When your business is essentially employing people who could be easily contracting for themselves (without the need for your siphoning off their earnings), it's probably best to treat them with a bit of respect. This goes doubly if they're your best performer and highest earner. Sure, by employing them, you're providing them the security they might not otherwise have, but as soon as that security is compromised, they will start questioning their situation. Sometimes reducing wages may be a nece…

Customers are easily the worst part of any customer service job, followed closely by arrogant unqualified managers. The two make a dynamic duo when you're unfortunate enough to endure them simultaneously. The Karen, an unstoppable force of rage and fury, and the manager, an unmovable brick wall of utter density. Like Batman and the Joker, they are eternally locked in an endless struggle—and you're stuck in the middle. (It's no wonder that, in these industries, you spend most of your time off ju…

Treat others how you would like to be treated: the golden rule. Regardless of your religious beliefs or affiliations, it stands to reason that this is a good principle to follow in order to build a moral foundation for one's actions. This “golden rule” or sometimes “ethic of reciprocity” appears universally throughout civilizations and cultures, dating back as far as 2000 BCE in Ancient Egypt. Despite its ubiquity in philosophy and religion, small business owners somehow seemed to have missed t…

Who among us hasn't dreamt of dramatically quitting and walking out the door of a toxic workplace? It's one of those fantasies that seem to creep in any time your manager is berating you for something inane, like not putting one of the new cover sheets on your TPS report. That's what these workers had the choice to do when their manager tried to write them up for not closing properly. The thing is… they didn't close properly because they had never been trained to close properly—in fact, they we…

If you don't understand what your new subordinates do, it would be a good idea to seek to understand their work. Jumping to baseless conclusions that their work is worthless just because your skull is three inches thick is a surefire way to land the entire organization in hot water. Well, true to typical “new boss logic,” this boss, “Sally," was too quick to judge when an essential analyst was restructured under her tyrannical

Interviews are a two-way street: the candidate is trying to figure out whether or not they want to work for the employer just as much as the employer is trying to figure out if they're interested in the candidate. Still, often there are multiple candidates but only one position; this can create a power imbalance and desperation on the part of the candidate that leads to only one direction of the street being walked. As such, candidates may miss major red flags from the interviewer or dismiss th…

A nefarious plot by the CEO to lay off all workers at a big-box electronic store triggered a rebellion by the store's manager that would send the corporate entity reeling. Is this a plot line written by George RR Martin? Or a modern retelling of Robin Hood? You be the judge! When the employees of the store accidentally learned of this plot, it was a free-for-all. The manager was angered and made use of his discounting privileges to provide all employees with a once-in-a-lifetime shopping spree…

Toxic workplaces love “fake” promotional roles—used to saddle workers with more responsibility and workload with a little-to-no increase in pay. They serve as an effective method for What stands out here is the impossible situation of being stuck in a terrible employment arrangement and being unable to find an exit route. People forget how much energy it takes to look for other work. When positions are limited in your sector, you can find yourself working what is essentially another full-time j…

Working interviews are a thinly veiled scam intended to draw upon a new source of unwitting workers for free resources, ideas, and labor.

The service industry is somehow a lure for the most entitled and Karen people in the world. If you have ever worked in a restaurant, cafe, hotel, or anything like that then you know. There is always that one customer who thinks that your job means you have to do everything they say and they will throw a tantrum if you do not let them walk all over you. One server recently shared on Reddit how they were able to take a couple of Karen customers and show them how a basic restaurant works. Basicall…

Certain companies have a knack for treating their employees in embarrassing and dehumanizing ways—toxic policies ensuring that you hate every second you spend on their premises. Checking bags and searching for personal belongings is one of these policies. There's no reason for it unless you're dealing with high-security clearance. Why are you so worried that an employee is going to steal a pair of sneakers that were produced at literal slave wages?

When Karens go full Karen, their tantrum is even worse than a terrible-two-year-old's. So why stoop to their level? Don't let the hate from entitled and rude customers get you all worked up and yelling at someone who obviously doesn't have the capacity to own up to anything. One man recently shared his technique in dealing with Karen customers without having to stoop to their level and it is absolutely genius.

“He had to disconnect the phones during a busy rush because she called 30 times…”

It wasn't the bugs that did it for him, it was the toxic management and Karen customers.

Karen needs to mind her own d@mn business.

When this employee missed work due to a serious chronic illness, management called a meeting because they were “Seriously concerned.” It wasn't the employee's well-being they were concerned about. Oh no, they were concerned with a decrease in KPIs and other performance metrics.