They say there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’. But some people are selfish, shortsighted, and seem keen to ruin everyone’s day for their own pleasure or gain. Naturally, we call these people jerks. While unpleasant to deal with, your average, run-of-the-mill jerk isn’t usually someone to fear. Not so if they’re your boss.
Good bosses are a godsend, but bad bosses make you pray for divine intervention. Even worse than merely incompetent managers are bosses who love being jerks. Jerk bosses are by far the crème de la crème of all possible types of the species known as jerks.
Bored Panda made this list of the greatest examples of bosses acting like jerks, so you can feel a bit happier about working at your current job, in comparison. So go make yourself some popcorn, grab yourself a drink, and scroll down. Upvote your fave jerk boss stories and let us know if something similar has ever happened to you! Be sure to take a look at Bored Panda’s other stories about jerk bosses, regular everyday jerks, and the vast differences between leaders and bosses.
This post may include affiliate links.
So My Boss Calls Me To A Meeting On My Day Off, Then Asks Me To Arrange The Meeting Room
After Receiving A $50 Gift Card For Walmart As A Christmas Gift From My Boss, I Was Happy Until I Saw That It Had Been Deducted From My Paycheck
Your mom probably told you to stay away from jerks when you were a kid. However, when we’re all grown up, we can’t always choose our colleagues (and especially not our bosses), as we choose our friends. I’m sure that at one point or another we’ve all met jerks that made us grit our teeth, put on a fake smile and pretend like everything’s just peachy. When all we really wanted to do was Sparta Kick them into a volcano as a sacrifice to the venerable Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Artists At My Local Tattoo Shop Left This For Their Boss After Finding A Motion Detector That Records Video In The Unisex BR
My Boss Said "No" Too Many Times. He Forced My Hand. I Quit! Now While He's Miserable. My Feet Are In The Sand. F Him
Ohio State University researcher Bennett Tepper explained to the Harvard Business Review that “if your boss is hostile toward you, you are going to be less satisfied with your job, less committed to the work. You are more likely to experience psychological distress. We know that performance suffers; we know that people are less helpful when their boss is hostile toward them.” So far, so good.
My Coworker Went All Wet Seal On Our Boss Today
So I Bring A Pecan Pie To Work. By Noon It Was Missing. Found It A Few Hours Later In My Boss's Office
“I have found no upside whatsoever to a boss being hostile, even though there is a lay belief out there that if you kind of kick people a little bit, maybe you can get them motivated. We never seem to find evidence of that,” Tepper revealed how aggressive behavior isn’t too great for inspiring folks to work harder.
Secret Recording Device Under Break Room Table At Work
One Of A Seemingly Endless Series Of Unreasonable Notes Left By My Boss. It’s Great Here
Tepper and his colleagues checked whether acting aggressively right back at a hostile boss would yield any positive results. Are you ready for the shocking news? No, acting like a jerk to your jerk boss doesn’t create anything of value for you, nor for anyone else. The old adage that two wrongs don’t make a right is absolutely correct. Only, in this case, two jerks don’t make a warm and supportive work environment.
Our Boss Doesn't Let Us Take Any Home!
This Structural Pole My Boss Refuses To Fix
There are laws regarding the structural safety of buildings. Notify the proper authorities.
Far from everyone has the luxury of quitting their jobs at the drop of a hat. That means that for quite a number of different possible reasons, some people are stuck working for bosses they otherwise wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole. What can you do to survive if you’re in such a situation? Sometimes, a change in perspective can help. Thrive Global proposes learning all you can from your boss, doing the best work you can, and taking responsibility for your own happiness.
When Your Good Service Rewards Only Your Boss
Shift Manager At My Work Was Just Diagnosed With Colon Cancer, Our Store Manager Put This Sign Out A Week Later
Meanwhile, the BBC suggests you meditate at the office every day and watch the stress go away. And if you’re feeling overwhelmed with life, take a few deep breaths, go for a walk, cuddle a doggo, and remember all the wonderful things in life you’re grateful for. Keep calm and carry on, my friends!
Boss Didn't Like The Color Of The Chairs In The Break Room. So Now We Just Don't Have Chairs
My Boss Installed An IP Camera At The Store To Spy On Us When He's Away. I Retaliated With This Rig
I don't think Spy is the right way if that camera is facing what looks like a shop. I think he is justified here
My Boss Was Deathly Serious When He Posted This. Looks Like I'm Spending Some Quality Time At Work This Year
Quit My Job Yesterday Because I Was Tired Of The Unprofessional Environment - Got This Text From My Supervisor Today
This Is The Drinking Water Filter At My Work. It's Been Getting Darker By The Day But My Boss Insists It's Doing Its Job Still
Leave Work For One Day And My Boss Replaced My Large Monitor That I Use To Make Prototype Models And Engravings On Products With This Tiny One
My Brothers GF Sent Him This From Her Workplace, This Is What Her Boss Posted
You can only notice this if you’ve been staring at employees asses. And is so creepy to ask someone to change their underwear so their butt looks better.
Came To Work To Find That My Boss Threw Away Everyone’s Desks And Replaced Them With Dressers, A Sheet Of Glass, And Saddle Chairs
My Boss Thought It Would Be A Good Idea To Play Drag Racing. On His iPad. While Driving A Truck. On The Highway
The Way My Boss Asked Me To Order Her More Pens Like This One. I'm Sure She's Just Bluffing.......
My Christmas Gift From My Boss. Fortune 500 Company. No Christmas Bonus, Post It Notes, 2 Pieces Of Chocolate, Pen, Jeans One Day
A company I worked for required you to donate to their charity to 'earn' tickets to wear jeans. You could still only wear them on specified Fridays. My work was such that I was never visible to customers and never interacted with them so I never understood why anyone would care if I wore jeans instead of khakis.
Load More Replies...At least you got something. None of my bosses gave us Christmas gifts.
I will never, ever work for someone who thinks Jeans Day is a f*****g gift.
At my job, we once got a usb-stick with a video presentation about how great the company is ...
My first job was for a conservative nutjob. when Obama was first elected, he took away nearly every benefit he could legally-no 401K match, no more vacation accrual and we couldn't cash out time,new limit on accrual was 1 week of vacation, new policy was no vacations more than 3 days, separated by 3 months, no more employee healthcare, no more tuition reimbursement, the list went on and on. He announced it at our holiday potluck right after we gave him an EPIRB for his freaking sailboat...
What? Here in Canada the grocery store I worked at gave money for bonuses. I for $500to $1000.
I would write my resignation letter on the back of the coupon or the pineapple stationary!
I am going to play the devil's advocate. The boss had to come out of their own pocket to pay for this- and may be a low-level leader. Yes, the company could have done more- but the boss could have done nothing. I think it is incredibly nice for a boss to do something for their subordinates.
Well considering they have plenty of money seems reasonable to get some sort of Christmas bonus or a pay increase
Load More Replies...This is actually the type of jeans day slip we had at my elementary school.
no he's not. only a moron (or an uncle who wants to watch the world burn...) would give a child 2 stacks of post it notes.
Load More Replies...Wow... your boss seems to think of you all as grade school children!
pfft here in Canada I got bonuses of $500- almost a grand at a grocery store I worked at.
That's how they remain on top, Cutting cost... They really do not give a s**t about you... all they want is your effort
I'd wear Jeans 364 days a year, and slacks the other day. When confronted, say "Oh, so sorry, I must've misunderstood your generosity, because the other way around simply didn't make any sense at all. It seemed like nothing." Maybe you should give them a coupon for something. Seems like they could really use it. like "Stick it up your a*s day".
You should get Uncle Eddie to bring him to your house wrapped in a shiny red bow!
I would take that "coupon" to kinko's and get a year's worth of jeans days.
it's how they get to keep being a rich company by not bonus-ing the employees....yay! JEans day!! Woop!
Love how the coupon isn't even cut out neatly and the fact that the choccies are Xmas-themed but the sticky notes are tropical-themed? This smacks of a junior executive who promised to put together Xmas gift baskets then forgot all about it until the day they entered the works lift and the senior executive turned to them and said, "can't wait to see the gift baskets!"
What were people in other departments getting? Maybe mention it to your boss's boss if other people in similar departments got bonuses
I used to work for the NHS and some years later Royal Mail. No one got a gift from either, not even a Christmas card
My boss at the bank would make “dollar store” baskets (5-6) thinks from dollar store multi packs. Looked identical to this. I scooped mine into the trash.
We got a similar xmas bonus in our law office one year. Each of us got one of those little aluminum disks from Dairy Queen good for a free sundae.
Come on. This boss probably is low on money. You can't blame him unless you know he has a shitload of cash. It costs a lot of money for a bonus
You can really tell the value they place on you by how nicely they cut out the voucher. :|
After my work roles, this would genuinely excite me. Those postits are super cute.
Why do employees think they deserve a gift from their boss? Did you get him/her a gift?
There's the reason why your company is Fortune 500: they really save on nonsense Christmas bonus and presents!
I’d wear the jeans, melt the chocolate on the butt of the jeans and write on a post it note, My Boss gave me a day of jeans, chocolate, and post it notes for Christmas. The chocolate gave me the shits and I wrote this to let you know what cheapskate he is!
Got to buy his trophy wife new parts somehow might as well scrap the Xmas bonus for them.
Regift them back to him Not only will it tell him he is a cheap bastard but also that the gifts are not appreciated. Chances are he set a decent price for the gifts for each person and asked his secretary to buy them for him and she has pocketed the remainder of the money after visiting a cheap penny store
Some Fortune 500 companies award bonuses at the end of the fiscal year rather than December. As for the other items, they probably came out your boss's own pocket. Large companies don't do Christmas gifts or parties.
And the boss doesn't make a six fig salary to buy more than a dollar store pencil/c**p that was given? Just don't even bother it's barely considered thoughtful
Load More Replies...Your boss is trying to make up for the fact that the company gives you nothing by giving you something they paid for themselves and you're complaining that they are a bad boss? That's pretty rude. At least they spend their own money and their own time creating something for you. The company very likely has policies (like mine) against managers giving subordinates gifts that cost more than a certain amount of money.
The gift is so sweet! Reminds me of the raccoon videos... or those pictures from metro. faith in humanity restored.
No. No free jeans. It's like a "permit" to come to work in jeans. Your own jeans. ONE day.
Load More Replies...To be fair, that's pretty much the maximum what your boss allowed to do at a fortune 500 company.
Your Fortune 500 company gave you nothing (except your job) for Christmas. Your boss spent her own money to buy her employees something as a kind gesture. I would be grateful she even tried. Besides most people don’t get Christmas bonuses. This post really lacks perspective.
Omg have you heard of the wealth disparity? Opinions like yours are what perpetuate this disgrace
Load More Replies...Work For Multimillion Dollar Company. Employer Refuses To Pay For Drinking Water. Group Of Employees Decides To Pitch-In And Pay
The Temperature My Boss Keeps The Office At
If You Park Like This... You Are My Boss, So I Can't Say Anything
Complained To My Boss And Received This Minutes Later
I think this is funny if you have a good realationship to your boss. But it also can be a dickmove if he is a d**k.
My Boss Ordered A Box Of 6000 Pepper Packets Instead Of A Shaker, So Now I Get To Spend My Saturday Cutting Open Packets For Our Burger Seasoning
The Six Pack Of Macarons Cost More Than Six Individual Ones. "You Weren't Supposed To Notice" Is What The Manager Working Told Me
My Boss Wears His $50,000 Green Diamond Ring To Work, Laying Asphalt
Note: this post originally had 61 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
There seems to be a healthy mix of a*****e bosses and a*****e employees here...
I'd say we lack proper context for many of these, in that we only see the "end" result and not what led up to it.
Load More Replies...Some of these are ridiculous, but certainly not all of them. Some are examples of a terrible boss and some are examples of whiny employees.
Which ones were whiny employees? Honestly, to me, almost all seemed anywhere from ridiculous to outrageous to terrified-for-the-future-of-the-next-generation level. I've never worked at a place where I'd have to put up with anything like any of this.
Load More Replies...A lot of these seem to be Occupational Health and Safety ( OH&S ) issues. Your union should be able to do something about them.
There is a Greek saying that goes "A fish smells rotten starting at the head". Sometimes when I get wonderful service from employees, I ask them if they have a very nice boss and the answer is always positive. A great atmosphere at work turns into great employee output.
This is so true. I saw this presentation some time back about how great customer service started with a good boss and happy employees.
Load More Replies...I once had to take two weeks off on a leave of absence because of a crippling clinical depression. My (former) boss yelled at me, in front of everyone in an open floor office: "Pfff! Depression isn't even a disease, this is an excuse to cover the fact that you're just plain lazy!"
Even if you were lazy, you still have the right to take time off and your boss doesn't have the right to yell at you. Don't let him get away with it
Load More Replies...Spoke with my seemingly nice boss about my raise, he said he does everything, but the company doesn't want to give raise for anyone. A friend of mine from HR told me that my boss was the one who said NO when my raise has been mentioned on a meeting...
As a lawyer, I've never been more proud of my country's work related laws. Everyone of these bosses would be in big trouble for this kind of behavior here. (I live in Brasil, btw)
Boss told me at my last job he could only afford to give me a $1 an hour raise after working there for 2 years with excellent reviews. 24 hours later he's asking my opinion on which yacht he should rent for his 2 week trip to the islands.
"I wouldn't know. I could NEVER afford something like that on my salary."
Load More Replies...I worked at the same place for 10 years (got the job while I was still in college and went full-time when I finished studying). I had to work late every day except for the month of July, when my schedule finished a couple of hours earlier. Well, last year my boss came up to me and said "forget about leaving early next July. I'm going to need you here until 8.30 minimum." When I complained and said I had had that schedule for 10 YEARS, he responded with "previous years don't count." After enduring endless illegalities and lies, this was the last straw. I promptly quit and now I have a new job where I'm home from work at 4 every day. Best decision ever.
I've worked for so many worthless bosses! When I finally became a Boss I worked hard to insure that our job got done and that the employees were happy. If I couldn't get stuff they wanted I'd find an employee with a connection and then we brought it in, my expense!! When things are crazy during a Security crisis, you grind it out and fix the situation!! My team drank and ate free when we were done!!! You gotta take care of your employees, it can be a 30 minute call home or just donuts on Friday, it really sets the tone!!!
Back in the 80's I was called into work on my day off.... it was a ruse to get me in so my boss could FIRE ME...This article has opened an old wound.
Reading this, I realised that I'll have to pick my first job carefully
You could get several offers on your first job if you're extremely talented or if there is a large demand for employees in your field. Otherwise, you night opt to take what you can in order to pay the bills and pad your resume. Telling an interviewer "I took the job to gain experience in XYZ" sounds much better than saying, "I didn't find anything I liked."
Load More Replies...I can't imagine any of these being in the UK? We have a litany of workers rights and health and safety compliances. Well.. Maybe the rubbish Xmas bonus, but that's about it. All the others could be easily and rightly sued over.
Our small company moved into an office building shared by other small companies. The bathrooms are in common areas accessible to everyone, and one set of bathrooms is right outside our door. Lady boss went into the ladies' room and threw away the lovely basket of personal products left there by another company. Because she didn't like them (thought it was gross having them OUT THERE like that).
Glad here in Canada my boss gives me 2 dollar raises a year. I worked at a grocery store that gave me X-mas bonuses for $500 to almost a grand.
I was part of a team of 10 graphic designers at a 16-person ad agency. The owner paid for a subscription to Maxim (a lad rag). If the graphic designers wanted a subscription to a graphic design magazine, they had to pay out of their own pocket. Not criminal on the part of the boss, but certainly illogical. The lads indulged freely in porn, no idea how they got the idea that it was okay. Said lads also wondered how I managed to notice their porn habit in an open-concept office.
Thank God, in my 39 years of employment I never had any bosses like these.... cheapo a******s... would have been out of there in a heartbeat. Never had a boss who wasn't courteous, generous, and kind. Thanks all you former bosses!
I have to add to this. There was a woman in AZ who owned Green Table Gifts. She's the epitome of an a*****e boss. She effectively divided the staff against each other and would use one of them as her little spy to report anything the employees said about her. She was a hoarder and used the store as her own personal storage. She had give-aways and never actually gave anything away. The worst of it was that she would make life hell until they quit so she wouldn't have to pay for firing them. One employee had known her for years. She fired the lady, then called her to mock her about it!!! She stopped paying rent and at some point tried to change the name of the company. Long story short, she was evicted. They were seizing her assets and she tried to sneak back in to get stuff. Now she's in a new town, trying to start over because everyone here knows what a b***h she is. God help any future employee she finds.
I know this person (ill call him johnny) who his boss was constantly yelling at everyone, even though johnny was doing a good job. Eventually he got laid off, and most everyone started leaving the business, making it go down, so then the boss calls johnny back, but with less pay. His boss continues to yell at him. Eventually johnny left and got a well paying job, where his boss is really nice and doesnt yell at him.
These terrible examples sound like slavery, I'm so glad that regulations in Europe and esp Austria prevent even a spark of things like these. Oh and we have drinking water quality tap water here... Really hope things improve for you all and alternatives surface soon.
So, so happy that I am a freelancer. Yes, a lot of pressure, but no boss, no colleagues. THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!
My boss hates when I use the nickname D**k. Especially since his name is Stephen.
Help needed fellow Pandas; how do we rate these posts? Negative for the awful message, or positive for bringing light and awareness about these hateful practices? Honest question, thanks!
Based on if you enjoyed/were entertained/appreciated the post.
Load More Replies...There is a link at the end that takes you to the lower rated posts.
Load More Replies...5/10 on the trolling. Meh. On the other hand, I do like your handle. It's a nice twist on farm boy jokes. :)
Load More Replies...There seems to be a healthy mix of a*****e bosses and a*****e employees here...
I'd say we lack proper context for many of these, in that we only see the "end" result and not what led up to it.
Load More Replies...Some of these are ridiculous, but certainly not all of them. Some are examples of a terrible boss and some are examples of whiny employees.
Which ones were whiny employees? Honestly, to me, almost all seemed anywhere from ridiculous to outrageous to terrified-for-the-future-of-the-next-generation level. I've never worked at a place where I'd have to put up with anything like any of this.
Load More Replies...A lot of these seem to be Occupational Health and Safety ( OH&S ) issues. Your union should be able to do something about them.
There is a Greek saying that goes "A fish smells rotten starting at the head". Sometimes when I get wonderful service from employees, I ask them if they have a very nice boss and the answer is always positive. A great atmosphere at work turns into great employee output.
This is so true. I saw this presentation some time back about how great customer service started with a good boss and happy employees.
Load More Replies...I once had to take two weeks off on a leave of absence because of a crippling clinical depression. My (former) boss yelled at me, in front of everyone in an open floor office: "Pfff! Depression isn't even a disease, this is an excuse to cover the fact that you're just plain lazy!"
Even if you were lazy, you still have the right to take time off and your boss doesn't have the right to yell at you. Don't let him get away with it
Load More Replies...Spoke with my seemingly nice boss about my raise, he said he does everything, but the company doesn't want to give raise for anyone. A friend of mine from HR told me that my boss was the one who said NO when my raise has been mentioned on a meeting...
As a lawyer, I've never been more proud of my country's work related laws. Everyone of these bosses would be in big trouble for this kind of behavior here. (I live in Brasil, btw)
Boss told me at my last job he could only afford to give me a $1 an hour raise after working there for 2 years with excellent reviews. 24 hours later he's asking my opinion on which yacht he should rent for his 2 week trip to the islands.
"I wouldn't know. I could NEVER afford something like that on my salary."
Load More Replies...I worked at the same place for 10 years (got the job while I was still in college and went full-time when I finished studying). I had to work late every day except for the month of July, when my schedule finished a couple of hours earlier. Well, last year my boss came up to me and said "forget about leaving early next July. I'm going to need you here until 8.30 minimum." When I complained and said I had had that schedule for 10 YEARS, he responded with "previous years don't count." After enduring endless illegalities and lies, this was the last straw. I promptly quit and now I have a new job where I'm home from work at 4 every day. Best decision ever.
I've worked for so many worthless bosses! When I finally became a Boss I worked hard to insure that our job got done and that the employees were happy. If I couldn't get stuff they wanted I'd find an employee with a connection and then we brought it in, my expense!! When things are crazy during a Security crisis, you grind it out and fix the situation!! My team drank and ate free when we were done!!! You gotta take care of your employees, it can be a 30 minute call home or just donuts on Friday, it really sets the tone!!!
Back in the 80's I was called into work on my day off.... it was a ruse to get me in so my boss could FIRE ME...This article has opened an old wound.
Reading this, I realised that I'll have to pick my first job carefully
You could get several offers on your first job if you're extremely talented or if there is a large demand for employees in your field. Otherwise, you night opt to take what you can in order to pay the bills and pad your resume. Telling an interviewer "I took the job to gain experience in XYZ" sounds much better than saying, "I didn't find anything I liked."
Load More Replies...I can't imagine any of these being in the UK? We have a litany of workers rights and health and safety compliances. Well.. Maybe the rubbish Xmas bonus, but that's about it. All the others could be easily and rightly sued over.
Our small company moved into an office building shared by other small companies. The bathrooms are in common areas accessible to everyone, and one set of bathrooms is right outside our door. Lady boss went into the ladies' room and threw away the lovely basket of personal products left there by another company. Because she didn't like them (thought it was gross having them OUT THERE like that).
Glad here in Canada my boss gives me 2 dollar raises a year. I worked at a grocery store that gave me X-mas bonuses for $500 to almost a grand.
I was part of a team of 10 graphic designers at a 16-person ad agency. The owner paid for a subscription to Maxim (a lad rag). If the graphic designers wanted a subscription to a graphic design magazine, they had to pay out of their own pocket. Not criminal on the part of the boss, but certainly illogical. The lads indulged freely in porn, no idea how they got the idea that it was okay. Said lads also wondered how I managed to notice their porn habit in an open-concept office.
Thank God, in my 39 years of employment I never had any bosses like these.... cheapo a******s... would have been out of there in a heartbeat. Never had a boss who wasn't courteous, generous, and kind. Thanks all you former bosses!
I have to add to this. There was a woman in AZ who owned Green Table Gifts. She's the epitome of an a*****e boss. She effectively divided the staff against each other and would use one of them as her little spy to report anything the employees said about her. She was a hoarder and used the store as her own personal storage. She had give-aways and never actually gave anything away. The worst of it was that she would make life hell until they quit so she wouldn't have to pay for firing them. One employee had known her for years. She fired the lady, then called her to mock her about it!!! She stopped paying rent and at some point tried to change the name of the company. Long story short, she was evicted. They were seizing her assets and she tried to sneak back in to get stuff. Now she's in a new town, trying to start over because everyone here knows what a b***h she is. God help any future employee she finds.
I know this person (ill call him johnny) who his boss was constantly yelling at everyone, even though johnny was doing a good job. Eventually he got laid off, and most everyone started leaving the business, making it go down, so then the boss calls johnny back, but with less pay. His boss continues to yell at him. Eventually johnny left and got a well paying job, where his boss is really nice and doesnt yell at him.
These terrible examples sound like slavery, I'm so glad that regulations in Europe and esp Austria prevent even a spark of things like these. Oh and we have drinking water quality tap water here... Really hope things improve for you all and alternatives surface soon.
So, so happy that I am a freelancer. Yes, a lot of pressure, but no boss, no colleagues. THANK YOU, UNIVERSE!
My boss hates when I use the nickname D**k. Especially since his name is Stephen.
Help needed fellow Pandas; how do we rate these posts? Negative for the awful message, or positive for bringing light and awareness about these hateful practices? Honest question, thanks!
Based on if you enjoyed/were entertained/appreciated the post.
Load More Replies...There is a link at the end that takes you to the lower rated posts.
Load More Replies...5/10 on the trolling. Meh. On the other hand, I do like your handle. It's a nice twist on farm boy jokes. :)
Load More Replies...