looking over anyone else's shoulders. No one would feel like they're being watched at all times of the day. Furthermore, no one would feel like their process of getting things done was not respected. Here, we have a micromanaging boss who kept listening in on their employees' calls with customers and correcting them in the middle of the class. Not onl…
View List
Advertisement
workplace discussion workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance work workplace Horrible Bosses workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace - 25563141

'If it's not in writing, it didn't happen': Employee uses written communication as defense when micromanaging supervisor's tries to get of them

There's a pretty simple rule of management that leaders should follow: Don't mess with something that's working. Whether that's a single high-performing worker, an efficient team, or just a general flow of business, messing with something for the sake of it is always going to end poorly. It's a similar premise to “let sleeping dogs lie” but in this case, it's more of "leave
View List
'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

Don't you just love it when your boss is on thin ice and decides to take it out on the entire team? You know, as if it's their fault that she's an incompetent manager? That seems to be a frequent occurrence in the workplace. It's certainly nothing new that people in high-pressure situations act out unfairly, but it can be difficult to stomach when the person acting out is also the one who signs your paychecks. Let's start with one obvious truth that always needs to be restated: your boss's tant…
View List
Construction worker offers former micromanager a job, setting the record straight and teaching him a valuable lesson in humility despite of the claim that he will ‘never amount to anything’

Construction worker offers former micromanager a job, setting the record straight and teaching him a valuable lesson in humility despite of the claim that he will ‘never amount to anything’

There will be those who want you to fail and those who want you to succeed. However, regardless of who is around you, you should constantly strive to be the best version of yourself. The story below tells the tale of a resentful construction worker. Despite all the challenges, the Original Poster (OP) started his own construction company. To put things in perspective, during his undergraduate years, OP looked for a part-time job that could help him balance his academics and become somewhat fina…
View List
Advertisement
workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace - 25544965

Worker calls out company for asking for donations to help a struggling coworker: 'A lot of us are already struggling to make ends meet as it is'

All throughout the 2000s and 2010s, we used to eat up “goodwill” stories about people banding together to help their fellow—coworkers by donating PTO to a sick team member and crowdfunding to help cover the cost and medical debt of sick community members. All this really begs questioning, questions that are finally being asked more frequently in discourse online. Where these types of stories are no longer viewed purely as “wholesome” or “heartwarming” but rather as a sign of the dystopian, soci…
View List
workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work job candidate interviews workplace Horrible Bosses job interview interview employment in the workplace - 25481989

'You were not qualified': Job candidate messages interviewer to decline role, receives unhinged response in return

Rejection is a hard pill to swallow, no matter what form it comes in. You can sugarcoat it any way you like, throw around the whole “It's not me, it's you,” “It's just not a good fit,” and your words are still going to have the same message: “You're not good enough for me." This, of course, is a brutal affront to anyone's ego
View List
'If they don't respect my schedule, I'm just going to be absent': Manager ignores employee's conflict, employee maliciously complies, manager gets reprimanded

'If they don't respect my schedule, I'm just going to be absent': Manager ignores employee's conflict, employee maliciously complies, manager gets reprimanded

Not honoring an employee's schedule when they have been following all the rules and going through the proper channels is about as disrespectful as it gets. When a manager rejects your request to not work a certain shift, the message is clear: your life and commitments do not matter. What matters is this silly arbitrary work schedule that is 100% malleable but apparently, that would require too much critical thinking on the manager's part. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance…
View List
Advertisement
Client humbles micromanager in front of entire team after micromanager tries to teach staff member a lesson in business etiquette

Client humbles micromanager in front of entire team after micromanager tries to teach staff member a lesson in business etiquette

Customer service work can be difficult at times. The old adage ‘the customer is always right’ can reach unprecedented heights, depending on the circumstances and parties involved. The story that follows is an account of a customer service representative. The Original Poster (OP) was involved in asset finance, namely with regard to land and cars. But in an effort to find a solution, he chose to bring up the issue with his management after encountering an angry client who refused to abide by the…
View List
nurses workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion director job nurse work nursing workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace - 25110277

New boss experiences consequences when multiple members of their team quit simultaneously: 'I'm giving my notice the next day I work'

There's no surer sign that you might need to reassess your leadership "style" than having multiple people opt out, in quick succession, of being under that leadership. After all, as the old adage famously goes, “People don't quit jobs; they quit bosses.” There's no telling the level of miserable or monotonous job conditions some people will put up with just as long as they enjoy working with the people in their immediate team—especially their managers. Good managers are hard to come by, so when…
View List
1 2 3 4 5
Advertisement
Advertisement