If, at first, you don't succeed... try, try again—except… maybe, not in the exact same way as your first failure. Shake it up a little bit. Try an attempt that was better, or at least different , than your first… This was not a concept that this recruiter understood, choosing to make the same offer for a second time after this job candidate initially had declined. Who knows what their thought process was? Maybe they were seeking to wear the candidate down in a war of attrition—make the same off…

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…

This IT guy was working for a large firm as a contractor for their IT department. His experience was one that people often have within a giant, bloated corporate behemoth: The managers were unreliable, the expectations were too high, and the company had an odd culture that tried to give you more work, as congratulations for a job well done, rather than pay you fairly. That sounds like something that the owner or CEO thought of one day when they were sitting on the toilet, and all the "Yes Men"…

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.

It's often said that when going for a job interview, you should be kind and courteous to everyone you meet; famous anecdotes about not holding the front door to the building open for the person who ended up being the hiring manager reinforce this idea. Why, then, don't we extrapolate this idea and apply it to our daily lives—both professional and personal? When one lives their life in this way, they negate the chance of saying the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time, like this sor…

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?

Some people think that they are above consequences, and this problem becomes worse when they're in a technically untouchable position and continually have their beliefs reinforced by successfully getting away with antisocial actions and behaviors. This delusional employee must have been binge-watching 80's action flicks because her entire stratagem is eerily similar to the bad guy's from Lethal Weapon 2, relying on that (razor-thin) diplomatic immunity to get away with anything and anything. Th…

Some things aren't meant to be discussed in a professional workplace setting, as any discussion around them could be found to be offensive or off-putting. Conversing on topics like politics, religion, sex, and drugs (along with any other highly personal, private, or polarizing discussions) is a surefire way to get yourself acquainted with your company's HR—who may not be all that happy about all the extra paperwork you've caused them. No… some topics—like sharing your worst trauma, are better s…

Smokers often attract the attention of their coworkers due to the obscene number of short breaks they take to “step outside” for a moment and satisfy their addiction. If this worker only managed to accrue $200 worth of stolen time—well, they might be one of the most responsible smokers in the workforce. But let's be honest here—how many of us are guilty of taking small breaks from our work to browse Reddit. . . . For more,

"We're a family here," your HR will gladly tell new hires—a strained smile, thinly stretched, veiling years of workplace abuse, mistreatment, and exploitative policy that would say directly otherwise. The truth is that the only "family" this workplace resembles is a family on a true crime program where the children are chained in the basement by their remorselessly autocratic parents, who insist that the children should be eternally thankful for every scrap offered to them.

It's often said that if you do a job and do it well, nobody is going to complain… but do a job well enough for long enough, and it's going to begin to be taken for granted. Soon enough, that second set of duties that you took on to band-aid resourcing shortages will become a part of your normal job description… You might be doing more work, but at least you have the appreciation of your manager—right? Their goodwill towards you could mean wonders for your career! That is… until they suddenly le…

What should you do when a client passes you, an esteemed partner of your business, a set of Super Bowl tickets to give to their account manager as a warm thanks for their work? Hand them to the employee as instructed—right? No! What could you possibly stand to gain from that straightforward and ethical decision? Instead, regift them to another client in order to bolster that business relationship, who could care less what your sniveling subordinate thinks—they're never going to know anyways. Oh…

What kind of insane power trip is this boss on? Does he seriously think he can just order his workers not to quit? There's a word for the type of relationship this boss is looking for—and it's not “employment.” This guy seriously thinks himself a feudal lord and that all of his “serfs” are dependent on him for life or death. That guilt trip of "how could you leave and do this to your coworkers" is a common manipulation tactic… and there are too many red flags to count here. He's probably trying…