Some unfortunate situations in life arise out of mere happenstance or coincidence—but when something unfortunate happens to you that seems just a little too conveniently inconvenient, it can be hard to dismiss it as such. Of course, such thinking gives rise to all sorts of ridiculous conspiracy, but when your employer suddenly fires you just before you're set to receive a huge payout—one that they've been dangling on a stick all year like you're some kind of cartoon donkey—it just seems like th…

Imagine wanting a single day to spend with your visiting relatives over the holiday period and being told that it's not an option. Unfortunately, it's a reality that many employees face, particularly in sectors like retail, which also happen to be experiencing pumping trade at this time of year, and can't afford to have a single staff member away—primarily due to the appallingly low staffing levels they keep. They regard their authority in this situation to be absolute and—to be fair, it often…

An important lesson you learn early on in this world is to own your own mistakes, and whether or not someone makes mistakes is a good indicator of that person's character. As is often the case, there are plenty of people who never managed to learn this simple concept, with these people finding themselves in positions of authority all too often. It's not surprising then that there are a lot of toxic bosses out there who consistently find someone else to blame and someone else to shame for their…

There's nothing like hustling to go above and beyond in your role only to have your new boss turn around and throw some random metric that is vaguely associated with productivity back in your face for no reason. Your KPIs and contributions that are tied to actual revenue for the company are topping the charts, and yet your insecure micromanaging manager is concerned about the fact that your screen was “idle” for a few minutes. This is the problem with modern “productivity” tracking software tha…

Usually, when you name an award after someone, it's done to memorialize their significant contribution to the thing it's being awarded for, and never would you ever expect the person being memorialized to be eligible—lest receive—their own award. Can you imagine if every year the Nobel Prize just awarded every award posthumously to Alfred Nobel? I think the entire process would have a completely different perception.

Ahh… the holiday season, a time of year best spent with family and loved ones over incredible meals and through the sharing of thoughtful gifts. With images of bright, cheery, rosy-cheeked faces, Christmas lights, and decorations—maybe a little snow and mistletoe—it's a joyful time intended to bring out the human spirit, gratitude, and goodwill. Well, it should be no surprise to any of us that these optimistic ideas don’t meld well with workplaces. Stark grey walls with hard, cheap furniture. G…

Let's be honest: Missing out on a job in the last round of the interview can be tough, especially when you're desperate for a job… but if a prospective employer is using tactics like this, you probably didn't want to work there anyway. No honest hiring manager wants to waste their own time and spend more time recruiting than they have to.

Look, by nature, the interview process is going to require jumping through hoops and putting a little bit of yourself out there—and it's a lot like dating in that respect. The whole thing may seem like an unnecessary performance, but like with a first date, the idea is that setting a basic social exchange with some universal ground rules in place allows each party to assess the other party and decide whether there is any compatibility for proceeding further.

In the world of client service, there's a common belief: go to any length—great lengths—to keep all clients satisfied, under contract, and coming back for more. Most managers frown deeply upon contract cancellation notices, forcing workers to submit justification for cancellation along with what their work group did to try and retain the customer. At the end of the day, the number of contracts signed versus the number of contracts lost is the only metric that's being tracked, so that's the only…

First impressions are important when establishing a working relationship, so important that people tend to read way too far into things during the first interview. It's not unheard of for interviewers to take one single harmless thing you said and extrapolate it into some wildly imaginative reason why you're a risk to hire. Tell the wrong interviewer you like baseball, and maybe they'll decide you're not fit for their team since baseball reminds them of their resentful father who tried to force…

The burnout from being overworked and from constant exposure to a toxic workplace environment can really creep up on you. One day, you'll think that you're doing fine, under a lot of pressure and stress, but managing it just fine. The next, your composure shatters, and everything you've been enduring hits you like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, you feel the weight of it all. No energy and sinking, you're now struggling to keep your head above the water level of all the tasks you have to complete.

It really feels horrible when an employer retaliates for the simple reason that you gave notice. After all, we're taught and given the expectation that if you don't want the bridge, you give notice to your job, even if you know that the conversation is going to be contentious. But the problem is the entire arrangement is built on trust; you're trusting that they'll show you the same respect you gave them in giving notice and not exercise their right to terminate you immediately. The problem is…

Navigating a troublesome coworker in the workplace is a daunting experience. With them creating trouble at every turn and drowning you and your teammates in false reports to managers and HR, it's sometimes hard to know where to turn, constantly treading on broken glass-covered thin ice as you all wait for the coworker to either resign or get fired so that you can all return to a peaceable existence. It's wild how the presence of this one person can turn a team on its head , which kinda makes yo…

You find out a lot about someone when they attain a petty position of power, do they take up the mantle reluctantly? Or do they wield their tiny shred of power with impunity? Sometimes you might be surprised to discover how someone reacts , but more often than not the latter category is easy to spot from a mile away.

We talk a lot about mutual respect in the workplace, and this doesn't only apply to coworkers; it also applies to managers/owners and their employees. If a worker shows you respect by giving you greater notice than necessary that they will be leaving due to outside circumstances, you will do well to repay that respect by not retaliating. You might get away with it in this instance, but rest assured, after seeing how you treated their teammate, your other employees will never give you notice aga…

“So sue me,” is one of those phrases that works great amongst friends or family when there's a minor playful disagreement that no one is likely to sue anyone over, but is also often misunderstood and used as an ultimatum in instances where people actually might want to sue you. In these instances it's not nearly as great as a one liner or quip as people might as you're pretty much just reminding the person you're