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toxic-work-environment

'He's coming after my pay': Vindictive manager docks overworked employee's pay, employee leaves business in shambles

'He's coming after my pay': Vindictive manager docks overworked employee's pay, employee leaves business in shambles

When managers get frustrated by their own incompetence, it's common for them to blame anyone but themselves. That seems to be the case with this local company, where an employee practically dragged her boss and manager into the 21st century by updating their business and payment structure. Of course, the manager did not adapt well to this change and decided that the reason could only be that his younger coworker was causing all the problems. Now, the other important layer to this story is that…
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Boss cheats employee out of $70K, employee finds a better offer: 'I'll be making double'

Boss cheats employee out of $70K, employee finds a better offer: 'I'll be making double'

Being best friends with your boss almost never ends well. In this case, this friendship plummeted along with their employment agreement. This finance employee stayed at the company after he was given a raise to match another job opportunity that came his way. After choosing to stay, his boss, who was a close friend of his at the time, ended up denying the employee's annual bonus. This was money the employee had been counting on. Furthermore, this felt like a further act of betrayal because it w…
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'That is really not your business': Teacher lashes out at coworker in public for asking questions about her personal life

'That is really not your business': Teacher lashes out at coworker in public for asking questions about her personal life

Keeping life and work separate is, of course, a healthy separation to strive to achieve, but it is nearly impossible to achieve entirely. Balance is important, but the inability to achieve a total separation between life and work is not necessarily a bad thing. Just ask anyone who has seen the Severance ! The fact of the matter is that you spend the majority of your week as an adult with your coworkers. They are bound to get to know you in some small way, and that is necessary for healthy colla…
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'I was so unprepared': Job candidate creates fake resume, embarrasses himself in the interview, blocks the recruiter

'I was so unprepared': Job candidate creates fake resume, embarrasses himself in the interview, blocks the recruiter

There is a difference between making slight embellishments on your resume and fabricating entire experiences that never happened. It can be hard to make a sharp career change and to find work with minimal experience in a given field. However, when people say to make adjustments to your resume to better position yourself for a specific job you're applying for, they don't mean that it's time to start making up jobs you never had and skills you do not possess. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/…
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Coworker lashes out at office Karens after they insult his food at the quarterly potluck: 'You and Tina went halfsies on a single bag of Doritos last quarter'

Coworker lashes out at office Karens after they insult his food at the quarterly potluck: 'You and Tina went halfsies on a single bag of Doritos last quarter'

There are numerous ways to make enemies with your coworkers, but insulting the food they bring to the quarterly office potluck is a new low. This group of Karens was not just picking on their coworker because the food was mediocre; in fact, the food was great and that's partly why they were jealous. Based on the Redditor's account of the story, it seems that they were so jealous of this dude's bean salad that they decided to spread a rumor that only his wife could be the real chef behind the re…
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'Over 2 dozen people [sent] quitting emails': Employee sees boss yell at intern for no reason, causes mass quitting

'Over 2 dozen people [sent] quitting emails': Employee sees boss yell at intern for no reason, causes mass quitting

Employers who throw random unnecessary temper tantrums are essentially asking to make enemies. It should not have been a surprise to this toxic boss that someone was going to witness his public outburst at a young intern and do something about it. Thankfully, there were enough employees at the company who were already over this guy that retaliation against him snowballed at an abnormally fast pace. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/AmITheA**hole subreddit by the former employee who started t…
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Boss sends passive-aggressive message to team about leaving before 5:00pm, employees retaliate: 'I will be petty'

Boss sends passive-aggressive message to team about leaving before 5:00pm, employees retaliate: 'I will be petty'

When will these bosses get off our backs? Those of us who are at the bottom of the food chain are starting to develop back pain over here. We've been seeing a lot of instances lately about employers stirring up a fuss about their team members leaving the office early, even if it's just a few minutes before the end of the day. Apparently, it doesn't matter if all your work is complete and there's nothing left to get done for the day. It doesn't even matter if you got to the office early for a me…
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CEO reveals employee's medical needs in front of entire team: 'Did they finally refill your ADHD meds?'

CEO reveals employee's medical needs in front of entire team: 'Did they finally refill your ADHD meds?'

Talk about unprofessional! There are many instances when the personal details of an employee might come up in general banter during a team meeting. Examples of this include questions like “how was that concert you went to?” or “did you enjoy your trip?” Those are, of course, acceptable. However, questions like “did they refill your ADHD meds?" most certainly fall into the unacceptable category. What possessed this CEO to think inquiring about this was a good idea? Even privately, that question…
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'[I called] her fake quitting bluff': Karen threatens to quit, coworker throws impromptu retirement party, forcing her to actually resign

'[I called] her fake quitting bluff': Karen threatens to quit, coworker throws impromptu retirement party, forcing her to actually resign

Always be careful with what you tell your coworkers, especially if you're the office Karen. Even a small ounce of self-awareness would lead this office Karen (whose actual name is Agnes… even better) to realize that if she keeps threatening to quit, the concept of leaving will soon become a dangling carrot for everyone else. Eventually, her fake quitting shenanigans caught up with her, and one coworker decided to call her out. Well, they didn't exactly call her out. Instead, they informed every…
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Toxic manager uses IT to track employee's devices: 'I am looking for a new job immediately'

Toxic manager uses IT to track employee's devices: 'I am looking for a new job immediately'

No one likes to feel like they are being watched at all times, especially by your boss. Sure, a manager has a responsibility to ensure that the employees on their team are fulfilling their roles; however, there is never a need to watch someone's every move. Not only is that weird, but it's also a waste of time and energy. Nine times out of ten, bosses who spend all that time micromanaging could have used that time to for a million other more important priorities. But that's the thing about auth…
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'Well, 9:00am - 5:00pm it is!': Lawyer refuses to come in early for big meeting after getting reprimanded by partner for leaving early

'Well, 9:00am - 5:00pm it is!': Lawyer refuses to come in early for big meeting after getting reprimanded by partner for leaving early

Welcome to the workforce, where managers never pick and choose their battles carefully. This one decided to scold her employee, a lawyer at a firm, for leaving the office early one day because he had to start a few hours earlier for a deposition. The meaning behind her frustrated lecture was that she did not want other lawyers to get the wrong idea that they can leave the office at any time. Let us be clear if we haven't been already on this site: if you are an employee and you have to come in…
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Update: Job candidate calls out startup for not properly paying overworked employees, withdraws application

Update: Job candidate calls out startup for not properly paying overworked employees, withdraws application

It's important for job seekers to know what to ask if they are worried about a toxic work environment. Oftentimes, it takes experience in a prior toxic workplace to know what those red flags are. However, every so often, there is a friend or colleague who is willing to share their tough experiences so that you don't have to endure the same trials and tribulations. Consider this the polar opposite of “paying your dues,” an outdated concept that tends to allow for the continuation of bad workplac…
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'Poor Miss Uptight': Guy pranks coworker, gets roasted in the comments

'Poor Miss Uptight': Guy pranks coworker, gets roasted in the comments

In every office, there is at least one uptight coworker and one coworker who thinks he's a good guy but is a total devil. The former example can certainly be annoying and frustrating at times, but it's par for the course in a workplace environment. However, the latter is a wildly toxic presence that often needs to be excised immediately. With this story , we have a prankster who shared his “win” against an uptight coworker, only to get completely roasted in the comments section. Most folks joke…
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'To save two dollars in OT, they let a few thousand dollars [...] go to waste': Employee lectured for working OT, double malicious compliance ensues

'To save two dollars in OT, they let a few thousand dollars [...] go to waste': Employee lectured for working OT, double malicious compliance ensues

Why is it that so many bosses are too concerned with enforcing minor rules rather than focusing on what should be their priorities? The answers are almost related to money and ego. If it's money, you have a boss who can only think about budget, budget, budget, and nothing else. There's no concern for the wellbeing of your employees and, in some cases like this one, there isn't even much thought given to the overall wellbeing of the company (i.e. sometimes, overtime is necessary to keep things a…
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'Nah. My PTO is my PTO': HR demands employees donate their vacation time to coworker's medical leave: '

'Nah. My PTO is my PTO': HR demands employees donate their vacation time to coworker's medical leave

HR's logic doesn't get much more flawed than this. Imagine having a sick coworker who needs to go on medical leave but their employer will only let them do so if the other employees donate their own PTO time to said medical leave. We have so many questions about the logistics of this. First of all, is the CEO or head honcho going to donate their PTO? Something tells me the answer to that question is a resounding no. Secondly, how is this even allowed? This kind of guilt tripping will make emplo…
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Boss tries to take her employee's first class seat upgrade: 'She wanted to talk to me about my lack of respect for protocol'

Boss tries to take her employee's first class seat upgrade: 'She wanted to talk to me about my lack of respect for protocol'

It's almost inevitable that traveling with your boss will lead to an uncomfortable situation. These unforeseen circumstances typically cannot be prevented, but at the end of the day, you're forced to navigate a cringeworthy dynamic with your employer that will make returning to the office after the work trip all the more bizarre and challenging. These cringe moments can include an odd quirk or eccentricity you learn about your boss or your boss learns about you. For instance, I once had a boss…
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