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'Now I know I’m getting fired in 3 weeks': Managers accidentally discuss firing employee on group chat that he's in

Just like Daenerys Targaryen “kind of” forgetting about the iron fleet… these bosses forgot that this guy was included in their group chat, using it as a means for discussing firing the worker in three weeks' time, once they were caught up with the delivery workload.
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'I'm watching my future former director going nuts': Boss has dawning realization at employee's imminent departure

It's amazing how ego-fueled denial can make an employer wait until the last moments of your notice period before attempting to reassign your tasks and replace you. It's probably not surprising, though, given that this exact attitude and lack of care are probably what made you want to leave your job in the first place. Still, this happens time and time again—as evidenced by the sheer number of stories posted about it online. You might even have some stories and experiences of your own of dealing…
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'We knew he was full of it': Lying one-upping coworker gets caught out in a lie that they can't live down

As human beings, we all develop interesting ticks and facets of our personalities that can manifest into very strange behavior. Often our desire to feel “good” and avoidance of feeling “bad” can cause us to make a series of consecutive decisions that see us walking too far down a particular path and becoming something we might never have anticipated. Take "Disney Adults" or any fandom as a prime example of this. You get exposed to something at some point in your life, say, Disney media and it m…
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'I don't work Mondays': Server gets fired for missing "mandatory" Memorial Day shift while on scheduled vacation

One of the worst parts about working in the service industry or retail is “blackout” dates—where no one is able to take days off—these always line up with precisely the days you'd want to take off. Holidays, long weekends, and anytime between Christmas and New Years—pretty much any time you might want to see family or friends (who are all off work.) These have all been deemed as days where all hands are needed on deck due to high volumes of trade. But the worst part about blackout dates?.. Hypo…
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'My manager collected donations for me but kept it all': Boss collects donations from coworkers under the guise of helping with a personal tragedy, dips with all the money

If we're taking bets for the worst thing a boss has ever done, my money is on this; using someone else's tragedy for your own gain is a specific type of evil with no moral restitution. Somewhere in a locked room, this boss has a portrait of himself with a curled, deformed hand and demonic visage. This heartbreaking workplace story was shared on Reddit't r/antiwork subreddit, with the original poster sharing how her former boss had scammed her coworkers into giving him money, which was supposed…
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'I applaud your father for... calling their bluff': Employee refutes his job's petty HR team with his own evidence

Imagine working hard for decades for the same company, pushing towards retirement age, only for them to turn around and treat you terribly. Many companies simply do not care about their employee wellbeing, instead, they only care about their bottom line. There was a time where working for a company for decades really meant something — the company could be trusted to care about their employees who were loyal to the business over the years. But these days, it's all about keeping shareholders and…
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'That would be to expensive': Boss boasts about his standing desk but won't let anyone else have one

Standing desks may have become all the rage, but some people can't stand them. Being on your feet all day can be tiring and result in aches that can't wait to be eased by a well-deserved rest. Just ask anyone who works in retail, nursing, or the service industry and has to be on their feet all day. Workers from these sectors are probably permanently bewildered by office workers' obsession with standing. My own experience with standing desks has led me to believe that their sole reason for exist…
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'I got a nice bonus': Dude automates both boss's and boss's boss's job, they get fired

With all the talk of AI and all that, you might be looking at your job nervously and wondering… could an AI do this? You'd hope that automation and new innovation would lead to better working conditions and easier tasks. Still, it's more than likely that your company will cut your job to save a dollar today, even if it costs them tomorrow when the AI fails to replicate the nuance of your work. But what if the shoe was on the other foot? What if, instead of having your job automated by your boss…
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'They tried to write me up': Boss reprimands worker for being twenty-two seconds late, worker phones boss every time they leave home

Living in a world that isn't black or white makes things better for everyone, especially regarding the enforcement of minor infringements. Inflexible policy enforcement begets inflexibility—ask, and you shall receive. If you're going to nitpick the strict enforcement of rules, be ready for a staunch defense using the same reasoning. While punctuality is always a good skill to have in the workplace—being one of the classic ways of showing that you respect other people and their time—it's safe to…
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'I need to get paid on payday': Bartender gets fired and blocked for demanding to be paid on time

Remember that one kid from your high school English class who treated everything like it was a complete joke—to the point of cruelty—never taking or accepting responsibility for any of his actions? Yeah, well, that kid could have very likely gone on to become someone's manager or open their own business. Now there's a terrifying thought. It's like George Carlin famously put it: “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.” Well, this bar owner and…
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'Ok, Karen, she's fired. Happy now?': Karen demands girl gets fired from a place she doesn't work

Getting fired from a job where you didn't work is a bit like losing a race you weren't entered into in the first place; it's really hard to be upset about it when you didn't even know you had something at stake. This customer shared their story of witnessing another fellow customer ending up on the wrong end of a stray Karen's fury when they visited a “Wall of Marts” during a trip to the United States. They share their surprise at realizing that the people they had read about in “People of Wall…
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'Quit my job suddenly via email': Worker quits their job because of a bad boss, boss demands they come in and talk face-to-face

Seldom do you quit a job and ever want to go back. It's surprising how the sudden absence of a paycheck removes all desire to set foot there ever again. This is especially true when you quit because of a bad boss or coworker; you would hope never to see them again if you can manage it. When your boss is verbally abusive, going in for one last “face-to-face” discussion is probably the last thing you should do; the last thing you want to do is give them another chance to get in your face or spin…
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'We were now operating on a shoe-string budget so the manager got as much money as they could': Extreme cost saving measure causes costly pricing error

At a certain point, cutting costs to extreme measures will just cost you more in the long run or cause your entire business to fold under its own weight—or both… simultaneously. The short-sighted pursuit of profit is a trap that businesses often fall into—and why not? It's an easy methodology to follow that makes sense and follows logical reasoning: Spend less, earn more. The issue is that you have to spend money to earn money, and not investing in proper resources can cost you more when you ne…
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'He would barely look at anyone after that': Worker gets micromanaging boss fired by writing fake reviews

When you end up in a situation where you're faced with a micromanaging boss, there often aren't a lot of options… HR might not take you seriously or even take your side; you usually won't be in a position where you can outright quit on the spot, and standing up for yourself is usually just going to make your life harder. This means that you may need to resort to alternative means, just as this worker did when they grew tired of their micromanaging boss. They share that, as happens all too often…
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'She got fed up': Manager regrets demanding that retail cashier ask for their transaction approval

Unnecessary rules and processes must be followed to the letter—because some manager who has never actually done the job decided it must be so. As long as they only waste your time, they'll remain in place indefinitely as you're hounded mercilessly about the resulting drop in productivity (thanks to these new processes.) However, as soon as these processes infringe upon the time of the manager who made them, it's miraculous how quickly they can disappear, which means the easiest way to get rid o…
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'Now I'll miss three [days]': Boss demands sick note for one day off, doctor gives them three more

Sometimes your actions to prevent something can bring it into existence as if you're unknowingly fulfilling a prophecy of your own making. That's what happened to this boss, who attempted to keep their workers from taking sick days by demanding they get a doctor's note only to have the doctor recommend them to take more time off than they would have in the first place. This is a common experience we've all probably had ourselves or witnessed at some point in our working life. A lot of organizat…
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