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toxic-work-environment

'I forwarded boss's own email back to them': Boss tells employee not to cover for two coworkers to avoid giving him another raise, backfires when both coworkers are out

'I forwarded boss's own email back to them': Boss tells employee not to cover for two coworkers to avoid giving him another raise, backfires when both coworkers are out

Defining an employee's core responsibilities is a key and careful task that can backfire or protect you depending on the situation. Here , we have an employee who occasionally covered for two of his coworkers if they were off at the same time and had brought up to their boss that he was the only person at work who was capable of doing so simultaneously. This helped the employee when he was negotiating a raise, but after the raise, his boss told him that he should focus on his core responsibilit…
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Awful boss gets comeuppance after employee writes essay to entire staff about his poor management: 'My toxic work environment has just worn me down'

Awful boss gets comeuppance after employee writes essay to entire staff about his poor management: 'My toxic work environment has just worn me down'

Sometimes just quitting isn't enough. If you have been working in an unfair, unjust, and just all around unprofessional work environment for a long time, merely saying “Sayonara” isn't going to give you the satisfactory exit you deserve.
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Job candidate rejects recruiter's request for free, unpaid work during interview process: 'I was asked to produce a full list of tasks for [free]'

Job candidate rejects recruiter's request for free, unpaid work during interview process: 'I was asked to produce a full list of tasks for [free]'

Why is the interview process so unnecessarily drawn out these days? If you get to the point of an interview, it should not take long for a recruiter to understand if your resume, cover letter, and initial application match well with the actual person interviewing. It should also not take long to see if it's a “personality fit.” In other words, cards should be on the table from the get-go and that goes both ways. This means that salary expectations and benefits should be clearly explained before…
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'You want a phone call EVERY time? Will do!': Employee puts in tons of overtime to maliciously comply with micromanager's demands, gets him fired

'You want a phone call EVERY time? Will do!': Employee puts in tons of overtime to maliciously comply with micromanager's demands, gets him fired

Getting caught in between the demands of different authority figures within the same company is not always easy to navigate. Not only are you catering to the needs and requests of your direct supervisor, but now you have found yourself having to cater to the whims of the person who signs your paycheck and your micromanager's paycheck. That is the conundrum that this Redditor found himself in and it triggered a lot of insecurity from his direct manager, who insisted on getting an extensive updat…
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'I cost them $100+k': Contractor denied phone access in warehouse to speak to supervisor, entire team collects paycheck and walks out

'I cost them $100+k': Contractor denied phone access in warehouse to speak to supervisor, entire team collects paycheck and walks out

It turns out there is a price to enforcing unnecessary rules and regulations. This Redditor worked as a contractor for various warehouses, often leading the same team of employees. Usually, he needed to be on the phone during the work days so he could continue updating his supervisor, but on this particular job, there was a rule against non-managers having phone access. Despite the fact that the Original Poster (OP) was leading the team and had all the same responsibilities as a manager, he was…
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Entitled boss gets what he deserves for not believing employee's injury, has to pay employee a week of sick leave instead of the requested one day

‘He got his note’: Employee sprains ankle and requests one day of paid sick leave, boss demands to see a doctor's note and ends up paying a week of leave per doctor's orders

"This gets met with more attitude so I ask if I’ll be getting paid sick time for the day I missed yesterday. He says no, not without a doctors note. . ."
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Manager at understaffed pizzeria gets scolded for taking a 10 minute break, gets scheduled hours reduced: 'You know what? Keep the schedule. I quit'

Manager at understaffed pizzeria gets scolded for taking a 10 minute break, gets scheduled hours reduced: 'You know what? Keep the schedule. I quit'

We rarely take a moment to appreciate the overworked managers who have to answer to the ridiculous demands of the higher-ups. Here , we have the manager of an understaffed pizzeria who was taking on the responsibilities of virtually everyone after both cooks showed up late. He took a moment to collect himself after working on his feet and going non-stop all day. His break was literally for only ten minutes, but the owner took note and prepared his payback. The next day, the manager could not he…
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Candidate gets offered $15K less than what he's worth, ghosts recruiter, recruiter throws tantrum: 'They lost their minds that I didn't respond to them'

Candidate gets offered $15K less than what he's worth, ghosts recruiter, recruiter throws tantrum: 'They lost their minds that I didn't respond to them'

Let this story serve as a friendly reminder to all you job seekers out there to know your worth. No matter how tempting it may be to settle for less, especially in this market, don't let recruiters make you feel unreasonable for demanding a higher salary based on your experience and knowledge of your field. This candidate clearly has dealt with this kind of shady behavior from recruiters more than once, so when he discovered after three rounds of interviews that he was being offered $15K less t…
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'There is no paperwork, I'm just fired': Guy relocates to Japan for a job, only to get fired after one week

'There is no paperwork, I'm just fired': Guy relocates to Japan for a job, only to get fired after one week

Talk about a savage way to go! This Redditor was offered a job on a military base that required him to relocate to Japan. However, after just one week, he was let go with barely any explanation. He hadn't even gotten a chance to execute his central responsibilities in the position since that first week was largely about getting settled and doing minimal training. Instead, he was dismissed with next to no explanation. His boss told him there would be other jobs on the base so it's not like he wo…
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Employee quits, then overhears boss talking about ordering a petty goodbye cake for her: 'My last day will be a nightmare'

Employee quits, then overhears boss talking about ordering a petty goodbye cake for her: 'My last day will be a nightmare'

This boss clearly enjoys messing around with his soon-to-be former employees on their last days. Whatever happened to being professional and leaving things on a strong note? It sounds like this dude has yet to put two and two together and realize that his manipulative and outright cruel tactics are the main reason why one employee after another is quitting on the spot. The original poster (OP) of this thread explained that after giving their two weeks' notice, they overheard their boss telling…
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Entitled manager pushes employee to resign, backtracks on their workplace maltreatment and tries to convince her to stay, even though she has already found a better job

‘Never make that mistake again’: Employee resigns after multiple instances of workplace mistreatment, manager backtracks on prior reprimands and refuses to ‘accept’ her two-week notice

"I spilled coffee onto my clothes. Never make that mistake again. I brought brownies in. Never do that again, people could have allergies."
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Employee quits job for better opportunity, boss threatens to contact new employer and get them to take back their offer: 'There's a chance I may be stuck here'

Employee quits job for better opportunity, boss threatens to contact new employer and get them to take back their offer: 'There's a chance I may be stuck here'

Imagine reaching the end of your final two weeks at your mediocre job you can't wait to leave and learning that your boss knows your new boss. To make matters worse, not only do they know each other, but your current boss feels comfortable threatening to inform your new boss that you are the type to slack off on the job. Of course, this isn't exactly true. This employee had just been slacking off and doing the bare minimum over these last two weeks because who goes above and beyond when they're…
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'If you take off unapproved time then we'll have to let you go': Manager approves then revokes employee's PTO due to family emergency, employee stands up to manager

'If you take off unapproved time then we'll have to let you go': Manager approves then revokes employee's PTO due to family emergency, employee stands up to manager

Managing a team is just as much about protecting your employees as it is about ensuring that they are following the rules. People seem to forget this all the time, as pressure from higher-ups can sometimes promote other ideas. Then, of course, there is the power of the big ego. Never underestimate a manager's ego guiding their form of leadership and disciplinary action. When ego governs a manager's decision-making skills, that manager is far less likely to take care of the people of their team.…
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Bartender set up and unjustly fired by insecure manager, half the staff quits to retaliate

Bartender set up and unjustly fired by insecure manager, half the staff quits to retaliate

Talk about a manager who acted out of turn for no good reason. Here , we have a dude who was threatened by the fact that one of his bartenders at their pub helped bring in a ton of much-needed new staff members who were all his personal friends. Why was this problem? The manager was worried that they would all gossip behind his back and plan his demise. Sounds pretty paranoid and dramatic but that's exactly how this guy seemed to be wired. How did he act on his fears? Well, he decided the best…
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Boss steals employee's idea and fires him, employee gets back at him years later: 'I [bought] out the company he works for and [demoted] him'

Boss steals employee's idea and fires him, employee gets back at him years later: 'I [bought] out the company he works for and [demoted] him'

People say success is about hard work and determination, but they could say the exact same thing about revenge. Here, we have a former employee whose ideas were quite literally stolen from their boss at the time. After getting fired, the former employee would go on to buy the company years later and demote the former employer who wronged him. It's the kind of workplace triumph one dreams of, so one can only feel a sense of second-hand fulfillment reading about this decade-spanning revenge plot.…
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'This has to stop': Manager tells team in group chain not to discuss wages, employee claps back with receipts

'This has to stop': Manager tells team in group chain not to discuss wages, employee claps back with receipts

Let this story serve as a friendly reminder to always remember your rights as workers, people! Here, we have a manager who genuinely thought they were entitled to enforce rules against speaking up among your coworkers about wages. Luckily, this team had a brave individual among them who shut down this manager's nonsense by informing them directly, and in the very public group thread, regarding their right to share said information. Based on the manager's subsequent response, they were immediate…
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