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toxic-work-environment

Employee's boss finds out they got an interview elsewhere, pressures her to resign: 'She doesn't even know if she got the job yet'

Boss finds out employee got an interview elsewhere, pressures her to resign: 'She doesn't even know if she got the job yet'

This employee was meant to feel like she made a mistake for considering the possibility of working somewhere else. That's how you know she's stuck in a messed-up work environment. It's probably for the best if she does, in fact, leave. However, she certainly should not give into the pressure to hand in a resignation letter. If her boss wants to fire her, then they need to fire her. The employee should not help make the process easier for her boss. Why did the boss pressure the employee to resig…
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'Call it quits before it gets too messy': New tutor denied promised hours and school district leading to impossible commute, quits before first day

'Call it quits before it gets too messy': New tutor denied promised hours and school district leading to impossible commute, quits before first day

Sometimes the red flags do not become obvious from the get-go, but once they're waving, they become impossible to ignore. Here, we have a guy who landed a tutoring gig that was seemingly too good to be true. The hours perfectly complemented his second job, the rate was good, and he was promised to be placed in a school district with a decent commute to his other workplace. Well, it turns out that it really was all too good to be true, as the Redditor ended up getting fewer hours than what was p…
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'You want ti be in control? Fine!': Micromanager gets comeuppance after requiring approval for mandatory training programs, employee malicious complies

'You want to be in control? Fine!': Micromanager gets comeuppance after requiring approval for mandatory training programs, employee maliciously complies

Micromanagers who want to see and approve every little thing are likely to regret that choice sooner rather than later. Here , we have a boss who disapproves of industry standards and ended up having to deal with the consequences of pressuring employees to comply with her outdated wishes. First, these industry standards were mandatory training programs that employees had to take every three years. It didn't matter if she felt they were pointless. She had to approve of them, but somehow, her wor…
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'He will owe us almost $30,000 in back pay': 1099 contractors rebel after working over 80 hours a week for their boss and having to sleep in their cars on work trips

'He will owe us almost $30,000 in back pay': 1099 contractors rebel after working over 80 hours a week for their boss and having to sleep in their cars on work trips

It's always shocking how many bosses think they can get away with shady behavior in this day and age. Employees are more empowered than ever, and when they feel like they're getting manipulated, it's not exactly hard to document and collect evidence in the digital age. Here, we have a boss who clearly hired all of his workers as 1099 contractors rather than full-time salaried employees in order to circumnavigate taxation. Despite their freelance status, these workers were putting in over 80 hou…
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Lab technician gives know-it-all scientist his comeuppance when he's told to stop double-checking his work in an ultimate fail moment

Arrogant scientist scolds lab technician for double-checking his work, so the lab technician smugly watches as he gets his comeuppance: ‘Biggest eye roll possible’

"You don't interrupt your enemy when they're making a mistake."
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'A nice little power imbalance is her cup of tea': Boss pressures employee to text her every time she leaves for work, employee refuses

'A nice little power imbalance is her cup of tea': Boss pressures employee to text her every time she leaves for work, employee refuses

Whatever happened to boundaries? In this day and age, it's so easy to respond to an email or message from your boss outside of work hours. Sometimes, there is an emergency and you have to engage. Hopefully, you're getting paid for those all-hands-on-deck moments. However, if your boss is the kind of person who needs to know where you are at all times, that's a different story. Here, we have an employee who is always timely and almost never late, yet their boss seems to be paranoid about their t…
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'I encourage everyone to seek employment elsewhere': New hire discovers epic resignation email from a few months ago, immediately quits in solidarity

'I encourage everyone to seek employment elsewhere': New hire discovers epic resignation email from a few months ago, immediately quits in solidarity

Imagine starting a new job and thinking everything is finally going to be OK work-wise until you discover a scathing resignation email from before your time. This employee at a call center stumbled upon an epic company-wide email sent from a former employee. This guy managed to call out salary discrepancies, poor management style, a backstabbing coworker, and underpaid, under-appreciated employees in one message for everyone to witness. The best part is that despite the fact that this new hire…
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'Pretty sure that I'm getting the boot': Boss comes up with nonsensical reason to fire employee after he demanded proper pay for paternity leave

'Pretty sure that I'm getting the boot': Boss comes up with nonsensical reason to fire employee after he demanded proper pay for paternity leave

This horrible boss is well overdue for his comeuppance. After he pressured his employee to cut his paternity leave to a mere two weeks, he almost did not pay him for that time off. When he finally did pay the employee, he told the new parent to keep this information to himself so as to not convince other employees to "have children.' Talk about selfish and outdated! However, the conflict between this Redditor and his boss only begins there. After learning that he qualified for more paternity le…
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'I was met with silence': Job candidate exposes hypocrisy after being told by hiring manager that he couldn't attend more than two hours of doctor's appointments per month

'I was met with silence': Job candidate exposes hypocrisy after being told by hiring manager that he couldn't attend more than two hours of doctor's appointments per month

Let this job candidate's story serve as a reminder to stand your ground in an interview. If you come across a passing comment from a hiring manager that directly contradicts what was expressly written in the job posting, that's a red flag certainly worthy of questioning. Here , we have a candidate who was honest about needing to go to a doctor's appointment for valid medical reasons once every three months and that these appointments would be a full-day commitment. Based on the job posting, he…
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'Maybe you could explain these invoices': Employee gets called to HR for unapproved purchase requests, tries to throw new hire under the bus

'Maybe you could explain these invoices': Employee gets called to HR for unapproved purchase requests, tries to throw new hire under the bus

Rules in the workplace can be hard to follow, but in some instances, it's best to resist the temptation to question protocol. Sure, in theory, we all want to have the autonomy to follow our own rules, but when it comes to making unauthorized purchases in large quantities on the company's dime, perhaps think twice and get your supervisor's approval before doing so. Here , we have an employee who tried to make it seem like the new hire was at fault for questioning these purchase requests in the f…
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'You're not a team player': Employee accused of insurbordination after refusing to do the work of his fully remote Karen coworker

'You're not a team player': Employee accused of insurbordination after refusing to do the work of his fully remote Karen coworker

Being a team player means supporting your coworkers when it's appropriate. It does not mean doing their job for them. Here, we have a fully remote Karen coworker who had the audacity to ask an employee, who had to work in-person every day, to print multiple PDFs and scan them as one document for her. Now, the purpose of this was to combine these PDF documents into one, a task the employee pointed out could be via Adobe. He even wrote out clear instructions for how to do this from home, but the…
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Employees drop like flies after new manager enforces 14-hour Zoom calls to monitor progress: 'The company closed and we all now work for our competitor'

Employees drop like flies after new manager enforces 14-hour Zoom calls to monitor progress: 'The company closed and we all now work for our competitor'

Imagine working from home but having your boss look at you the entire time. It kind of beats the purpose of remote work, doesn't it? Those days offer employees some freedom to fulfill their responsibilities at their own pace and under their own preferred conditions. Having your manager on Zoom monitoring your progress during your entire work day is no different than having them breathe down your neck in the office. This employee worked for a startup and helped build it from the ground up. Thing…
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Boss contacts HVAC technician's wife during week off, demanding that he come in and threatening termination

Boss contacts HVAC technician's wife during week off, demanding that he come in and threatening termination

If the horrible bosses of the world cannot respect their employees' vacation policies, then they should not be entitled to any vacation either. Here, we have a seasoned HVAC technician who had been with the company since its early days and who always spent a considerable amount of his already limited PTO on the week after Labor Day. This was a time where he and his wife could send their kids off to school and plan for the fall. Unfortunately, when the company was sold to a larger monopoly, many…
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'I said no': Employee told not to do work after clocking out, boss asks him to turn the light off one day, he maliciously complies and refuses

'I said no': Employee told not to do work after clocking out, boss asks him to turn the light off one day, he maliciously complies and refuses

No one likes to be told what to do, especially after working hours. In theory, it's simple to remember that after your employee has clocked out, they are in no way entitled to follow your direction as a manager. However, every so often, we come across a story where someone takes that mentality a bit too far. In this instance , we have an employee who was strictly told when he was first onboarded to never take on extra responsibilities after he clocks out. That's a nice, mutually beneficial work…
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Entitled manager takes PTO to prevent innocent employee from taking time-off for their 21st birthday, considers talking to higher-ups about the workplace ordeal

Spiteful manager throws ‘tantrum’ and denies employee's time-off request for their 21st birthday, employee feels this may be a targeted attack: ‘He’s looking for a reaction’

"Craziest part about it is he’s going to be gone for a week despite complaining about availability issues."
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'You get paid more than I do. You figure it out': Sick employee pressured to come in after manager can't find coverage

'You get paid more than I do. You figure it out': Sick employee pressured to come in after manager can't find coverage

Calling out sick when you need the money is not something employees want to do. Of course, most managers don't even consider this. They just assumed that the sick employee is just lazy, when in reality, it often takes a lot of effort and strength to admit to oneself and to others that you're not well enough to do your job today. As for how this manager reacted to an employee's health update, it should be up to the manager to find last-minute coverage; that is, after all, a manager's role. Emplo…
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