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toxic-workplace

'She's going to owe us about $18,000': Karen employee causes workflow interruption by changing doorknob to storage room, quits and gets fined

'She's going to owe us about $18,000': Karen employee causes workflow interruption by changing doorknob to storage room, quits and gets fined

Getting frustrated at a coworker's promotion is not unusual in the workplace. We're only human, and if we feel ever so slightly envious, that's understandable. However, allowing those jealous feelings to take over and cause a major interruption to everyone else's workflow is nothing more than an act of supreme selfishness, even if you were qualified for said promotion. This Karen took it too far when she didn't like the fact that her coworker, who managed the volunteer department at a small mun…
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'Worst interview of my life': Job candidate calls out unprofessional interviewer after her shows up 30 minutes late and refuses to show interest

'Worst interview of my life': Job candidate calls out unprofessional interviewer after he shows up 30 minutes late and refuses to show interest

Candidates make egregious mistakes during job interviews all the time and face the consequences, but what about the unprofessional recruiters and hiring managers who deserve to be called out? Let's all remember the fact that an interview is a two-way street. Not only are you trying to present yourself as the right fit for a given role, but they should be presenting themselves as the right for you as a potential employer. So often the latter part of this dynamic gets lost as a result of social h…
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'You want me to work ZERO overtime? Sure thing boss': Manager complies with new bogus OT policy, results in team racking up tons of OT hours, manager embarrasses boss in front of CEO: '

'You want me to work ZERO overtime? Sure thing boss': Manager complies with new bogus OT policy, results in team racking up tons of OT hours, manager embarrasses boss in front of CEO

It's a common misconception that cutting overtime hours can be a structurally sound decision for a company. This boss told a call center manager that management was no longer allowed to work overtime. Now despite this new bogus policy, he didn't say anything about the employees that report to management. At the end of every day, this manager tends to check up on his team to help them wrap up their calls and get them out of work on time. This often results in him having to stay after for a littl…
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Infuriated boss tries to get rid of employee after he refuses to answer work calls over the weekend, HR sides with employee: 'This won't happen again'

Infuriated boss tries to get rid of employee after he refuses to answer work calls over the weekend, HR sides with employee: 'This won't happen again'

It's crucial to draw boundaries between life and work, no matter how hard your employer tries to overstep said boundaries. This employee made a simple request for a company phone to use for weekend calls, since it was starting to become quite common that he needed to take work calls outside of normal work hours. His boss denied the severity of the situation and refused to give him the phone. Well, since answering these work calls during unpaid hours was really an act of generosity, the employee…
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20+ employees confess who their worst coworkers are: 'Nothing is ever their fault and they can't take any constructive criticism'

20+ employees confess who their worst coworkers are: 'Nothing is ever their fault and they can't take any constructive criticism'

Everyone has their pet peeve when it comes to the behavior of your coworkers. Some common attributes of coworkers are, of course, endearing. There's the one who is always too cold and has a sweater on even if it's 80 degrees out. There's the one who has a funny yawn that's easy to imitate. And there's the owner of the cute office dog everyone loves. Then, there's the repeated behavior that can drive you mad. For instance, there are the people who think they appear more professional than they ar…
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'You can't use a competitor's phone': Employee collects 9 hours of OT and gets new boss fired after not being allowed to use a competitor's phone during a blizzard and power outage

'You can't use a competitor's phone': Employee collects 9 hours of OT and gets new boss fired after not being allowed to make a call during a blizzard and power outage

Something bosses never seem to consider when enforcing strict rules is the consideration of life events that are out of everyone's control. In this instance, we have a fancy new boss from the big city who moved out into a rural area to work for a company that runs local cell phone towers. One employee was threatened with termination if he was caught using a competitor's phone ever again. The confrontation itself was already a bit much. Well, flash forward to a power outage in the most remote ar…
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Boss pressures employee to use vacation time, employee demands money to plan his trip: 'It quickly turned into a Boomer v. Millennial Showdown'

Boss pressures employee to use vacation time, employee demands money to plan his trip: 'It quickly turned into a Boomer v. Millennial Showdown'

It's easy for the boss to tell their employee to go on a vacation somewhere nice. It's harder when you don't have the funds to plan a trip like that. This overworked employee recently learned that his company was doing away with bonuses and was therefore losing out on $20K that year. That was money he was planning on using for a real vacation, but without that extra money, he really could not afford to plan a trip. All of his income was now going into living expenses, as the cost of living was…
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Employee requests three days off, boss demands doctor's note, doctor gets him six weeks off: 'They did not look pleased'

Employee requests three days off, boss demands doctor's note, doctor gets him six weeks off: 'They did not look pleased'

Trying to mess with an employee's time off is a risky game. These bosses claimed that they understood when their employee requested to have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off because of extreme burnout. Not only did these two supervisors deny the request, but also they tried to get this guy to cover an extra shift. It was as if the entire burnout conversation went in one ear and out the other, as if it did not matter. When the Redditor tried to reason with his supervisors, he had mentioned his…
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Piano technician maliciously complies with overbearing boss's demand for punctuality: 'If you can't be on time, then don't!'

Piano technician maliciously complies with overbearing boss's demand for punctuality: 'If you can't be on time, then don't!'

Let this serve as our weekly reminder that bosses should be careful with their choice of words. Here, we have an employer who got increasingly frustrated with a piano technician for being under five minutes late on more than one occasion. Under five minutes should be considered negligible, but if an employer really feels that a conversation is necessary, there is a much better way of having it than what this dude ended up doing. He used vaguely threatening phrasing that almost begged to be chal…
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'This is not working out': Guy gets fired for not having work to do for the last five minutes of his shift

'This is not working out': Guy gets fired for not having work to do for the last five minutes of his shift

Getting all your work done early should be rewarded, not chastised. However, in the professional working world, there's a reason why people always say one should never get too good at one's job. Otherwise, you will start getting more responsibilities and often without further compensation unless you fight for it. It turns out that efficiency and productivity are only encouraged to a certain degree. This employee learned that the hard way when they were fired on the spot for reportedly “standing…
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Boss refuses to accept employee’s resignation, accuses him of sabotaging the company: ‘No one in any position of power above you is your friend’

Boss refuses to accept employee’s resignation, accuses him of sabotaging the company: ‘No one in any position of power above you is your friend’

No matter how kind your employer is… do not mistake them for your close friend. Perhaps you’ve created a rapport together over the years. Perhaps you two have hung out outside of work and shared details about your personal lives with one another. Still, there is a hierarchy in place, and when push comes to shove, your boss will enforce that sense of hierarchy when it suits them. When this Redditor shared with his boss that he would be resigning, he prepared both an official letter of resignatio…
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‘We aren’t moving forward with you’: Job applicant rejected after four rounds of interviews and unpaid free labor

‘We aren’t moving forward with you’: Job applicant rejected after four rounds of interviews and unpaid free labor

The amount of work required of job applicants these days is starting to get out of hand. First, there’s the expectation that your resume needs to be adjusted and tailored specifically to the job for which you are applying. Why do applicants need to do this? No, it’s not to stand out and to prove that you’re the right person for the job. It’s to include specific phrases from the online job description in your personal resume in order to pass automatic job screenings. Of course, this requires mor…
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Hiring manager asks job candidate if they can work six months before getting paid: 'The questions on these applications are wild'

Hiring manager asks job candidate if they can work six months before getting paid: 'The questions on these applications are wild'

Everyone get ready to wave your red flags because this hiring manager's application questions are pretty eyebrow-raising. If there is one thing this recruiter managed to do correctly, it's that he was at the very least transparent about how messed up the payment plan for this position was. However, that's as positive as one can be towards this guy after the ridiculous question he posed on this job application for a financial advisor position. Sometimes, when you're applying for jobs, certain de…
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'She asked me to cancel my day off': Executive assistant puts foot down when coworker tries to get her to cancel her planned vacation

'She asked me to cancel my day off': Executive assistant puts foot down when coworker tries to get her to cancel her planned vacation

Who else loves when someone tries to punish you for their lack of a strong work ethic? This executive assistant did their fair share of work on a project before their planned vacation. In fact, they did not even have to pull all the files they did since it was not even their assignment, but they helped a few coworkers out of common courtesy. Still, just a day before their vacation was finally about to start, their coworker tried to convince them to cancel their day off because she found herself…
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Coworker gets fired after calling in sick to audition for The Bachelor: 'Don't ever do anything that would embarrass [our] image'

Coworker gets fired after calling in sick to audition for The Bachelor: 'Don't ever do anything that would embarrass [our] image'

Every employee is entitled to use their set number of sick days for whatever reason they see fit, even if that reason is to audition for a very popular reality TV show. Sure, this is not exactly a morally justifiable excuse for calling in sick, but it is an iconic excuse. This employee recounted how their coworker not only called in sick to audition for The Bachelor but also how she didn't exactly cover it up very well. Their president's one big rule at the company was never to embarrass the or…
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'I don't need your input. Just do what I say': New manager flexes his muscles with warehouse temperature policy, employee tries to warn him, malicious compliance ensues

'I don't need your input. Just do what I say': New manager flexes his muscles with warehouse temperature policy, employee tries to warn him, malicious compliance ensues

Don't you just love it when the new manager makes things exponentially worse for everyone else? It's a common mistake that these horrible bosses tend to make. They come in and immediately feel like they know a better solution to the current system. Without properly hearing out all the employees' voices, they decide it would be more impressive to flex their muscles and insist that their solution is the proper one. Well, time and time again when this happens, the new manager stumbles. Either the…
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