This boss claimed to be “old school,” but in reality, he was just creating a toxic work environment. You'll probably encounter toxic bosses at some point in your career. You'd think to be a manager, you'd have to prove your communication skills are on point. But no. Instead, this boss manages to make every conversation and task as arduous as possible.

When you get fired, usually you have an idea of what went wrong… even if it wasn't necessarily your fault. But here, we have an instance in which an employee was told they violated so many rules and genuinely had no clue what was meant by that. After some investigating, they discovered that a manager had it out for them ever since the employee refused to break a customer's large bill four months ago. Talk about a particularly specific vendetta to hold against someone! While I personally have ne…

Ahh… the holiday season, a time of year best spent with family and loved ones over incredible meals and through the sharing of thoughtful gifts. With images of bright, cheery, rosy-cheeked faces, Christmas lights, and decorations—maybe a little snow and mistletoe—it's a joyful time intended to bring out the human spirit, gratitude, and goodwill. Well, it should be no surprise to any of us that these optimistic ideas don’t meld well with workplaces. Stark grey walls with hard, cheap furniture. G…

Did you know that the kids these days are referring to the 90s as the “late 1900s"? If that sentence made you want to check your scalp for gray hairs, you're not alone. Aging happens to every living being, and there's nothing we can do about it. We're just along for the ride as trends change and lingo transforms. It's like that saying about how the past is a foreign country. We had less tech back then, and everything was different. In school, our teachers assured us that we'd need to know how t…

Every so often, your coworker asks you to do a favor for them. It might be to proofread an email, grab something from the kitchen, or brainstorm for 15 minutes. However, giving them a free manicure is not exactly the kind of favor one expects to be confronted with at work. This employee's coworker admired their nails and asked them what they were using. You would think the conversation ended there, and the coworker would just take it upon herself to purchase the same product as the employee. Ho…

Now that it's the Holiday season, we are unfortunately subjected to that time of year when we have to get gifts for more people than we'd like. The idea of having to participate in an annual Office Secret Santa on top of all that other shopping is truly too far. Thankfully, I have never been asked to participate in one, and honestly, thank goodness. I'm not quite sure what I've done in my life to deserve that luxury, but I'll take it. Knowing myself, if I were pressured to be a part of an Offic…

There was a time when being fired was something to be ashamed of, but these days, companies love to hire and fire expeditiously. It's almost a rite of passage for those who work in retail or fast food. And if it doesn't happen to you, it'll certainly happen to one of your coworkers. The thing about customer service jobs is that you unfortunately have to serve customers, a lot of whom have no intentions of ever treating employees with respect. You're supposed to brush off their repeated insults,…

There are some things that even your strict boss should not be able to argue with at work. We've seen several instances of bosses overstepping and overreacting when they have no business doing so. We often see this manifest itself when people request well-deserved paid time off or take a mental health day. Bosses who can't step outside their own stress and experiences tend to react this way out of a place of selfishness, whereas you know you have a good boss when they are able to take a step ba…

This guy works for an HOA management company, and it's his job to go around to different communities and provide maintenance work. Trash pick-up is part of the job. So, the OP gets to a community park at 7 in the morning to start his job. He knows the park technically opens at 8 a.m., but the garbagemen come at 7:30 a.m., so he has no choice but to show up before it opens to make sure he can get the trash out to the curb in time. Then enters the neighborhood Karen.

This pool salesman has been on the job long enough to know that some customers can't be convinced to buy the products they need. Customers often like to think they know everything about a product just because they own it. In this case, the owner of a pool was pretty sure he knew everything he needed to know about his swimming pool. How hard could it be to maintain one little pool? All you have to do is fill it and empty it seasonally, and put in some chlorine or salt. Right? Surely there's noth…

There are many heartless acts toxic bosses commit in order to keep a “well-oiled machine” running, but reprimanding employees for having family emergencies is about as bad as it gets. Everyone

Let's be honest: Missing out on a job in the last round of the interview can be tough, especially when you're desperate for a job… but if a prospective employer is using tactics like this, you probably didn't want to work there anyway. No honest hiring manager wants to waste their own time and spend more time recruiting than they have to.

What would we ever do without receptionists ? These people keep the world running by doing all the organization and planning that keeps businesses afloat. CEOs and CFOs get the fancy titles and get to spend their time taking clients to glamorous lunches. They aren't the ones truly running the company, though. They may have the look of a person in power, but you know who's really in charge? The person who unlocks the doors each morning, keeps the office full of food and coffee, handles phone cal…

Those of you with toxic bosses surely have occasionally considered how you could possibly get them fired. It's not necessarily a realistic thought or one that you could easily pull off, but you have probably entertained the idea after a tough meeting or a difficult encounter on the job. Sometimes, these are folks who had it coming. They have treated you unfairly or have taken credit for your accomplishments or have even tried to undermine you and make you look bad. In other words, these are peo…

No workplace or school is without some drama, and we've got our popcorn buckets ready as we read these stories. Gossipy places aren't always the nicest to work at, but there will be some great stories. A little bit of drama can spice up any boring Thursday afternoon. Whether it's two coworkers who can't agree on the heat, or the entire office waiting for someone to have a meeting with HR, it certainly breaks up the monotony. I'm fascinated with the story of the office where no one could agree o…

The reality of being an adult in the working world is that not everyone is going to like you. This can be especially hard to hear for the people pleaser of the world. As someone who once upon a time would identify as a people pleaser myself, I understand the mental and emotional adjustment that comes with learning that some people are just not going to be your friend. Perhaps this phenomenon has weighed on you since your school days, or perhaps you're only just realizing it now because you lear…