Employee Comes Back After Time Off Just To Get Fired, They Make Sure The Company Regrets It

A transition can be both a good and a bad thing for your career. It all depends on the details.

In a post on r/MaliciousCompliance, Reddit user Party_Shape557 said that their boss tried to do everything to make theirs a failure. So, the employee had to fight back.

After returning from their well-deserved PTO, they found two interns—who were secretly hired while the worker was gone—to replace them. Even more, the Redditor was told to train them.

When we take a vacation, we want to come back to how things were—or maybe an even better situation—at work

Boss in a suit discussing with an employee at a desk in a modern office setting.

Image credits: nrradmin (not the actual photo)

This worker, however, was told that they were being fired when they returned to the office

Text about a boss planning to replace an employee, related to firing prank scenario.

Text about learning new skills and transitioning from the hospitality industry to media.

Text excerpt about workplace achievements and team collaboration.

Text discussing company management issues and frequent directional changes.

Text about an employee managing markets and handling technical support solo after colleagues left.

Employee stressed from long work hours, seeking additional hires, feeling underappreciated by management.

Text about a manager discussing budget issues, highlighting workplace dynamics and stress.

Stressed boss in office holding glasses, realizing mistake after prank firing of key employee.

Image credits: Prostock-studio (not the actual photo)

Text about a CEO having dinner with an employee who knows how company systems work.

Text discussing a CEO's frugality and exploitative behavior.

Text shows a conversation about company changes, promotions, and hiring, with emphasis on "necessary experience" for a raise.

Text describing a manager threatening to fire an employee who needed rest after working long hours.

Text discussing a boss's panic after firing the only person who knows how things work, revealing replacements.

Text about the only person at a company who knows how things work, discussing training and job notice period.

Employee carrying a box with a plant after being fired, showing workplace dynamics.

Image credits: mstandret (not the actual photo)

Text about manager's lack of knowledge and training interns on company systems.

Text discussing training interns on a legacy system, related to a firing prank scenario.

Text about a manager discovering inadequate training before an employee's last week, causing operational issues.

Text from meeting notes about manager issues with training replacements.

Text describing being fired as a prank, highlighting managerial panic.

Text excerpt about a manager's regret after firing a knowledgeable employee.

Image credits: Party_Shape557

Employees in such a situation have more room to maneuver than they might think

We managed to get in touch with the author of the post and they said they expected to be reprimanded after coming back from the vacation.

“I had a feeling that they’ll sort of retaliate against me but nothing as drastic as firing me,” the Redditor told Bored Panda.

Alison Green, the author of Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Leader’s Guide to Getting Result and the former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization—where she oversaw day-to-day staff management—thinks that, ethically, there’s no reason an employee shouldn’t just leave the company immediately when they’re put in such a situation.

One might also try to get something for themselves in exchange for training their replacements. Specifically, Green suggests asking for additional severance pay and recording the agreement in writing if management accepts.

Additionally, Liz Ryan, who has extensive experience as a Fortune 500 HR SVP, says that you can either complete the assignment on a consulting basis (again, with a signed consulting agreement) or as an employee—with a written agreement that you’ll get a large bonus when certain transition-related milestones are met.

If the boss isn’t comfortable with either of those options, Ryan says, leave immediately, and they can muddle through the transition on their own. According to her, it’s good to be reminded now and then that you are not so easily replaceable—to others or yourself.

Building on Ryan’s ideas, we could assume that since the Redditor knew much better than their boss how much it would cost the company (and management personally) for them to leave, their primary mission should not have been to teach the superiors a life lesson but to grow their own flame. After all, they already knew that the boss was a snake who didn’t deserve their talents.

However, Party_Shape557 explained to us that they didn’t want to quit on the spot. “It was an unfortunate predicament because, by law, I was required to serve ‘notice’ two months in advance, or I would be in legal trouble and have to pay fines for breaking the contract.”

After leaving the company, the Redditor invested time in themselves, and it paid off. “I have been working on myself while looking for my next gig, and I got one about a month after my last day at the media company.”

Boss panicking with head in hands at desk, worried after prank firing mistake.

Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)

People have had a lot of different reactions to the story

Reddit comments discussing a job firing prank and its consequences.

Comment screenshot about firing being a prank, highlighting boss's mistake and panic.

Text post about a boss panicking after firing the only employee who knows how things work at the company.

Text comment discussing instructions and orders related to a prank firing incident.

Text conversation about firing and job notice.

Comment discussing quitting after a firing prank, highlighting workplace dynamics.

Comment on IT importance and management's lack of understanding; highlights hiring knowledgeable IT staff.

Text conversation about a prank firing, featuring a user comment relating to consequences.

Comment criticizing a boss for firing the only knowledgeable employee, highlighting poor management and exploitation.

Text conversation about constructive dismissal related to a prank firing situation.

Reddit comment discussing not training replacements due to being terminated.

Text of an employee's response, upset about being fired as a prank, highlights work dynamics.

Text discussing a critical employee's importance and executives' actions towards low-level staff.

Text conversation sharing a story of getting fired as a prank, resulting in a lawsuit for back pay.

Text from a user detailing a workplace incident about firing consequences and lack of knowledge.

Text from online comment about management and irreplaceable employees.

Comment text discussing reconnecting with managers after leaving a job.

Text showing a boss's panic after firing a key employee, quoting a witty response about training replacements.

Text thread discussing a boss firing an employee critical to the company.

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