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toxic-workplace

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'The company is losing thousands of dollars every single minute': Printer room worker forced to train their lazy replacements who refuse to listen, costs the company "tens of thousands"

Printers have been the bane of many office workers' existence since the dawn of the printing age, with networking issues, mechanical failures, and permanently low toner/ink levels making tasks that should be easy and simple incredibly frustrating instead. Back in ye olden days of the 1990s, this print room worker managed the printing room of a shipping operation, operating the company's large and finicky dot matrix printers. If you've ever worked in a traditional warehousing or shipping joint,…
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'I was still on the receiving end of pettiness':: Employee moves away from coworkers, they leave an urn on her desk with the message 'ashes of problem employees'

'I was still on the receiving end of pettiness':: Employee moves away from coworkers, they leave an urn on her desk with the message 'ashes of problem employees'

It's giving middle school behavior, not workplace professionalism. When it comes to office dynamics, it can be common for some healthy, playful teasing among coworkers. This kind of behavior is always risky, though, since there's a fine line between teasing and bullying. Furthermore, this is a work environment and not a friend group hangout. Teasing of any kind can be quickly misinterpreted. Now, when it comes to this group of terrible coworkers, we think it's crystal clear that this goes far b…
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'This was a massive waste of my time': Cashier forced to get a doctor's note so she can drink water during her shift, doctor writes savage takedown of management

'This was a massive waste of my time': Cashier forced to get a doctor's note so she can drink water during her shift, doctor writes savage takedown of management

It comes as no surprise that at most companies, management tends to periodically enforce tone-deaf rules that can make employees feel undervalued. Sometimes that comes in the form of a new organizational structure, altered schedules, or reinforcing certain ways of doing things that employees know with certainty do not work. However, it comes with the territory of working at a company where management is largely absent but weirdly strict. In this case, we have a pharmacy that shall not be named…
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'My colleagues are all 8am until 5:30pm. My contract is for 9 to 5pm': HR makes a mistake with new employee's contract, employee refuses to let them change it

'My colleagues are all 8am until 5:30pm. My contract is for 9 to 5pm': HR makes a mistake with new employee's contract, employee refuses to let them change it

If HR makes a mistake like this, that's on them, not the employee! Employees are expected to be diligent in their paperwork, so shouldn't we expect the same from our managers and HR staff when they're drafting our employment contracts? There are so many instances as employees where we are expected to own our mistakes and stick with them. Let this story serve as a friendly reminder to all the horrible bosses out there because folks, it's a two-way street! This thread was posted to Reddit by u/Ex…
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'No talk of raise, promotion, or even when they'd get a replacement': Coworker gets denied promotion, employee asked to take on their work without a raise, quits

'No talk of raise, promotion, or even when they'd get a replacement': Coworker gets denied promotion, employee asked to take on their work without a raise, quits

Let this story serve as a cautionary tale: always be sure to get the raise before you take on the extra work. This employee and their coworker learned that the hard way, though the coworker had a much harder time. Once upon a time, their team of three was a well-run machine. It was just the two of them and their manager, the work was well-divided, and everyone enjoyed a healthy separation between their job and their personal life. Eventually, their manager left for a better opportunity. Rather…
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'They want free labor': Woman faces off against boss who wants her to work overtime without additional pay

Working overtime without extra pay? This Redditor doesn't think so.
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Top Ten ‘HR Is Not Your Friend’ Stories

Top Ten ‘HR Is Not Your Friend’ Stories

We know that the HR team members are humans too, but that doesn't make us friends! You might be one of those working folks who has managed to successfully form friendship bonds with your coworkers. Perhaps you have a work spouse. Perhaps you occasionally grab a drink with your team outside of work hours. Perhaps you text each other memes and pop culture news every day. Obviously, this kind of friendship is necessary. You're spending more time with your coworkers than with most people in your li…
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'Don't believe I have the flu?': Night shift worker forced to come into work despite illness, maliciously complies and gets sick in front of boss

'Don't believe I have the flu?': Night shift worker forced to come into work despite illness, maliciously complies and gets sick in front of boss

Some toxic work environments have got to amend their sick day policies. Here, we have an employee who was told that he had to come into work to be assessed about whether or not they were truly sick enough. The Redditor explained that as a night shift supervisor, there were instances in which this kind of assessment was important. However, when it came to illness, it's better for everyone involved if employers just took the employee's word for it. Not only is it best for everyone involved health…
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'I am fed up': Boss's girlfriend rejects the way employee does her job, employee maliciously complies and quits

'I am fed up': Boss's girlfriend rejects the way employee does her job, employee maliciously complies and quits

It's one thing for your boss to boss you around, as it is literally their job to do that. It's quite another when the person bossing you around is your boss's girlfriend. This bookstore employee came up with a system to manage customer orders that involved a little extra double-checking when each order was processed but ultimately meant fewer phone calls confirming orders to customers, as repeat phone calls were clearly bothering the customer base. Sounds like a pretty good system and the emplo…
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'It’s now 15 days late': Ex-boss refuses to send final paycheck to former employee, employee considers filing class action lawsuit

'It’s now 15 days late': Ex-boss refuses to send final paycheck to former employee, employee considers filing class action lawsuit

One of the joys of the Internet is the ability to learn all about someone's problem and see how they handled it and what their options were so that if you were in a similar situation, you would know exactly what to do. This is especially true of workplace drama, where social taboos around money and work can keep employees and coworkers from communicating with one another when something is up. But that's where the Internet steps in, and in this case, we have a Reddit story that maps out just wha…
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'Tell me how you provide value to the organization': CEO confronts employees in the elevator as layoffs approach

'Tell me how you provide value to the organization': CEO confronts employees in the elevator as layoffs approach

Having a conversation with your CEO is not necessarily easy, especially if he's asking you to defend your presence at the company during an elevator ride.
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'I was never asked to buy donuts again': New employee constantly bothered about needing to buy donuts for everyone in the office, maliciously complies

'I was never asked to buy donuts again': New employee constantly bothered about needing to buy donuts for everyone in the office, maliciously complies

Some office traditions can boost overall morale, while others can cause bad blood among coworkers. Sure, in theory, the concept of having weekly treats provided by a different coworker is fair, fun, and democratic. However, there are certain coworkers who have such intensity when it comes to these office traditions that these weekly snack parties no longer provide the fresh bit of community and enjoyment that they once did. Now, they are a competitive, mean-spirited hassle. Perhaps once it felt…
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'Is there any way I can tell him no?': Micromanaging boss wants remote access to worker's personal computer

Your personal devices are exactly that: personal… and shouldn't be confused with tools that were provided to you by your workplace for—well, work... That's not to say you shouldn't ever use your personal devices for any work-related reason—but this should only be done on a case-by-case basis and shouldn't ever extend to allowing your boss remote control over your personal computer. At any rate, you'd probably expect your management role that requires the use of a laptop and a cellphone would pr…
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'I do all of their work': Boss takes credit for employee's work, CEO tells employee she is making no impact on the company

'I do all of their work': Boss takes credit for employee's work, CEO tells employee she is making no impact on the company

Imagine learning that your boss has been taking credit for all of your work and that the CEO of your company has absolutely no idea what you do on a day-to-day basis. We all know that when situations like these arise, the truth is often the exact opposite of what the CEO has seemingly gathered. The truth is probably that the employee's day-to-day is filled with fulfilling not only their personal job responsibilities but also with picking up the slack as a result of the subpar work of everyone e…
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'My vacation time for my sister's wedding was denied': Man questions whether or not he should quit over rejected PTO

Missing your sister's wedding for work? This man doesn't think so.
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'I can still access the account': Social media manager keeps 'working' after being replaced by unpaid teenager

'They may have fired me, but I can still access the account': Social media manager keeps 'working' after being replaced by unpaid teenager

This person couldn't believe their eyes when their job position was suddenly taken over by a volunteer . Not just any volunteer — a nepotism hire, thanks to their boss. U/fjewioafjksldfhe created a throwaway account to tell r/pettyrevenge seekers about their crafty payback on their former boss. Social media is everywhere, and posting to various accounts in brand voice is a real and important job. Still, as with many types of undervalued jobs, like writers or artists or photographers, some bosse…
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