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toxic-workplace

'I have no choice': Single parent pressured to bring kid into work this Christmas because daycare is closed, rejecting her PTO request

'I have no choice': Single parent pressured to bring kid into work this Christmas because daycare is closed, Scrooge boss rejects her PTO request

We're nowhere near the Holidays, and yet we already have employers being awful about time off on Christmas. Here, we have a single parent who works as a dietary aide at a medical facility. We trust her when she says this is not exactly an environment she is comfortable bringing her kid to work in on any day, especially Christmas. When she recently learned that the daycare where she sends her kid would be closed on Christmas, and she realized she had no other alternative but to request time off,…
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'There’s been over 2 dozen people sending quitting emails': Employee sees toxic manager yell at intern, sends company-wide email about it, causes mass quitting

'There’s been over 2 dozen people sending quitting emails': Employee sees toxic manager yell at intern, sends company-wide email about it, causes mass quitting

This employee may have had enough with his company, but in the end, his toxic boss had no one to blame but himself. After all, it was the boss that went on a ridiculous rant in the first place. He gave an intern a hard time for asking to leave early because she was going to have to put down her cat at the vet's office. The boss had absolutely no remorse for her situation and decided to yell at her because he thought he could get away with it. This Redditor saw the encounter in plain sight and s…
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'If you want to leave this company on good standing you have to come in on your approved day off': Employee granted a personal day by supervisor, manager insists he must still report to work or face consequences

So, our friend (the OP) has been working at a hotel for nearly four years and is about to move on to a new job. The trouble? His manager is causing quite a ruckus during his final days. This manager has a history of making life difficult for our OP, and it all hit a boiling point when he put in his notice. From unusual write-ups to some eyebrow-raising demands, it's safe to say this isn't your typical farewell. The latest twist? An approved day off has turned into a potential face-off.
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'Appear busy, not desperate': 20+ job search hacks to remember when brushing up your resume

'Appear busy, not desperate': 20+ job search hacks to remember when brushing up your resume

Applying for jobs is never a fun time, but there are a few rules people don't really talk about that will make the application process slightly more bearable. For instance, if you're one of those people constantly clicking “Easy Apply” on LinkedIn or Indeed, you're not making anything easier for yourself. The first job search hack on this list provides a far more direct solution: apply directly on the company website. You would think this is self-explanatory, but so many of t
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'This is not a "real" interview': Job candidate deliberately misled, forced to commute for a pre-screening, withdraws application

'This is not a real interview': Job candidate deliberately misled, forced to commute for a pre-screening, withdraws application

There are countless ways to disrespect a prospective job candidate. Not that this is behavior that we are trying to condone here at FAIL Blog, but we have seen the full range of what HR representatives, recruiters, and hiring managers are capable of during the job screening and interview processes. First, there are all the fake euphemisms like “matching the face to the resume,” a phrase that was used by this hiring manager and countless others. Really, this “phase” of the process is ethically q…
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'Their faces were priceless': Boss makes sick employee come in, employee maliciously complies, gets company sick policy revised

'Their faces were priceless': Boss makes sick employee come in, employee maliciously complies, gets company sick policy revised

All employers should know by now not to mess with the company sick day policy. Here, we have a horrible boss who decided that every employee who called in sick needed to physically show up to the office first to hand in a note from their physician. A phone call wouldn't even suffice. Clearly, this boss didn't have any trust in his employees and also didn't fully comprehend the risk of having infected folks show up and potentially getting more employees sick. Essentially, this dude was either as…
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Update: 'Most people aren't being paid market value here': Employee confronts boss about lame promotion with receipts, leaves boss grasping at straws for excuses

Update: 'Most people aren't being paid market value here': Employee confronts boss about lame promotion with receipts, leaves boss grasping at straws for excuses

There are definitely better ways of justifying your employee's lack of a fair raise. This boss decided that the best way to justify the decision was to say that essentially everyone is underpaid at the company. In other words, she was saying that the entire company cheats its employees. Not only is that a completely irresponsible thing to say both for the employee's sake and for the company's, but also it gives the impression that there is absolutely no hope for the employee in his pursuit of a…
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'Sorry, you removed my access to all those files': Employee requests to extend company access after last day, incompetent boss ignores him and endures the consequences

'Sorry, you removed my access to all those files': Employee requests to extend company access after last day, incompetent boss ignores him and endures the consequences

There is something to be said for listening to your employees, even when they are on their way out. Perhaps they actually have the company's best interest at heart. Unfortunately, some employers are too proud or too self-absorbed to get over the fact that someone under them might actually have a better suggestion for you and for the team you run. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/pettyrevenge by u/flib_bib , who worked in management at an international school and spent much of his employment…
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'HR is not your friend': Man is brought back to life after suffering a heart attack, HR thinks he should already be back in the office

We've all been through our fair share of workplace drama, or at least witnessed it from the sidelines, totally engrossed in Karen's fierce threats to the higher-ups, eagerly anticipating her to get the boot. Or something like that. You know, the usual office soap opera. But what about this? Have you ever actually d*ed, got shocked back to life by a defibrillator, and then tried to spend the next few months recovering from the surreal "life flashing before your eyes" moment? No? Well...
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'[Boss] sent me a "Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays" gif': Employee shamed for calling in sick after working OT, confronts boss about his bad joke

'[Boss] sent me a "Somebody's Got a Case of the Mondays" gif': Employee shamed for calling in sick after working OT, confronts boss about his bad joke

Not only did this boss have absolutely no right to question his employee's decision to call in sick, but also he made things even worse by trying to make a joke out of it. If you've ever been someone's manager, you would know that while having a sense of humor can lighten the tension, having a bad sense of humor can produce the complete opposite effect. This thread was posted to Reddit by u/ShiftyPom , who worked for a small family-run business and had recently been working overtime for several…
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'Not worth it': New employee misled during onboarding process after prior commitments were not honored, confronts recruiter

'Not worth it': New employee misled during onboarding process after prior commitments were not honored, confronts recruiter

Sometimes you know within your first day of starting a new job if you've made an egregious mistake. You might go through a period of denial, where you try to give your employers a second, third, and fourth chance. You might even go through a period of trying to convince yourself that you enjoy the people, the work, and the office environment. But nine times out of ten, you will most likely return to that initial gut feeling you had on Day One. This Redditor was hired to be a tutor as a second f…
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'[He] had to be repeatedly sent home to shower and change': 15 bosses tell all about their worst employees

'[He] had to be repeatedly sent home to shower and change': 15 bosses tell all about their worst employees

We often talk about the horrible bosses of the world who have no regard for their employees, but as much as it pains us to admit, the reverse can be true as well. In fact, forget the disregard for your boss because more often than not, being disrespectful at work affects your coworkers and everyone in your office environment as well. Some of these stories range from a lack of hygiene to a literal hoarder. We have employees who refuse to do the bare minimum and employees who go out of their way…
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'Supervisor [...] fired her staff for obeying the rules': Receptionist follows boss's rules, refuses to make coffee for salesman, gets fired but asked to stay until replacement starts

'Supervisor [...] fired her staff for obeying the rules': Receptionist follows boss's rules, refuses to make coffee for salesman, gets fired but asked to stay until replacement starts

In case it hasn't been clear, workplace culture is undergoing a serious facelift these days. The question is how everyone responds to these (in some cases, very necessary and long overdue) changes. Here, we have a supervisor who specifically told the receptionist staff to never fetch coffee for salesmen at the office, as they are more than capable of making their own beverages. However, you can't enforce these policies and then not have your employees' backs when they follow through. That's wha…
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'Not sure why he didn't get fired': 10+ times coworkers messed up majorly and got away with it

'Not sure why he didn't get fired': 10+ times coworkers messed up majorly and got away with it

Every toxic workplace has a problematic employee or two, and everyone is secretly wondering why they're still working at the company. Especially after all the nonsense they have pulled over the years. Perhaps they know the big boss at the top. Perhaps they're even related to them (nepo baby alert!). Perhaps no one at the managerial level is aware of some of the craziness these terrible coworkers have gotten away with over the years. You are smart enough to stay out of it and just observe all th…
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'No one at the top is returning my calls': Job revokes employee's work from home accommodations despite medical issues, learns they're trying to get him to quit

'No one at the top is returning my calls': Job revokes employee's work from home accommodations despite medical issues, learns they're trying to get him to quit

Employers can find shady ways to send messages. In this case, their method was not only shady but also unethical. Furthermore, the employee may have grounds to dispute this sudden change because of their medical issues. To the employers out there who are hoping to put an end to working remotely, believe it or not, some of these remote employees have valid accommodations that must be honored. Why enforce these changes when you might end up with a lawsuit on your hands? This thread was posted to…
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Update: 'He was fired for being 20 minutes late FOR HIS FIRST TIME EVER': Employees protest the firing of their coworker by collectively coming in late

Update: 'He was fired for being 20 minutes late FOR HIS FIRST TIME EVER': Employees protest the firing of their coworker by collectively coming in late

It's important to have your coworkers' backs in case something ridiculously unjust like this happens. Of course, this kind of unity among employees can be rare depending on the workplace environment, but if I was suddenly fired for being 20 minutes late despite an otherwise perfect attendance record and excellent punctuality, I would hope that my coworkers would stand up for me. This thread was posted to Reddit by u/No_StopItStepbro , who along with his fellow employees devised a plan to collec…
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