When will these bosses get off our backs? Those of us who are at the bottom of the food chain are starting to develop back pain over here. We've been seeing a lot of instances lately about employers stirring up a fuss about their team members leaving the office early, even if it's just a few minutes before the end of the day. Apparently, it doesn't matter if all your work is complete and there's nothing left to get done for the day. It doesn't even matter if you got to the office early for a me…

No one can agree on the way this person should've talked to their boss. In any job, communication is key, but it's a skill that one develops over time. You don't enter the workplace at 20 years old already knowing the decorum of an office setting. People might give you weird looks if you speak up loudly during meetings or say something off-putting, and that's just how you learn those things over time. This person isn't sure if they talked to their boss appropriately or not, so they asked the in…

Talk about unprofessional! There are many instances when the personal details of an employee might come up in general banter during a team meeting. Examples of this include questions like “how was that concert you went to?” or “did you enjoy your trip?” Those are, of course, acceptable. However, questions like “did they refill your ADHD meds?" most certainly fall into the unacceptable category. What possessed this CEO to think inquiring about this was a good idea? Even privately, that question…

One of the biggest red flags an employer could have is being disrespectful of their employees' time off. When an employee takes time off, it usually signifies that they could not work at that time, and have other matters to attend to. If an employer disregards that time and insists their employees would accommodate the work schedule needs no matter what, then something is extremely off. The employee in this Reddit story was dealing with the same problem with his boss. The employee was constantl…

Respect begets respect—and flexibility begets flexibility. It's no surprise that as in the old adage of ‘The Golden Rule' along with so many other maxims, if we treat others with esteem they'll be far more likely to do the same. In the context of the modern workplace, this comes into play with a surprising frequency. Say, if a member of the team you're managing needs to leave early one day for an appointment or to take care of a personal errand, not making an issue of this means that they're go…

Always be careful with what you tell your coworkers, especially if you're the office Karen. Even a small ounce of self-awareness would lead this office Karen (whose actual name is Agnes… even better) to realize that if she keeps threatening to quit, the concept of leaving will soon become a dangling carrot for everyone else. Eventually, her fake quitting shenanigans caught up with her, and one coworker decided to call her out. Well, they didn't exactly call her out. Instead, they informed every…

A good old-fashioned dramatic quitting can really boost morale. When times are already rough at the workplace, watching someone quit with flair can feel so righteous. Most people don't quit on the spot. Even if it seems like they're doing that, usually the resentment has been building for some time. There's that common saying that people don't quit bad jobs, they leave due to bad management. Over time, having a micromanaging boss or a supervisor who continually berates you really wears an emplo…

Loopholes can be so sweet. This former department head now knows this all too well after they gained more than two weeks PTO! Reorganizations aren't usually a positive sign. No matter how much the company insists that workers won't be impacted, they'll all feel the differences in some way. At this university, a reorganization caused the loss of several highly-trained personnel. That's an issue in a specific field, and a major loss for a university. But when the only thing that matters is “pinch…

Focusing intently on petty mistakes and slights is a surefire way to make sure you miss the big picture. As a leader, this is a fantastic way to make your workers feel like they're being micromanaged and have no agency, potentially derailing the entire organization along with the workers' sinking morale. Sure, if someone isn't pulling their weight it makes sense to step in, but when your team member is late back from lunch one time after coming in sometimes hours early, you'd do well to cut the…

No one likes to feel like they are being watched at all times, especially by your boss. Sure, a manager has a responsibility to ensure that the employees on their team are fulfilling their roles; however, there is never a need to watch someone's every move. Not only is that weird, but it's also a waste of time and energy. Nine times out of ten, bosses who spend all that time micromanaging could have used that time to for a million other more important priorities. But that's the thing about auth…

It didn't take long after leaving a job before this employee began plotting their revenge . If your boss cost you roughly $10,000, you'd probably feel the same way! As you rise through the ranks of your career, you might spot opportunities to prove yourself. Maybe your boss is going on vacation, and they ask you to keep an eye on things until they're back. Or maybe your supervisor wants you to take on extra responsibilities to help you better understand the industry. Employees will often take o…

If you could work just five hours per day , would you? Most of us would thrive with that lifestyle and would take that offer instantly. For many or most adults, working full time is a norm we get used to. In other parts of the world, people take three month vacations or work just a few hours every day. Meanwhile, America is a bit more focused on hustle culture. People love to talk about how they're always grinding away to make money and advance their careers. Have you ever been to a party and s…

Welcome to the workforce, where managers never pick and choose their battles carefully. This one decided to scold her employee, a lawyer at a firm, for leaving the office early one day because he had to start a few hours earlier for a deposition. The meaning behind her frustrated lecture was that she did not want other lawyers to get the wrong idea that they can leave the office at any time. Let us be clear if we haven't been already on this site: if you are an employee and you have to come in…

It's important for job seekers to know what to ask if they are worried about a toxic work environment. Oftentimes, it takes experience in a prior toxic workplace to know what those red flags are. However, every so often, there is a friend or colleague who is willing to share their tough experiences so that you don't have to endure the same trials and tribulations. Consider this the polar opposite of “paying your dues,” an outdated concept that tends to allow for the continuation of bad workplac…

As someone who sports sweatpants and a hoodie for most of the year, I certainly don't have an aura of intimidating professionalism, but the guy in our next story realized how quickly our stylish social stigmas can derail a couple of employees.

Leave it to an executive with no common sense to make a huge mess. As so often happens, this higher-up wanted to prove that they were the head boss in charge, and made everyone else's days a little worse for it. Our society would be nowhere without the folks who work in construction. Concrete is in just about every modern building, not to mention sidewalks and roads. Construction crews can make quick work out of this. In just a few hours, your company can go from having a broken slab of concret…