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workplace-stories

'The Engineering VP saw the price tag, and told us to just rent it': Engineers ask management to buy a crucial piece of equipment, management balks at high cost

'The Engineering VP saw the price tag, and told us to just rent it': Engineers ask management to buy a crucial piece of equipment, management balks at high cost

One company was going through growing pains, and it's workers were feeling the pinch. Most small businesses fail. Perhaps you've heard that old wisdom that nine out of ten startups don't even last more than a year or two. Only the companies that rise above are able to stick around, but even then, not every business is able to scale up. It's something that has to be done with caution. In this case, u/calladus shared that they were working for a company that went from being a tiny privately owned…
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'It's not like I singled her out': Coworker keeps hogging the microwave, employee confronts her, gets in trouble with HR

'It's not like I singled her out': Coworker keeps hogging the microwave, employee confronts her, gets in trouble with HR

There are definitely unwritten rules about using the communal microwave in an office. If you're heating up your lunch during an in-demand time and it's a frozen meal that takes more than five minutes to cook, you might want to step back and let other people use it first. Furthermore, if you're eating something particularly aromatic, consider eating in the break room and not right at your desk. This also applies when you're eating a messy meal. I cannot tell you the number of times I have seen c…
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'The price is about $2000': Employer tells Vet they can't claim their employee discount right after expensive pet surgery

We talk a lot about mutual respect in the workplace, and this doesn't only apply to coworkers; it also applies to managers/owners and their employees. If a worker shows you respect by giving you greater notice than necessary that they will be leaving due to outside circumstances, you will do well to repay that respect by not retaliating. You might get away with it in this instance, but rest assured, after seeing how you treated their teammate, your other employees will never give you notice aga…
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'I've gotten my pay reduced twice in four months': HR blindsides employee, moves him from salary to hourly rate, pays him less per hour

'Get everything in writing': HR blindsides employee, moves him from salary to hourly rate, pays him less per hour

There is a reason why they say to make sure to get everything down in writing. This employee had the unfortunate experience of learning that life lesson the hard way after the HR representatives of the mental health facility in which he works kept shadily making adjustments to his contract. As someone who has worked freelance, part-time, full-time, and just about all the variations in between, I can confirm wholeheartedly that companies and bosses are going to make grand promises they cannot ke…
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'This is how she acts at work': Wife gets even with husband's flirting coworker, gives coworker's husband a call

'This is how she acts at work': Wife gets even with husband's flirting coworker, gives coworker's husband a call

I suppose it's only fair for everyone's spouse to be on the same page. That certainly was this Redditor's mentality when she Googled the contact information of the husband's coworker. The coworker had been flirting pretty aggressively with OP's husband, both during and outside of work hours. Thankfully, the husband was communicative with his wife and told her everything, which we know is not normally what happens in these situations.
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'I threw it back': Karen customer throws card in cashier's face repeatedly, cashier gets wholesome payback

'I threw it back': Karen customer throws card in cashier's face repeatedly, cashier gets wholesome payback

Sometimes, the only way to deal with a Karen customer is to give them a taste of their own medicine. Here, we have a rare instance of a revenge tale that ends up having more of a wholesome ending. Who knew that getting payback could actually lead to positive change in your adversary's behavior? That's what this Redditor learned after they refused to let this regular customer get away with nonsense at the fast food restaurant where OP worked.
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'So sue me': Client challenges developer to sue them for their $2000 payment, they accept

“So sue me,” is one of those phrases that works great amongst friends or family when there's a minor playful disagreement that no one is likely to sue anyone over, but is also often misunderstood and used as an ultimatum in instances where people actually might want to sue you. In these instances it's not nearly as great as a one liner or quip as people might as you're pretty much just reminding the person you're
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'You are in the middle of nowhere': CEO's nepo-baby son takes over remote workplace, insists maintenance workers drive 1200+ miles to change a lightbulb

'You are in the middle of nowhere': CEO's nepo-baby son takes over remote workplace, insists maintenance workers drive 1200+ miles to change a lightbulb

This story is like that old joke that goes, “How many people does it take to change a lightbulb?” There are a bajillion punchlines and variations of the joke.
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'I'll get a doctor's note when you pay for doctors': Company changes sick day policy, employee gets shamed for calling in sick, forced to provide 'proof'

'I'll get a doctor's note when you pay for doctors': Company changes sick day policy, employee gets shamed for calling in sick, forced to provide 'proof'

Let's be real here: if your company is not willing to provide health insurance for you, they have no business enforcing a strict sick day policy. Such hypocrisy reveals nothing more than the blatant disregard for the employee's actual humanity, but before we get too serious about this matter, let's also acknowledge how hard it is for companies to enforce certain specific sick day rules and regulations. For instance, if they need you to come in and prove that you are, in fact, unwell as you have…
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'The contractor calls my office saying this is going to cost $20,000 to fix': Construction consultant gets even with boss

'The contractor calls my office saying this is going to cost $20,000 to fix': Construction consultant gets even with demanding boss by agreeing to "shut up and do your job"

How much could one little mistake possibly cost? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Bosses love to hire people for their expertise. Then, once the employee has settled into the role, some bosses start getting into micromanagement mode. Instead of letting their employee do the literal job they're paying them to do, these managers would rather doubt their worker at every turn. Worse still, the supervisor at u/licdb's job doesn't trust her to do a specific type of construction consulting that is her ar…
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"Boss insisted work office today."

'Okay, but don't blame me if I get stuck in traffic': Boss demands reluctant worker commute to office for virtual presentation, gets stuck in traffic and misses entire thing

Be careful when making commands of your workers, or you might live to regret when your ultimatum comes to fruition. Sometimes, just like this boss did when he demanded that his worker come into the office to give a presentation. This boss commanded that his worker come into an office for an “all-important presentation." As the name indicates, the presentation was all-important, so it was imperative that the worker come into the office to present it. Circumstances in the city made it incredibly…
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'I've already secured another job': Employee promised promotion to keep them working overtime, boss then denies promotion with a 'scathing' review

While the “Carrot of Promotion” sounds like a great name for a Dungeons and Dragons item, it's not so great when it has been dangled in front of you to encourage you to do more work while working more hours and taking on more responsibility all under the promise that you might one day be compensated for it. Of course, often, employers fail to follow through on this promise and lead employees on for as long as possible before gaslighting them and pretending that this was never in the cards.
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'Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it': 15+ servers share the pranks they pulled on customers

'Wanted extra mayo so I maliciously complied by drenching it': 15+ servers share the pranks they pulled on Karen customers

Being a customer-facing worker means having to put on a smile even when you are about to spontaneously combust underneath the surface. This is a grim and unfortunate part of the reality of what it is to be a server or to work in customer service in general. However, every so often, you get the opportunity to serve a little malicious compliance and/or some petty revenge along with an entitled customer's meal. Sure, you're still serving your customers with a smile, but little do they know, you ha…
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'I'll be leaving in 5 minutes': Worker gets dumb rule changed by following it and wasting everyone's time

Sometimes, the only way to get a dumb and unnecessary rule changed is to follow it to the letter and prove to your superiors what you knew the whole time and show them that it doesn't work… Only then will they realize the error of their ways and relent. Of course, they're never going to admit that they were wrong and will just quietly sweep things under the rug and pretend that they knew it wasn't going to work all along.
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'I realized that not only was I getting scammed, but I was also out $3,000': Newly hired employee discovers his job was a scam posing as a legitimate company

Have you ever been so deep in the job search that you started applying for anything and everything that slightly piqued your interest? Especially with those “easy apply” buttons on job boards. It makes it way too easy. Well, you might want to think twice before you hit the panic-applying stage. So, the OP was right there with us, exhausted by his job search. When he got his first offer, he couldn't be more ecstatic. In my opinion, everything he described about the company and the offer seemed p…
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'Stop crying and get back to work': Underpaid receptionist quits for a better job, learns 1.5 years later that her ex-boss still can't fill her position

'Stop crying and get back to work': Underpaid receptionist quits for a better job, learns 1.5 years later that her ex-boss still can't fill her position

It's not easy to remember your worth when you're desperate for work. The working world is engineered to make us feel grateful for signing any sort of contract in a highly competitive market with next to no jobs. That being said, even if you finally landed in a decent position after months and months of searching, always be sure to remember that if you end up taking on more responsibilities than the ones that were initially outlined upon getting hired, that means you have the right to advocate f…
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