Providing customer service is never an easy task for a number of reasons. The hardest part is the fact that you cannot predict who you'll run into or what type of attitude they're going to have. The story below is an account of a frustrated employee. The original poster (OP), who is employed in retail, was hit with threats over a $1.63 charge. But rather than standing with OP and protecting the worker from the enraged client, management decided to stick by the client and reprimand OP for suppos…

Sometimes, no excuse is better than a lame excuse. Everyone deserves the right to take a break with no questions asked. Unfortunately for the workers of the world, that can be very hard to do when you have a demanding and nosey manager. These employees made the mistake of trying to fabricate valid reasons and coming up short. It's definitely better to say nothing at all if the only “reason” you can come up with is the grown-up version of your dog eating your homework. Luckily, those ridiculous…

Have you ever had a coworker who seemingly will stop at nothing to get you fired? Before we get into this story of how an employee managed to save themselves from getting unfairly dismissed by instead getting their work nemesis fired first, let's unpack how these kinds of work rivalries happen. Most of the time, like most elements of a work environment, it all comes from the top down. If the system is built upon a foundation of unhealthy competition, that will almost never fare well for employe…

In this day and age, we don't expect toxic workplace environments to get away with wildly outdated behavior anymore, and yet as much as we'd like to think that progress has been made, unkind and unfair treatment still does happen all the time. Here, we have a young female employee who was on the brink of getting married when the VP of her company organized a disciplinary meeting threatening to fire her if she didn't pull it together at work. Of course, there was no concrete evidence that she wa…

Some bosses care more about enforcing ridiculous policies than assessing whether or not said policies are efficient. How many times have you found yourself in a work situation when the easy solution is staring right in front of you but you can't say anything because of your temperamental and particular boss? This truck driver had to deal with a silly new rule about scanning tons of extra paperwork to corporate when all he really needed to do was scan a few signed pages. Of course, despite voici…

Employees who regularly work expected overtime as part of the job come to rely on that money to earn their living. Time is money and money is time, right? So what happens when employers can't seem to afford that overtime payment but somehow maintain the expectations that employees should be completing that extra work? Well, if the employees are empowered enough, then they should let their bosses know the simple and fair truth: if employees must say goodbye to that money, then their employees mu…

There cannot be many folks out there who enjoy receiving unwanted feedback. This hiring manager thought it was a good idea to respond to a job candidate's request to withdraw an application by giving them a completely uncalled-for lecture about what it takes to be a good manager and how to navigate a professional career successfully. As many folks in the comments section pointed out, the truth of the matter is that the interviewer has clearly been having trouble filling a property management po…

Most new hires spend their first day getting an overview of their daily responsibilities and meeting the other members of their team. Unfortunately for this IT worker, that calm, chill first day was taken away from them pretty much instantly. It turns out that on this particular employee's first day, they learned that the company used some obscure and outdated software that would take some time to adjust to and understand. Well, time did not seem to be on their side given the fact that the cowo…

Imagine thinking everyone was about to throw you a nice going away party after your resignation was announced, only to learn that the party is really a celebration of everyone not having to deal with you anymore. That's what this boss dealt with after he was demoted and later fired for a variety of reasons, one of which involved ignoring serious safety procedures. He was, at one point, the manager of a national sewer and drain company, and he was known for making his team members' lives a night…

Now that it's the middle of summer, everyone and their mother is trying to take a much-needed vacation. Despite the fact that this happens in every workplace every year, many employers still have yet to come up with a system and workflow that allows for employees to take time off. Instead, employees are often subjected to shame and derision from the moment they put in their requests for PTO to the moment their vacation has finally arrived. Here, we have an employee who works for a startup that…

You work hard all year round, expecting your bosses to recognize your aptitude, perseverance, and dedication—only to be severely disappointed. What are your next steps? Do you leave a work where you're not valued and search for better opportunities elsewhere? The story below is an account of a frustrated contractor. Prior to the annual contract review, the original poster (OP) had requested a raise. Her supervisors requested that she provide a synopsis of the reasons she thinks she should recei…

There is a fine line between a wronged customer advocating for themselves and an entitled one demanding special treatment. If you're a self-aware human, every so often you will find yourself in situations when you come up against the “system” and have to demand to be treated fairly. As you stand up for yourself, you may feel your body contorting into that of a Karen, but if this is a rare occurrence for you, then you're probably not like this customer. This dude thought he could call up the cus…

Here's a good rule of thumb: if an employee is handling confidential information, then it's probably not a good idea to let them do their work out in the open. This accountant tried to warn his new manager that it wasn't a good idea for him to cover the front desk on this particular workday, as he was doing payroll (and was the only person in the company capable of handling payroll). It wasn't that the accountant felt “above it" in any way; he knew that from time to time, the accountants in his…

Getting hired is one thing, but holding onto the position is quite another. Essentially, the hiring manager uses the data you supply and references from reputable companies to showcase your qualifications and elevate you during the interview process. But now that you have the job you've been wanting, it is up to you to demonstrate your suitability and back up your application. Having said that, I came across a captivating post on Reddit while scrolling through the feed that drew my attention ri…

Working in human resources requires keeping a lot of drama to yourself. This poses a problem for those of us on the internet who want all the juicy gossip about all the messed up workplace environments so that we can feel ever so slightly better about our own messed up workplace situations. Thankfully, these HR employees were bold enough to share their stories and spill the tea for the rest of us. It comes as no surprise to report that the vast majority of these anecdotes involve those at the t…

Finding a job is never an enjoyable or simple task. Some would even go so far as to suggest that it's physically demanding and brutal. But just like anything else in life, there are moments when you have to carry out tasks you may not particularly enjoy in order to further your career. A frustrated job seeker is described in the account below. The original poster (OP) had been struggling to find a job for a while. He is searching for that one person who will have faith in him, in his skills, in…