Customers are easily the worst part of any customer service job, followed closely by arrogant unqualified managers. The two make a dynamic duo when you're unfortunate enough to endure them simultaneously. The Karen, an unstoppable force of rage and fury, and the manager, an unmovable brick wall of utter density. Like Batman and the Joker, they are eternally locked in an endless struggle—and you're stuck in the middle. (It's no wonder that, in these industries, you spend most of your time off ju…

There's this thing that occasionally happens in workplaces, universally, across every industry, when management takes a look at their books and realizes how much they're paying workers in overtime. Commence initiative: Overtime approval—requiring workers to endure ridiculous approval processes to beat them into submission until they don't bother reporting overtime that they're working. The extra work still gets done, and costs don't increase. Job done. The perplexingly confounding thing about o…

There's nothing like building up a small business with your boss only to have them sell it… leaving your job in the hands of a greedy egomaniac who cares about nothing except making good on their investment. This new owner will often think that they know how to run your business better than you and manage your clients better than you—all while downplaying your experience and contributions to “put you in your place.” This often results in an incredibly predictable outcome; without knowing the nu…

When your Karen coworker has it out for you, you have to watch your back.

What this boss says goes, so this employee just did exactly as his manager asked him. Some bosses just always have to be right, no matter what their employees say. U/oldman712 shared this excellent tale of malicious compliance , and commenters then shared their own tales below. As the OP wrote, he was a software prototype designer who usually worked with individual clients. He'd save their projects on various terabytes, which the actually bought with his own money! While the OP cared about his…

Can I help you find anything? The exit perhaps?

Who among us hasn't dreamt of dramatically quitting and walking out the door of a toxic workplace? It's one of those fantasies that seem to creep in any time your manager is berating you for something inane, like not putting one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report. That's what these workers had the choice to do when their manager tried to write them up for not closing properly. The thing is… they didn't close properly because they had never been trained to close properly—in fact, they we…

If you don't understand what your new subordinates do, it would be a good idea to seek to understand their work. Jumping to baseless conclusions that their work is worthless just because your skull is three inches thick is a surefire way to land the entire organization in hot water. Well, true to typical “new boss logic,” this boss, “Sally," was too quick to judge when an essential analyst was restructured under her tyrannical

If there's one person you don't mess with… It's the person who is in charge of the books. This person has the capability to rock your world in ways that you really don't want it rocked. This was especially true in a time before the internet when there wasn't a thing called a “digital backup,” and often, backups weren't a thing at all. Even if the documents were important enough, were used, and did exist—they'd be at another physical location and would have to be mailed, which could take weeks .…

A nefarious plot by the CEO to lay off all workers at a big-box electronic store triggered a rebellion by the store's manager that would send the corporate entity reeling. Is this a plot line written by George RR Martin? Or a modern retelling of Robin Hood? You be the judge! When the employees of the store accidentally learned of this plot, it was a free-for-all. The manager was angered and made use of his discounting privileges to provide all employees with a once-in-a-lifetime shopping spree…

The three day weekend has me feeling rested, rejuvenated, and it inspired a new-found hatred for my job

Getting promoted usually involves some kind of a raise, but in this case, it did not. A woman took to Reddit, shaming her ex-boss, who gave her extra responsibilities, which included working longer hours — for a $2 pay cut. Does it make sense? Of course not. But companies are greedy, what else is new…At the time, the employee didn't question it, because she needed the money. So even though she would technically receive less, she would still be working longer hours, therefore resulting in a bigg…

Some things aren't meant to be discussed in a professional workplace setting, as any discussion around them could be found to be offensive or off-putting. Conversing on topics like politics, religion, sex, and drugs (along with any other highly personal, private, or polarizing discussions) is a surefire way to get yourself acquainted with your company's HR—who may not be all that happy about all the extra paperwork you've caused them. No… some topics—like sharing your worst trauma, are better s…

I need to close all the job application tabs before sharing my screen on Zoom

When you're an entitled 22-year-old 'Nepo-Baby' manager, it's likely you won't know what the significance of having a kid is. This boss in particular really had it out for his employee who was having a baby, as he continuously denied him PTO, for the entirety of September, when the employee's wife was due to give birth. The employee in question was fed up, and decided to maliciously comply, sending in a request for PTO and paternity leave in October — which was approved by the night manager, an…

It's often said that if you do a job and do it well, nobody is going to complain… but do a job well enough for long enough, and it's going to begin to be taken for granted. Soon enough, that second set of duties that you took on to band-aid resourcing shortages will become a part of your normal job description… You might be doing more work, but at least you have the appreciation of your manager—right? Their goodwill towards you could mean wonders for your career! That is… until they suddenly le…