You should always be careful with ultimatums, particularly when you're really just on a power trip and bluffing… Sooner or later, someone is going to call you on your bluff, and you're going to be left standing there with your hands tied, looking pretty silly. Still, this is a favorite tactic amongst toxic managers, who relish the idea of threatening their workers with firing more than J. Jonah Jameson. There's nothing they enjoy more than putting a proverbial gun to your head, putting your fam…

Okay, be honest: what's the worst way you've ever answered an interview question ? This topic could unite us all. No matter how long you've worked, no matter how qualified and prepared you are, every person gets nervous going to job interviews. It's a universal fear, and for many people, it's just one of those things you have to do every few years in order to advance your career. For every five or ten interviews you do, you might get offered the job one time---or not at all. It's brutal out her…

One of the benefits of working in a particular industry is that you get key insights into how things work, learning all kinds of insider information from working behind the scenes. Often, though, all this insider information does is lead back to the fact that the entire thing is just an elaborate charade. This knowledge is, of course, a double-edged sword because often you joined that industry in the first place due to a personal interest, and now you have to live with the knowledge that the en…

Some bosses don't believe in excuses. They have a zero tolerance policy for latenesses or absences, as if they're managing robots, and not human beings. If you've never worked in the food service industry, let me tell you a secret: snow days are often incredibly busy times at restaurants of all kinds. It seems counterintuitive---after all, if the roads are closed and temperatures are in the negatives, who's going to want to go out for a burger? What happens, though, is that people lose power an…

Getting passed up for a promotion when you know you are deserving of the role is rough. Probably the only thing worse is being asked for help by the person who got the job and has no idea what they're doing—proving definitely that you should have gotten the role in the first place. But, it's not uncommon for these types of things to happen in the workplace, where politics, corporate narratives, and other misguided decision-making processes often override actual logical reasoning. Unfortunately,…

Some managers just show up, take their paycheck, and leave. Why bother actually doing your job if you don't have to? This teen was working as a “waitress/server/cashier” at a chain restaurant where she could have really used some extra support from her managers. She writes that she, a new girl, and one other employee were at work with a manager who was being totally useless. Some managers who've worked their way up the ladder feel entitled to their new “good life.” If you've worked in a restaur…

It always seems to be the moment where we think too much of ourselves, riding high and mighty on our high horse, that we're struck down… and when you're riding high, there's a longer way to fall.

This boss kept reminding their employee over and over just how disposable they were. It's no wonder the employee got really tired of hearing that! This boss must not care about workplace morale at all. If she did, she wouldn't speak to her employees in such a degrading tone. The OP, u/Public_Pressure_4516, shared they were working at a bank, but just as a part time gig. The OP is also a part-time teacher, but we all know how America treats its teachers---low pay and no benefits. So they needed…

Having your things go missing from a shared storage space is, understandably, infuriating, especially when that space is only accessible by your adult colleagues who ought to understand full well that the taking of others' things is wrong—and not some preschoolers who have yet to learn that lesson. Still, repeatedly throughout your life, you'll be disappointed to discover that some adults just don't care about doing the right thing and will shamelessly do whatever is in their own best interest—…

Requiring your workers to complete work-related tasks while off the clock presents a range of moral, ethical, and legal issues. Still, it's incredibly common with different policies, making this intention incredibly overt to more subtle. At the end of the day, the design of these policies is to keep costs down, reducing labor costs by shaving off “unnecessary” time at the end of shifts, which means that workers are completing those “unnecessary” necessary tasks on their own time. A great exampl…

They say quitters never win, but when it comes to jobs, sometimes you just need to know when to walk away… After all, we're not going to work the same jobs for our entire working lives. I think it's safe to say that the days of that being a likelihood are long behind us. Sure, our grandparents might have started working straight out of high school and spent their entire careers with one company, retiring at 55 with an excellent pension… But that's just not in the cards for anyone who isn't bord…

If your boss doesn't like you, what can you do about it? This person realized that fact, but only after they'd already been at the company for several months. U/aineslis shared a malicious compliance story that took place at their job while they were working in Europe. The rules are different there compared to the USA---workers have different protections and rules around their conduct. However, it seems like this person was just perhaps not a good personality fit for that company. In a bank whe…

Taking leave from your job is important. For one thing, a bit of time away can give you more headspace, meaning that when you return, you're feeling fresh and invigorated, ready to bring new ideas and approaches to your role—or it can just mean you return with your hatred for your job freshly invigorated… If that's the case, it's a good sign that your current role and duties aren't a good use of your time, and it's time to do something else.

Too many organizations prioritize the willingness to do what you're told without asking questions over any actual leadership skills. Should you find yourself in one of these workplaces, get out as fast as you possibly can. In that same vein, it's startling h ow many organizations and managers are willfully negligent about the legalities of the areas where they operate, and it's surprising that feigning ignorance actually allows them to get away with a slap on the wrist. Imagine if you tried to…

How bad would your drink have to taste before you start pouring it out on the ground ? This woman did just that, in a video she filmed herself, after getting a drink she disliked at a local coffee chain. Some coffee chains are woefully inept at making a drink. I stopped going to a local Dunkin because my order is just cold brew with cream, with light ice. Those are just three ingredients, and yet I never get quite what I've asked for. Sometimes they give me extra ice (are they spiteful of my li…

This woman was confused why she got charged $49, so she phoned up a call center for help. The person on the other end of the line, u/boyinblack13x, ended up going above and beyond at their job that day: they helped their customer find this missing ex. In my own personal “sure grandma, let's get you to bed” moment, I remember a time when you could share passwords between streaming services. It was a sneaky way to stay on mom and dad's Netflix plan while you went off to college. Then, these turne…