You're going to get things wrong, and that's just a simple truth. There's no way you're going to get through this life without making a simple mistake. Owning that mistake, however, is a skill and one not a lot of people seem to possess—especially when it's your boss. This database admin worked on a team that had a requirement for an on-call rotation. If you've ever been on call, you probably know where this is going… Everything about the on-call system worked well, and the team even had its ow…

With so much information accessible at the tips of our fingers, it's easy for anyone to think that they're an expert. Without realizing it, they're missing the context, experience, and knowledge of the framework that's used to properly define the information they think they're an authority in—all things that an actual expert would know and possess. Of course, when you're delivering a service to clients, they're going to want to do things their way. But, as the customer, it's important to know w…

During the course of your career, it's generally thought that going above and beyond is often associated with greater reward… at least eventually. However, it's also possible that you'll end up working for people who will just take advantage of your willingness to do extra work and provide extra value to their company without extra pay. This workshop laborer helped in the production and manufacture of sheds for use on clients' farms and other similar business uses. They helped with cleaning, ma…

This worker worked in a draining middle management position in a care facility that was overseen by a “micromanaging dinosaur” of a boss who demanded strict adherence to rules—even the nonsensical and arbitrary ones they made up—and relishing in the chance at catching workers out for not following them. If you're getting an image of Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over a Cuckoo's Nest in your mind, you're probably on the right track… At one point, the worker was forbidden from interacting with clie…

Nobody likes any idea as much as they like their own. And nobody likes their own ideas more than upper management. They'll pick a course, no matter how ill-informed or ill-advised that course is, and steer into it full steam ahead. And, yet, still, there is something admirable, at least, in that kind of confidence; no matter how foolhardy it might sometimes be, that attitude is probably how they got where they are in the first place—that or it's their parents' company. Still, sometimes, as a bu…

Often in the workplace, the reclusive and introverted workers will find themselves disadvantaged—no matter how productive they are—with none of the clout and relationship status to cash in and help them when things go wrong or misunderstandings occur. Unfortunately, this situations usually involve some inability to talk their way out of a nonsensical request from management—the strong-headed manager having already made up their mind before they walked in the door that their "strange" quiet subo…

When you get overly worked up about your job, it's important to remember it's just a job; it's not like someone's life is at stake or anything… Of course, this logic doesn't really apply if you're a Cardiothoracic surgeon in the middle of an operation because—well, someone's life is literally at stake. Other forms of employment with the same level of gravitas also need not heed this advice. Still, there's no use crying over cut onions—if you can help it… and there's no use getting overly worked…

This web designer was responsible for managing and maintaining a collection of websites that their organization maintained for clients, but their organization had a particularly strange policy where requests from clients always needed to be considered with their boss telling them that they couldn't say no to requests, regardless of whether or not the requests actually made any sense, were actually good ideas“features” or would bog down and ruin the performance and interface of the web sites. Gr…

When you're young, you have all the ideologies about how you're going to move to the big city and live in lofted apartments while you hang out in coffee shops and bars with your friends and all laugh about how carefree your lives are… Oh, and you're working in humanitarian aid and making a difference in your work, too. As things progress you come to ind that you've instead found yourself in a corporate job that you despise, working as a means to an end, all your money is going to rent and if yo…

Who doesn't love proving everyone wrong? This employee was told to adjust his reports a certain way by the VP of his company and despite warning him of the potentially serious repercussions of this kind of reporting, he maliciously complied. Thankfully, there was no world in which the Redditor was going to be taking the fall when the company's revenue inevitably dropped because the people who ultimately signed the reports were the VP and his boss. So when that day finally arrived, the employee…

New managers accidentally create more inefficiency while trying to reduce it—a match made in heaven. Of course, it doesn't help that their workers are more than happy to go along with their awful plans and process changes to show them just how stupid those policies are. Oftentimes, these changes are just quickly swept under the rug and never mentioned again, with very little repercussion ever eventuating for the members of management who made the blunder. On the flip side, you know for certain…

We have this tendancy as a society to assume that just because someone is notably successful in one area that they must be a paragon of humanity in all other ways when—well, this often couldn't be farther from the actual truth. See, there's this thing that happens to those who have early success—or have success thrust upon them thanks to nepotistic opportunity—where they also think they're better than everyone else. If they found their success through a singular focus on their chosen path, it's…

KPIs are an important part of business operations, ensuring that workers are on track. Still, you've probably heard about “SMART” goals before, and while the acronym itself might be a little bit dumb, it still stands to reason that the “A” in “SMART” stands for “Attainable”—and for good reason. There's nothing more demoralizing than when managers set staff an intentionally unattainable goal— The managers who set these types of goals usually take their methods to memoirs from 1980s business magn…

Time management is an important skill when it comes to your working life. It's a huge determining factor in ensuring that you get enough done and get it done on time. Prioritization and organization are key components here, preventing you from feeling overwhelmed even in the face of a long to-do list. Meanwhile, organization ensures that you can maintain efficiency without getting in the way of yourself, keeping stress at a minimum. Of course, it's only natural for your manager to share an inte…

People think that their managers don't do any work, merely attending an ever-increasing number of meetings every day, ad infinitum, pretending that they have enough on their plate that they couldn't possibly help you with anything else. But, one of the most challenging parts of a manager's job is ensuring that their team members have enough work to do themselves and not—you know—faffing around all day and enjoying a peaceable existence… All the while not doing a whole lot of actual work themsel…

It's often said that HR is never on your side, but is merely there to maintain an equilibrium that will prevent the organization from opening itself to vulnerability or liability. They are there to manage the “human” resources of the company, and—well, that's you . Still, in instances where you're dealing with someone in the organization—be it a boss, coworker, or other party—who is so incredibly off base with their actions or reasoning, then it just makes sense to go to HR and help them see yo…