Everyone has had that moment of panic on Zoom when you thought you were on mute but you weren't.

Fleeing a toxic workplace is like dealing with a bad breakup. It's tough to muster up the courage to break it off and even if you finally do, the Ghost of Cubicles Past may follow you into your next job, lurking around every corner, poisoning references, and tainting every good interview. Although, even if you're trying to run away from bad bosses in your closet, leaving your current job is harder than you think...

It's amazing how ego-fueled denial can make an employer wait until the last moments of your notice period before attempting to reassign your tasks and replace you. It's probably not surprising, though, given that this exact attitude and lack of care are probably what made you want to leave your job in the first place. Still, this happens time and time again—as evidenced by the sheer number of stories posted about it online. You might even have some stories and experiences of your own of dealing…

Karens with a thin grasp of the law are especially tiresome to employees working who deal with it, and this includes reporters. In this case, OP was working at a small newspaper as a reporter. OP received a (surprise, surprise) complaint from a local Karen who was absolutely livid that her name was mentioned in an article OP wrote. To put things in perspective, OP mentioned Karen's name in passing, so it wasn't like OP quoted her, defamed her, or did anything else that may elicit such an angry…

“He honestly didn't do much besides hover, bring bad energy and make terrible suggestions,” this employee writes in a story about their irritating former boss. As u/RahbinGraves told to r/ProRevenge, they didn't care for their bossy manager's behavior. The OP writes that they were working at a hardware store making a pretty low wage, yet still doing a lot for the company.

One cashier is living every working person's dream: telling their boss exactly what they think about them. If you've been paying attention at all for the past few years, I don't have to tell you that stores everywhere are very short staffed . Even at the grocery store, where the OP of this story works, you often see long lines at the checkout, and sometimes shelves with minimal products. Although it seems like everywhere is hiring, some places will just always have a high turnover rate. u/TAbad…

Oh, Karen.

Everyone knows a good ol' fashioned scam when they see one. "Take the money and run", is a scumbag's catch phrase, right? Usually scams involve some grifter making a quick buck on empty promises, weaponizing human emotions and taking advantage of every weakness before dipping out– just like your crummy manager at work!

If we're taking bets for the worst thing a boss has ever done, my money is on this; using someone else's tragedy for your own gain is a specific type of evil with no moral restitution. Somewhere in a locked room, this boss has a portrait of himself with a curled, deformed hand and demonic visage. This heartbreaking workplace story was shared on Reddit't r/antiwork subreddit, with the original poster sharing how her former boss had scammed her coworkers into giving him money, which was supposed…

Managerial hubris is one of the reasons employees hate their jobs. Not only are we lacking in pay, but we are enslaved to the most incompetent group of overinflated bimbos who could easily be replaced by AI– at leas the replacement would be more charismatic. But these types of managers will deny your raise and then come begging for your help. Which is it? Do you value my hard work or not?

When you're good at your job, it sucks to have your clueless boss tell you what to do. Not only are they on a power trip of haughty, suit-clad dictatorship, but your arrogant boss couldn't do your job in a million years. Sometimes, when you're getting scolded at work by that kind of boss, all you need is a shred of revenge on their ignorance to feel better.

It should be understood, at this point, that straying into a store with a uniform consisting solely of a specifically colored shirt—whilst wearing that same color of shirt—is a risky move. It should also be understood that even wearing a similar color shirt is likely to attract every Karen and disgruntled manager within a 100-meter radius. If you choose to do this, you do so at your own peril, but at least you can write a story about it later to share online. This guy happened to stray into a l…

Standing desks may have become all the rage, but some people can't stand them. Being on your feet all day can be tiring and result in aches that can't wait to be eased by a well-deserved rest. Just ask anyone who works in retail, nursing, or the service industry and has to be on their feet all day. Workers from these sectors are probably permanently bewildered by office workers' obsession with standing. My own experience with standing desks has led me to believe that their sole reason for exist…

Living in a world that isn't black or white makes things better for everyone, especially regarding the enforcement of minor infringements. Inflexible policy enforcement begets inflexibility—ask, and you shall receive. If you're going to nitpick the strict enforcement of rules, be ready for a staunch defense using the same reasoning. While punctuality is always a good skill to have in the workplace—being one of the classic ways of showing that you respect other people and their time—it's safe to…

Receipt reimbursement systems in companies are much more complicated than simply giving employees a hard per diem. In this case, OP was working on an off-site short-term project (that in reality lasted about a year) in Singapore, and he was allocated $60 per day for food expenses. On average though, OP was actually spending about half that amount. As the project went on, the customer's client began raising some issues, and OP was told to take the client out for dinner and some drinks. His manag…

Working for a company with a dress code can be exhausting. When you were hired, you had your own style, but now you have a closet full of cookie-cutter outfits that a blind librarian might wear to a funeral. Lame!