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'Bad work pays the same as excellent': Employee confirms with boss that promotions at his company are no longer based on merit,  starts doing the bare minimum

'Bad work pays the same as excellent': Employee confirms with boss that promotions are no longer based on merit, starts doing the bare minimum

There's a moment in everyone's working lives when you suddenly become disillusioned and everything else becomes crystal clear. It's like the reverse of the moment in The Wizard of Oz when the world goes from being black-and-white to full technicolor. Instead, your rose-colored lenses disintegrate and everything becomes, well, bleak and cynical. After five years of working to the bone at the same company and repeatedly being denied a promotion, this Redditor was able to get their boss to basical…
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'Fired over hash browns': Server gets fired for laughing in manager's face after advocating on customer's behalf

'Fired over hash browns': Server gets fired for laughing in manager's face after advocating on customer's behalf

Laughing in your manager's face when they're trying to find a reasonable way to deal with your antics is probably not the best way to behave in front of them. That being said, when your manager is an absolutely ridiculous person, it's not exactly your fault how you respond to them. Self-control is ideal, but it's not easy when you're in the presence of nonsense. This thread was shared to Reddit's r/TalesFromYourServer subreddit by u/blscratch , a former server who was attempting to advocate on…
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'I'm literally never late': Boss demands employee to text her as soon as she leaves the house, employee complains to her boss's boss

'I'm literally never late': Boss demands employee to text her as soon as she leaves the house, employee complains to her boss's boss

There is a reason why you should avoid giving your boss your phone number if you can help it. Sometimes, you don't have a choice, but what you do have control over is when you choose to respond to your boss. The reality is that engaging with your boss is part of your paid employment. Therefore, you really only need to do it when you're on the clock. It can be hard to draw those boundaries, especially in this day and age when it's nearly impossible to unplug. However, if you do manage to establi…
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'They canceled my two weeks off': HR approves employee's PTO for their mother's funeral, then cancels request, employee has an outburst

'They canceled my two weeks off': HR approves employee's PTO for her mother's funeral, then cancels request, employee has an outburst

Every human resources department has been known for some shady behavior to protect the interests of the company rather than the interests of the actual humans who work there. Ironic, much? We all have these kinds of stories, particularly ones that involve employee benefits like paid time off. It's a tale as old as time: an employee requests vacation time for an important event like a wedding or a funeral, their boss approves said vacation time, then shames them in some way as the dates actually…
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'Fired for insubordination': CEO fires employee the day he files for paternity leave, claims he was insubordinate

'Fired for insubordination': CEO fires employee the day he files for paternity leave, claims he was insubordinate

We're pretty sure toxic bosses are not allowed to do this anymore… This boss decided it was appropriate to fire his hourly employee on the same day that the employee filed for more state-protected paternity leave, a privilege that his boss doesn't normally grant to his other employees as well. First of all, let's start by acknowledging that granting maternity and paternity leave should not be seen as a privilege in anyone's else, nor should workers be rewarded for not taking their full time off…
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'He got laid off. An hour into his first day': 10+ wild workplace stories as told by HR

'He got laid off. An hour into his first day': 10+ wild workplace stories as told by HR

We often talk about how HR is not your friend here on FAIL Blog. That being said, there are always good apples everywhere, and you know with certainty that some of these HR professionals have seen some wild stuff. It could be during the hiring process, when HR employees and hiring managers end up hearing some pretty ridiculous demands or inappropriate remarks from potential job candidates. It could be a crazy story from a boss or CEO, who has pretty backward standards when it comes to workplace…
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'I was the one that paid the $500': Server forced to pay the bill after table of 11 dines and dashes

'I was the one that paid the $500': Server forced to pay the bill after table of 11 dines and dashes

The most infuriating part of this story is how common this phenomenon seems to be among other servers. Several folks in the comments section of this Reddit thread pointed out that they too would be forced to pay up if any of their customers dined and dashed at a restaurant. Not only is this completely unfair, but this kind of policy is certainly not going to create a sense of loyalty among the restaurant staff. The underlying concept here is that it's the server's fault for allowing customers t…
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'It feels invasive': Manager requests remote access to employee's personal computer during meeting, employee refuses

'It feels invasive': Manager requests remote access to employee's personal computer during meeting, employee refuses

Welcome to another toxic workplace in which a manager thinks he has way more power than he does! In this case, we have a new horrible boss who doesn't understand how to gain access to his team's project. Rather than admit he needs help to gain said access, he has been forcing various team members to grant him remote access to their personal computers during Zoom meetings. Now that this Redditor is the next one on the team who is expected to do this, he is dreading the meeting. Let's break down…
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'[The restaurant] lost 4 cooks on Super Bowl Sunday': 20 Workplaces whose employees banded together and quit en masse

'[The restaurant] lost 4 cooks on Super Bowl Sunday': 20 Workplaces whose employees banded together and quit en masse

These workplaces found out the hard way that you can only push your employees so far before they snap.
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'Didn't I just sign a paper where I promised that I never would talk back to you?': Fast food worker forced to never talk back to manager after defending coworker, cue malicious compliance

'Didn't I just sign a paper where I promised that I never would talk back to you?': Fast food worker forced to never talk back to manager after defending coworker, cue malicious compliance

There are two kinds of managers in this world: the ones who lead and the ones who enforce ridiculous rules.
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'I can't say anything. He's in dress code': Employee discovers loophole in strict manager's dress code policy, wears yoga pants to work

'I can't say anything. He's in dress code': Employee discovers loophole in strict manager's dress code policy, wears yoga pants to work

We've all had managers who spend way too much energy enforcing silly rules that serve absolutely no purpose.
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‘I find it HIGHLY inappropriate for them to text my wife’: Employee calls out of work, boss and coworker spam his wife’s phone

‘I find it HIGHLY inappropriate for them to text my wife’: Employee calls out of work, boss and coworker spam his wife’s phone

The problem here is not that the employee isn’t communicating enough; it’s that his boss and coworker are overstepping boundaries. Clearly, this employee had said plenty about his whereabouts over the past few days. He had to take off due to a family emergency. No further explanation is necessary. He even followed up over the weekend via email and again over text with an update that he wouldn’t be in the office for one more day but that he would be back on Tuesday. Again, this is a perfectly su…
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'Fired on first day': Hotel employee fired for revealing higher hourly wage to coworker, HR makes up excuse

'Fired on first day': Hotel employee fired for revealing higher hourly wage to coworker, HR makes up excuse

Your first day on the job can't get much worse than this.
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'You've been given [...] 10 chances to keep your job when you should've been fired': Manager sends unhinged text after employee refuses to cover his shift

'You've been given [...] 10 chances to keep your job when you should've been fired': Manager sends unhinged text after employee refuses to cover his shift

This general manager may have been on his way out, but he's going to regret sending that text.
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'HR person was insanely incompetent': Student worker denied holiday pay by HR Karen, worker complies but finds clever loophole

'HR person was insanely incompetent': Student worker denied holiday pay by HR Karen, worker complies but finds clever loophole

Sometimes, being a rule follower can lead to finding clever loopholes.
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'I will not be disrespected like that': Employee discovers new hire got offered more money for the same job, quits on the spot

'I will not be disrespected like that': Employee discovers new hire got offered more money for the same job, quits on the spot

We know all too well at this point that your boss is not your friend.
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