This boss saw graffiti outside his business and decided to do the funniest thing possible. Not that he intended to… but his employee got a kick out of it regardless. So you've had a bad experience with a company. What do you do about it? You might want to call up and speak to a manager, and that may net you a gift card or some coupons. Or if you're still upset about it and the place won't right their wrongs, you could leave a one-star review to warn others. This person was ready to break the la…

This company has never heard of the phrase “Measure twice, cut once.” Instead, they're perfectly fine with winging it, and then starting all over again. Experienced craftsmen know that there's no such thing as being too careful. You can always measure one more time, or check that your equipment's working one more time. It's better to spend a few extra seconds double-checking your work, rather than spending days or weeks redoing a part of your project. U/thornae had a cool malicious compliance s…

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…

Life is comprised of a series of rules, rules that, throughout our lives, are imposed upon us and, maybe, even set for us by ourselves. Some of these rules are paramount, and our ability to follow them will determine who we are, how we're perceived, and the effect on the world. Other rules are really quite silly, and one feels silly following them. Chances are that these silly rules were written and enacted by someone who really had no idea what they were doing or were imposed by someone who wa…

One employee found themself working at a company that kept pushing them to bend the rules. Some industries are just like this. Stories about issues in the concrete industry crop up often, which is concerning when basically every building is made out of the stuff. Concrete makes up our sidewalks and roads, houses and stores, and even huge things like bridges and overpasses. This dude shared their malicious compliance story about what happened when they decided to reject the status quo. I give th…

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…

Some days at work will stick in your head more than others. If you're working hundreds of days each year, you probably won't recall what you were doing on some random Tuesday in April. What you'd definitely remember are the days that caught you off guard . Maybe you walked into the office and suddenly saw that the big boss chose that day for a surprise visit. Perhaps you'd recall the day that a customer made a giant deal with your company, leading to a huge celebration. When u/Voraxia had an un…

There are a lot of reasons not to hire a potential candidate, and on the other side of that coin, there are a lot of reasons why a candidate shouldn't pursue a role. Certainly, if the other party isn't willing to follow (or capable of following) basic etiquette and decorum, that's a pretty good sign that the ensuing relationship isn't going to be a bountiful one. In a world where much of our communication takes place in non-verbal written mediums, it's important to remember that it's incredibly…

Looking for a new job can be such a grind in itself—from scrolling through endless job listings to tweaking your resume and surviving the interview process. Not to mention the whole onboarding hoopla. But imagine surviving all of that just to realize the company is nowhere close to what it was hyped up to be. Well, that's exactly what happened to this employee. She thought she hit the jackpot with her dream job, only to throw in the towel after a mere week. Turns out, the management was a chaot…

White lies are one thing, but these bosses told a whopper of a lie right to their employee's face. As a manager , you have numerous responsibilities to your employees, and strangely enough, being truthful is not on that list. For example, a manager might hear word from their own boss that layoffs are coming. Suddenly, that manager is working with a team of people who are blissfully unaware that their livelihoods are going to be taken away from them. But all they're allowed to do is to continue…

If you can't even make it through the first shift at a job, maybe you just weren't cut out for that role in the first place. Or maybe you were right for that career, but you actually dodged a bullet by avoiding a bad place to work. Either way, these kinds of circumstances happen once in a blue moon--- but the people below were there to witness it and share the story. Everyone makes mistakes at work, but usually, they're pretty minor. Maybe only your boss knows about it, or maybe you botched som…

This must've been the craziest day on the job for one group of construction workers . At every job, there will come a day that is so outrageous that it turns into a legend. Maybe someone gets in a public screaming match with the boss and tells them off in front of everyone. Or perhaps the serial food thief finally gets caught. Or maybe one employee flips out on a client. Days like these don't happen all the time, and when they do, it certainly breaks up the monotony. One group of construction w…

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.