FAIL Blog
Advertisement

workplace-stories

'By all means, keep it up and get fired': Customer service rep refuses to stop CC'ing their CEO in emails

'By all means, keep it up and get fired': Customer service rep refuses to stop CC'ing their CEO in emails

This person is completely blind to the consequences of their impatience. Luckily for the rest of us, their story is an unintentionally funny tale of workplace ignorance. There's always that one coworker that just doesn't pick up on the job. They could have all the training in the world, but they still don't understand basic tasks. They're the person who needs your help ten times per day when you're not even their supervisor. Other times, “that one coworker” will do their job so badly that every…
View List
'Ended up putting in a two week notice... they acted surprised': Worker gives workplace 6 months notice, company avoids finding a replacement

'Ended up putting in a two week notice... they acted surprised': Worker gives workplace 6 months notice, company avoids finding a replacement

This person gave their company half a year to replace them , and that still wasn't enough time. That's a generous offer! Most people give the usual two weeks' notice when switching jobs. It's the common courtesy to let your employer know that you're heading for the door, while also giving them time to strategize and start the hiring process for your replacement. U/Knowslittle wrote that their employer was making them do the jobs of three people . This worker was stretched so thin that it was be…
View List
Advertisement
'Employee quit because he got by a squirrel a customer threw at him': 20 business owners share their most bizarre quitting and firing stories

'Employee quit because he got bit by a squirrel a customer threw at him': 20 business owners share their most bizarre quitting and firing stories

People have their own personal reasons for quitting jobs. Sometimes it's justified, and sometimes it's not, Sometimes it's planned, and sometimes it's impulsive. And every so often, the reason behind someone's departure at a company is so bonkers and unexpected that it almost feels like you're living in a movie or some heightened version of reality. This time, instead of telling these anecdotes from the perspectives of those who got fired or quit, we're going to see how things went down from th…
View List
'I was instructed to smile more': Tech support worker weirds out customers by maliciously complying with supervisor's instructions

'I was instructed to smile more': Tech support worker weirds out customers by maliciously complying with supervisor's instructions

This employee was confused by their boss's latest comments, and they decided to comply to the best of their abilities. For many women, being told to smile more is an unfortunate rite of passage. It's usually said by some older dude as the woman is working or just walking around, minding her own business. There's no winning in this situation. If you smile back on request, you feel degraded, and definitely not smiley. If you don't smile, they'll say something about kids these days, and why can't…
View List
'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

'My workload diminishes and boss's increases': Employee makes micromanaging boss handle tasks, ends up coasting with no work

If micromanaging bosses would rather do all of the work themselves, perhaps everyone would be happier if they just did. That way, no one would be looking over anyone else's shoulders. No one would feel like they're being watched at all times of the day. Furthermore, no one would feel like their process of getting things done was not respected. Here, we have a micromanaging boss who kept listening in on their employees' calls with customers and correcting them in the middle of the class. Not onl…
View List
Advertisement
‘I already moved on’: Manager demands former employee train new hire, despite them already starting a new job

‘I already moved on’: Manager demands former employee train new hire, despite them already starting a new job

Not every employee who quits their job does it because they hated it. Some actually have a good relationship with their manager and hold a special place in their hearts for their place of work. Because of that, when the moment to leave arrives, they are actually happy to train the new hire and help the company as much as they can before they leave. Unfortunately, that dream situation doesn't happen to many, and a lot of employees don't enjoy the process of training their replacement, like the p…
View List
workplace discussion getting fired workplace-stories jobs fired job malicious compliance work laid off technology new owners programmers workplace Tech lay off company workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace - 24664069

Employee asked by new owners to teach their replacement how to do their impossible job: 'This guy got [a] full year's worth of training in a week'

Management doesn't have any idea what you do; let's just get that out of the way.
View List
'Either do your job or hand in your resignation': Long-time employee calls boss's bluff, leads mass exodus

'Either do your job or hand in your resignation': Long-time employee calls boss's bluff, leads mass exodus

This boss felt confident in telling one employee to quit … but he didn't think they'd actually do it. In a story to r/Maliciouscompliance, this employee shared what happened when they worked for a company with high turnover and low pay. U/Catacombs3 wrote that it was a continuous cycle. People would be hired, trained, and could often hit their targets. But paying your employees a low salary means they can't be loyal to you: they're always going to be looking for someone else who can pay them mo…
View List
Advertisement
workplace discussion workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance work workplace Horrible Bosses workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace - 25563141

'If it's not in writing, it didn't happen': Employee uses written communication as defense when micromanaging supervisor's tries to get of them

There's a pretty simple rule of management that leaders should follow: Don't mess with something that's working. Whether that's a single high-performing worker, an efficient team, or just a general flow of business, messing with something for the sake of it is always going to end poorly. It's a similar premise to “let sleeping dogs lie” but in this case, it's more of "leave
View List
'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

'If you have a problem with my direction, you come to me': Entire team complies with boss's vague instructions, putting her job in jeopardy

Don't you just love it when your boss is on thin ice and decides to take it out on the entire team? You know, as if it's their fault that she's an incompetent manager? That seems to be a frequent occurrence in the workplace. It's certainly nothing new that people in high-pressure situations act out unfairly, but it can be difficult to stomach when the person acting out is also the one who signs your paychecks. Let's start with one obvious truth that always needs to be restated: your boss's tant…
View List
workplace discussion landlord workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance lawyer work workplace workplace malicious compliance employment in the workplace - 25545221

'The case was hopeless...': Lawyer saves restaurant owner from a rapacious landlord's iron-clad contract

Landlords are just about one of the only things that could make us root for lawyers. The lesser of two evils really comes into play when those two parties are in the same room together. The powerful preying on the weak is one of the oldest tropes in storytelling. What's not to love about a story like this? A wily lawyer who wants to do the right thing—but still doesn't work for free—coming to the aid of a desperate owner of a local restaurant (that happens to be the lawyer's favorite.) The cart…
View List
Advertisement
'I saw red, but then I had an idea': Woman engineer punishes her coworkers by agreeing to "get coffee" for them

'I saw red, but then I had an idea': Woman engineer punishes her coworkers by agreeing to "get coffee" for them

If you do something badly enough , you might not get asked to do it again. In the workplace, you've got to do this strategically. You want to mess up some basic chores in order to get out of them, but you also don't want to be viewed as being bad at your job. This is common in many workplaces. Even though we all do dishes every day, in the office, everyone conveniently “forgets” how to load the dishwasher. Other people will pretend they can't figure out how to work the printer, and someone else…
View List
30 Hardly Working Memes for Overworked Employees

30 Hardly Working Memes for Overworked Employees

Being lazy on the job is something every single worker has experienced. No matter how good of a worker you are, or even how much you love your job, everyone has downtime in which they simply need to be a little lazy. There are actual studies that show that out of the 8 hours a day that people work, the average amount of time workers actually get work done is 3 hours. This means that 5 hours of those 8 are for workers to simply idle by, scroll on their phones, or stare into the abyss. Hopefully,…
View List
Construction worker offers former micromanager a job, setting the record straight and teaching him a valuable lesson in humility despite of the claim that he will ‘never amount to anything’

Construction worker offers former micromanager a job, setting the record straight and teaching him a valuable lesson in humility despite of the claim that he will ‘never amount to anything’

There will be those who want you to fail and those who want you to succeed. However, regardless of who is around you, you should constantly strive to be the best version of yourself. The story below tells the tale of a resentful construction worker. Despite all the challenges, the Original Poster (OP) started his own construction company. To put things in perspective, during his undergraduate years, OP looked for a part-time job that could help him balance his academics and become somewhat fina…
View List
Advertisement
customer support customer service workplace-stories talesfromretail job malicious compliance retail karen-customer work customers karen-customers customer workplace tales-from-retail - 25506821

'Look it up': Customer talks himself out of a price-match and has to pay more when retail associate looks it up and realizes it's against their policy

In retail, the number of customers who are convinced they know better than you is endless… Better than you when it comes to the products, better than you in terms of your store's policies, and better than you when it comes to the legalities under which you're trading. Having access to all the information with little understanding has emboldened people into thinking that they're experts after a few Google searches, even on impressively technical subjects. Of course, the rehearsed script often ru…
View List
workplace discussion employment issues antiwork workplace-stories jobs employment-discussion job work workplace Horrible Bosses employment in the workplace - 25544965

Worker calls out company for asking for donations to help a struggling coworker: 'A lot of us are already struggling to make ends meet as it is'

All throughout the 2000s and 2010s, we used to eat up “goodwill” stories about people banding together to help their fellow—coworkers by donating PTO to a sick team member and crowdfunding to help cover the cost and medical debt of sick community members. All this really begs questioning, questions that are finally being asked more frequently in discourse online. Where these types of stories are no longer viewed purely as “wholesome” or “heartwarming” but rather as a sign of the dystopian, soci…
View List
Advertisement

Hot Today

Advertisement