“Why don't you just fire us then.” is an empty threat that you should never make, somewhere along the lines of “If you don't do this I quit” or “Why don't you just leave if you don't like it." When one makes such threats they're saying it thinking they're in a position of power. It's a power move and manipulation tactic to force a subordinate (or someone you otherwise have power over) into reluctantly accepting whatever terms you are proposing. By giving them an “out”, the person in power is ps…

Problems don't solve themselves!

One might be less inclined to leave a good review about your work skills if they are close to non-existent, or if you acted horribly towards them. Some will take it even further, and make sure to ruin a hypothetical future you might have at a new company. The point is, if you're managing people, be a good person. Otherwise, you might end up like this guy, who lost an incredible job opportunity because of an ex-employee's grudge. After a long, tyrannical reign, this disrespectful human being of…

It's always best to take advice from and listen to the person who knows best… and just because you're in charge doesn't automatically mean that that's you. Even the most base level of worker will know more than you about niche details and processes regarding their role. That's the reason why, when entering a new leadership position, it's always best to observe and learn before acting and making changes. There will reach a point where you need to step in and make some changes, some of which may…

Housing communities frequently have what is called a ‘homeowner association', backed up by strict, often stupid bylaws. This man lived in a neighborhood where the HOA literally planted little flags in front of lawns to make sure everyone understood perfectly just how tall their grass was ‘allowed to get’. In other words, this HOA was the epitome of a densely rigid association. Now, this man hated to mow his lawn… and when I say hated, I mean to say he despised it.

For siblings that become the forgotten member of the family, it's tough to watch the golden child slide through life without worries or cares. Obviously, family drama is pretty inescapable, and can be taxing both emotionally and financially. One Redditor, u/TWoldCat , was the outcast of the family and was alienated from her family since a young age by her toxic mother and golden girl sister. However, after she had started a new life without them, she was dragged back into the drama. TWold was f…

The person with the most mechanical knowledge is usually the person who is running the machine, but this boss didn't seem to think so. What led to this mess was the fact that this same boss refused to do regular maintenance on the (expensive) machine, so it began breaking down, as expected. An employee tentatively approached him, explaining that the company was going to lose a lot of money if they didn't shut it off in order to fix it. This advice fell on deaf ears.

Sometimes managers and business owners manage to convince themselves completely that everyone is out to get them. They're certain that their “lazy” workers are looking for every possible option to screw them over by slacking off on the job. Sure, there might be some workers like that out there. But from what I've seen in the workforce, they're completely outnumbered by those who are going above and beyond. Why jeopardize those workers' morale just so you can control the one bad egg? Why cut off…

Companies often cheap out on buying software, instead opting to download a pirated version for free. If this were to come to light, the fines would be hefty, but a lot of companies get away with it. This one did not. An employee with no prior office experience was hired as a processor for a mortgage company. Her boss was extremely dismissive, as she looked down on her for having no experience. Her pride cost the company $30,000 in fines. What happened was the following: An unknown error popped…

Some bosses should be very careful about what they demand.

Choosing to house-share with roommates can be one of the most horrendous life choices you make. The first few weeks are easy peasy, as everyone is on their best behavior. A few months down the line, you're living with completely different people. It's hard to predict who is going to be insufferable, and that is exactly how you end up in this kind of situation. One man lived in an 8 person student house, so there was bound to be some drama. But everyone has their own threshold for how much crazi…

It's not often that we see a scenario where someone successfully manages to maliciously comply with a malicious compliance… Enter stage right, this clever customer service representative. Reddit user u/pinkfloss9 shared this story about an experience they had at work on Reddit's r/ MaliciousCompliance subreddit. In the post, they tell the tale of an angry Karen who came into the office where he worked at the front desk. She came in guns blazing, and when it came time for her to pay, she whipped…

New management always finds a way to demotivate workers, usually via micromanagement, but in this case, the opposite is true. There are countries where labor laws are a dime a dozen, and in this specific one, employees have a certain amount of hours required to work each month; every hour short of that is deducted from monthly payment, and every hour beyond is paid as overtime. This employee used that to his advantage when his new boss decided to mess with him, attempting to deduce his salary b…

Everyone wants to think they have all the answers… but sometimes you don't know even half as much as you'd like to think. We would all do our best to listen to other people's thoughts and opinions before assuming that we have the best and only answer. This student and part-time waiter made the asinine assumption that his method for charging guests was superior to the method devised by his coworker. After claiming that her methods were making it more difficult for him, he insisted that they reve…

There's nothing like a boss who turns out to be too prideful to acknowledge when they've made a huge mistake.

Stories like this are a dime a dozen, the reason for that being that many new managers make the common mistake of trying to change rules that work, for rules that don't. One man was working for a subsidiary of a fortune 500 as a manager of a dev team. Everything was working perfectly until a new security manager came along, and revoked the admin rights of OP's team. This led to a handful of problems, which were brought to the security manager, who waved them off. In fact, he replied to every em…