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toxic-work-environment

'Stay in your lane': Restaurant chef spars with manager over leaving his station to help with a crisis, cue malicious compliance

'Stay in your lane': Restaurant chef spars with manager over leaving his station to help with a crisis, cue malicious compliance

There are certain people you do not want to frustrate in a restaurant, one of whom is most certainly the lead cook. However, as in any fast-paced work environment, people can get hot-headed and conflicts can arise between folks who feel like they are stepping on one another's toes. This lead cook was often stationed in an accessible place in the kitchen so that everyone could easily access him and vice versa. However, on one busy night, the lead cook briefly left his station in the hands of a n…
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25+ bosses who instantly regretted taking on their new hires: '[She] started crying as soon as the phone rang saying she couldn't handle it'

25+ bosses who instantly regretted taking on their new hires: '[She] started crying as soon as the phone rang saying she couldn't handle it'

Every new hire deserves time to adjust to their new workflow, but sometimes it becomes instantly obvious that hiring someone was a mistake. There are several ways in which this can happen. For starters, the new hire could be one of those rare unicorns who is actually good at interviewing for positions despite being remarkably unqualified. On the other hand, it's quite possible that it was the company's fault. Perhaps the job requirements and expectations were unclear, and the only people to bla…
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'I gave her exactly what she asked for': Micromanager boss scolds employee for lateness, regrets it when employee stops working long hours

'I gave her exactly what she asked for': Micromanager boss scolds employee for lateness, regrets it when employee stops working long hours

You know your work environment is toxic if you have to describe your supervisor as a “tyrant.” This employee had one of those bosses that no one likes. Not a single person in the company is happy to see that boss when she walks in the door, probably because she had a habit of flipping out over any and everything. No one wants to have a micromanager boss , especially not one who is constantly flipping out. It's not good to have to be in a constant state of fight or flight over office work! And t…
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'Micromanage me? Go ahead': Fast food workers band together to get micromanaging shift supervisor fired

'Micromanage me? Go ahead': Fast food workers band together to get micromanaging shift supervisor fired

Sure, it takes a detail-oriented person to manage a restaurant, but some supervisors are not cut out for it simply because they are too intense. These micromanagers tend to be unable to pivot if unforeseen circumstances arise. They also tend to be extremely frustrated when employees make judgment calls and handle their tasks differently. In other words, micromanagers rarely make genuinely good bosses. Instead, the only thing they are successful at is making enemies out of the people who work fo…
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'I don't have $60 to attend your fundraising event': Job applicant asked to donate to the company that rejected her

'I don't have $60 to attend your fundraising event': Job applicant asked to donate to the company that rejected her

Imagine reaching out to a former employer for a full-time opportunity, getting flat-out rejected, and then being asked to give money to the organization. You have to admire the audacity of these people. This Redditor shared that after successful contracted work, she sought a salaried position at the same company and put a ton of work into her application. When she was rejected, she wound up receiving what was clearly a copy-and-paste rejection email. She ended up reaching out to her contact at…
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'I quit. Karen reported me to HR for it': Sales ops director leaves after HR sides with lazy Karen, now Karen is furious that she has to work

'I quit. Karen reported me to HR for it': Sales ops director leaves after HR sides with lazy Karen, now Karen is furious that she has to work

There is no positive trajectory for a company that caters to a Karen employee. This time, the Karen in question did not even have any real power. She had been shirking her responsibilities at work long after a minor neck injury from which she had fully recovered. Her coworkers had even seen that she was partying on the weekends, but she managed to find a doctor who could get her out of coming to work as much as she wanted. Finally, her boss, who ran the sales operations team, convinced HR to fi…
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'Employee quit because he got by a squirrel a customer threw at him': 20 business owners share their most bizarre quitting and firing stories

'Employee quit because he got bit by a squirrel a customer threw at him': 20 business owners share their most bizarre quitting and firing stories

People have their own personal reasons for quitting jobs. Sometimes it's justified, and sometimes it's not, Sometimes it's planned, and sometimes it's impulsive. And every so often, the reason behind someone's departure at a company is so bonkers and unexpected that it almost feels like you're living in a movie or some heightened version of reality. This time, instead of telling these anecdotes from the perspectives of those who got fired or quit, we're going to see how things went down from th…
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'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

If micromanaging bosses would rather do all of the work themselves, perhaps everyone would be happier if they just did. That way, no one would be looking over anyone else's shoulders. No one would feel like they're being watched at all times of the day. Furthermore, no one would feel like their process of getting things done was not respected. Here, we have a micromanaging boss who kept listening in on their employees' calls with customers and correcting them in the middle of the class. Not onl…
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'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

Don't you just love it when your boss is on thin ice and decides to take it out on the entire team? You know, as if it's their fault that she's an incompetent manager? That seems to be a frequent occurrence in the workplace. It's certainly nothing new that people in high-pressure situations act out unfairly, but it can be difficult to stomach when the person acting out is also the one who signs your paychecks. Let's start with one obvious truth that always needs to be restated: your boss's tant…
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'I made the mistake of going back': Guy quits job, gets lured back with enticing offer, only to be let go six months later

'I made the mistake of going back': Guy quits job, gets lured back with enticing offer, only to be let go six months later

It's always a better end to the story if you quit your job than if you're let go. Unfortunately, this overworked, underpaid, and undervalued employee had quit what he believed was a toxic work environment. However, after some time away, his old boss reached out and lured him back in with the promise of the promotion he likely always wanted. In fairness to the employee, he likely felt flattered that they seemingly needed him so much. Unfortunately, that flattery only went so far. A mere six mont…
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'She spouted all types of lies to HR': Threatened manager tries to push out star employee, employee exposes boss's incompetence

'She spouted all types of lies to HR': Threatened manager tries to push out star employee, employee exposes boss's incompetence

Picture this: your manager is incompetent, you do most of their work for the better part of the year, and then, she tries to fire you! That's right. You would think the final part of that journey would be a well-deserved raise or promotional opportunity. Perhaps some acknowledgment of all this hard work and going above and beyond would have been nice. Instead of gratitude, all this manager felt at the end of the day was threatened. This Redditor shared how she managed to come out of this toxic…
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'I'm quitting tomorrow': Employee discovers her boss planted a hidden video camera, bails without notice

'I'm quitting tomorrow': Employee discovers her boss planted a hidden video camera, bails without notice

You know that feeling everyone occasionally gets at work that you're being watched 24/7? Well, what if you suddenly discovered that this was actually the case? Sometimes when you have a micromanager for a boss, you get the feeling that someone is breathing down your neck and following your every move, as if they are just waiting to point out an error or give you a hard time about the way in which you go about fulfilling your daily responsibilities at work. This obviously does not make for a ple…
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'Oh, people like to work late': 20+ Workplace red flags that say, "Don't work here"

'Oh, people like to work late': 20+ Workplace red flags that scream, "Don't work here"

Don't accept that job until you've vetted the company well. I know it's hard not to accept the first gig that offers you a contract, but it's worth your time to spot red flags before signing on. One person mentioned another great one, which is having a lot of very young people who are running an older company. Young people are great, of course, but it signifies that the company can't retain their older workers, who probably left to find better wages . And it implies that they're hiring youngste…
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'Why can't I get paid?': Boss uses rainy weather to justify delaying payment to employees

'Why can't I get paid?': Boss uses rainy weather to justify delaying payment to employees

Bad bosses will come up with any excuse imaginable to justify their poor management skills. This manager messaged his employees and used the rainy weather to justify delaying payment to his employees. The Redditor's coworker was smart enough to ask why he was forced to work under these weather conditions and yet he couldn't get paid on time. Employment should always be a two-way street, people, and that applies to every aspect of the professional relationship. This sounds like a grown-up versio…
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'Everyone has to come in for eight hours on a Sunday': Boss enforces mandatory "deep clean" on a Sunday, employee refuses to comply

'Everyone has to come in for eight hours on a Sunday': Boss enforces mandatory "deep clean" on a Sunday, employee refuses to comply

Imagine waking up to an email in your inbox from your manager enforcing a mandatory “deep clean” shift on your one day off. Any sensible human would likely groan and decline the offer. And yes, no matter what this manager says and no matter how he tries to frame it, this is an offer as the employee's contract makes no mention of this “deep clean” shift. Furthermore, this manager had absolutely no plans to adjust the coming week's schedule to accommodate the weekend day or to try to carve out ti…
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Company call goes south over VP's remarks after no one gets a raise: 'If [you] only want to work 40 hours a week [...] you should leave'

Company call goes south over VP's remarks after no one gets a raise: 'If [you] only want to work 40 hours a week [...] you should leave'

This company call certainly did not inspire confidence. Normally, company meetings have that annoying motivational nonsense going on, but this time, we've got a VP who decided it was a good time to tell all the 300+ employees who have not received raises that they should be working longer hours. In fact, he said that anyone who is not willing to work 50 hours should quit now. Not exactly the inspiring words people want to hear after they have been denied even basic cost of living raises. There…
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