There is a time and a place to start a squabble with your manager. There are moments when things have gone way too far and you feel like you'll have to stand up for yourself or else you'll be going down a dangerous path, one where you'll be easily manipulated and unfairly mistreated. When those situations arise, you'll know in your bones that it's time to speak up. However, it's important not to confuse these important moments with meaningless ones, and being asked to switch off a light after y…

Sometimes, it's hard to tell as an interview candidate if you're potentially stepping into a toxic work environment. People tend to present the most performative versions of themselves when they're interviewing someone. Everyone seems to be extra smiley and people only seem to be talking in euphemisms. Direct answers to direct questions are hard to come by during the interview process unless you force their hand. And because everyone's being the best versions of themselves, it can be difficult…

This employee decided to call their boss's bluff, writing that their boss “thinks she's won.” It's not every day you hear about a boss this overbearing. U/Nerdfury83 shared a story about their new manager at their job---her title really should be “micromanager.” The OP works at a phone job, taking calls that have recorded logs. The OP's boss is so strict that she is literally counting the seconds that OP isn't on a call! While phone jobs are notoriously strict about the time employees spend on…

Sometimes, the best way to get payback at work is to wait to quit until it's the perfect time to do so. What does that mean, exactly? Well, quitting when you haven't yet made everyone know how valuable you are is definitely not the move. You want them to know what they are missing when you leave so that it's all the more dramatic. You also want to wait until the perfect opportunity has come along so you won't have any dark nights of the soul where you regret your decision and try to convince yo…

This certainly won't be the last time a selfish boss makes an outlandish suggestion. This employee has been working at the company for nearly four years and has saved more than 320 hours of PTO, yet when they were scheduling their upcoming surgery for January 2024, their boss suddenly took major issue with this decision. First of all, let's all remind this Redditor that no matter how much control it may seem like her boss has, she is not your doctor and she has no right to make suggestions abou…

Calling an employee's sick leave into question is one of those toxic workplace traits one would hope would have been eradicated by now, but unfortunately, you can't stop horrible bosses from being horrible. This thread was posted to Reddit by u/BigJhed , who had been working as a civil engineer when he had to request three months off on sick leave while recovering from an unfortunate car accident. By the end of this period, his supervisor informed OP that his paid sick leave would expire at the…

The way in which an employer responds to news of your departure is perhaps the most revealing moment of their overall character as a boss. There is the possibility that they will keep things professional and will respect your decision to pivot into something different. And then there's the more common response, which is the more selfish one. With this option, employers will take the news personally. No matter how professional you are, they will make your final weeks at the office all the more d…

Being tasked with performing action items during an interview process that only a full-time employee should be doing is the reddest of red flags. No matter how desperate you are for work, you have to be aware that there is absolutely nothing stopping these potential employers from taking your unpaid work, running with it, and still not giving you the job at the end of the day. If this happens to you as a prospective applicant, please know that you should feel empowered enough to send an inquiry…

Talk about a complete waste of a day! This employee had nearly completed all of his daily work tasks when his boss up and fired him in the afternoon. His boss even revealed that he had known since 9:30 am that morning and couldn't bring himself to do it. Now, there are a couple of explanations behind the boss's behavior. Firstly, he could be more conniving than he comes across. Perhaps he wanted the employee to finish whatever project he was working on before firing him so he could be rid of hi…

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…

Is Lisa not capable of making her own lunch? Can you imagine being wired in such a way that you genuinely would feel entitled to your coworker's lunch?! Lisa wasn't even slightly senior to OP as far as we know, not that it would be ok if she were but we all know how horrible bosses can be. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit by u/sxrllyya , who became known for making elaborate lunches and bringing them to the office. Now, as someone whose homemade office lunch is often…

There are moments in everyone's working lives when management goes too far and everyone knows it. These are the kinds of moments when you look across the room at your coworker and you immediately question if they are thinking what you're thinking. Perhaps there is a clear look in their eyes or perhaps there is a slight nod, the kind of exchange that signifies, “Are we doing this? Yes, yes we are." What happens next is the kind of solidarity among employees people only dream of… if only the circ…

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…

Sometimes, the best way to inform your boss that their newly implemented policy is flawed is by showing not telling. Lots of workplace practices are put into place in such a way that seems smart and productive in theory… until it's not. Of course, the people who are enforcing said policies often want them to work and refuse to hear any criticism from the people who actually have an understanding of how their workflow looks. This boss was running into some legal trouble and couldn't pay for any…

What part of “time OFF” do these employers not understand? This technician had been working at the same HVAC company for 15 years and saw it expand from virtually nothing to a business that employed over 100 other technicians. Unfortunately, the dynamics within the company changed a bit after it was sold to a larger monopoly. Now, the technician's typical five weeks of vacation time were reduced to two weeks, and seniority didn't really matter at all anymore. Despite these changes, the technici…

Starting to work at a new company is a leap of faith. We all want to have the best job possible, with a great salary, tons of perks, good coworkers, benefits, and a nice work-life balance. There's no such thing as a perfect job — you might have a great salary, but your boss is always breathing down your neck. Or maybe you have a lot of vacation time to use, but you work 80 hour weeks most of the time. It's a trade off, and it's all about finding an environment you can thrive in. These folks bel…