People Online Are Cracking Up At The Messages This Independent Contractor Shared With A Manager That Tried To Make Him Attend A Meeting
Interview With Author
It’s a fact that places of employment need to upgrade their morals and get rid of all the unnecessary toxicity. For years and years, people have been fighting the unfairness that they repeatedly encounter, yet nothing seems to change. Employees are constantly being taken advantage of – however, some are simply not in the right place where they can stand up for themselves and not worry about losing their job.
Of course, from time to time, people get lucky and end up getting recruited by companies that follow safe and comfortable environments – though this practice requires time to perfect as organizations are mostly driven by numbers and not the well-being of their staff.
Nevertheless, this Twitter user showed his fellow followers an outstanding example of how one should deal with an unpleasant situation where the folks higher up try to exploit their staff.
More info: Twitter
Being an independent contractor occasionally allows you to humble a manager or two
Image credits: Marc van der Chijs (not the actual photo)
The Twitter post received nearly 300K likes and over 24K retweets. It was received greatly by a bunch of people who have encountered similar situations and by those who simply cared about the issues that often arise in workplaces.
A man shared his amusing conversation with the manager that demanded his presence at a meeting that wasn’t a requirement
Image credits: BirdRespecter
The man behind this viral tweet is Caleb, a freelancer who is currently developing his own PC game and a proud owner of a one-person hot sauce company, or as he said “just some guy on the internet.”
Bored Panda contacted the man to find out some more information regarding the viral tweet and to hear his own thoughts on this rather unpleasant situation.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
BP asked the man whether it was his first time dealing with such a thing, to which he said no, as he’s been a contractor for years. Caleb proceeded to explain that what everybody saw unfold was the culmination of many experiences just like that. Contracted workers are routinely misclassified as hourly/salaried employees, and it’s a really important distinction to make as there are serious legal implications for how each is handled.
The man mentioned that in his experience, many managers simply don’t know the difference. There are exceptions, however, generally, a freelancer has a higher tax liability, isn’t offered health insurance and sacrifices many labor protections a full-timer might get.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Caleb also told Bored Panda that this dynamic, however, has a lot of potential for abuse. The man received a great number of messages from other contractors swapping stories about a similar thing happening to them. He says that even the largest companies routinely face lawsuits for violating their contractor’s agreements , due to them wanting cheaper employees.
Nevertheless, Caleb realizes that the text exchange he posted was harsh, but ultimately contractors have a job to do. They often work for more than one company at a time. Plus, they don’t have time for meetings they’re not paid to be in, nor to coddle the feelings of middle managers.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
We also asked Caleb if he has any advice that he could give to people that can’t find the courage to stand up for themselves. The man went on to explain that not everyone is going to be in the position he was in, as one usually can’t just go into a conversation like that unless they’re ready to face serious consequences. However, he believes there’s a reason why so many people resonated with that post.
Caleb mentioned that right now, there’s a major shift in the attitudes of people in the labor market. Workers are seeing their cost of living skyrocket, homeownership slip further from their grasp, and are becoming disenfranchised with jobs that don’t pay enough to get by – which is why people are starting to speak up for themselves in ways that previous generations may have been reluctant to.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Therefore, the best advice he could give is that it’s easier to be brave when a person is prepared. One might not be able to quit tomorrow, but he believes that if someone is stuck in a dead end job, there’s someone else out there willing to pay more for their time.
However, he encourages people to talk to their co-workers. It’s generally illegal for employers to prohibit workers from discussing wages, so if you have a good rapport with a colleague, it doesn’t hurt to chat. The man also says that, if you’re willing to help one another towards better long-term solutions, you may end up surprised at what you can accomplish together.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
However, more importantly, Caleb wanted to add more context to the story. He says there were tons of misconceptions floating around the internet, but to be clear, the person in the post had nothing to do with the contract the man was working on.
Therefore, for them to retroactively change the terms of his contract to force him attend daily 6AM meetings, for which he wouldn’t get paid, was unreasonable.
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Image credits: BirdRespecter
Besides, dozens of people messaged Caleb about independent contract work thinking it was their ticket to a better situation. To which he said: “that’s cool, feel free to do so if you’re reading this and you’re curious, I promise I’m nicer than you might think judging by that post.”
However, Caleb wants to use the short time this story has in the limelight not to advocate for contractors so much as to tell everyone that irrespective of employment classification, the best way to achieve better working conditions is through mutual cooperation, a radical shift in how people view work, and greater awareness of class interests.
Fellow online users supported the OP and shared their own stories
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Them: “Please answer our calls” Me: “If there is something further to be discussed, please send me an email. I require all communication to be in writing.” There was no email. It's usually a red flag when they try to call while correspondence was previously over email or text. Don't fall for it!
And if you must be on a call, start by informing them you're recording it
Load More Replies...
I'm a auto mechanic and I was being paid flat rate and once a month my company would hold a mandatory meeting always on my day off and I was expected to be there without pay . I politely informed them that there's zero chance of me going to a meeting on my day off without pay, ofcoarse my job was threatened but ultimately they knew they couldn't do s**t about it. People are sick of jobs taking advantage of them and I love it!
I don’t do zoom meetings. I also yeeted zoom meetings when my father asked me to come work with him as a co director. Air freight crew don’t need zoom meetings. They need something in writing telling them where to be and when with their roster clearly stated. That’s it. Team building and all that garbage also got tossed out the window in the great Yeeting of September 2021. They are there to either fly the jet or to sleep in the cabin or watch movies and grab the pilots their coffee ect until they have to get up and load/unload. Staff retention went from 30% to 99% in 5 months. They are there to work not be irritated by HR garbage
"The great yeeting" should be a company concept all companies should have with their micro management team building bullshit. This is amazing.
Load More Replies...
I worked midnight shift as a nurse. The director of the facility would schedule mandatory meetings at 3 in the afternoon and chastise me for not being there after working the night before. My response? "When you start scheduling meetings at 3 in the morning and require dayshift to get up and come in the middle of their sleep time I'll get up and come in the middle of mine." Never heard another word about meetings.
Micromanagement is the art of being able to not manage a team and giving clear instruction. As if you did your position would be redundant.
I'm a contractor. The people I work with are fantastic. I choose my own work and what I do and I do it in their timeline. They sometimes ask me to take on work that I'm well suited for, or that none of their other contractors can do and they are very appreciative when I do. It would never occur to them to tell me when/how to work, or to be involved in company meetings!
I get annoyed with the whole meeting culture. I have one on Thursday an hour after I'm off. So because it's only an hour later, I don't want to leave and come back...i live an hour away. So I have to wait around until it starts. They pay us for the meeting and have no problem doing so but I don't even want the money-- I want to GO HOME. I'm here 50 hours a week and now an hour of my time is spent sitting in my cubicle waiting for the meeting, and another hour is spent in the meeting about absolutely nothing important. I don't even think I'd be angry if -at the very least- the meetings were really important and affect us in some way. They don't. It's usually patting themselves on the back bullshit. I don't care. Please just send out an email. Stop forcing people to stay after work or come in early for pointless meetings. I don't want the money. i want my time back.
Heh, morning obligatory meetings... In my company I'm little lucky to be very separated branch of management (isolated product line with only one manager exclusive to this line) but I work with several departments. And the amount of good morning, goodbye and what not meetings every day which they have to attend is ridiculous (especially those working remotely). Same as this guy I ignore it and there's no power in company to get me in any troubles because of that. If people don't want to work, they won't no matter how often a day you ask them for ridiculous pointless meeting, micromanagement in the bloom...
Please draw more attention to the fact that if your employer controls the time and place of your work, then calling you a contractor is tax fraud.
It doesn't seem professional to me to say "dude" and "sucks." Even if the freelancer was in the right, I think he was rude about how he phrased his responses. I wouldn't want to work with him.
Not every job is formal though. I think the guy is in IT, so in his case it’s just normal since there’s no expectation of formality. Professional isn’t equal to formal. I have a construction company and we don’t speak formally either. “My existing bathroom sucks” is totally normal for our clients to say.
Load More Replies...
When I worked at my previous school one of the Assistant Principals tried to dump the textbook database on me after trying to get rid of the guy who set up and maintained it. It's a HUGE job and I was already supporting three departments and a computer lab. I responded to the email confirmed that's what she wanted and she said yes. I then forwarded that to my union rep who then met with the AP. I don't know what was discussed but a few days later she came to my office and told me verbally that I "misunderstood" her and wouldn't be taking over textbooks after all. I just rolled my eyes and let it go. She was notorious for doing things like that. Well fast forward to the end of the school year...guess who got the boot and who got a promotion? :)
UGH! I have had to remind so many people that I am a self employed contractor and as such, I AM my boss - YOU are the client.
Those meetings that make no sense are one of the things why I am hesitant to go higher. I like to actually work when at work and just don't want to be one of those people who sit around like idiots doing nothing and getting paid ten times more. But then I would totally split my pay with co-workers who earn less. 😁
Give this OP a hand! Micromanagement sucks! Good for you OP! I'm sure you won't have trouble finding a new contract. Thanks for standing up for yourself.
Parallel to all other comments, I do kinda feel that the contractor guy is not very professional with 'dude' and kind of pointing and laughing going 'check out what this manager is trying to do'. Even if it is justified.
The guy had a point but he was kind of a total tool about it. There was a way to do this without being a jerk. This is why so many people view IT engineers as know-it-all jackasses. “I’m sorry. I’m not required to attend those meetings by contract and I have a daily conflict (sleep) which prevents me from attending. I will gladly review any meeting minutes or notes if it adds value to the work I am doing.” Nice. Sincere. Not a jerk.
If it had been his actual manager you might have a point. But if you read the whole thing this is a manager who has absolutely nothing to do with the department he works for or the agency that employs him. If some random person decides to start trying to boss you around and threatening to fire you, they're really not entitled to that level of respect.
Load More Replies...
Try texting your plumber as though you own him and see how long it takes for him to come fix your sink. Subservience isn't owed when you enter a contract to fill a need with your skills.
Load More Replies...
Did you even read the whole thing? He is not an employee, that's the whole point.
Load More Replies...
Them: “Please answer our calls” Me: “If there is something further to be discussed, please send me an email. I require all communication to be in writing.” There was no email. It's usually a red flag when they try to call while correspondence was previously over email or text. Don't fall for it!
And if you must be on a call, start by informing them you're recording it
Load More Replies... I'm a auto mechanic and I was being paid flat rate and once a month my company would hold a mandatory meeting always on my day off and I was expected to be there without pay . I politely informed them that there's zero chance of me going to a meeting on my day off without pay, ofcoarse my job was threatened but ultimately they knew they couldn't do s**t about it. People are sick of jobs taking advantage of them and I love it!
I don’t do zoom meetings. I also yeeted zoom meetings when my father asked me to come work with him as a co director. Air freight crew don’t need zoom meetings. They need something in writing telling them where to be and when with their roster clearly stated. That’s it. Team building and all that garbage also got tossed out the window in the great Yeeting of September 2021. They are there to either fly the jet or to sleep in the cabin or watch movies and grab the pilots their coffee ect until they have to get up and load/unload. Staff retention went from 30% to 99% in 5 months. They are there to work not be irritated by HR garbage
"The great yeeting" should be a company concept all companies should have with their micro management team building bullshit. This is amazing.
Load More Replies... I worked midnight shift as a nurse. The director of the facility would schedule mandatory meetings at 3 in the afternoon and chastise me for not being there after working the night before. My response? "When you start scheduling meetings at 3 in the morning and require dayshift to get up and come in the middle of their sleep time I'll get up and come in the middle of mine." Never heard another word about meetings.
Micromanagement is the art of being able to not manage a team and giving clear instruction. As if you did your position would be redundant.
I'm a contractor. The people I work with are fantastic. I choose my own work and what I do and I do it in their timeline. They sometimes ask me to take on work that I'm well suited for, or that none of their other contractors can do and they are very appreciative when I do. It would never occur to them to tell me when/how to work, or to be involved in company meetings!
I get annoyed with the whole meeting culture. I have one on Thursday an hour after I'm off. So because it's only an hour later, I don't want to leave and come back...i live an hour away. So I have to wait around until it starts. They pay us for the meeting and have no problem doing so but I don't even want the money-- I want to GO HOME. I'm here 50 hours a week and now an hour of my time is spent sitting in my cubicle waiting for the meeting, and another hour is spent in the meeting about absolutely nothing important. I don't even think I'd be angry if -at the very least- the meetings were really important and affect us in some way. They don't. It's usually patting themselves on the back bullshit. I don't care. Please just send out an email. Stop forcing people to stay after work or come in early for pointless meetings. I don't want the money. i want my time back.
Heh, morning obligatory meetings... In my company I'm little lucky to be very separated branch of management (isolated product line with only one manager exclusive to this line) but I work with several departments. And the amount of good morning, goodbye and what not meetings every day which they have to attend is ridiculous (especially those working remotely). Same as this guy I ignore it and there's no power in company to get me in any troubles because of that. If people don't want to work, they won't no matter how often a day you ask them for ridiculous pointless meeting, micromanagement in the bloom...
Please draw more attention to the fact that if your employer controls the time and place of your work, then calling you a contractor is tax fraud.
It doesn't seem professional to me to say "dude" and "sucks." Even if the freelancer was in the right, I think he was rude about how he phrased his responses. I wouldn't want to work with him.
Not every job is formal though. I think the guy is in IT, so in his case it’s just normal since there’s no expectation of formality. Professional isn’t equal to formal. I have a construction company and we don’t speak formally either. “My existing bathroom sucks” is totally normal for our clients to say.
Load More Replies... When I worked at my previous school one of the Assistant Principals tried to dump the textbook database on me after trying to get rid of the guy who set up and maintained it. It's a HUGE job and I was already supporting three departments and a computer lab. I responded to the email confirmed that's what she wanted and she said yes. I then forwarded that to my union rep who then met with the AP. I don't know what was discussed but a few days later she came to my office and told me verbally that I "misunderstood" her and wouldn't be taking over textbooks after all. I just rolled my eyes and let it go. She was notorious for doing things like that. Well fast forward to the end of the school year...guess who got the boot and who got a promotion? :)
UGH! I have had to remind so many people that I am a self employed contractor and as such, I AM my boss - YOU are the client.
Those meetings that make no sense are one of the things why I am hesitant to go higher. I like to actually work when at work and just don't want to be one of those people who sit around like idiots doing nothing and getting paid ten times more. But then I would totally split my pay with co-workers who earn less. 😁
Give this OP a hand! Micromanagement sucks! Good for you OP! I'm sure you won't have trouble finding a new contract. Thanks for standing up for yourself.
Parallel to all other comments, I do kinda feel that the contractor guy is not very professional with 'dude' and kind of pointing and laughing going 'check out what this manager is trying to do'. Even if it is justified.
The guy had a point but he was kind of a total tool about it. There was a way to do this without being a jerk. This is why so many people view IT engineers as know-it-all jackasses. “I’m sorry. I’m not required to attend those meetings by contract and I have a daily conflict (sleep) which prevents me from attending. I will gladly review any meeting minutes or notes if it adds value to the work I am doing.” Nice. Sincere. Not a jerk.
If it had been his actual manager you might have a point. But if you read the whole thing this is a manager who has absolutely nothing to do with the department he works for or the agency that employs him. If some random person decides to start trying to boss you around and threatening to fire you, they're really not entitled to that level of respect.
Load More Replies... Try texting your plumber as though you own him and see how long it takes for him to come fix your sink. Subservience isn't owed when you enter a contract to fill a need with your skills.
Load More Replies... Did you even read the whole thing? He is not an employee, that's the whole point.
Load More Replies...
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