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toxic-work-environment

'They came in with a potbelly pig as their emotional support animal': 15+ crazy coworker stories

'They came in with a potbelly pig as their emotional support animal': 15+ crazy coworker stories

It doesn't matter what your line of work is. It doesn't matter if you work in an office, in a restaurant, in a warehouse, or remotely. Chances are you have dealt with an unruly and/or bizarre coworker. Perhaps in the moment, your experience with this person was a cringeworthy one. Perhaps it did not end well for you or for them. However, provided that you came out unscathed, you probably are grateful to have the story. Some of these coworkers range from the unethical to the strange. For instanc…
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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 can't believe you said that': Work mom won't stop commenting on everyone's physical appearance, employee talks to management

'I can't believe you said that': Work mom won't stop commenting on everyone's physical appearance, employee talks to management

In every work environment, there tends to be a work mom, someone who isn't necessarily in charge but serves as an emotional support figure. However, apparently, not all work moms are universally supportive… In this instance, we have a work mom who may have started out that way but perhaps due to cultural differences or simply due to a false sense of superiority, she started to manipulate those around her with incessant insults and unkind comments. At first, the Redditor who shared this story th…
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'Got them all fired': Dude gets even with ex-boss and ex-coworkers by getting a job at the place that handles their contracts

'Got them all fired': Dude gets even with ex-boss and ex-coworkers by getting a job at the place that handles their contracts

Can you imagine getting on this guy's bad side? This Redditor was working as a warehouse associate at a non-profit and helped employ his friend Jim, who was having a host of job problems (meaning he was a difficult employee who would move from job to job frequently). However, OP made sure that Jim would adjust well to the workflow and work dynamics at the warehouse, despite the annoying behavior of two other coworkers and the negligent behavior of their boss. OP, Jim, and a third friend of thei…
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'Thank you so much for firing me': People share how they burned bridges on their last day of work

'Thank you so much for firing me': People share how they burned bridges on their last day of work

Some of us are people pleasers and could never imagine causing drama on our last day at a job, but others feel that they have nothing left to lose. Honestly, power to these individuals. I could never motivate myself to be that savage, even if I were completely in the right. I've been candid about the experience as a whole, certainly. If I have an exit interview, I do believe that affords employees on their way out with a healthy opportunity to professionally discuss the issues within their plac…
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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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'Printed the proof... and walked straight out': 20+ People who quit their jobs on the spot

'Printed the proof... and walked straight out': 20+ People who quit their jobs on the spot

When you're pushed too far, sometimes you just can't take the heat anymore. These workers know the feeling all too well, and they shared the moments that were the final straw before they quit their job on the spot. As much as you try to vet a company before you join, you just don't know what your job will really be like. You can keep an eye out for red flags during the interview process, but you won't really know what it's like until you spend a few weeks emailing with your boss or calling clie…
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'I just sent that to my entire team': Employee photoshops boss's face on photo of his entire family as a joke, then accidentally sends it to the whole team

'I just sent that to my entire team': Employee photoshops boss's face on photo of his entire family as a joke, then accidentally sends it to the whole team

There are some people in this world who would save themselves a whole lot of embarrassment if they just didn't have phones. Today, we're talking about the technologically incompetent folks who accidentally send the wrong message to the wrong person. These are the people who accidentally spoil surprises or reveal their true feelings to the very person they are insulting. We feel that this is a relatively common phenomenon that we can discuss freely and openly, especially considering that yours t…
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'Sorry boss, that's a managers job': Boss tells employee not to take on extra work, employee maliciously complies and boss's incompetence starts to show

'Sorry boss, that's a managers job': Boss tells employee not to take on extra work, employee maliciously complies and boss's incompetence starts to show

Sometimes, bosses become so reliant on their employees' contributions that they don't even recognize how hopeless they'd be without them. This boss clearly became threatened by how much extra work her employee was taking on regularly, so the two had a meeting where the boss told the employee not to take on any manager's responsibilities. Normally, this would actually be great advice. There is no need for an employee to work that hard and not get paid extra for it. However, that's not exactly wh…
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Update: 'I will not be following up': Boss asks employee to write impossible report before he leaves the company, employee proves it was a bad idea

Update: 'I will not be following up': Boss asks employee to write impossible report before he leaves the company, employee proves it was a bad idea

Most employees hope to be appreciated and valued while they're happily employed at a company, but the unfortunate reality of the working world is that employers often don't understand that value until they're about to lose you. When that happens, all of a sudden your contributions to the company seem so important that your bosses become increasingly afraid of what the workflow will be like in your absence. As we said, it's a very self-involved line of thinking, since you've been hoping for vali…
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'You are too expensive': Boss fires employee, employee forces boss to compensate them for a full year and gets job at the competition

'You are too expensive': Boss fires employee, employee forces boss to compensate him for a full year and gets job at the competition

If this employee's boss thought he was expensive before he got fired, well, it turns out he was even more expensive to fire. There has to be something gratifying about proving to your boss that they made a mistake, and in this case, making it far too late for them to back out of their poor decision-making. It all started after this Redditor's boss pulled him aside one day and told him that they needed to have a discussion during his next coffee break. When OP walked into the meeting and saw the…
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'I got laid off saying I wasn't necessary': Employee develops startup for two years, was promised shared, gets laid off right before the company launch

'I got laid off': Employee develops startup for two years, was promised shares, gets laid off right before the company launch

Imagine developing a startup for two years only to get fired right before the company is officially registered. As upsetting as this situation may be, we've seen employers behave this way before so we cannot say that we're surprised by this. When it comes to startups in particular, we know this kind of shady behavior is pervasive. What's especially upsetting, in this instance, is that the developer seems to be integral to the success of said startup. In fact, his work was not only an integral i…
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'I remind him since he hasn't sent me the contract I don't work for him yet': Former boss tries to squeeze free labor out of ex-employee

'I remind him since he hasn't sent me the contract I don't work for him yet': Former boss tries to squeeze free labor out of ex-employee

Bosses never know what they've got until you're gone. This dude was one of those non-profit employers who assigned the amount of work a salaried employee would complete to an intern without paying them properly. That intern eventually pursued a career in a similar field and would go on to receive a graduate degree years later. Seven years following that joke of an internship, his former boss reached out and asked for his help with some grant writing. Now that OP worked regularly as an independe…
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'I should get a bump in pay too': Boss pays new hire 20+% more, denies employee the same rate, employee gets a better job elsewhere

'I should get a bump in pay too': Boss pays new hire 20% more, denies employee the same rate, employee gets a better job elsewhere

Bosses should never underestimate their employees' ability to get the pay they want somewhere else. This dude not only denied their overworked loyal employee the raise they deserved, but they also had the audacity to tell them that the only way they could negotiate a higher salary is if they got a competitive offer at another company. Either this guy wanted his employee to leave (and his team's productivity level to implode) or he really underestimated the Redditor's ability to find a better jo…
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'Ted was cast aside to make room for the owner's son': IT employee with 40+ years of experience gets fired and replaced by inexperienced nepo baby

'Ted was cast aside to make room for the owner's son': IT employee with 40+ years of experience gets fired and replaced by inexperienced nepo baby

Is this business owner trying to run his company into the ground? It would almost be a better decision on his part to make his inexperienced nepo baby son his co-CEO. Whoever thought that firing the IT guy with over 40 years of experience on the job and promoting the owner's son instead should be, well, fired! What happened to Ted, whose story was shared by a coworker via this Reddit thread , is unfortunately all too common. Ted was given a generous severance package in exchange for a promise t…
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