Remember that episode on Friends, when Rachel lied to Joey about her boss wanting to ‘buy her baby’? This story has a similar plotline, except it's real. This particular boss began as OP's 'friend’ when OP was pregnant, alone, and stuck in a rut. The woman was offering OP an apartment (in a property she managed) and a job when she had neither. It was a no-brainer, and OP became her tenant and employee. Unfortunately, the woman was taking advantage of OP, and expected her to ‘give her her baby’.…

The unspoken rule that it's against company policy to have fun is not always so unspoken… One man completed 4 years of contract work to the US Army in Germany, and at the end of said contract, was homeless as he and his family waited for their household goods to arrive back in the States. The company authorized a rate for the hotel he would stay at in the following thirty days. He figured out budget-wise what he could and couldn't do, and took his family to visit EuroDisney in Paris, staying in…

While at work, we expect a certain level of professionalism from our coworkers, including our boss. Many managers tend to have a hidden agenda of sorts, and live in la-la land, blindly assuming they won't get figured out. What was this manager's real motivation for making her employees' lives more difficult? I'm not sure. But she insisted that specific training take place out of State. Now, this was back in 2020, when that wasn't really possible. Moreover, there were mandatory 2-week quarantine…

Interviews are a two-way street: the candidate is trying to figure out whether or not they want to work for the employer just as much as the employer is trying to figure out if they're interested in the candidate. Still, often there are multiple candidates but only one position; this can create a power imbalance and desperation on the part of the candidate that leads to only one direction of the street being walked. As such, candidates may miss major red flags from the interviewer or dismiss th…

Micromanagers are suffocating bosses who don't trust you to get the job done and certainly don't trust you to get it done right . This one in particular, ‘Sally’, was working in a company that was known for its nepotism. The upper-tier management was made up of family members and close friends. The woman who posted the story about micromanagement that led to malicious compliance shared the tale on Reddit — where she gained a lot of sound advice actually. See, this micromanager ordered the emplo…

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…

If you're looking for a sign, this is it. Is your boss treating you as if you're easily disposable, adding additional work duties that are not technically a part of your job description? Maybe it's time you look for a place where you'll be appreciated — where you won't be taken for granted, a place that will properly compensate you for the amount of work you do. In an earlier post, you'll find I wrote about a tired employee, working on an understaffed team at a restaurant, who shared his ‘horri…

Future you is very excited.