It's impolite to steal people's stuff, and ultimately, they're not really responsible if what you're stealing isn't what you thought you were stealing. Besides, when you're taking things without asking, there isn't really a chance for the person you're stealing from to tell you what it is that you're stealing from them. Having food going missing from the workplace fridge is an all-too-common office frustration, driving some to go to considerable lengths in order to secure their food in the frid…

The workspace is equally, if not more, significant than the task at hand. It is essential that the people in charge of overseeing you truly want you to succeed. Still, how would you respond if, in an attempt to save a few bucks, your manager tried to clock you into and out of the shift every time there was an off-peak hour? The story below is an account of a confused employee. The original poster (OP) works at a kayak launch. He'd been employed by the same company for a considerable amount of t…

It can't be simple to work in the hospitality sector. There's something about the entitled vacationers that never fails to stun the dedicated crew. Having said that, how would you respond if a haughty client barged into your establishment expecting to be taken advantage of and let down? Would you face the hard truth that this isn't a conflict worth waging, or would you try to prove him wrong and give him the trip of a lifetime? The story that follows is the story of a confused hotel worker. The…

The world of business isn't always fair. People would do whatever it took to succeed and build a name for themselves in the industry. That being stated, how would you react if your employers, who were strapped for cash, decided to offer you a fake promotion along with a pay cut? The story below is an account of a frustrated employee. The original poster (OP) had been employed by the same company for over a year. A few weeks ago, OP's managers approached him and said they would like to give him…

Since the job market is the one place where it is perfectly acceptable to look out for your best interests, it can prove to be a horrible place for the faint of heart. Your family's health and welfare should come first. Because of this, you will be taken aback by the story that follows, as workplace loyalty is rare and hard to come by. The Original Poster (OP) works as a mechanic. Having worked for the same company for a few years, he was largely satisfied. That all changed, though, when one of…

The twenty-first century is notorious for its unstoppable and quickening pace of technological progress. That being said, some people may find it challenging to keep up with the rapid pace of development. What follows is a story about a tech support guy who is completely astonished. The Original Poster (OP) is employed at the primary school in his community. Therefore, part of his daily responsibilities is to assist teachers and ensure that their classes go off without a hitch. But OP wasn't re…

Working in a corporate setting sometimes means having to silently give in to senior management. Whether or not we agree with their business tactics is irrelevant; what matters is that we ease their burden by complying with all of their requests without causing any trouble. The story below is an account of a bookkeeper who works for a huge home improvement store. For whatever reason, despite the rigorous hours, upper management insisted for years that bookkeepers close and open the store. To put…

Getting on with the daily grind can often be a wearisome chore, especially when you find yourself needing to do your coworker's tasks for them in addition to your own. It's not like you had enough to do as it was. Now you're busy going around picking up after them as well, and to make matters worse, you know, mentioning it to your boss won't do a thing to solve the problem and might even end up with you being labeled as not being a “team player.”

Working while in university is an interesting experience. Every time you're at work, there are people trying to convince you that the smoothie and salad shop in which you're working is the most important thing, more important than that test you need to study for to pass the class that is going to get you the degree you're actually working for. “That's all well and good, but there's no way my minimum-wage job is the most important thing in my life right now,” you tell yourself. It's only five ye…

Throughout the course of the working week, you spend roughly 40 hours in the presence of your coworkers . This can be an incredible way to form tight bonds with other like-minded individuals. Throughout your adult life, it's more likely you'll make friends at work than from any other place, unsurprising given you're often spending more time with them than with your own family. But while you'll make some friends, it's more than likely that you'll be spending a lot of time with people who grind y…

There is no shortage of stories online consisting of a misguided manager who establishes a blanket “No overtime” policy that ends up getting maliciously complied with by some worker or group of workers to the tune of disastrous results. It's probably wisest at this point to never implement any policy that strictly forbids workers from working overtime. Instead, set the expectation that any necessary overtime will be worked before forcing those overtime workers to jump through as many hoops as p…

Punishment: A negative stimulus administered in response to you doing something that you shouldn't have done in order to discourage you from doing it again. The hope here is that this would be severe enough to prevent further instances of the behavior. While that's all well and good, the punishment needs to fit the crime… if it's not severe enough, the behavior will probably just continue, especially when the person you're trying to incentivize isn't particularly incentivize-able—probably becau…

This person worked 23 days in a row — but only because they were promised a nice cash bonus.

What do you do when your manager is a thieving fraudster, and their boss refuses to listen because, on paper, your manager is getting good results? This is something you'll likely come across during the long course of your career, and you might be dismayed to find yourself powerless in the position. Heck, most bosses will be willing to look the other way for someone who is performing high in whatever KPI upper management is currently prioritizing… Just as long as things look good and people are…

If only there was some way that I could get more work from my employees without having to pay them for it… A thought that every employer has apparently had at some point during the operation of their business. Of course, the simplest solution to getting more work done without increasing costs would be just to find some way to get your employees to work more hours without paying them. After all, more hours equals more productivity… If only those pesky employees didn't expect to be paid! While yo…

If you've ever had a boss that you are clearly smarter than, you know it can get pretty awkward really fast. We all want to think we're super smart and sophisticated, especially in the workplace . Many people try really hard to appear on top of things and in tune with exactly what's going on at their workplace from day to day. However, some bosses just don't care. It's baffling — they'll have a whole job that involves giving a darn about a workplace, and yet they'll happily sit in a back office…