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'If you take off unapproved time then we'll have to let you go': Manager approves then revokes employee's PTO due to family emergency, employee stands up to manager

'If you take off unapproved time then we'll have to let you go': Manager approves then revokes employee's PTO due to family emergency, employee stands up to manager

Managing a team is just as much about protecting your employees as it is about ensuring that they are following the rules. People seem to forget this all the time, as pressure from higher-ups can sometimes promote other ideas. Then, of course, there is the power of the big ego. Never underestimate a manager's ego guiding their form of leadership and disciplinary action. When ego governs a manager's decision-making skills, that manager is far less likely to take care of the people of their team.…
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Bartender set up and unjustly fired by insecure manager, half the staff quits to retaliate

Bartender set up and unjustly fired by insecure manager, half the staff quits to retaliate

Talk about a manager who acted out of turn for no good reason. Here , we have a dude who was threatened by the fact that one of his bartenders at their pub helped bring in a ton of much-needed new staff members who were all his personal friends. Why was this problem? The manager was worried that they would all gossip behind his back and plan his demise. Sounds pretty paranoid and dramatic but that's exactly how this guy seemed to be wired. How did he act on his fears? Well, he decided the best…
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Boss steals employee's idea and fires him, employee gets back at him years later: 'I [bought] out the company he works for and [demoted] him'

Boss steals employee's idea and fires him, employee gets back at him years later: 'I [bought] out the company he works for and [demoted] him'

People say success is about hard work and determination, but they could say the exact same thing about revenge. Here, we have a former employee whose ideas were quite literally stolen from their boss at the time. After getting fired, the former employee would go on to buy the company years later and demote the former employer who wronged him. It's the kind of workplace triumph one dreams of, so one can only feel a sense of second-hand fulfillment reading about this decade-spanning revenge plot.…
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'This has to stop': Manager tells team in group chain not to discuss wages, employee claps back with receipts

'This has to stop': Manager tells team in group chain not to discuss wages, employee claps back with receipts

Let this story serve as a friendly reminder to always remember your rights as workers, people! Here, we have a manager who genuinely thought they were entitled to enforce rules against speaking up among your coworkers about wages. Luckily, this team had a brave individual among them who shut down this manager's nonsense by informing them directly, and in the very public group thread, regarding their right to share said information. Based on the manager's subsequent response, they were immediate…
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'I'm normally never this petty': Employee receives mediocre performance review, responds by keeping track of everything to prove her boss wrong

'I'm normally never this petty': Employee receives mediocre performance review, responds by keeping track of everything to prove her boss wrong

Everyone gets a little anxious before their next performance review at work. Even if you know you complete your responsibilities to the best of your ability, there is a part of you that fears you may not receive the validation you deserve. Here , we have an employee who not only received a poor review, but she was also largely blamed for improper management. Essentially, her boss claimed she never completed all of her tasks, even though said tasks were never clearly written out for her to execu…
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Vindictive manager gets what's coming to them after he berates employee and doesn't back up his promises, employee finds new job offer and considers making a scene while quitting

‘So I switched my LinkedIn back on’: Employee signs remote offer right before RTO mandate is enacted, gets unicorn job offer and considers loud-quitting to spite vindictive manager

"I’ve accepted (pending paperwork) so I’ll be the second lead this company has lost in as many years due to this same person."
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Boss tells assistant to stop chatting with coworkers, she maliciously complies by giving everyone the silent treatment: 'You told me to stop talking to people [...] So I did'

Boss tells assistant to stop chatting with coworkers, she maliciously complies by giving everyone the silent treatment: 'You told me to stop talking to people [...] So I did'

Being a Chatty Cathy is a blessing and a curse in the workplace. On the one hand, people do tend to enjoy the humorous personality in the office as well as the person who's simply easier to talk to than most. That being said, if you're the type of person who cannot read social cues or understand when a conversation should end, your coworkers are going to avoid having to chat with you at all costs. We feel for this Chatty Cath y because it does not seem like things were entirely her fault. Other…
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Lazy receptionist doesn't make boss's travel arrangements, boss denies her a job years later: 'I am constantly baffled by people who don't do their jobs'

Lazy receptionist doesn't make boss's travel arrangements, boss denies her a job years later: 'I am constantly baffled by people who don't do their jobs'

There is a downside to not fulfilling your basic duties and responsibilities at work. This receptionist repeatedly made making travel arrangements difficult for their boss, often leaving things to the last minute when flights were either entirely booked or incredibly expensive. Despite multiple polite conversations about her needing to improve her efficiency regarding booking travel, the pattern did not improve. What's remarkably amusing about this is that when the Redditor went off to start th…
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'I reached a complete breaking point over donuts': New hire forced to buy everyone donuts during his first week, maliciously complies and scares off annoying coworkers

'I reached a complete breaking point over donuts': New hire forced to buy everyone donuts during his first week, maliciously complies and scares off annoying coworkers

Usually, newly hired employees are given a break during their first week. The first few days are typically about getting settled in, meeting your coworkers, and adjusting to the company culture. However, here, we have a new hire who was almost immediately tasked with buying donuts for everyone at the company. Apparently, there were two annoying coworkers at the office who chose different people each week to pick on and bother incessantly until they gave in and got everyone donuts. You would thi…
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'I'm still gloating over my [win] over corporate Karen': Worker maliciously complies with boss's request to park bike in designated spot, results in six hours of OT

'I'm still gloating over my [win] over corporate Karen': Worker maliciously complies with boss's request to park bike in designated spot, results in six hours of OT

It's always frustrating when someone from corporate swoops down out of nowhere to boss you around. Here, we have a part-time worker at a delivery company who was lectured by an obnoxious Karen from corporate that he had to park his bike in their “correct” spot. Even the worker's immediate supervisor suggested that he ignore the Karen's mandate in certain situations as she likely would not notice, but this worker wanted to prove to the Karen why her unnecessary enforcing of this rule could backf…
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'That's my boss and that's my job': Candidate calls office about marketing assistant position, turns out the current assistant had no idea she was being replaced

'That's my boss and that's my job': Candidate calls office about marketing assistant position, turns out the current assistant had no idea she was being replaced

Talk about an unfortunate day for this marketing assistant! She was doing her job and answering phone calls when she spoke to a job candidate… for her position. Of course, the assistant was completely unaware that her position was even up for grabs because that's just how non-confrontational her boss was. Instead, she had the pleasure of finding out that she was on her way to being replaced by hearing it directly from her potential replacement. We also would like to extend some sympathy to the…
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Toxicologist gets recruited for the job they just quit: 'This position was clearly listed on my profile'

Toxicologist gets recruited for the job they just quit: 'This position was clearly listed on my profile'

Imagine feeling the sweet relief of quitting your horrible job only to receive a message online soon thereafter asking if you'd like to be considered… for the position you just left. This complete lack of due diligence can be disheartening, to say the least. We expect recruiters to do the bare minimum and browse the resumes and experiences of job candidates that have been so clearly spelled out for them on their LinkedIn profiles. If those basic expectations were met, then this recruiter would…
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'Sorry, this is a red flag': 20 unprofessional messages from horrible bosses

'Sorry, this is a red flag': 20 unprofessional messages from horrible bosses

Who hasn't received an eyebrow-raising message from a current or former employer? You know the kind of message we're talking about. It's the kind that makes you question if this person is fit to be your employer at all. Sometimes, it's an audacious demand that they are in no position to make. For example, I once had a boss ask me to fill in for a security guard position when I was an intern despite the fact that I was woefully unqualified to do so. Other times, it's an invasive question your bo…
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'Don't food shame me or I'll go to HR': Top 20 Mildly Infuriating HR Fiascos

'Don't food shame me or I'll go to HR': Top 20 Mildly Infuriating HR Fiascos

Working in the human resources department means you have likely seen some things no professional wishes to see. Perhaps you love managing teams of employees and making sure they are taken care of day in and day out. However, we know all too well at this point that working in HR means you are protecting the company at all costs. The employees? Sure, you may care about their well-being a little bit but only to a certain extent. At the end of the day, your job is not really about protecting them b…
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Guy pulls prank on lunch-thieving coworker, causes him to get sick in the office: 'Dude, were you eating this? It's gone bad'

Guy pulls prank on lunch-thieving coworker, causes him to get sick in the office: 'Dude, were you eating this? It's gone bad'

No one likes a lunch thief, especially if it's the boss's nepo baby son. This employee worked in a small office of about ten people, so when it became clear that there was a lunch thief among the team, it was pretty easy to figure out who the culprit was. However, to ensure that there was proof, the Redditor had a plan. He brought blue food dye to work and left a few drops in a coworker's half-eaten yogurt. This coworker had complained that the mysterious lunch thief had eaten almost all of her…
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Karen coworker shames employee for not working hard enough: 'If I am not paid to be there, I am not going to do it'

Karen coworker shames employee for not working hard enough: 'If I am not paid to be there, I am not going to do it'

Whatever happened to keeping your eyes on your own paper, Karen? This entitled coworker thought it would be a good idea to confront another employee on her team and give them a hard time about the frequency of their breaks and the lack of extra responsibilities they take on at work. It turns out that the Redditor was going to the bathroom frequently because of a medical condition that HR was already fully aware of. As for the extra responsibilities, this was an intended line that the Original P…
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