This employer forced “several employees” to sign effective vows of silence (performance improvement plan) at their workplace and photos of the contract have sparked discussion online.

Why would you argue against your own working freedoms? Pre-pandemic flexible arrangements were hard enough to come, and post-pandemic corporate life is already quickly forgetting them—we see more and more posts every day about the evaporation of remote work. This workplace is a perfect example of the recently-trending term “Crab Mentality”—which basically boils down to “If I can't have it neither can you.” The term originates from the (alleged) behavior of crabs who, when trapped in a bucket, w…

Reporting someone to HR for some overly-hot sauce is a hot take when you've been remorselessly pilfering their lunch. You can't help but wonder how these lunch thieves manage to live their lives so perilously perched on the edge of vagueness. What do they do if they're not the biggest fan of the coworker-crowdsourced menu for that day? Ethical and moral arguments aside, I don't think I could handle the uncertainty; I need much more stability and consistency in my life than that to make it throu…

It's unfortunate that people with really crappy personalities are often allowed to subsist, even thrive, within our workplaces and communities. We're all guilty of and complicit in this happening; all too often, we silently allow these people to exist amongst us and even help them succeed for fear of “rocking the boat” or “causing a scene." Unfortunately, this only enables them in their secretly destructive ways, and by not dealing with the problems when we see them, we let them go on to do har…

There are just some things that should never be uttered out loud; heck, even thinking them is bad karma. Passing comments on any stranger's physical traits is one of these things that should never be done, especially if that person is someone who you have a professional relationship with… and ESPECIALLY if those comments have a sexual connotation. If you somehow manage to make all these mistakes at once, you're practically begging for a conversation with HR followed by a swift escort from the b…