When you owe someone money, nothing is going to go over like a lead balloon, quite like showing up with something new and shiny to show off. You probably even did it at least once to your parents as a kid when they gave you money for lunch, and you went out and bought Pokemon cards instead. You know the type, that friend who you loaned 100 dollars to for rent, yet they still somehow have new clothes every time you see them. Your roommate who borrowed money for groceries but always seems to have…

Most people in this world fall into two camps: Those out to make things better for everyone and those in it for their own gain and to meet their own ends. Sure, this concept sounds quite reductive (it is), and the reality is things aren't quite so black and white… It's more than likely people will play to both sides depending on their current needs and motivations. Still, ultimately, I maintain that if you distilled people down to their true purpose and intention, you'd find the original statem…

There was a time and a place when staff retention was an organization's top priority, and it was a point of pride and honor to have and care for long-standing employees. My grandfather worked for the same company his entire life—though he was famously mocked towards the end of his career by a notorious executive (who would go on to publicly defraud the large corporation for millions.) My father was nearly the same, working for the same organization from before I was born until his retirement wi…

“Rules for me but not for thee” is never more accurate than when dealing with C-suite executives and their return-to-office plans.

This reads heavily like someone chucked a prompt into an AI and just let it rip without any proofreading or comprehension of the output. Still, someone at least must have added something to the prompt along the line of “make this statement as authoritarian as possible" without understanding the direction of Everyone has encountered this customer service rep before who has handled one customer too many and is now on a warpath. Usually this types of attitude is a requirement for doctor's office r…

When it comes to working from home or working in the office, a lot of employers insist that their staff work from the office—even when they could easily do their tasks from home. Especially when their work involves handling sensitive information which means the devices need to be kept safe and secure. Still, what constitutes “sensitive” is a grey area and when you're a middle manager of a retail operation there's probably a good chance that the information you're handling really isn't all that…

Just when you think employers and managers might actually be instating policy with their workers best interest in mind you find yourself, yet again, disappointed. When I had heard that some employers were offering “unlimited” leave as a interest, understanding that a happy, motivated, and healthy workforce with a passion for their work is far more productive and creative than

Pets are family, they always have been and always will be—but are especially so for the generations of young (and aging) adults who can't afford and wouldn't have the financial security to start a family and have human children of their own—even if they wanted to. The reality is that, for a lot of people, their pets are the closest family and maybe even the only family that they will ever have. They are treasured closely, and the loss of one is always tragic… With that in mind, members of this…

You'd have to be pretty uncaring, have a lot of audacity, and think that you have absolute control over someone to think that they'd be willing to do the same job with a 30% cut to pay. Heck, even if the worker was willing to take the pay cut, you'd have to know that they would probably be looking for work elsewhere and reducing their output. While this would be common sense to most of us it apparently wasn't to this employer who probably looked something similar to a “surprised pikachu” meme w…

Companies have the uncanny ability to approach an issue with solemn interest and earnest, particularly when safety is concerned, carefully documenting that concern and intention to avoid that issue—giving themselves plenty of paperwork to cover themselves with should the need ever arise. Yet, as soon as the proper solution is presented and the proper safety equipment identified you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll balk and silently go for whatever cheaper model the supplier they're alrea…

Honestly, has upper or regional management ever volunteered to fill in for a weekend shift? This wouldn't be the first time that an upper manager pulled something like this, going with the old “you have to make sacrifices to go along with your rank” and ignoring the fact that they're not actually paying their “manager” the industry standard for their role, let alone enough to match the gravitas that they're placing on it. Further, they're conveniently forgetting the fact that they're a manager,…

Just do your job and do it right, and you'll be fine… A common train of thought many workers have thought about and shared, thinking that there's no way their job would be in jeopardy just as long as they keep up and don't draw excessive attention to themselves. Well, what about when your boss wants you to take on someone else's job, too? Plus, someone else's job on top of that? Well, you might be ready to tell them to go and shove it, but before you do, you'd better weigh the situation careful…

If you want someone to be accommodating, it's usually best to accommodate them too. This sounds like some sort of golden rule “treat others how you want to be treated” but really in a professional setting it's just common sense. Still, time and time again, budding new managers make the same mistake, trying to command respect and efficiency

It's a fact of life that if you go around going above and beyond for people, people are just going to start to take if for granted. That won't be the worst of it either, because sooner or later, someone's going to take advantage of your willingness to give more than you get and start using it as an excuse to walk all over. As an anecdote, say you have one friend in a group who goes out of her way to make unique cakes for all her friends on their birthdays; everyone just comes to expect this whe…

Consistent, persistent, and especially unnecessary noise is an absolute menace when it comes to life in a neighborhood community. Sure, everyone's going to have a need to make noise, and that's just part of life, too. Mowing lawns and other home and garden maintenance are by no means quiet, nor are playing children and outdoor social gatherings. Still, something that happens occasionally can be understood and is thus tolerable, even if it is a slight annoyance. But incessant noise over a sustai…

“if you ever need to refuse to do something in [the] corporate world, don't say you won't do it—accept it and make sure it slows to an excruciating crawl.” Words written by this worker have never been more true, and those who successfully navigate the corporate world find themselves consistently using this tactic to shake off unwanted work without bringing needless attention to themselves. This worker was an employee of a large corporate entity tasked with training employees and managers alike.…