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'How do you expect me to work if I'm not remote': Micromanaging CEO flip flops between calling programmer's job ‘remote’, leading to employee turning off alarm clock and staying home following ‘remote work' instructions

'How do you expect me to work if I'm not remote': Micromanaging CEO flip flops between calling programmer's job ‘remote’, leading to employee turning off alarm clock and staying home following ‘remote work' instructions

Tsk, tsk, CEOs and their antics. On the one hand, you're remote because it suits the needs of upper management. On the other hand, you're not remote because of the same reason. Well, which one is it? You can't have your cake and eat it, too. This micromanaging CEO was the type of human I stay away from. Anxious and suspicious of his employees and unable to make an informed decision or directly say what he wants. Always flip-flopping back and forth. The programmer who was working under him had h…
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Team Leader asked to motivate worker by arrogant manager, motivates them to leave: 'He's doing the work of 2-3 people'

'He's a millionaire now': Team Leader asked to motivate worker by arrogant manager, motivates them to leave for a better job

Being a manager is all about knowing people, and believe it or not, in order to be a good manager you also have to care about people. Of course, you have to protect the business interests too (if you want to keep your job) but there's a balance to be struck here—and the best managers strike it true. See, the thing is, having a motivated and cohesive team is actually the best asset a company can have—heck, even if your morals are based on a balanced checkbook, it stands to reason that the best i…
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'He confessed he lied on his resume': Programmers band together to get nepotistic managers fired

'He confessed he lied on his resume': Programmers band together to get nepotistic managers fired

There's this thing that happens in life that you'll see time and time again, where you meet someone in a position of authority and can't help but wonder how in the heck they got there. Maybe they're not necessarily cruel (though that's usually the case), but they'll be so obstinate and incompetent that you can't help but be surprised that no one else noticed.
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'Oops, I've overpaid my bills': Programmer uses skills to program a system to mess with his former apartment manager

'Oops, I've overpaid my bills': Programmer uses skills to program a system to mess with his former apartment manager

I should be able to repeat a few well-known sayings in my sleep by now. My favorite phrase, and the one I have to swear by—are you ready for it? ‘live within your means’. In case you haven't noticed already, the theme of this delightfully intriguing tale will be money—perhaps the most despicable topic in history. However, I guess it gets less painful, and possibly even funny, when we talk about other people's money. The story below is an account of a cynical tenant who has come up with a very c…
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'You'd be losing money!': Real estate agent landlord increases rent $500, tenant costs him $20k years later

There are few people you can truly trust in this world… and none of them are real estate agents or landlords. Two groups of people who make a name and a living for themselves by carving the flesh off of the unsuspecting. They'll stop at nothing to ensure they always walk away on top and with some extra coin in their pocket. So, it's unsurprising that a real estate agent who also landlords their own properties might be a little unethical and uncaring when it comes to profit-seeking and the fatte…
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'You make $200 and hour?': Arrogant boss brags about making more than IT Guy, he quits and charges that as contract rate

While this story may not be as spicy as some of the other stories we've seen come out of this particular subreddit, without a doubt, it's a good bit of revenge against an arrogant employer that doesn't reek of an “and everybody clapped” sort of ending.
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'I never offered any solutions to that company again': Egotistical boss overrules software developer's plan with their own, leading to their quiet quitting

Sometimes, getting too good of results will only prove to your boss that you're a threat to them and will earn you the honor of being the target of their ire and infantile rage as, rather than up their own game, they try to politically hamstring you in order to prove their superiority. After all, whenever their ego is involved, you can trust someone to make an irrational decision.
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'I helped end his career': Developer ends her old incompetent boss's whole career after he wrongly fired her

Being a ruthless cutthroat certainly has its advantages. Being unencumbered by the usual social requirements like empathy, mutualism, and reciprocation really frees you up to make some agile and dastardly moves. Still, the only friends you'll make will be “yes men” and sycophants, who are really only there to ride your coattails and feed off your scorched-earth rampage to the top, hanging around begging for scraps like a dog at the dinner table. When the house of cards eventually topples, these…
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'You want the job? Approved, it's yours!': Programmer tries to get secret second job, accidentally successfully applies for demotion

'You want the job? Approved, it's yours!': Programmer tries to get secret second job, accidentally successfully applies for a demotion

If you consider yourself to be smart and clever, you might think that you can get away with gaming the system, and it's only when it blows up in your face that you realize how much you overestimated your intelligence. Congratulations, you played yourself. Maintaining one full-time job is a lot of work, so it really makes you wonder how some people have been, reportedly, managing to work two at the same time. Every now and then, you see a story pop up online about someone who has been holding do…
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'You specifically asked me to delete it despite my protests': Company stranded after firing reluctant developer and telling them to delete everything they made

There are a lot of confusing things happening in this story, like how this night shift worker became integrated with their company's development team, contributing significantly to the point where the higher-ups were using their reporting dashboard for their reports. Yet, at the same time, there was somehow no one willing to stick up for them when their head was placed on the chopping block for seeking increasing compensation for their constantly-increasing responsibility and contribution. Stil…
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'The games WORKED': Kid circumvents school firewall to play flash games by learning to develop websites

The best lessons in life often can't be planned for and sometimes are born from the mistakes of authority figures and the limitations they place on you. These limitations can create situations that require creative solutions to overcome them, sparking inspiration that can lead to new pathways and ideas. This guy shared the story of his days at school, being trapped there without any access to the delightful flash games of the early 00s thanks to the school's overbearing firewall. As idle minds…
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'You're probably getting paid less than the people hired after you': Experienced programmer getting paid less than fresh new hire sparks online discussion over pay

We might expect that experience, performance, and time in a role would lead us to an increased take-home pay… and that we might be earning more than the college graduate the company just hired—who has no experience and is still wet behind the ears. But, changes in company hiring policy resulting from fluctuations in the demands of the job market could very well mean that new hires are earning far more than you. Companies are often reluctant to increase the cost of existing labor—even in times o…
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'This project was done during a bad phase of the moon': Programmers share the reddest flags they've ever come across on resumes

'This project was done during a bad phase of the moon': Programmers share the reddest flags they've ever come across on resumes

“I had a resume from someone who earned an MBA at a ‘college of transcendental meditation,'" shared a Redditor in a hilarious thread of programming resume fails.
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'I'll come back as long as Larry isn't there': Terrible boss drives essential programmer to quit, CEO removes boss and begs programmer to come back

'I'll come back as long as Larry isn't there': Terrible boss drives essential programmer to quit, CEO removes boss and begs programmer to come back

It is often said that you don't realize what you had until it's gone. It's crazy how often this plays out with employers undervaluing their essential over-performing employees for the sake of saving a few dollars or as a means of exerting their power over them. They are then shocked and surprised when the employee decides to seek greener pastures and finds a whole world of other recruiters who are hungry for their experience. Some managers and organizations aren't capable of recognizing that it…
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You blamed me for all of your IT troubles. So I made your entire department redundant.

Karen scapegoats IT Guy for her stupid nonexistent problems, he makes her entire department redundant

Sometimes in life… the low road is the right one. This Karen brought a metaphorical knife to an actual nuclear arms race when she decided to go toe to toe with this IT guy and blamed him for all of her stupid nonexistent troubles. As readers have pointed out in the comments: It's never a good idea to pick a fight with the guy who writes code when your job is easily replaced by a single line of it — that's just begging for the unfortunate outcome that has occurred for Karen here. After the repea…
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Clever Developer Discovers How to Automate His Job, Now Works 10 Minutes A Day From Home

Talk about a "Life Hack".
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