It's ironic how the cubicle was the symbol of working-class oppression in the 80s, 90s, and 00s, with countless references in popular culture using it to establish the character's insignificant overlooked place in society. The cheap grey carpet and the temporariness of the fabrication reflected how the organizations viewed their lowest productive workers—too expendable to bother placing in an ordinary office.

Being overworked and understaffed, working long hours at odd hours, is no way to live your life. Still, many of us are doing so in order to eke out a living in this wild world. It can even seem manageable while you're in it, grinding out the hours to keep up with an ever-increasing workload to keep the bossman happy while seasonal demand runs its course or to cover for that vacant role that they've yet to see fit to fill. The reality is, by trying to do the right thing and keep everyone happy,…

For these office workers, spending a Sunday in the office felt like the last day of school before summer break. Remember how great the last week or two of school was? Chances are your teachers had a few tests or quizzes for you, but they were winding down their lessons for the end of the year. They'd let you bring in cards or board games, maybe let you watch TV for a while, and some would even bring in treats or let kids wander to other classrooms. It had this wonderful feeling of freedom. Thes…

Planning a wedding might be one of the most challenging experiences in a couple's relationship. We were taught to believe that our wedding day is one of the most important days of our lives, so we all want it to be the most perfect day we could make it be. This means we will plan it to perfection, which can be quite a stressful endeavor. One thing that a couple should never ever settle on, is their wedding photographer, because that person is in charge of creating the biggest memories from that…

Instead of getting to know his new coworkers, one new manager thought he had a better approach. According to u/atomb*mb1945, he started “getting into things that weren't his business and things he didn't know about.” That's exactly what you don't want to do as you're starting a new job. It isn't going to make a good impression on the current workers if the newbie comes in on day one and starts telling them they don't know how to do their own jobs.

Have you ever worked for a company that allowed you to donate your PTO to other coworkers? This new hire received an email from HR on his very first day asking him to donate PTO to two employees he didn't even know. The worst part is that he already doesn't like his new job and is taking a major pay cut after being laid off from his old job. It's understandable to donate hours to a coworker with whom you've developed a relationship, who may be in desperate need of PTO time due to family issue...

People will always be willing to better their own situation at the expense of others, whether it's that guy in front of you who sees fit to recline his seat for the entirety of a 15-hour flight despite having no one in front of or next to him, or something like cutting a queue in traffic or manipulating the schedule so that they don't have to work a shift that they find to be inconvenient. Everyone's the hero of their own story, so they, of course, won't see themselves as doing anything wrong.…

The real boss of an office isn't the president or CFO, it's actually their assistant . While higher-ups get all the glory of that job, they spend a lot of their days taking phone calls and meetings. Their assistants are often the ones organizing these, as well as writing follow-up emails, answering the office phone, ordering their lunch or coffees, and possibly even managing parts of their personal life. These administrative assistants are a force to be reckoned with: they're organized and cool…

Another day, another eight hours spent in the office. There are some days when office life is a breeze. You get to hang out with your favorite coworkers, the workload is light, and you might even get to hit up your favorite lunch spot. Ah, the sweet taste of a midday burrito! Not all days are a grind. But then, there are the other days. The days where you're hanging on by a thread, furiously trying to chip away at the looming pile of work on your desk. You find yourself trapped in the endless s…

This worker got a little taste of power and went completely overboard. While some workplaces have clearly defined roles for every employee , a lot of places ask employees to wear many different hats. So, much like u/Jenny8765309, there's no way to politely say, “That's not my job,” when someone asks you to do something that's most definitely not your responsibility. It's even harder when the person who's constantly asking for favors is in a position of power over you. This worker shared the sto…

When you actually like the place you work and can tolerate the people you work with, it's easy to reason that going into an office once in a while might present some benefit. But if you're being forced to go into an office where no one talks to each other (except under duress) just to do all of your work alone in an isolated room and all your meetings over Zoom anyway… It's easy to scratch your head and wonder what the point of all this really is. This worker shared how their employer made the…

Good childcare is hard to find… and it doesn't come cheap. It's reached the point where many families are now weighing up the costs of childcare and finding that it actually doesn't make sense for one spouse to work when their entire salary is going to the childcare costs incurred by their absence. Even for families that can afford it, filling the gaps between childcare providers is particularly challenging, creating a mess of busy schedules and further complicating workplace obligations. For t…

Deep breaths everyone, deep breaths. Sometimes that's all you can do when The Circumstances happen to you in the workplace. The higher your stress level is at work, the sooner you'll snap, as these ex-employees know all too well. On the r/AskReddit subreddit, u/Flaxmoore was curious about the “most legendary work meltdown” people had ever witnessed. There were more than 7,000 responses with stories from numerous different industries. There were a fair amount of stories from the call center sect…

Hiring—especially in the way it's usually conducted—is not an exact science. There's a whole lot of speculation and social shadowboxing going on with elaborately constructed facades masking true personalities in order to seem more put together and desirable according to the bizarre decorum of the entire process. The entire thing is based more on “vibes” than any concrete Superstition seems to reign on both sides of the interview table, with everyone having their own tricks. Even the most well-i…

Enough is enough! A person can only put up with so much nonsense from their job before they throw their hands up and quit. No one knows that better than the 7,000+ people who shared their “F*** this, I quit!” stories to r/AskReddit.

When you're in charge, it's pretty important that you follow your own rules, drinking the Kool-Aid that you've set out for everyone else to drink. Anything else would be hypocritical at best, causing dissension and demotivating those you're supposed to be leading and generally just setting a bad example. Conversely, being consistent and fair in your leadership helps foster a culture of accountability; by holding yourself to the same standards you've set for everyone else, you demonstrate the in…