Anytime a micromanaging boss tries to implement something new, the effects are often actively counterproductive.

If you're working for a boss you don't like, quitting is the best feeling in the world. And these people had an added bonus: they were able to tell their terrible bosses exactly what they thought about them before leaving. They say that people don't leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers . If you've ever been in a great job that quickly goes downhill when your favorite boss leaves, you know exactly what I'm talking about. A good manager can shield you from blame so that you can do your best wo…

Imagine having a new boss who felt the need to watch your every move, including your bathroom breaks. If you've ever been in this position before, we imagine you found a loophole at some point because one simply cannot get their work done well without much-needed breaks. As for monitoring bathroom breaks, that simply feels hierarchical in a way that is no longer conducive to healthy work environments. It's merely invasive. Managers should have way more important priorities on their hands than n…

What do you do when you have a coworker with a body odor issue? Picture this: you're at your desk at work and you're trying to focus on your daily tasks. Just as your brain locks into focus, you start to smell something funny. At first, you think it's coming from you. You smell your armpits to make sure you put on deodorant this morning. You quickly realize that it isn't you at all. In fact, it's the new coworker who's sitting right behind you. Your brain starts spiraling as you try to figure o…

Sometimes doing what's convenient for a coworker is not necessarily what's fair to you. It's time to stop adjusting your needs to the needs of folks around you, especially when you gain nothing from adjusting said needs. This employee was recently encouraged by her boss in a team meeting to show up five to ten minutes early to shifts so that the handoffs from one coworker to the next would be smooth and easy. Luckily, this change didn't affect the employee's schedule very much, so it was an eas…

Ask and you shall receive. When this company representative decided to make empty threats, I'm sure he thought it would make him look tough and professional. Instead, it backfired spectacularly on him. This malicious compliance story takes place at a small family-run company that specialized in trucking. This person knew that relationships with their clients were important to the company's long term success. So when they encountered another business's representative who rubbed them the wrong wa…

A small issue ballooned into a big one after a few days. That's what happens when you ignore a tiny issue — it can just compound and expand until it affects your entire job.

Getting fired on your first day is no easy feat. Like many things in life, you have to work at it. You have to be so aggressively unsuited for your position or so unbelievably unprofessional that you're leaving your managers and everyone in HR with no other choice. Usually, people are very forgiving on the first day. Perhaps you did things differently at your old company and need some time to readjust to the standards of your organization. Perhaps you're not particularly well-versed in all the…

Micromanagers need to be careful about what they wish for. In theory, they tend to demand things from their employees that are conducive to productivity. However, most of the time, it's really about asserting authority for no good reason other than some good old-fashioned ego-stroking. This manager chewed out an employee for allegedly not getting approval before they clocked out, even though of course, the manager was incorrect and the employee had done everything they were supposed to do. But…

There are certain team-bonding work traditions that should be disbanded and one of them is most certainly Secret Santa. First of all, there's the money factor. Even if the fixed price everyone should spend is decided to be $10, I don't want to spend two cents on anyone at work and I'm pretty sure they'd say the same about me. There is absolutely no ill will or bitterness here; in fact, to me, it feels like a healthy mutual understanding. Now, the next reason why Workplace Secret Santa should be…

Imagine working at the same company for seven years and getting fired the second you bring up the topic of a raise. Talk about a complete lack of respect for the loyalty these employees have shown to the company by staying all this time with no financial incentive to do so. The employee who filmed this video of his boss's tantrum shared that he and his coworkers merely asked politely for a meeting after learning that new employees were receiving higher wages. That meeting led to the conversatio…

Let's talk about the bureaucracy of requesting PTO and how it really shouldn't be a bureaucracy at all. When you sign a contract that entitles you to a certain about of time off, that should be the only bit of documentation involved in planning your personal vacation time. Other than that, you should be able to just send an email announcing that these are the days you're taking off. There should be no “requesting" process. There should be no waiting period between your request and your approval…

Bosses who are annoying about promptness should be focusing their attention on far more pressing matters. Whatever happened to focusing on their own tasks and responsibilities? Whatever happened to ensuring that the employees on their team are supported and fulfilled (well, as fulfilled as they can be given the circumstances of work)? Whatever happened to minding their own dang business? In work-related matters such as this, we often go back to our mantra that if the work gets done and gets don…

This employee had to learn the hard way that many companies don't want innovation , they want employees who will keep their heads down. That is a frustrating lesson to learn if you're a bright young person in their first job, ready to tackle any issue. You find an issue, have a great idea of how to solve it and then… your boss just never implements that idea. They might ignore it entirely, or just tell you not to do that. Then you watch as your workplace carries on as usual. This guy had an esp…

When the boss was out for two weeks, this company didn't make a single pair of glasses the right way. It all could have been avoided if this supervisor would just listen to his employees! Even though c-suite executives make the big bucks, they're rarely as in tune with the company as other employees. Especially in a place like a factory , the employee who works on the machines each day knows way more about the current state of things than a supervisor who lounges in a room alone all day. Even s…

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…