Now that we've made it through the week, I think we can all agree that it's best to ease into returning to work at the start of the new year. Throwing your employees into the deep end does nothing more than start the year off on the wrong foot. Enforcing bogus rules, policies, and mantras will only make your employees change their New Year's Resolutions to “get a new job.” I remember distinctly feeling that my

Working in customer service is both a blessing and a curse. While it is true that you interact with a variety of individuals throughout the day, you also sort of roll the dice and hope that the people you meet will greet you with a smile and a friendly attitude. Well, the story below is of a girl who hosted/managed the restaurant she has been working at for the last five years. On that particular night, though, in contrast to other nights, OP encountered one of the worst couples she had ever me…

This small business knows how to handle their most demanding customers. As a small business , you face unique challenges and have advantages that big chains don't always face. Especially in family-run businesses, the working conditions can be much friendlier to staffers. Corporate chains with hundreds of employees may seem cold in comparison---there's no way they can keep track of all those people. But at a small company, employees can have a little more leeway when it comes to their day-to-day…

Nothing shows you how essential you are to the business like taking a vacation. If your boss or team can't handle a week without things going off the rails, then that's saying a lot. The thing is, the types of bosses who insist on being able to contact you during your “vacation” are the same bosses who try to tell you how expendable you and your role are, negging and gaslighting you to keep you in your place. This worker went out of the country in order to visit their family for the holidays, l…

If there's one thing your manager probably hates, it's having more work to do. Whether they're just lazy or already have too much on their plate, chances are pretty good that they won't want to be spending hours combing over your work in addition to what they're already working on. Even the most micromanaging sort will quickly grow tired of the additional work if you can manage to reflect their time-consuming processes back onto them.

This person realized their job wanted them gone, and they decided not to go out without a fight. That's partially thanks to their union, which had their back through the entire debacle. One worker found themselves at an uncomfortable crossroads. They really enjoyed the work they did, and found that they were learning so much from the varied types of work. But then a new company bought them out, and the OP realized, “They didn't have a ready-made place for me to fit into.” The company tried to b…

This photographer was doing the work of several people, and their company punished them for it instead. It all happened when this person was working in a photography studio. Photography studios seem to be having a renaissance lately---lots of people began following the “awkward family photo” trend for their holiday pictures. They realized you can go and get pictures taken professionally with your friends or family, and the photographers will help you pose in the silliest positions you can dream…

Why is it so hard for people to just read a sign and follow what it says? I agree, some signs can be really confusing. I once spent 15 minutes in front of a frustratingly unclear sign that was supposed to tell me whether or not I could park my car in that spot. Eventually, after consulting with some passersby, I decided it was not worth the potential parking ticket, and continued to look for a different parking spot for another 15 minutes. Even so, if there is a sign that says “Private Parking”…

In shift work, particularly in locations that rely on staffing part-time workers to handle annual increases in foot traffic and trade, it's pretty common to have workers list their availability, determining when they're available to work and be scheduled. This allows for part-timers to keep a second job, attend class, look after their kids, or whatever other life obligations they might have. Usually, some indication of your availability will be given and negotiated upon during the interview pro…

We have seen plenty of stories about what happens when coworkers steal food, but this would be the first time where the revenge involves rotting bananas taped under a desk. But if you ask the Redditor who posted this online to the almighty r/pettyrevenge subreddit, he would say it was the most logical way to get back at this thieving coworker. Believe me, if I had the chutzpah to pull this off, I would because I have been a part of many toxic work environments in which the communal refrigerator…

Some employers have this tendency to assume that you're trying to get one over on them, constantly accusing their workers of claiming time they're not working or flat-out stealing from the business. Whatever the accusation is, it seems they're always looking over their shoulder, waiting for you to drive the knife in and pick their wallet out of their back pocket. Despite their constant insistence, you'll probably never see any evidence of this happening, with stocktakes always coming out clean…

Working your life away for a company that doesn't value you is enough to make any employee walk away. And good for them! There are so many jobs in the world. At some of them, you might be valued for what you bring to the table. This employee was working their “most challenging job” ever as an assistant general manager. While working at an event venue, they took on a role with long hours, and often worked 50-60 hours every week. But since the OP, u/tokyoflex, enjoyed the work and liked their bos…

This employee is just following directions. If their boss's directions happen to be flawed, well, that's not their problem. You've got to act your wage sometimes. Quality Assurance is one of those processes that separates great products from those that are okay or poor. If you've ever bought a frozen dinner and found a hair in it, and then vowed to never buy from that brand again, you know how important this step is. There are some brands that you know you'll have a positive experience with eve…

Employers and managers tend to have a habit of assuming they're getting the worst end of a deal and that you're holding something back from them—as if their workers are colluding against them and not just desperately trying to keep up with their current workload. Even if they're already grossly underpaying you for your work and the value that you provide, they'll still try and convince you that you really could be doing more if you weren't so inefficient. Whether or not they actually believe th…

We all make mistakes, but these employees made errors so egregious that it nearly cost them their jobs. In fact, in some cases, these workers were straight-up fired. In other situations, they managed to maintain employment regardless of whether or not that was deserved. This thread was compiled from the following r/AskReddit thread, and while fully grown individuals made some of these mistakes, I cannot help but think about my interning days when reading these wild stories. The number of times…

It’s one thing to be messy in your own space; it’s quite another to allow your messiness to affect your coworkers. That’s the kind of petty annoyance that can make someone’s workplace environment all the more toxic. Not only is your coworker forced to come into the office and share a desk with you, but now they are subjected to your total and utter lack of organization skills? Grow up and learn to clean after yourself! Of course, dear reader, I do not mean you . I’m talking about this Redditor’…