A company's success is dependent on its workers, so you'd think it would be incredibly foolish for an employer to lay off every single member of their staff in some bizarre power play, expecting everyone to turn around and reapply for their roles, grateful for the chance to grovel and endure the unnecessary stress and emotional turmoil of having their livelihood threatened just so their employer could feel sufficiently powerful.

Taking a peek into the life of a contractor as he works to build a restaurant is so interesting. If you don't work as a contractor, you'd have no idea what goes on while people are building a restaurant. By reading this story, you get a good insight into the process: for example, it's not just one group of people who are in charge. Instead, there is a general contractor who is responsible for managing subcontractors who work under the GC's supervision. There might be one person who's in charge…

What do you do when your company, nay—industry—regards employment not as an ongoing arrangement but as a mere rental of skilled labor? Sending you packing as soon as your position has served its most immediate purpose. In truth, it seems short-sighted since, when it comes to programming and development, there will always be a need for ongoing troubleshooting, updates, and improvements—who better to do that than the person who wrote the original program?

This story is a great example of why you should get everything in writing . While that's great advice, it's not always easy to accomplish in real life. For example, if you have a two-hour long meeting with your bosses, and then request everything from that meeting in writing, there's a 99% chance your boss will disregard that request entirely. But you can still get things in writing if you write to your boss something like, “Per our phone conversation, I'll be doing X and Y.” Next up, these peo…

No matter how clear the rules of your business are, some customers just won't abide by them. Even when these rules are utterly crucial, some folks either won't understand, or they'll forget. Or, they might just choose to ignore them, like the guy in this malicious compliance story. It doesn't necessarily matter how strong you are when it comes to moving giant bulky items like couches or refrigerators. You certainly need to have some big muscles to move those things, but it's easier if you can u…

This manager was what we call a “seagull manager”: they randomly swoop in to scream and make a mess everywhere before fleeing the scene. Perhaps you've been in a job like these two guys were. As u/RedEd024 writes,

Thirst traps on LinkedIn and now job recruiters on Tinder? What on this gosh green earth will we come across next? It's almost as if we've stepped out of the bounds of reality and now are hurtling forward on some alternative bizarro timeline in which the rules of the universe have been completely flip-flopped.

This deli worker was not thrilled about the sanitation standards at their job. Since they worked behind the counter, this worker got to see how the sausage was made, so to speak, because in their case, they were witnessing how rotisserie chickens were being sold. Instead of trashing turkeys that definitely shouldn't have been consumed by the general public, this guy was asked to just put them out for sale. It seems like this is not uncommon. How can bosses just not care if they're putting out f…

One business decided to let their customer support chat staff man the phones without any training… what could go wrong? This story is about the help desk workers who specialize in using the chat feature. Instead of calling up a company, these days, a lot of places will let you instant message with an employee instead. This feature is incredibly convenient. You can get help with your issue while you're at work without having to get up and make a long, drawn out call. You can also get help while…

Which bonus would you rather have: a subscription for a monthly jelly delivery, or a pair of socks? There's not a correct answer to that question, but those are two real things that some workers got as holiday bonuses . I never knew that a subscription to a jelly of the month club was such a popular gift. Numerous people cited that as a present their workplace gave them in this post from r/askreddit. That's a cool gift, I suppose, it's good to broaden your horizons and try new things. But you k…

Candidate assignments during the interview process are a constant source of derision in online discussions. While we frequently rant against them, it's logical to reason that there is some reasonable requirement for an employer to be certain that their new hire is capable of doing the job and that they're not likely to become a sticky cog or a liability. Thus, interview assignments make sense to the extent that they test a candidate's aptitude in the knowledge and skills required to do the job.

These workers were totally baffled by their employer's decision that is just designed to make their lives harder. Is it dramatic to say that commuting is the worst thing ever? I know there are worse things in the world, of course. But having a lengthy commute five days per week feels like it drains you of your energy. No matter how great the job is, if the commute is too long, you may find yourself groaning each day as you head in to the office. Working in a hybrid role is great---you don't hav…

The phrase “tripping over dollars to pick up dimes” has become a popular one in the discourse of online workplace discussion, particularly when it comes to employers holding out on overdue raises and earned bonuses from their top workers, though it has other applications too when it comes to other overly drastic cost-cutting measures in the workplace.

This company was great at first, but slowly became too toxic for one employee. Cultivating a professional and pleasant atmosphere in a workplace takes effort from every person in the building. If employees are happy, they'll probably be friendlier, which will make collaboration easy. When employees are dissatisfied at their job, though, cliques start to form between different branches of the business, and employees might harbor resentment towards management . After all, if management is in char…

Some people do not know how to behave in a movie theater . It seems to be an ongoing problem that's gotten worse post-2020. It's like people were alone for so long during that period that they forgot how to act once they started doing activities outside the house again. Theater patrons have never been perfect. But these days, you can expect to see a half dozen bright cell phone screens in the crowd. It's so strange that people will pay money just to go sit in a theater and stare at their phones…

The IRS are not the ones to mess with. Every American has to bend to the IRS's will. They're the ones who require us to do taxes every single year. Sometimes they'll randomly audit you --this happened to me during one year where I made under $35k, which I honestly found hilarious. Surely they could've found a billionaire to audit and rake in that sweet sweet cash, but they really wanted a little more extra moolah from people like me. That's life in America , though. You may not enjoy it, but wh…