Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
People Reveal When The Scales Dropped From Their Eyes And They Realized How Toxic Their Jobs Were (30 Stories)
Sometimes, people spend such a long time surrounded by toxicity that they can no longer tell the difference between healthy and downright harmful behavior. It’s pretty clear that they should make plans to get out of toxic environments as soon as they feasibly can, but recognizing that someone’s in one isn’t as easy as you think. Especially when you’re in the thick of it and can’t afford a moment’s respite to get a different perspective. However, sometimes it takes a single moment for the scales to finally drop from people’s eyes.
Redditor u/Expwar asked the workers browsing r/AskReddit to open up and share the moment that they realized their workplace was truly toxic. We’ve collected the most insightful stories to share with you, dear Pandas. You’ll find them as you scroll down. Let us know your own experiences with toxic work environments and how you solved things in the comments.
Meanwhile, have a read what psychotherapist Silva Neves told Bored Panda about the importance of having firm boundaries at work and what drives people to be unkind, pushy, rude, and demanding. (Spoiler warning: it’s usually due to fear.)
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
"Why do you have to be at the hospital if your wife is the one having the miscarriage?"
An actual email I received while sopping up my wife's blood from the floor in the emergency room.
TrickQuestion 3 years ago
Because I missed a day of work for a miscarriage, i got a "no call no show" and that made my once a year raise 7 cents, despite being on of their hardest workers.
Lena Flising 3 years ago
That's like saying "Why do you have to be at the hospital if your wife/mother/son is the one dying?". His future child has ceased to exist!!! His wife is in pain and bleeding!!! He is in mourning!!!
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
In this day and age now of social media, we at times can’t do much in our end in certain situations, but man, at least put them on blast for how inhuman they are, maybe the higher up will have to take notice or their business will flutter if it is the higher up or owners
Bored Panda reached out to Silva, a psychotherapist from the United Kingdom, to have a chat about why very clear boundaries are vital if we feel like we’re constantly being walked over, the importance of being kind and understanding of those closest to us whether at work or outside of it, and what the lack of outward empathy implies about a person.
According to British psychotherapist Silva, the kindness that we show to the world, our social circle, and everyone we meet throughout the day answers the fundamental questions about who we are as people, deep down. In short, through our daily actions and interactions with our colleagues, we reveal to everyone else how we live, what we value, and what we think of the people closest to us. He noted that people tend to be kinder during the holiday season, but they must remember to extend this kindness and empathy throughout the year.
RELATED:
#2
When my partner was giving birth to our only child.
I had spent weeks preparing to be gone for two weeks to be with her during and after birth, held many meetings, cross-trained etc (I was a manager at a tech firm). I had accrued ample vacation time.
My 2nd day off my partner goes into labor and we go to the hospital. During labor the CEO called my cell repeatedly and I finally answered and told him my partner was in labor and I was on vacation. He totally ripped my head off and told me to open my computer and finish reports. These were reports that I had trained someone else to do, and actually others within the company were perfectly capable of doing.
Because we were broke (yes I was underpaid) I ended up doing reports in the hospital, took a short break during the birth, then went back to working until we were released. We had a couple of days with our newborn but then I had to go back to work because my phone was blowing up. That week I ended up working 6am to midnight some days getting everyone caught back up while my partner was at home recovering from delivery and learning how to be a mom.
Everything in me wanted to quit but I knew we needed the next paycheck and at that moment I could not fight a legal challenge with my employer. They had me right where they wanted and made my life hell while my child just coming into this world.
Never again.
Isa 2 years ago
No sorry I happens everywhere.At us y can even file a lawsuit elsewhere y can be be threatened if it's a big company or your case will go on for years.
Load More Replies...
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
Imagine, and I won’t be surprised if it did happen somewhere, it was vice versa, a day after the wife gives birth the employer calls and asked when she’s coming in
Stephanie Cunningham 3 years ago
A former co-worker got a call from her director while she was in labor, asking where some files were. He called again on the day she got home from the hospital, asking when she would be back at work.
Load More Replies... 
#3
When I woke up in the hospital after attempting to take my life in work.
Irishwoman abroad 3 years ago
This should be number 1. If your work is so toxic that you want to end your life, that is the most serious reason of all.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
NO JOB IS WORTH THAT! No person is worth that either! If you decide to take your own life, make it be that you had accomplished everything you wanted to do. If that’s not the reason you want to be dead, see a doctor about getting on an antidepressant. I spent so much of my life thinking about suicide because I just couldn’t make my life work for me...it turned out my brain’s neurotransmitters were totally falling down on their job! I was put on an antidepressant and about six months later I felt as though I had just found the goose’s golden egg! I would stay on my meds until I no longer felt the pain depression can spread throughout, and then I’d once again go back on. Once my thyroid broke and I had to take a daily medication for the rest of my life anyway, I went back on my Sertraline (generic for Zoloft) and recently I went up another half-step. So long as this continues to keep me from falling into the Slough of Despond, I’m good!
Incitatus 3 years ago
Mary, I am now where you were, and my family has been saying the same things to me. Thank you for giving me a real perspective.
Load More Replies...
“I think it is a good practice to remind ourselves all year round of what kind of human beings we want to be: someone who is kind and contributes to the goodness of our loved ones, social circle, and greater society, or someone who lives in fear, anger, and protection?” Silva told Bored Panda that we should strive to be kind to others and remain compassionate no matter the situation. We ought to be nice to our colleagues and be mindful of their boundaries all the time, whether it’s the holiday season or not.
“It can be challenging in the world that we live in because there is much fear and anxiety around, and it is easy to forget our kind nature for protecting ourselves and our values,” the expert acknowledged that being kind is far from easy with how difficult things are currently, however, we should still strive to be empathetic and respectful, even if we’re afraid.
#4
When my manager said I wasn't a team player for refusing a shift on my wedding day.
Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago
Federal Govt job... I'm off on a Saturday for my wedding... Supervisor said "what time is the wedding?" I said" 4 PM" she said "So you can work until at least 2:30!" I'm like "yeah, f**k you!!"
AzKhaleesi 3 years ago
This literally happened: My (now) husband had to call in every single day of the week of our wedding. (we just got married on the 21st of December.) Why? Let me tell you why. He had put in for the week of our wedding back in April....APRIL when it opened up on the calendar. It never got approved, he went through all the proper channels and the BIG BOSS said to him "why didn't you plan better" He was like ummm I put in for it EIGHT months ago. We are getting married out of town. Dude made us send all of the receipts for the venue etc. Which we did. STILL DENIED it, then sent us a Christmas card with a hand written "Congratulations on your Marriage." Absolute BS
Monilip 3 years ago
Sooo I assume USA does not have two paid leave days when someone is getting married? (Two for wedding pair, one for parents of wedding pair)
Annamagelic 3 years ago
Ha Ha HA. No We don't have mandatory paid leave for anything, including medical emergencies or deaths. We most definitely don't have wedding leave.
Load More Replies...
Hugh Cookson 3 years ago
The best way to deal with assholes like this is to take them to a quiet place and give them a good slap, then leave.
John Dough 3 years ago
The best way is to just leave. Let's leave the assault out of it.
Load More Replies... John Dilligaf 3 years ago
friend of mine used to say "There is no I in team, but there is a M and a E, and that spells ME"
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
I wonder if these managers/ supervisors get their job from insensitive thinking/ training?
#5
I had a job where my girlfriend’s Mother was my boss, so I guess the moment I realized my workplace was toxic was when my girlfriend cheated on me and then my girlfriend’s Mom hired the guy she cheated on me with. In hindsight, probably more than just the workplace was toxic.
Michael Hoyt 3 years ago
My brother's ex MIL set her up w/the guy she cheated on him. Class act, the both of them.
Uchman 3 years ago
You have absolutely no idea which came first - the relationship or the job
Load More Replies... #6
When someone was called into the manager’s office, then returned to box up their desk and leave. When I asked the manager if she was okay, I was told, “We don’t talk about people after they leave.”
If someone quit or was fired, they were just never mentioned again. It was creepy AF.
TrickQuestion 3 years ago
And I'm sure the pressure was like Drip...Drip...Drip...
Load More Replies...
Cynthia Gane 3 years ago
I worked at a place like that once. People were called into the boss's office, fired and ushered out another door into the outside world and never spoken of again. Horrible!
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
You think you’re persona non grata after you leave? Nope. You’re already persona non grata from the moment you’re hired.
blankman 2 years ago
In a prior life the CEO and COO used to have regular meetings (abt once a week) with randomly selected staff from various divisions in the company. That way people got to know them and they got to hear things that weren't being filtered thru various levels of middle management. In any case, in one of the meetings I attended one of the junior staff said that this exact thing had happened in her division the previous week and their manager had said that there would be "dire consequences" up to and including termination if anyone was heard talking about this. Both the CEO and COO's ears perked up at this and the staff member in question was asked to stay after the meeting so they could get details - what had happened and who issued the threats etc. Never heard anything more but I worked closely enough with both those individuals to know that somebody got raked over the coals big time.
Marco Conti 3 years ago
That's how combat soldier deal with the loss of their mates. Unless you were a pilot during the Battle of Britain, this is so cruel and out of line.
MyOpinionHasBeenServed 3 years ago
I learned there was a guy who used to be a manager where I worked but was transferred about a year or 2 before I started. He was transferred out to Toronto and murdered his wife. A friend/coworker showed me the news article and said none of the company doesn't want anyone talking about it, as she was hushed one time talking to someone else about it in the break room. Super creepy and sketchy.
Silva suggested to Bored Panda that people should change the way they view someone who’s being pushy, rude, demanding or unkind. He stressed that these people’s lives are often ruled by fear and they deserve our compassion despite the way that they treat us.
“A part of being kind is to remind ourselves that when we meet someone who is unkind, it usually means that that person is afraid of something, and it can help with staying empathic and kind to someone who is unkind,” he said. Though this isn’t an excuse to allow others to walk all over us. There have to be some limits to our compassion if someone is being maliciously rude or dismissive of us.
“It doesn't mean we should condone unreasonable unpleasant behaviors, because being kind also means to have strong boundaries so that everybody can feel safe within them,” Silva said that we have to balance between standing up for ourselves and being kind to the unkind.
#7
When my boss addressed me as "fat a**" in front of a room full of my coworkers.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Hey boss, you can only have noticed that if your main occupation is looking at people's butts. Which makes you a pervert in my book.
Marco Conti 3 years ago
I'd find that ground for a lawsuit. Maybe not that one time, but I'd go out, buy a cheap digital audio recorder and keep it on a loop. Amazon has a few you can wear and are no bigger than a pen. Audio and video too. Collect a few instances like that and in court they are not going to look very good. At the very least, in states where you need 2 party consent, you can use it to take notes everyday. The audio/video may not be admissible, but the one with a detailed, day by day diary usually wins the day.
Bobert Robertson 3 years ago
My boss handed me a rope and suggested I use it. So thankful I don't have any mental health issues or that could have turned out very different, and I just hope nobody who is in a bad mental state ever gets told to kill themself by their boss - or anyone else....
Chris Jones 3 years ago
Should have slipped it around THEIR neck! I am sorry that happened, truly disgusting.
Load More Replies... 
Pamela Blue 3 years ago
I would have slowly turned around and said "I beg your pardon?" and not broken eye contact until he either apologized or started squirming. Either way, he probably wouldn't have done it again.
#8
A couple years ago my dad died. After my bereavement time and I came back to work, my boss came up to me, looked me right in the eyes and with a smile said “you know what will make you feel better? Doing more work.”
Axolotl King 3 years ago
I bet what'd make you feel better is punching that stupid boss in the face and then taking your time to grieve like the HUMAN YOU ARE
Jyri Hakola 3 years ago
Maybe toxic, maybe very poor social and communication skills and honest try to say something. When my dad passed away years ago, staying at work and focusing the daily stuff really helped to process the situation.
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago
"No boss. What will make me feel better is breaking your teeth out with a nice hefty curb stomp"
Em Watson 3 years ago
My mum died quite suddenly, and on the day of her funeral, there was a meeting that I normally would've attended and fed back to the team at our team meeting. I go back to work, and at the next team meeting get shouted at for not having the info from the health and safety meeting. She KNEW I was at my mother's funeral that day. I hated her so much, don't know how I put up with her for several years.
Samantha Hurrell 3 years ago (edited)
I had a couple of days off after my Gran passed (she had been unwell for nearly a year, but the hospital were trying a possible solution which backfired), I got told in my back to work 'well people die.' Yes because I'm balling my eyes out and that's a perfectly logical response.
Debrina Blackmoon 3 years ago (edited)
"No, more like, kicking you in the face and feeding you teeth, you vile waste of atoms shitpile asshole+!!!"
#9
A couple of female coworkers went to the HR manager to file a complaint about sexism in the workplace, related to the same guy. They got told by the HR manager and their boss that the company wasn't gonna do anything about it, because it would be very hurtful for this man to hear that his behaviour was wrong...
Later when some anonymous survey showed that employees were really not as happy as they(company) were claiming on social media, and people even felt discriminated against in the workplace, they brushed it under the carpet saying people were just too stressed when they filled in the survey, like that is not a problem on its own.
Many more of these kinds of things, but that's defo when I realised I had to get out.
RobotMonkeyGod 3 years ago
...i have yet to read anything positive about HR.....let alone experience it.....in my experience it feels like it's purpose is to protect the hierarchy....
Hugh Cookson 3 years ago
You must always remember that HR is not there for YOU, it exists for the company's benefit and to ensure that employment / H&S rules are being adhered to - your welfare and happiness comes a long way down the ladder. Thankfully there are exceptions, but sadly too few.
Load More Replies...
Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago
Did you ever notice how "Human Resources" works out like "Freedom Act" and "Right To Work" etc...???
Lena Flising 3 years ago
Like it's not very hurtful for all the women to be subjected to sexism and/or sexual harassment in their workplace?
Marco Conti 3 years ago
Lesson #1: HR is there to cover the company's ass. They are not there for you. Lesson #2: HR are the biggest gossips in any company.
Ashlea Saunders 3 years ago
Always remember HR is there to protect the company, not you. If there's a real problem you're better off reporting it to the government work authorities.
Tiger Pearl 3 years ago
I feel like HRs in non-profit company’s are much better then corporate company HRs.
Micah 3 years ago
Think again. I have a family member that has worked for a few non-profits, and the HR departments there sound just as useless.
Load More Replies...
Scott 3 years ago
The only good thing I've experienced from HR was earlier this week. I work for a (very) small company (like, 15 people total) where our HR person is also our Controller. My direct supervisor (VP) is out of the office and wasn't able to approve the time I need off to help my dog pass on. HR approved it without a second thought.
Meanwhile, life coach Lindsay Hanson explained to me earlier that each and every one of us is responsible for setting the boundaries that we’re willing to tolerate in the workplace. If HR doesn’t listen to you, you can still try talking to your boss about any major issues about the work environment.
"If you feel that there's nothing you can do to change the situation and the company or people involved are unwilling to change, then you have to decide whether you're willing to stay in that environment or not," she explained to Bored Panda.
"A good question to ask yourself is, even if this toxic situation were to change, would I still want to work here?" the life coach pointed out that this is the question that we ought to ask ourselves before we start putting a lot of time and energy in changing the company for the better. According to her, we have two options. Either we look for a way out of the situation we’re in or we try to find happiness or at least contentment in the environment that we’re in.
#10
When my boss arrived at my doorstep trying to open my front door accusing me of lying about being sick and yelling that she will get a lawyer and find a way to fire me legally. I never went back
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
And freaking illegal in Europe where the boss could end up paying a huge fine.
Load More Replies... Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
Should’ve called the cops and report someone trying to break into your house. If Corporate then received a copy of the police report where you chose to press charges from “anonymous”, your boss would’ve been toast. Burnt toast. With a police record. At least I hope that’s what would’ve happened.
Cecilia Herrera 3 years ago
Rest assured that that terrible boss will one day try to open the WRONG door, and will either wind up in jail, beat up, or dead.
MyOpinionHasBeenServed 3 years ago
I wouldn't hesitate to call the police the moment I hear my doorknob jiggling.
Load More Replies...
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
There’s a law called trespassing/ breaking and entering in the states
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
Good lord! I hope you called the police or at least tried to get her sectioned!
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
I had a professor harass me, claiming my medical absences weren't legit. One was a miscarriage. I really .... try .... not... to... hate.... that... Nope, I hate him. *sigh*
#11
Mine was, and I’ve told this story a few times on here, but when after being upskirted at work (17F, the uniform was skirts, a kids/young people store) my (late 30s, male) manager bought me black lace underwear and gave them to me for Christmas. In front of the entire team. At the staff do. It was tongue in cheek, insinuating it’d give a future one ‘something to look at’. I remember feeling humiliated and sickened, but having to try and save face. I felt like the incident was my fault.
After that, the “I love my job and team and am happy to work in this field and will do anything for them” shattered. My eyes opened to illegally long shifts, being underpaid, secretly getting us to cover whilst he pretended to be in and paid us cash in hand so the CEO wouldn’t find out, a “we only hire young pretty girls because it’s good to encourage shy kids or teens and add to the fun theme!” being far more nefarious and also morally corrupt. More completely inappropriate workplace things.
I’ve thought for five years about coming out and talking about the company. It’s somewhat well known in the UK. Past employees have said the same and many are still recovering from it years after leaving. But I’ve always been too afraid and I know too well that many people would still support despite things like this coming out.
J. Normal 3 years ago
"But I’ve always been too afraid and I know too well that many people would still support despite things like this coming out." The people who curse and call it cancel culture are the one's committing it. Most of the real honest people call it consequences and we will work hard to make sure people face them.
Load More Replies...
Bored Batgirl 3 years ago
From an employment standpoint that's absolutely illegal and is sexual harassment. We won't even get into the creepy factor of an adult sexualizing a minor.
#12
I got hired while my wife was about 6 weeks from giving birth. I told the owner in the interview that I would need at least a week off in the next 6 to 8 weeks when my kid comes. He had an autistic kid and led the local chapter of Autism speaks, so I though he was an alright guy.
When my kid was born, he had the manager call me every day and ask when I was coming back, because nobody was doing my work.
I came back after 3 days off work. My kid was born on Friday, back at work Weds....
I was fired 2 weeks later.....as a new father at age 28.....
Sonia Bailey 3 years ago
Yep! Just came to say that if he leads a chapter of Autism Speaks, he is not an okay guy. Autism Speaks is the absolute worst.
Load More Replies...
Katherine Boag 3 years ago
Autism Speaks is a shitty organisation that harms autistic people and centres non-autistic (allistic) people's persoectives
Lena Flising 3 years ago
From what I have heard, Autism Speaks is a bit toxic as well. It has received quite a lot of criticism for seeing autism as a problem that needs a "cure".
"The idea that you can't change your situation due to the pandemic is very limiting. There are still companies hiring. There are still ways to make money on your own. There is always a way to change your current situation—telling yourself you're stuck feels very limiting," she told me.
"Again, it comes back to what you're willing to tolerate. You can do everything in your power to bring attention to the toxic situation and attempt to change it. And at the end of the day, you always have control over your own mindset, how you're reacting to the situation, and how much you let it affect you."
#13
My own dad and employer hassled me for being in the hospital with my son for like ten days.
#14
When I was crying from anxiety about opening up my e-mails every morning
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I’m so sorry to hear that...I hope things have improved, even just a little bit to keep you from falling into the deep end!
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
This! When you have multiple managers, who all have to send their own email about the same f*****g thing (put your f*****g heads together first and just send ONE, assholes) and every single one wants a reply within 5-10 minutes, with a full answer to their multiple questions, then yes. You will cry. You will also not be able to get any actual WORK done because you’re spending every minute reading and replying to emails. You end up holding your work until after hours when the managers are off the clock, so you can get it done. Yeah, it means 8 hours of email bullshit, plus however much time after work to finish your work. One Good Morning email and one Have a Great Evening email, leaving room for work and the occasional call or email with questions during the day (but do not go overboard with this, OK?) are sufficient. Leave your employees the f**k alone so they can work, instead of not trusting them to work without your micromanaging, which is just you flexing for your own bosses.
#15
When the union told me "These are solid proves of harassment, but unfortunately the only way to win is to pay a lawyer and go on a trial against your bosses. And they are rich, well known and you are a foreigner. You have no chances and all I can advise you is to quit."
troufaki13 3 years ago
Justice may be blind, but she's not deaf. So when money speaks, she listens :(
Paula Marowsky 3 years ago
She is actually blind therefor not looking WHO puts more money to tilt the scale. That is why justice belongs to the richest only. I think she must wear glasses for well seeing all the evidence, but she only cares about the scale, so, there is no hope for the poor
Load More Replies...
Ashlea Saunders 3 years ago
Wait.... the unions in your country don't pay for your lawyer? Then why are you paying the union?
Hugh Walter 3 years ago
That's the WHOLE point of Union Due's, so the Union gets the lawyer, you don't just need a new job, you need a new Union!
Lori-Anne Button 2 years ago
What kind of union were you with? UK unions pay for the solicitor fees - especially if you have been a member for 6 months and it’s a provable case.
Barbara Adams 3 years ago
I assume you aren't in the US, because these cases get handled on contingency here (the lawyer gets a cut of what you win.)
Previously, Eddy Ng, the Smith Professor of Equity & Inclusion at Queen’s University, formerly the James and Elizabeth Freeman Professor of Management at Bucknell University, told me that employees ought to look into workplace health and safety regulations for help if HR and their managers aren’t responding to testimonies about toxic workplace environments, e.g. harassment or bullying.
However, he warned that quitting any job is a tough decision. Workers need to consider their financial situation, life stage, ability to adapt, and other things before making this decision that depends on very subjective factors.
"This is also exacerbated by the pandemic. If the toxic environment becomes a health concern and the employer is not responsive, you can quit and sue the employer for constructive dismissal," the professor told Bored Panda.
"Generally, it is easier to look for another job while you are still in one, so you don't have to explain gaps in employment or past problems with a prospective employer," he said.
#16
It wasn’t always. I was fortunate to have a boss who took his role as a mentor very seriously. He wanted us to learn, improve, etc. and he was kind about it. He’d reward good work, correct you when you made a mistake, yell at you/scold you only when you really deserved it, and would admit when HE made a mistake.
He retired and left the company in the hands of a dude who was an absolute assh*le. Completely the opposite. He wouldn’t reward good work - if you did something that was 99% perfect, he’d scream and berate you for the 1% that wasn’t perfect. The last straw for me was the time I got a new file in, I spent weeks working it up, and prepared a comprehensive letter explaining everything that we were doing, what we planned to do in the future and offering a detailed analysis of the whole thing. Assh*le yelled at me because HIS name should be on the signature line of that letter because “your only job is to make me look good!”
He yelled at me over a bill, misspelling my very simple name in a follow-up email. (I have one of those names that has a common spelling and an accepted, but slightly less common spelling like Steven/Stephen. He used the wrong one.) The next most senior partner reported that HE had put the objectionable items into the bill after I had prepared it. Assh*le didn’t care.
I quit. A lot of other people quit. I heard a year later that literally everyone had quit. They hired new people, including the brother of the next most senior partner. They all quit in less than a year. He lost his biggest client. They had to give up the big suite of offices they built in 2012. Can’t say I’m sad to hear any of that.
Irishwoman abroad 3 years ago
Not on the same scale, but in my previous job at a language academy a good few years ago, our boss was such a bully, as well as being the only person in the place who didn't actually know how to teach OR manage, that out of 8 people at the end of that year, only 3 remained by summer... And one if them was him! The other 2 left as soon as they could the following year. One older woman had a nervous breakdown, after 9 years of alternately being bullied then told she'd get a permanent contract, and ended up jobless and sick. He just hired new staff, but is notorious in this city, and has a very high turnover of staff. What a d**k.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
To all the “suits” at corporate everywhere, regardless of which company: Read this and see how a company can go right down the toilet when an authoritative boss is replaced with an authoritarian one. You reap what you sow when you create a toxic work environment. Remember this when you tell HR to promote or hire someone for management. The “metrics” are bullshit without the human element of being a good judge of character.
Caroline Nagel 3 years ago
Managers are overrated, a waste of money and useless. Companies should get rid of them.
#17
My parents sent a Halloween care package full of candy to my workplace, written to “the care of lilsunflowers”. Next time I was at work, I couldn’t find the package — later was told it was opened and all the candy had been eaten
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago
That's tampering with mail and mail theft. Isn't that a criminal act?
Davo gifman 3 years ago
If it had the company address, and with it having that odd C/O lilsunflowers instead of a real name. I think the company could legally open the mail. But I'm not 100% sure so...
Load More Replies... 
Littlebunnyfufu 3 years ago
Am I the only one confused as to why the parents sent the care package to work?
Marty Sunderland 3 years ago
My packages come to my work, because where I live there is no home delivery, and our post office has very short hours.
Load More Replies...
Davo gifman 3 years ago
Why would it even be mailed to your workplace? Why not send it to your home?
Marty Sunderland 3 years ago
My packages come to my work, because where I live there is no home delivery, and our post office has very short hours.
Load More Replies...
#18
They used the pandemic to cut bonuses, freeze salaries and remove a majority of benefits. When we went public, they gave us virtually nothing. The CEOs and their cronies filled their pockets.
A little history: we were acquired by this company and absorbed. Our old company was the absolute SH*T!!! Vegas/Barcelona trips, beers at lunch, sick company parties. We were one of the hottest companies in the biz. EVERYBODY wanted to work for us. We had people planning to move from across the world to be in our office. They stripped all that away right when they hired us and installed a more "corporate" atmosphere.
All the fun stuff was replaced with mandatory town halls where they preach "community" and "passion" and "integrity." They then dropped a bomb on us: "were goin public!" During this time they froze salaries and cut bonuses. The company went public, and they didn't give the employees sh*t. Instead of being rewarded like we were promised, they rolled out the stingiest RSU plan I've ever seen.
To make matters all worse, the CFO is a sexist f*ck. He calls women b*tches to their face and says the most derogatory sh*t when they're not around.
The cherry on top is we used to get $1k in cash as a Holiday bonus. This year we got hats with the company logo on it and a power bank (obviously from the swag closet).
#19
We reached a point where we regularly had to wait to cash our paychecks. We basically were told we had to get orders completed and paid for, in order for the account to have enough money to pay us.
During this time, the boss went on a vacation which was just great for morale.
My manager had to take a day off, effectively putting me in charge for the day. I texted my manager, "What should I do if the IRS shows up? lol". 2 hours later an IRS agent did stop in looking for my boss.
I found a new job not long after.
Ivy la Sangrienta 3 years ago
Why are people still getting paid with cheques in 2021? We've had our wages directly deposited into our bank accounts for over 20 years now.
#20
When they wanted to give me an attendance point because a terrorist blew up the at&t building in Nashville and I had no internet to work my Christmas Day shift.
Cecilia Herrera 3 years ago
How can your boss be so out of touch with reality? NO ONE could do anything on the internet in your area, after that bombing. May your next job be for people that base their actions on situational awareness. May they also treat their employees fairly.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
The kind of company that would’ve gotten pissed off and complained to corporate if someone working in the World Trade Towers didn’t return their call on 9/11. And I can realistically imagine that actually happening. Can you tell I’ve worked with and for way too many out of touch assholes?
The Redhead 3 years ago
WTF. Were you supposed to go to a place with free wifi through Comcast to get your work done!
Summer Mason 3 years ago
Omg I almost lost my job over that too. I live in East TN. But it crashed my phone completely and I had no way to check my schedule on my phone. HR wouldn't respond to me and said I missed a day. Fk that job.
#21
When my 30 year old manager tried to kiss literally every girl that worked there other than 16 year old me. He just made gross comments about me almost being of age.
K Witmer 3 years ago
I had a manager when I was a bartender pull my shirt up in front of my coworkers at a meeting. A male coworker knocked him out. He tried to press charges but it was on video what he did to me plus witnesses. He tried to erase the video but the cook had already taken the tape. This was in 2005. The cops that came to arrest my coworker also arrested my manager. Neither one of them got in any trouble. The mgr was fired but had another job in a few days. A few years ago I came across him on linkedin I wrote on his page what he did bc he deserved it. He got away w sexually assaulting me and countless others It sucks but that's the reality. Men are rarely prosecuted for sexual assault and if they are it's rare they're found guilty even w witnesses and video. The pos was 20 yrs older than me too.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
That what's called sexual harassment in the Netherlands and one of the few reasons to get fired on the spot.
Tobias Rieper 3 years ago
hold up this post makes it seems like OP is saying it was toxic because the manager tried to kiss everyone but her maybe re word it a bit
#22
A male colleague was promoted above me. I was forced to attend a training he held that I had originally trained him how to do. My work wouldn’t make an exception for me, despite being the original department trainer. I was one of a couple females in my department and I never saw a promotion or raise, despite working there for five years. My male colleagues were typical stoners and got promotion/raises no problem.
Rick Hoppenbrouwer 3 years ago
I would love to shoot any boss when thinks their female employees are worth less then their mal counterpart
#23
When a boss told me to go to the port to bribe the officials there to release several containers of materials for the hotel we were building. I did not (and neither did that chickensh*t).
Tinykame 3 years ago
That's not how it works at all. You can't bribe port workers to release containers since they have zero jurisdiction on cargo being on hold hahaha
Uchman 3 years ago
You MOST DEFINITELY can depending on the country. In the corrupt country I grew up in, customs/port officers are all stupendously rich due to this.
Load More Replies... Nicholas Kindel 3 years ago
Do it! Show up at the port with your bosses info/business card and say "this guy wanted me to offer you money to release our containers, is this legal?." and watch the sparks fly
#24
Worked in a psych hospital for a couple of years. This is a (paraphrased) conversation that one of our nurses had with the doctor about a patient that kept assaulting other patients and staff. The doctor only physically came to the facility two or three times a week. He literally did not give a sh*t.
Nurse: "Hello, doctor? The incredibly violent patient that we've all been complaining about for weeks just sent two of our staff members to the hospital. Pretty sure one of them has a broken hip. Can you please discharge this guy so we can have the police pick him up?"
Doctor: "No. Just bring in more staff. If you call me and bother me about this again I will keep him in the facility even longer. And just for this phone call I'm cancelling my rounds for the day. You can now deal with ALL of the patients getting pissed off. Good luck, don't bother me again."
Nurse: "Cool. Thanks."
We were not equipped or staffed to handle patients like this guy. He should never have been admitted to our facility. This one just one such instance of this type of situation. The doctor would frequently admit patients like this that would stretch our staff to the absolute limit. The doctor knew and understood full well the impact it would have on the staff and he just. Did. Not. Care.
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Sorry, but you could go against the jerk and just walk out. It's not that nurses have a hard time finding a new job in undoubtedly better places.
Rijkærd 3 years ago
There is a story about how women in Iceland walked out of their jobs and homes and boycotted everything to get themselves heard on their demands...such a move would be sure to cripple all toxic workplaces...
Load More Replies...
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago
High risk patients bring in extra money that he was obviously pocketing while everyone else dealt with the fall out
Kristy Nelson 3 years ago
I hope he ended up in pretty serious trouble or at the very least lost his job!
#25
When my boss started looking at the store's cameras every night to knit-pick every little detail I did so she can get mad at me for it.
Caiman 94920 3 years ago
nit-pick...refers to picking the eggs of lice from one's body. Not knit as the craft with yarn
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
So your boss has enough time to watch videos of you working? Doesn’t your boss have any work of her own to do? Put an anonymous bug in the ear of your boss’ boss asking how she gets her own work done if she’s spending her entire work day watching hours of video from the store cameras—-or better, if you know she’s putting her name on work she passed to her employees (like you) to do for her, ask why non-management employees are forced to do management work, so the boss id free to watch store cam video all day, when they’re not being paid management salaries. Then watch your boss either leave (voluntarily or not), or suddenly stop watching videos and start actually doing her OWN work.
lazy panda 3 years ago
At my last job, my boss and her boss would take turns watching the cameras from 9-1 on Saturday mornings and would call and scream at us if someone was caught standing still too long. One kid got yelled at for laughing.
#26
One of my job's metrics for how our performance is graded by is "on time departure". We get so many points if we're within -10, -5, 0, 5 or 10 min from scheduled.
People try to cheat by tampering with the clocks and that's a punishable offense.
I was good at leaving early or on time most of the times. Got a call one day to warn me that I was under investigation because Ihad the most points in the company. They assumed that I was cheating, that's when I knew I had to go. I wasn't going to start being late to avoid repercussions
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Metrics either need to be tempered with the human element, or thrown out entirely. You cannot 100% depend on a machine to do Human Relations-type work. That’s HUMAN Rekations, not Metric Relations.
Vasana Phong 3 years ago
Reminds me when our Corp got bought out by a bigger one, all the newer hires would come in late all the time, the the new bosses noticed and put out a mass email that anyone up to 3 to get fired, even if the senior employees that’s been there almost twenty some years are not exempt if an emergency arouse, all because the new employees couldn’t care less in work ethics
#27
When our boss got into a screaming match with one of the managers (his daughter) in the middle of the office.
I'd just started there 3 weeks ago and it was absolutely mind boggling to watch. I looked around at my coworkers and everyone was just looking away, doing their best to stay quiet and not look at either of them. Person at the desk next to mine saw my shocked face and whispered "they do this a lot. Just ignore it."
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
MRK whispers “Look for a new job if you haven’t already started doing so”
#28
I had a job as an industrial engineer that I really liked for 6 years. The guy who made it toxic wasn't even my boss. He was the operations manager of the building where I was domiciled, but I didn't report to him. When he started, my boss told him I was there to help him out with anything he needed. Well, a couple weeks into him working there, "what he needed" was for me to cover a Sunday shift that started at 6 AM (the reason there was a need for a Sunday shift was because he attempted to handle almost twice the amount of volume that I told him was the max for a Saturday and it went as poorly as expected), and called at midnight to let me know. When I didn't pick up because I was at my own engagement party, he went ahead and told his boss and my boss that I had agreed to come in at 6 the next morning. It was one of the dumbest things I ever did when I actually cancelled all the plans I had with my family members who were in town and showed up. If I hadn't, there would have been about 50 employees waiting in the parking lot because nobody else had the keys, and people would have been pissed at me, but oh well. At the time, my bosses were putting me on software development projects and working on transitioning me into a software dev role, but within 6 months, I was supervising the operation from 9 AM to 9 PM M-F and 6 PM to 6 AM Saturday nights and I had been pulled from all my software projects. I quit to take a software engineering bootcamp and now I am a software engineer.
#29
Well, I wouldn't call it toxic exactly, everyone was polite enough, but I quit a job once when it became clear to me that the task at hand couldn't be delivered on time, and my management rejected the three alternative plans I presented. My immediate manager even told me words to the effect of "I agree that you're right, but I can't sell your plan to senior management", so I told him "then there's no point in me sticking around while this project craters", and handed him my badge.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago
Well, when you lie to upper management about how long it can REALISTICALLY take to properly finish a project—-something you should tell then you need to confer with your staff, who are the ones in the trenches actually DOING the work—-then you I still unrealistic expectations into them. You create the Frankenstein. It’s up to YOU to UNcreate that same Frankenstein by eating crow and admitting you underestimated the amount of time needed. Overestimate time and 1) upper management won’t even notice, and 2) you’re the hero when projects are finished ahead of time! Also, grow the f**k out and own your own mistakes. You are supposed to be the advocate for the employees you manage. Do that, and you won’t even need to advocate for yourself.
blankman 2 years ago
In a prior life we had a software package that we had to run about 90% of our operations thru (it was an insurance company so that was all premium and all claim information). And it sucked - it was not designed to handle the type of business we did. But we'd been saddled with it because another (very different) branch of our parent was also an insurance company and they had narrowed the options down to three possibles. Then they invited my Chief Accounting Officer to look at the three and see if he agreed with them as to which was best. He did - wasn't thrilled but really didn't have much say in the matter. So fast forward 2 years till I come on board - we're struggling to fit things into this package and I made a comment to the effect that this system is so bad we should just scrap it and adopt something else. After all, there are any number of turnkey products out there that would exactly fit our needs. The answer is, we can't because it would make us look very bad.
Random Anon 3 years ago
While I was employed quite a number of people hated my guts. Maybe it's because I'm not a "team player" but I just can't stand the politics and pettifoggery consuming all my time. In a similar situation, I got fed up took my idea over their heads to the project owners. Pitched it and sold it. If I effed up, they can have my resignation. I didn't eff up and become public enemy #1 to a bunch of overfed bottom heavy paper-pushers outsourcing their work every chance they get. That was more than a decade ago, they are now my client. Those leaching guys were VSS-ed and replaced by a team of younger, far more proactive people.
Rijkærd 3 years ago
Weird that they agree you're right then chicken out on their job which they definitely are not able to do without your input. Even the wording sounds off .." can't sell your plan to senior management..." sounds like a failure who covers up for their s**t to seniors by dragging their junior colleagues
Shelby Moonheart 3 years ago
Something like this happened to me. The PM wouldn't give me a schedule for a tack then he threw me under the bus with the client and I was fired. I am glad not to be in the environment anymore.
#30
My realization came late. I got laid off from a job with good pay and benefits, but I was dealing with long hours, high stress, a department with low morale, and a hands-off manager who seemed to care more about the company than me. Even though the place was toxic, I was sad to leave. I'd been there for years, and the job was in a field I know a lot about. A few days after the layoff, I attended an event not far from the building I worked in. When I saw the building, the first thought that popped into my head was, "I'm glad I don't have to go back there tomorrow!" Something somewhere, deep in my brain or my soul, had just told me that the job I'd just been fired from wasn't for me.
Kathryn Baylis 3 years ago (edited)
It’s amazing just how much your mood lifts when you quit and realize you DON’T have to go into that hellhole tomorrow. That your now ex-company can go f**k itself. Even sweeter a year later, when you drive by their building, and they’re no longer there. Because they’re out of business. You and anyone else who left are NOT at fault for that. The toxic management/owners did it to themselves by being a bunch of toxic m***********s. Good riddance to bad rubbish (them, not you).
#31
Usually I am very good at drawing a line between my private life and my work life. I work an office job (IT), so I know there are people in much worse conditions, but one morning I woke up to go to work and I started crying like a child who didn't want to go to school. First and last time this happened to me. I said f*ck it, went to work and quit. F*ck those guys, they actually made me scared of the work I love and doubt myself. F*ck them.
After I quit, I heard that 7 more people quit, so it wasn't just me who felt like that.
#32
Not me but my brother recently became a manager for a local moving company after working there for less than a year, his entire holiday bonus from the company was a $5 gift card to Starbucks.
Nicholas Kindel 3 years ago
Must be nice to get a bonus, even if it's a cup of coffee.. try working for 90% of the rest of the country and see if that gift card still sucks.
#33
When I was given a promotion without a raise, to a post that was not instead of but in addition to all my other tasks, and I already knew before I started it that there was zero chance I would be able to fulfill that new role at all because my manager would effectively block me at every turn. That role had already been held by a few other people for short periods time before they got fired, and I knew it was basically an ejecting seat. I guess I should have twigged sooner because of the overall turnover rate of employees, and the astonishing number of rage quits. I'm just really, really optimistic when I probably shouldn't be. Hell, the employees warning me not to take the job the day of my first interview should have been a red flag, but I appear to be quite a dunce that way.
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
Not still, right? You’ve learned what you need to do to keep this from recurring. Right? RIGHT?
Billy Peters 3 years ago
Started a job back in 1999 for a small family owned business. Within the first few days of being hired, a long-time employee told me to get out while I could. Should have listened to him. Stayed there about 10 years because I felt I wouldn't be able to get a job elsewhere. It was a fairly toxic workplace where the old man boss/owner thought he knew how to run a business and his son/owner was/is basically a fraud artist. The usual "my way or the highway" crap. The old man finally died and I took over his position. Had to go "hat in hand" to the son to ask for a raise commensurate with my position as they underpaid people. Anyways, I finally got out of there about 10 years ago. I still have the occasional nightmare about the place.
#34
Probably when people started to complain about the quality of the offshore work and the business's solution was to fire some people locally to save cost and still persist with the offshoring.
I'm desperate to leave. When your sole reason for offshoring is "cheap labor" you've f*cked up your company and reputation.
#35
Years ago, I had an IT job that required a review of the previous day's notes, but you were publicly shamed for misspelling a word, poor grammar, took too long troubleshooting, didn't ask enough questions, etc... etc... The day one of my friends quit because of an argument over grammar and management was happy for them to be gone really solidified that this might not be the place I wanted to work. I left not too long after that. Stress wasn't worth it.
#36
Long time ago, we had to process new hires. Everyone in leadership was male. Manager asked us to edit every single female internal CV to hide anything that could make them look "too smart" or "too dumb" to our parent company. So every female getting into the company just had an average CV.
#37
My work place requires us to be on a computer, but they started threatening to not pay us for all the hours/minutes the power goes out. For some reason it’s been going out a lot lately in our town (rural Canada) but like? I’m on my shift how are you not paying me to be here. At least send me home smh.
#38
When the admitted narcissist supervisor was hooking up with staff. When we were told the company had no money but upper management had new cars and vacations. When they accidentally sent out the profit sheets and showed that we were making buckets of money for the company but were told “it was a really bad year and you need to step up.”
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
Yeah, sounds like there's a white knight in accounting.
Load More Replies... 
#39
When I called out sick for 1 damn day and my boss called my home to make sure I was really sick. He didn’t even try to fudge it and ask if I was OK- just straight up said, “I’m calling to make sure you’re really home sick.”
Fat Harry 3 years ago
It's literally illegal in many countries and I've never experienced it in the UK.
Load More Replies...
#40
When my boss told me “if you got hit by a bus I’d replace you in an instant.” Took them 8 months to fill my position.
Dolly_of TheCowboy 3 years ago
Had a similar one to that. New boss after previous one retired. Previous boss had "hand picked" the new one. They were church friends so she was not aware of what a hellspawn they were other weekdays. New boss took an instant dislike to me and my staff because we were clinically competent (36 staff and the 4 team leaders) and decided because I made the job look easy they could do my job and theirs. Told me to my face if "all of you decided not to come in anymore we wouldn't even notice". Au contrare madam! She refused to renew my contract and threatened to quit if I was kept on so they let me go. Found out over the next 2 months they stopped rostering all my teams and outsourced everything to people new boss wanted in the jobs. They ended up having to hire 4 people to do my job when new boss found out just how much extra I did. They quit by 6 months into the job by just not turning up one Monday. By then my previous staff and myself were all working in other jobs elsewhere
#41
They fired a new father the day before Christmas eve because he missed a month of work due to his wife getting very sick after giving birth, he didn't try to get medical leave or anything because he was worried about his wife and taking care of his newborn. Second one was When I sat in on a leadership meeting, I worked at the time as almost a bridge between two sides of the company and all the leaders did was Gossip about their employees and talk about who they wished they could get rid of, and who annoyed them. One of them was a new leader and they were friends with these people a month ago. The meeting was about how to improve morale on the floor and the end result was a competition for a 25 gift card to the company store that is nothing but company apparel that no one wants anyway... it didn't work.
#42
When the line "You're only as good as your last mistake" popped into my head, and I realized that explained everything about how I was treated in that toxic office. It didn't matter how many things I did well, or effectively; one mistake and that's all anyone held on to. Also I was hazed my first year there and when I tried to ask about addressing some of the office culture the director shrugged and said "That's just the [name of college] way." Yes. This was a very prestigious higher ed institution.
#43
My boss yelling at me because a client let their dog pee in her office. Were they my client? No. Was I the receptionist? No, I worked in the back office. Was I the only person there? No, there were four other employees there. I'm am now at a much better firm and am no longer scared to see my boss walking around the office or calling my extension.
#45
In college I had a part time job at a big retailer selling appliances. They would generally have a promo of either 0% financing or free delivery, one or the other but not both. That being said, there was a workaround where we could still give people both, and multiple members of our management team told us that if that was the only way to get the sale to do it. 2 months later they fired half the department for doing what we were told to do. I quit right after that.
#46
I once got asked if a wanted a different position, away from coding, into project management. I said, okay, if you help me set it up and give some guidance. The next week I got a project, through a binder being placed on my desk and the words, this is your project, good luck. Before I could react, they were out the door. I had a hard time getting projects started, worked on common sense and some help from coworkers taking pity on me. I made a checklist for software deployments, for instance, but when I told in a rare department meeting that I made such a checklist, I was told sternly not to waste time on stuff I couldn’t charge customers with. After the confusing meeting, several coworkers asked me for a copy of the useful list... It still took me some 2 years of working 60+ hours a week, to make my way out the door. (And got a 65% raise starting the next job.)
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I’m so happy I’m now retired. Thank you for the reminder of just how sh.it.ty work can be!
#47
The moment my boss told me that I needed to come in early to check my emails but could not clock in for it. When I reminded her that the company settled a multi million dollar lawsuit for that same thing a few years before she started, she walked me to HR and fired me.
#48
When my supervisor berated me to tears, then told me to seek therapy if I couldn't handle it. And I'm honestly not one to easily cry. He was also the department head by the way and in every speech talked about "the [institute] family." Definitely learned to run the other direction if people use that phrase in a workplace.
#50
I had the privilege of working with one of the top most paid banking architects in the country at the time, I was very young and no one in the company believed that the project would succeed. So, when I showed up, the gentleman had one look at me and smiled and kinda mentored me along the way and we did finish the job successfully. He was well into his 60's and treated me like a kid. After the project was done, he had come to our office and l wasn't there, was out in a client meeting. He bought a bag of chocolates and specifically called to tell me that he's leaving it with my boss. My boss took the whole bag with him to his home and left two chocolates from the bag. I am still very disappointed about it. It's been 16 years since that happened.
Hayhaypaula 3 years ago
Should have personally called to thank the architect for the 2 chocolates! They were perfect!
#51
When one of the female coworkers tried to accuse a male coworker of being sexist because he didn’t invite her to a bar after work. (For context, this was during the NBA Finals, and she openly talked about how she thought sports were sexist and that women were just as strong/fast as men). Also, the guy was married and everyone who was invited was already a relatively close friend). What’s even crazier is that a few days later the female coworker threatened the male coworker by telling him that she was going to get her boyfriend to “teach him a lesson” (her boyfriend was a former college football player). The male coworker then reported her to management, but she was only given a “disciplinary warning”
cybermerlin2000 3 years ago
I would have reported the threat to the police just so that I have a record of it happening. CYA people!
Caroline Nagel 3 years ago
It is high time women stop thinking they are the incarnation of the virgin Mary. We are not.
#52
My country went into a full lockdown march 2020 because of corona. So the restaurant I worked at had to close temporarily. However, my boss decided to open up again in May, but I was still temporarily laid off. Asked why and was told they needed me as a backup as they are finding someone better to replace me. I decided to quit in the moment. Got a text from my boss that I was the worst person he had ever met
#53
When the new big boss came in and started berating people in front of each other and finding faults with performance when there wasn't any. Some people are just nasty. Insanely high turn over in the four years I was there. Like to the point you actually forget people you worked with
#54
When my adult son died suddenly, my husband called my principal to ask her how to get a red cross flight home (i am overseas). She told him, "everything you need is on the common drive". The common drive is at my work and my husband cant access it.
#55
When our regional manager went on multiple rants over various zoom calls about how grateful we all needed to be for head office keeping us on the payroll while the COVID shutdown was raging. While I was grateful to have a job (many of my friends lost theirs), it was also insanely stressful as we all had much more work, with fewer resources and staff, trying to meet pre-COVID metrics, with many of us trying to juggle childcare while working from home. She went on like our company was running some kind of charity keeping us employed while we were all burning out and working insane hours to stay afloat.
Irishwoman abroad 3 years ago
Covid seems to have brought out either the best or the worst in most people.
Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
And in the systems of government and business.
Load More Replies... #56
When they didn’t pay us and the excuse was ‘oh yeah that’s cos you won’t be working here anymore’
#57
My wife works at a deli that mostly employs people that are either in high school or older retired people that are just bored and want something to do. The disparity of maturity creates a lot of workplace drama. I kid you not, there is some 18-year-old girl who works there with her mother, and if you cross this chick she will tell her mom. My wife is also starting to get chewed out for things that her manager forgot to do like ordering food
#58
in the middle of my evaluation, while being reprimanded for using my cellphone on the floor too much (my kid call me a lot) - my supervisor excused herself cause her son was calling her cell phone.... I was also told in a different evaluation that I shouldn't use my vacation time in the summer if 'i know [kid] will likely be sick in the fall' - I had called in 2 days in a row after he came down with pneumonia one year
Caroline Nagel 3 years ago
I had a manager who forbade a colleague to stay at home with hervsick son, Not long after she (the manager) went to our boss to cry when her daughter got her first period and she went home. She was a first class nasty b*tch.
#59
I worked at a bakery and I absolutely loved my job. When I couldn’t go to sleep because I was dreading going into work and then once I finally managed to go to sleep I’d wake with feeling nauseated and wanting to vomit. That saying people don’t leave bad jobs they just leave bad management (something like that). That was 100% true for me.
Samantha Hurrell 3 years ago (edited)
I put up with a bad manager for around 2 years (my colleagues kept me going), when I tried to leave and she found out she would put me down. She held getting a better contract over my head, offered me it, then was transferred before she should give me it. Turned out she was a thief and going to a smaller store made it easier to notice.
Amanda Hunter 3 years ago
The toxicity at my work made me sick, I almost died and didn't recover for 13 months.
#60
When I overheard the president of the company interviewing a candidate and saying, "we're like family here"... without also saying, "I'm the son of the owner of the company."
L hill 3 years ago
Worked for a.family owned restaurant. They said there was going to be a restaurant anniversary party. We all showed up for a party BUT found out right there we were going to be serving the family for their party. Imagine all the angry, embarrassed employees expecting to be part of the celebration only to be told to work. Sure we.got paid, but dang, we were treated like servants. Opened our eyes real quick.
#61
The boss took someone into the office. A coworker grabbed a glass that they had hidden near the office, and put it up to the door to listen.
#62
When i told her something in private (the reason i didn't feel well in the weekend) and she kept repeating it in while other people were around..
#63
When I realized no one was happy working there. No one.
#64
The moment I realized I didn’t fit in. I was too “poor” to be with the privileged, educated workers. But not poor or trashy enough to be with the other workers. Both groups made sure to treat me like crap. I still belong no where.
What do you think ?
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
"No one wants to work anymore!" Wrong. No one wants to be underpaid and treated like crap anymore.
AnnaBanana 3 years ago
The day I ended up in a mental health unit (involuntarily) and then had a complete breakdown because of a bullying boss. I sued them and won. But it still cost me about 18 months of my life where I couldn't work, a job that I had been at for more than 7 years and loved, plus adding more drugs to my medication routine that I still have to take now, even 4 years down the track. Bullying is no joke when you can't fight back - I worked for the bully as his EA. I will never put myself in that position again. At the first inkling I have of bullying, I am OUT OF THERE!
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I didn’t know I could be made even happier about being retired, but this sure did the trick!
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
I've posted this before but I was fired from an incredibly sexist work environment because I went to HR to report a coworker who was sexually assaulting me. I was also fired from my job at a hospital because, despite commuting a five hour round trip a day to get there, while simultaneously battling a mystery illness that caused me to lose four stone in a month, regularly pass out at work, go to A&E, be put on a drip for a while and on a few occasions needed to have blood transfusions, then go straight back to work to finish my 12 hour shift and had to start using a walking stick to get around, I couldn't tell them exactly when I'd stop being ill. Oh and they fired me at 4pm on Christmas Eve.
Nichola Drigout 3 years ago
My boss told me I was too senstive - this was when my husband had had a brain tumour, then had a stroke was in a coma the doctors told me he wouldn't make it. When he did wake up he was paralysed on one side, he was on hospital for nearly six months. Yea well those kind of things can make you a little senstive!
TrickQuestion 3 years ago
Kept hemorrhaging people in my department, including moving them to other areas (that were also losing people right and left) with zero replacements. Went from 5 people down to 2 with an increasing workload. I'd skip breaks and put off taking lunch until the next shift got there just to support the other guy I was working with. Turns out management got bigger bonuses if they keep labor costs low.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
I'll have many stories, some I've already told. One of my jobs was at a home goods store, I enjoyed this job and rose in ranks very quickly, was told many times that me being on shift was beneficial due to my selling skills and abilities to memorize and finish tasks in record time. When a new manager was transferred in, we instantly butted heads. She didn't like me, I didn't like her. But I had my promotion, I wasn't doing anything that could get me fired and as added protection I often quoted provincial labor laws. One day during Christmas I was helping an older woman on the phone, she didn't want to venture out into the cold and snow and holiday shoppers and decided it was time to learn how to order online. I was walking her through the entire process and was probably on the phone for 15 minutes, but with plenty of staff, I wasn't worried. She stood beside me the entire time, ignoring calls for a manager while I was on the phone.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
By the time I was done, her first words were, "why didn't you ask her to come to the store so we could claim that sale?" My jaw dropped. She heard the whole conversation, she knew what was happening, and sales meant more to her than the well-being of a human life. In that moment, I knew I was done, I couldn't continue to work with her.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
On my first day as a short order cook at a restaurant across from U of NM I dropped a burger on the dirty floor and the manager, picked it up and threw it on the grill saying, "The heat will kill anything on it." I took off my apron and handed it to him and walked out. A few weeks later the place was condemned and permanently shuttered by the health department. (I didn't call them)
AshaTheCatLady26 3 years ago
How about working for a VP for 12 years? When company was sold, VP asked me specifically to leave old company (that I no longer enjoyed under the new owners) and come work for her...Which was great... For about a year... I was REALLY sick & the docs couldn't figure out what was wrong. While at Drs appts,, VP went through my PERSONAL messenger messages, where I talked to a trusted co-worker about how I was absolutely scared shitless of VP.. I learned to gauge her mood as she came into work & did my utmost to focus on work/avoid her, because she was TERRIFYING..Even the smallest mistake/misfile got me screamed/sworn at/berated. Then she took it to another level by telling me that I should use FMLA to get healthy. 3 months off sounded great! Except she never gave me FMLA paperwork & I didn't know better, so, when I was ready to return, she told me my position was now part-time w/NO BENEFITS, including medical! Totally ef'd me over. (I spent every day of those 3 months in the hospital!)
Nikki Sevven 3 years ago
"No one wants to work anymore!" Wrong. No one wants to be underpaid and treated like crap anymore.
AnnaBanana 3 years ago
The day I ended up in a mental health unit (involuntarily) and then had a complete breakdown because of a bullying boss. I sued them and won. But it still cost me about 18 months of my life where I couldn't work, a job that I had been at for more than 7 years and loved, plus adding more drugs to my medication routine that I still have to take now, even 4 years down the track. Bullying is no joke when you can't fight back - I worked for the bully as his EA. I will never put myself in that position again. At the first inkling I have of bullying, I am OUT OF THERE!
Mary Rose Kent 3 years ago
I didn’t know I could be made even happier about being retired, but this sure did the trick!
Sinkvenice 3 years ago
I've posted this before but I was fired from an incredibly sexist work environment because I went to HR to report a coworker who was sexually assaulting me. I was also fired from my job at a hospital because, despite commuting a five hour round trip a day to get there, while simultaneously battling a mystery illness that caused me to lose four stone in a month, regularly pass out at work, go to A&E, be put on a drip for a while and on a few occasions needed to have blood transfusions, then go straight back to work to finish my 12 hour shift and had to start using a walking stick to get around, I couldn't tell them exactly when I'd stop being ill. Oh and they fired me at 4pm on Christmas Eve.
Nichola Drigout 3 years ago
My boss told me I was too senstive - this was when my husband had had a brain tumour, then had a stroke was in a coma the doctors told me he wouldn't make it. When he did wake up he was paralysed on one side, he was on hospital for nearly six months. Yea well those kind of things can make you a little senstive!
TrickQuestion 3 years ago
Kept hemorrhaging people in my department, including moving them to other areas (that were also losing people right and left) with zero replacements. Went from 5 people down to 2 with an increasing workload. I'd skip breaks and put off taking lunch until the next shift got there just to support the other guy I was working with. Turns out management got bigger bonuses if they keep labor costs low.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
I'll have many stories, some I've already told. One of my jobs was at a home goods store, I enjoyed this job and rose in ranks very quickly, was told many times that me being on shift was beneficial due to my selling skills and abilities to memorize and finish tasks in record time. When a new manager was transferred in, we instantly butted heads. She didn't like me, I didn't like her. But I had my promotion, I wasn't doing anything that could get me fired and as added protection I often quoted provincial labor laws. One day during Christmas I was helping an older woman on the phone, she didn't want to venture out into the cold and snow and holiday shoppers and decided it was time to learn how to order online. I was walking her through the entire process and was probably on the phone for 15 minutes, but with plenty of staff, I wasn't worried. She stood beside me the entire time, ignoring calls for a manager while I was on the phone.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
By the time I was done, her first words were, "why didn't you ask her to come to the store so we could claim that sale?" My jaw dropped. She heard the whole conversation, she knew what was happening, and sales meant more to her than the well-being of a human life. In that moment, I knew I was done, I couldn't continue to work with her.
Load More Replies... Stannous Flouride 3 years ago
On my first day as a short order cook at a restaurant across from U of NM I dropped a burger on the dirty floor and the manager, picked it up and threw it on the grill saying, "The heat will kill anything on it." I took off my apron and handed it to him and walked out. A few weeks later the place was condemned and permanently shuttered by the health department. (I didn't call them)
AshaTheCatLady26 3 years ago
How about working for a VP for 12 years? When company was sold, VP asked me specifically to leave old company (that I no longer enjoyed under the new owners) and come work for her...Which was great... For about a year... I was REALLY sick & the docs couldn't figure out what was wrong. While at Drs appts,, VP went through my PERSONAL messenger messages, where I talked to a trusted co-worker about how I was absolutely scared shitless of VP.. I learned to gauge her mood as she came into work & did my utmost to focus on work/avoid her, because she was TERRIFYING..Even the smallest mistake/misfile got me screamed/sworn at/berated. Then she took it to another level by telling me that I should use FMLA to get healthy. 3 months off sounded great! Except she never gave me FMLA paperwork & I didn't know better, so, when I was ready to return, she told me my position was now part-time w/NO BENEFITS, including medical! Totally ef'd me over. (I spent every day of those 3 months in the hospital!)
Related on Bored Panda
