It doesn’t matter if you’re a comedic genius, the workplace demands a certain level of professionalism. You need to be able to tell what things you can and cannot joke about. If there are power relations involved, I would say it’s even more important. But the main character of this story could not.
A few days ago, Reddit user –Savathun– made a post on the r/antiwork subreddit about something neither of us would like to experience. Getting fired. But the emotional slump turned into a rollercoaster ride after the boss who brought the bad news later told them it was just an April Fools joke.
However, instead of putting their head down and returning quietly to their desk, –Savathun– refused to put up with this ‘gag’ and took things seriously.
April Fools’ jokes are usually light-hearted and innocent
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not an actual photo)
But this boss decided to crank it up a notch and tell his employee they’re fired
Image credits: Anna Shvets (not an actual photo)
While this ordeal is certainly an extreme example, there are many more people who are in a similar predicament as –Savathun– and also want to leave their bosses.
In fact, a poll released in September by the Society for Human Resource Management found that over 40% of U.S. workers were actively searching for a new job (the survey of 1,150 employed Americans was conducted from July 2 to 8).
If you also belong to this category, keep in mind that how you quit matters.
Assuming that your manager isn’t giving you a heart attack for their own amusement, try not to burst into their office or fire them an angry email. Instead, leave your desk and take a walk. Do some quick meditation at your desk or vent your frustrations to a friend.
“All of those things will redirect the thought process for the time being and create a sense of calmness,” Toni Frana, a Destin, Florida-based career coach with FlexJobs, told CNBC.
“Making sure you have a laugh, reminding yourself that how you feel is not permanent, that is what can help the most with staving off those feelings of learned helplessness,” organizational psychologist Melissa Doman added.
But if your job continues to negatively impact your mental health in and outside of work and you can financially afford to quit without another lined up, do so.
Doman suggests being honest with yourself about why you want to quit, and even writing it down.
This will help you to be very clear about your top needs and preferences in a new role when targeting other potential employers. Try to come up with a list of the top five non-negotiable things you need, as well as what you would prefer to have in your next job.
In the end, it’s all about making an informed decision!
Pretty soon, the whole office had learned what was going on
Image credits: Dylan Gillis (not an actual photo)
The Great Resignation and the challenges it has brought are encouraging organizations to rethink their employee retention. Or at the very least, not to allow a whole team to walk away because of one rotten boss.
According to the 2021 Wellbeing Diagnostic Survey that was released by Willis Towers Watson (WTW), although almost all companies had identified burnout as a threat to their workers:
- Less than half (48%) had employee well-being programs.
- Only 26% had adopted and articulated a worker well-being strategy with objectives and goals for each program;
- And only 14% had effectively communicated the strategy and value proposition behind their programs and delivered what they promised.
The survey, which was conducted in October, has a margin of error of +/- 5%.
The survey identified the top two actions respondents plan to take in 2022 or are considering for 2023 to improve the emotional, physical, social and financial wellbeing of workers.
Regina Ihrke, the senior director of health and benefits for WTW, told Forbes that, “Since the pandemic, we have definitely seen well-being have a whole new priority for employers that we expected to emerge pre-pandemic—but the pandemic really accelerated the need for more at a quicker pace.”
As people reacted to the story, its author provided more information about their boss and what happened
This story reads too much like a fantasy that a lot of workers have. The outcome for the OP and their coworkers is too perfect for me to not think this is fake. It’s just missing “and then everyone clapped.”
Exactly what I was thinking. Plus the majority of stories in that sub (and AITA) are known to be fake.
Load More Replies...
By forgetting you wrote that you destroyed it, in the little creative story you just wrote :D
Load More Replies...
April Fools are supposed to be clever, HARMLESS, stories, to see if you can make someone believe something not true. Think BBC's classic "spaghetti harvest" story. Stupid "pranks" are not April Fools. Unfunny bullying is not April Fools. Un-clever punching down is not April Fools. Why do dumb people have to ruin EVERYTHING.
Right? I remember when I was a kid one year my mom bought some party rye and packed my dad's lunch with 6 teeny tiny sandwiches instead of his usual mill worker lunch. We all got a kick out of it. I still chuckle thinking about what my dad said his reaction was upon opening his lunch that day.
Load More Replies...
Yeah I think everyone (even the manager) started clapping and smiled and everyone lived happily ever after
Load More Replies...
If you let an April Fool's joke go on longer than a minute or two, you're probably a sadist. Just get a shock and a good laugh and move on.
The only exception is when everyone is let in on the secret and continues to enjoy it after the initial shock. I like to make food look like different food so people are shocked at the first bite but then enjoy what it really is after that one.
Load More Replies...
It's all bull poo and giving someone a raise based on the actions of a boss being inappropriate or even illegal would be admission of guilt and considered a quid pro quo for coming back and would leave them open to being sued by the same person in the future if they wanted. This story is a sad lie.
I was waiting to read that his last name is Scott and this took place in Scranton 😅
My mom and I always do a prank on our family every April Fool's Day, but it is a harmless prank or it can be easily remedied before too much damage is caused.
Deleting "my" client list is a cute move - with significant risk. Might lose your position as the person on the right side of this very, very real and non-exaggerated seeming story.
I feel like this is a super over reaction but I also have a hard time believing it. They gave u a 5 dollar raise? Ya that's not happening in America at least lol
I kind of believe it, because one old of my old bosses used the same joke. I can't remember if it was April Fools day, but i was checking the schedule and nothing was worked out for anyone. I asked him about it and he said we were all fired. He must have noticed my panicked look on my face, because he then explained the real reason the schedule was behind being put out. (This was before we had to go through the website to request time off). Sometimes he had to redo them due to people quitting or taking time off. They're also only allowed to schedule a certain way and amount of hours according to corporate rules. I knew it was corporate doing when our hours got cut. This why i never want to be a manager for a corporation. Still though, a boss should never use that as a joke. Someone might just take it seriously.
That is far from a joke, I remember one year my dad got me and my brother good. He said kids I need you to move all the furniture in the living room to the center of the room. I have a painter coming in in the morning. We moved all the furniture and was about to move the tv when he said, april fools. I got you guys. Let's just say we were not happy and we left the furniture in the middle of the room 🤣
I find this hard to believe. Even IF, it was a joke, and even IF the boss handled things poorly. This person still walked off the job without an official termination from HR. No one in their right mind would give someone like this a promotion, pay raise, and bonus time off to come back. Furthermore, wrongful termination applies to discrimination, which this person mentioned nothing about. So there is no wrongful termination. Plus he talks about a layer. A layer for what? You get an arbitrator to hear your case once unemployment is filed and denied. I'm calling BS on this story.
I commented earlier, but came back to say that I think it's fake. You beat me to it. Nice!
Given the current economic climate and that workplaces are adapting and trying to reduce costs who is so unprofessional as to do jokes about laying people off? The workforce is already in a heightened state of anxiety so this kind of joke (and I use that word loosely) is just going to cause stress that’s totally unnecessary. I’ve had bosses who have done this to me but my relationship with them was on a sound footing and I always knew it was a joke, I don’t think that many people have the luxury of that kind of relationship with their managers.
I occasionally joke with my team about things needing to be talked about in their reviews, only ever on extremely ridiculous stuff like bad dad jokes etc. and they do it to me too (might have to put that in our engagement survey!) ONLY because that's the relationship we have and I made sure to learn that first. There's the traditional "oh no maybe they're trying to tell you something" that everyone makes to each other when the security card or login doesn't work, but you never, ever ever joke about someone being fired, or use it as a threat. Ever.
Load More Replies... 
When playing an April Fool's prank, it is necessary to say April Fools. I agree with the others that this seems far-fetched. Meh.
My brother pulled this on our mom and dad at the dinner table in 1971. He was 17 i was 10. He told them just as nonchalantly that he had gotten married earlier that day. My mom got so upset she left the table. My dad was pissed. I had never seen him so mad before. My 15 year old sister was flipping out. My grandmother picked up a wooden spoon for something on the table and smacked him in the shoulder and arm a few times. Me and my little brother of 8 just watched. Then my brother said it was a joke. It was something stupid going around in high school where someone was marrying people standing close to one another or something. Idk. Even if they hated each other. A school kid fad. My brother let it go too far and too long before he said anything.
Wait, OP said he destroyed his client list. So how did he take it with and merge it with the new client list?
I wonder if Ryan was sitting there when Michael did this to Pam or not. Er, I mean, the bosses' assistant when the boss did this to OP.
FINALY!! Some AH boss gets his just desserts!! Why does it always take so long, tho'?
So over an April Fool's "joke", he got probably a 500% raise, bonuses and vaca, and his teammate got promoted and the rest of his team was given increases.... I'll take ""Things that never happened" for $2000 Alex!
He carried it a bit too far...This soulds like a precursor to a disgruntled employee, the boss, coming back with a weapon.
Pranksters are untrustworthy, and quite frequently turn out to be toxic.
This story reads too much like a fantasy that a lot of workers have. The outcome for the OP and their coworkers is too perfect for me to not think this is fake. It’s just missing “and then everyone clapped.”
Exactly what I was thinking. Plus the majority of stories in that sub (and AITA) are known to be fake.
Load More Replies... By forgetting you wrote that you destroyed it, in the little creative story you just wrote :D
Load More Replies... April Fools are supposed to be clever, HARMLESS, stories, to see if you can make someone believe something not true. Think BBC's classic "spaghetti harvest" story. Stupid "pranks" are not April Fools. Unfunny bullying is not April Fools. Un-clever punching down is not April Fools. Why do dumb people have to ruin EVERYTHING.
Right? I remember when I was a kid one year my mom bought some party rye and packed my dad's lunch with 6 teeny tiny sandwiches instead of his usual mill worker lunch. We all got a kick out of it. I still chuckle thinking about what my dad said his reaction was upon opening his lunch that day.
Load More Replies... Yeah I think everyone (even the manager) started clapping and smiled and everyone lived happily ever after
Load More Replies... If you let an April Fool's joke go on longer than a minute or two, you're probably a sadist. Just get a shock and a good laugh and move on.
The only exception is when everyone is let in on the secret and continues to enjoy it after the initial shock. I like to make food look like different food so people are shocked at the first bite but then enjoy what it really is after that one.
Load More Replies... It's all bull poo and giving someone a raise based on the actions of a boss being inappropriate or even illegal would be admission of guilt and considered a quid pro quo for coming back and would leave them open to being sued by the same person in the future if they wanted. This story is a sad lie.
I was waiting to read that his last name is Scott and this took place in Scranton 😅
My mom and I always do a prank on our family every April Fool's Day, but it is a harmless prank or it can be easily remedied before too much damage is caused.
Deleting "my" client list is a cute move - with significant risk. Might lose your position as the person on the right side of this very, very real and non-exaggerated seeming story.
I feel like this is a super over reaction but I also have a hard time believing it. They gave u a 5 dollar raise? Ya that's not happening in America at least lol
I kind of believe it, because one old of my old bosses used the same joke. I can't remember if it was April Fools day, but i was checking the schedule and nothing was worked out for anyone. I asked him about it and he said we were all fired. He must have noticed my panicked look on my face, because he then explained the real reason the schedule was behind being put out. (This was before we had to go through the website to request time off). Sometimes he had to redo them due to people quitting or taking time off. They're also only allowed to schedule a certain way and amount of hours according to corporate rules. I knew it was corporate doing when our hours got cut. This why i never want to be a manager for a corporation. Still though, a boss should never use that as a joke. Someone might just take it seriously.
That is far from a joke, I remember one year my dad got me and my brother good. He said kids I need you to move all the furniture in the living room to the center of the room. I have a painter coming in in the morning. We moved all the furniture and was about to move the tv when he said, april fools. I got you guys. Let's just say we were not happy and we left the furniture in the middle of the room 🤣
I find this hard to believe. Even IF, it was a joke, and even IF the boss handled things poorly. This person still walked off the job without an official termination from HR. No one in their right mind would give someone like this a promotion, pay raise, and bonus time off to come back. Furthermore, wrongful termination applies to discrimination, which this person mentioned nothing about. So there is no wrongful termination. Plus he talks about a layer. A layer for what? You get an arbitrator to hear your case once unemployment is filed and denied. I'm calling BS on this story.
I commented earlier, but came back to say that I think it's fake. You beat me to it. Nice!
Given the current economic climate and that workplaces are adapting and trying to reduce costs who is so unprofessional as to do jokes about laying people off? The workforce is already in a heightened state of anxiety so this kind of joke (and I use that word loosely) is just going to cause stress that’s totally unnecessary. I’ve had bosses who have done this to me but my relationship with them was on a sound footing and I always knew it was a joke, I don’t think that many people have the luxury of that kind of relationship with their managers.
I occasionally joke with my team about things needing to be talked about in their reviews, only ever on extremely ridiculous stuff like bad dad jokes etc. and they do it to me too (might have to put that in our engagement survey!) ONLY because that's the relationship we have and I made sure to learn that first. There's the traditional "oh no maybe they're trying to tell you something" that everyone makes to each other when the security card or login doesn't work, but you never, ever ever joke about someone being fired, or use it as a threat. Ever.
Load More Replies... When playing an April Fool's prank, it is necessary to say April Fools. I agree with the others that this seems far-fetched. Meh.
My brother pulled this on our mom and dad at the dinner table in 1971. He was 17 i was 10. He told them just as nonchalantly that he had gotten married earlier that day. My mom got so upset she left the table. My dad was pissed. I had never seen him so mad before. My 15 year old sister was flipping out. My grandmother picked up a wooden spoon for something on the table and smacked him in the shoulder and arm a few times. Me and my little brother of 8 just watched. Then my brother said it was a joke. It was something stupid going around in high school where someone was marrying people standing close to one another or something. Idk. Even if they hated each other. A school kid fad. My brother let it go too far and too long before he said anything.
Wait, OP said he destroyed his client list. So how did he take it with and merge it with the new client list?
I wonder if Ryan was sitting there when Michael did this to Pam or not. Er, I mean, the bosses' assistant when the boss did this to OP.
FINALY!! Some AH boss gets his just desserts!! Why does it always take so long, tho'?
So over an April Fool's "joke", he got probably a 500% raise, bonuses and vaca, and his teammate got promoted and the rest of his team was given increases.... I'll take ""Things that never happened" for $2000 Alex!
He carried it a bit too far...This soulds like a precursor to a disgruntled employee, the boss, coming back with a weapon.
Pranksters are untrustworthy, and quite frequently turn out to be toxic.
131
61