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From the very moment we're born, we have to deal with authority in one way or another. Parents, teachers, bosses, and other figures with power over us keep telling us what to do and how to think, and at times, what they say isn't even reasonable. Their words can be outdated, insulting, and just plain wrong. So, when a Reddit user asked everyone on the platform to share the worst things they've heard from someone "above" them, people responded with a lot of memorable stories.
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#1
In 5th grade, I complained to a teacher about being bullied. She told me, “You’d make more friends if you got your nose out of that book every once in a while.” Ah yes, let’s discourage that nasty reading habit so that the mean girls will treat me better.
HardBoiledBlonde 7 months ago
In my 6th grade class (US) we had a weekly home room reading hour. We were told we could read whatever we wanted to read, we just needed to read and be quiet. The teacher was a priss and vehemently objected to the book I was reading - it was too mature for me blah, blah blah, he would not allow it and he took my book away and gave me a letter to take home to my mother detailing the aforementioned. I gave the letter to my mother and she wrote a lengthy response cc'ing the principal basically saying I could read whatever book I wanted and if the school tried to stop me she would get an attorney involved. One of the few times my mother did right for me. I spent 2 months in 7th grade then I was in 8th grade due to my test scores. I would be nothing if it wasn't for books then and to date.
Kat Alison 7 months ago
If other people are going to be asshòles, I’d rather read than hang out.
Sadie Enward 7 months ago
The guidance counselor told me this when I was the new kid. If I wanted to hear anything he had to say, he wouldn't have been a guidance counselor
Drew Jackson 3 months ago
Some people are going to be mean no matter what. I would rather read a good book than try to please obviously mean people.
Craig Reynolds 3 months ago
So, don't worry about your education as long as you fit in socially! Okay, got it. I hope your family is wealthy...
Deta Rossiter 7 months ago
my stepmother purposefully hid my books away to prevent me from reading while she was driving. Yet while she was driving we were not allowed to talk
Of course, whether we respect or ridicule someone with power over us is influenced by more than just a single phrase they said. Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book." She says that a variety of factors contribute to this decision, including:
- Personal characteristics. Certain personality traits, including conscientiousness and agreeableness, have been linked to greater obedience to authority.
- Psychological distance. You may be more likely to obey an authority if the effects of your obedience feel distant, abstract, or unconnected to your life.
- Ambiguity or lack of information. In ambiguous situations, a person may be more likely to obey someone who seems to have more information than they do.
- Fear of consequences. Obedience often follows people's fears of the consequences of disobedience. Children often obey partners or teachers, for instance, because they fear punishment or losing privileges if they disobey.
RELATED:
#2
Boss was observing me one day while I was busy working and said, ‘So I pay you all this money just to push a few buttons’.
He was referring to my keyboard, so I fired back, ‘Yes, but it’s knowing which keys to press and when that’s important’….👍.
Nathan Lewis 7 months ago (edited)
I had a boss like that, but it wasn't buttons, it was changing obsolete solar panel clamp screws. thousands of them. by hand. still got fired.
Seadog 6 months ago
I like when bosses like that fire someone doing something important and then because it didn't get done, something happens, something catastrophic and then higher ups start investigating why the person assigned the fix didn't do it.
Load More Replies... HardBoiledBlonde 7 months ago
I had a VP ask me once what I did all day. I replied that I was trying to come up with an easier way to get my foot up on my desk so that I could paint my toenails. Shut him up real quick and he never bothered me with such nonsense again.
Scott Rackley 7 months ago
"You don't pay me to turn a wrench. You pay me to know when to use the wrench, how much, which wrench, when to stop using the wrench, and the consequences of doing so. In addition, they're my wrenches."
Celtic Pirate Queen 3 months ago
OMG - I was a professional bookkeeper. The company owner wanted a particular report. I told him the accounting program we were using wouldn't create that - but, I could export the data into Excel and create it that way, but it would take a few hours. He INSISTED the program could do it. We argued for a bit and I finally just pushed away from my desk and said, "Alright, f*cking show me". Well, he obviously didn't know how so he called our CPA - who explained to him that I was absolutely right and our accounting software didn't have the parameters to create such a report. He never even bothered to apologize. F*cking d(ck.
Deep One 6 months ago
I was I.T. and mechanical design and drafting and he told me I didn't bring in any money to the company. That I was just a bit jockey and overhead. Joke's on him. I quit and now the company is barely holding on. They had to lay off 1/2 the assemblers and the rest of the company is down to 32 hours a week.
#3
The assignment was to circle or underline any words we didn't know from a two or three paragraph short story (6th grade). I read the story, then approached the teacher's desk and said that I understood everything. She told me it was impossible and to go try again.
I'm in my thirties now and this still makes my blood boil.
Jan Goodman 7 months ago
Years ago in primary school, the class had to go to swimming lessons once a week for four weeks. I was 10yo and scared of water so despite getting changed into my swimming togs, I never even got them wet. My teacher walked past me sitting on the concrete poolside, leaned down and told me that if I didn't get into the pool, he would push me in and hold my head underwater. He terrified me and I still didn't get into the water. I'm now taking swimming lessons from a wonderful teacher who is also teaching my grandchildren to swim. I'm 71 years old and I'm finally saying "up yours" to my grade 6 teacher?
HardBoiledBlonde 7 months ago
I got caca like this all the time. Thankfully, the good teachers made up for the bad because they embraced my precociousness.
Seadog 6 months ago
I hate people in general that think because they have a higher position in a business they automatically know more than everyone below them. There are a lot of people at the bottom of the ladder that could actually run the company better but they don't want to move or want the headaches that go with the job. I've put more than one DM and RVP in their place.
It can be difficult to openly call out the ridiculous things people "above" us say. However, John P. Schuster, who is an executive focusing on leadership and human development, says we, as individuals, "need to practice intelligent disobedience at the right time in a technocratic society when rules, often stupid and damaging rules, abound."
"Many of us have had the thought that some of our fruitful developmental experiences came our way when we disobeyed the authority figures around us—'put down that guitar, don’t date that type of girl,' and so on. Not all of them of course, as we also on occasion paid a heavy price for disobedient moves. But some of our moves in the opposite direction of obeying were truly the “right” things to do," explains Schuster, author of The Power of Your Past: The Art of Recalling, Reclaiming, and Recasting and Answering Your Call: A Guide for Living Your Deepest Purpose.
#4
"I don't give full stars because you can always improve". I replied, "then it never matters how hard I work for you, because you just said it doesn't matter".
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
"So, you gave me a 3(out of 5) on attendance..I have never called in sick, worked when called in at the last minute, and I get a 3"?.."Oh..ok, I'll give you a 4". Beginning of the end of my time there.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
I received a B+ on my first essay freshman year of high school. The teacher told me "No one gets an A on their first essay in my class." We did not become friends.
Damned_Cat 7 months ago
I had a manager that made it her policy to never give anything but a "Meets Expectations" rating for the first five years of employment. Her reasoning was that if you rate someone "Excellent" they have no motivation to do better. Another manager in the same office would give newer employees a "Needs Improvement" rating because they were new and had a lot to learn about the finer points of the job (even when the employee was progressing very well.) The result? People left before 5 years because they didn't feel their effort was appreciated.
Seadog 6 months ago
This always the case when it comes to attitude on a review. You know what, everyone has an attitude and it's going to vary and it's never going to suit the management. It's just a tool for them to use to deny you the raise you deserve. Always gets me they talk all year long and during the review how great I am blah blah blah and then ding me for attitude. Maybe if you didn't play games with my review and maybe if you would get me an assistant (since I was hired to be part of a 2 man job) my attitude would be better. (the guy I was working with quit in 2014 because he had to move for the wife's job)
#5
My boss told me “you need to dress more appropriately, I’m sure Male colleague one and male colleague two appreciate it but I don’t.”
I was 29, she was nearly 50 and I was wearing regular shirts to work, absolute basic office wear. I came home and cried for hours because I couldn’t afford to buy new clothes and I didn’t understand why she’d said it as you couldn’t even see a bit of cleavage (and I didn’t even HAVE cleavage to talk about then)
I went to HR the next day and told them what she’d said. I remember the HR lady going “WHAT?!” and her eyebrows almost disappearing into her hairline. Within a week was moved from her dept. She then told everyone I’d accused her of being a bully so she’d had me moved (lies) and was a complete b***h to my replacement too.
14 years ago and it still makes me mad she thought it was an acceptable thing to say to me.
Rosecat 6 months ago
She was just jealous. In highschool I had a teacher yell at me in front of everyone during recess that my pants weren't appropriate as you could see my underwear (I hadn't even noticed my pants were falling, and I was very embarrassed. She could have pulled me aside to privately explain the situation). I told her "If you have my body you can dress like that too". She was fuming.
#6
I once got told I was not allowed to drink water in class. Their reason “because then I would have to let everyone do it”.
Yea you should let everyone do it.
Melissa Schadl 7 months ago
I would NEVER forbid a grown person to take a sip of water during work. If there is a meeting, there is water and coffee. Why should a child be not allowed to drink some water?
Dawn Woolley 7 months ago
My goodness! How did we ever survive school back in the 50s and 60s?
ILoveMySon 7 months ago
70s and 80s as well. I remember well standing in line at the water fountain.
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Huddo's sister 7 months ago
When you live in Australia, they have to let you bring water in, or give you time to go to the drink taps, especially in summer. A lot of people will bring in frozen water bottles, but you have to have a tea towel around it so you don't get condensation on your desk or work.
Amanda Reinstatler 6 months ago
Some people will do ANYTHING that makes them feel like they are in charge. F@ckin stupid
Daniele Stewart 6 months ago
I worked at walmart and u couldn't have water with u on the floor without a Dr note. When I got pregnant I asked my dr for thus note and she was shocked at this rule.
According to Schuster, decades after the Milgram and Stanford prison studies, it's no surprise that social conditions can reshape our moral stances and personal dispositions.
Bad actors can manipulate even the values we see as foundational to society. The dark side is never far off—so it's crucial to pay attention to the nonsense that comes out of other people's mouths, especially from those “above” us.
#7
"Don't write it down!"
My boss, after yelling/demanding to know why I was submitting 2 hrs of OT every week for over a month.
I was having to stay late *every* day past my shift (more than 2 hours weekly) because my coworker was at *least* 15 minutes late to work every day and I wasn't supposed to leave until they showed up. Rather than tell my coworker to come in on time, he opted for me just working and not getting paid OT.
I told him, "No problem." From that day on, I simply left on time regardless of what was happening. A month of that, and suddenly, my boss found a way to tell my coworker to get their a*s in on time so shifts were completely covered.
Jan Moore 7 months ago
My husband broke both arms in Nov. and after on FLA I made it back to work. I explained to her that I needed to give my end of day report first and then leave as he had PT at 3:45 pm and it took almost 30-35 minutes to get home, then 20 minutes to his appointment. I gave my report and walked out the door. she said I could not leave until 3:00 on the clock, she said she was responsible for my presents until 3:pm and other B*ll feces. she is number 1 responsible for my mental/emotionally break down 4 years later.
#8
When I was about 20, I told my line manager that I'd like to go for a promotion opportunity I'd been made aware of but would mean moving to a different office. There was at the time no way to "apply" for promotions, and they didn't involve interviews. If they wanted you, they promoted you, or moved you sideways, but you'd generally always make a "soft" declaration of whether you were interested or not.
He answered me in a rather blasé manner to say there's no point, because he'd already spoken to the area director, and that I would be staying put for the time being. I asked why, and he answered "because I need you here"
I was getting to the point where I was more able to stand up for myself, and I asked him if he "really had" blocked a promotion for me, just because it suited him?
I went over his head and was promoted within a couple of weeks.
Sven Horlemann 6 months ago
I learned the hard way that, if you are doing a really good job, the boss / team lead has no incentive to have you promoted. Because "if you leave I need 2 full time employees to do your work and we do not have that money". Aah. Got it, thx.
4nmgk7597x 6 months ago
Ask A Manager has a response to this. If you block a team member from leaving in a way which allows the organisation to keep them, they'll leave in a way you can't block and which will cause the organisation to lose them.
Load More Replies... #9
My boss, whose mother tongue was not English, told me that my written English was poor. (I am a native English speaker.) I asked him what he meant and he was not able to explain or give examples. He had this pleasant habit of correcting me when I was right. For example, one time, in a team meeting, I used the phrase “beck and call”. He interrupted me and said “It’s ‘beckon call’”.
Tom Hutcherson 5 months ago
The correct spelling is "beck and call", not "beckon call." The phrase "at someone's beck and call" means to be ready to follow their commands, to be at their service, or to be available whenever needed. "Beck" is a shortened form of "beckon," which means to signal or summon, often with a wave or nod.
Amanda Reinstatler 6 months ago
Nope its if you dont know WTF youre talking about -- just STFU
#10
4th grade art teacher. "No blue wolves, no Pokemon, no comics. Just make normal art or I'm going to fail you."
Art class was supposed to be where I could have fun learning. She made sure I understood that was not the case. I still struggle to do anything my brain can tie to the word "art" more than twenty years later because I genuinely gave up after her class.
Kim Kermes 7 months ago
Reminds me of my sewing teacher: you're not supposed to enjoy sewing and if it's not perfect it's no good. No wonder the home sewing industry tanked in the 70s.
Damned_Cat 7 months ago (edited)
I remember at about that age, our teacher wanted us to draw our families. One girl drew herself, her little sister and their mom. The teacher reminded her that she forgot to draw her dad. She explained that she didn't have a dad, but the teacher said it didn't matter, she still needed to draw a dad because otherwise the picture would be wrong. What?!?
ILoveMySon 7 months ago
Wow. My father passed away when I was young and all of my teachers were extremely supportive. Poor girl.😥
Load More Replies... R.C. 7 months ago
I had an art teacher kind of like this in grade 6. She had her favorites in the class and if you weren't one of them you never got anything higher than a C. Didn't take me long to figure this out. We always had to submit a sketch at the start of each class. In the beginning I really worked at my sketches and was proud of them. Always got a C. Once I figured out there would be no improving because I wasn't one of her favorites I started doing my sketches in the 10 minutes I had between classes. Guess what? I still got a C. I've hated doing anything artsy ever since that teacher (and I'm in my 40's now).
Luke Branwen 7 months ago (edited)
I'd draw Digimon then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Just not Garurumon because that's a blue wolf)
Brian Droste 7 months ago
It is so sad when teachers suppress creativity. Especially when young like this. Teachers should encourage creativity.
Plant Wizard 6 months ago
Our art teacher would dump a potted coleus plant in front of us and say 'draw that". If you could not do a good job he failed you. It was decades before I realized there were other forms of art and it could be used to express yourself.
#11
I was in 6th grade, and my math teacher put an advanced problem on the board. She said whoever was the first to do it correctly and show their work wouldn't have to do homework for a week. I hated homework and jumped on this opportunity.
I finished the problem and brought it up to her desk. She checked it out and told me, "you got the correct answer, but you did your work our horizontally instead of vertically. It's supposed to be vertical, so I can't give you the homework pass.".
Little Bit 7 months ago
My mother would do this sort of thing to me all the time, give me some kind of task or challenge with the promise of a reward and then move the goalposts when I had done exactly what she originally asked to the letter.
Seadog 6 months ago
She was preparing you for working at O'Reilly Auto. They have person goals if met gets you a bonus. The catch is if you get within 5k of that sales goal, they raise your goal 10K. Had mine raised 3 times in 3 years.
Load More Replies... Scott Rackley 7 months ago
I always hated showing my work in math. You know who doesn't ask me to show my work? Every boss I've ever had. Seems they just wanted the correct answer.
Lily bloom 7 months ago
My kids (10-22) have been taught common core math. I simply can't with their homework. I get that everyone learns/understands/processes differently so appreciate introducing various mathods to solving equations. That said, requiring showing the work in a specific (dare i say, overcomplicated/convoluted) way or not receive credit even if correct is just nuts
Load More Replies... tori Ohno 7 months ago
If you get the correct answer, who cares how you wrote it out. I had this problem once. The "new" math was written down differently than the "old" math, but the end result was the same. Both answers were correct. I didn't understand the new version, so my mom taught me the old version. I aced all of my assignments. The teacher tried to flunk me because I wrote them wrong. He got put in his place by the school board and passed me because the curriculum says nothing about how it's written, only that the answers are correct. I hated that teacher. 40+ years ago and I still remember his hateful, ugly face.
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
One time, I made a special effort playing rugby. I ran like the wind and arrived in time to make the tackle. The teacher/referee said "You must have been offside, I didn't see you but you can't run that fast" and gave a penalty against me. I never made that mistake again.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Bad teaching methodology. Math homework is not something to be gotten out of. It's supposed to be intriguing and enjoyable enough to stretch you mind. The prize should have been some interesting special exercises to replace the ordinary homework.
nicholas nolan 7 months ago
Oh, please. Math homework sucks. I'm naval nuclear engineering good at math, so don't come at me here about "hating it because I suck at it", either.
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Jan Moore 6 months ago
Why are there people like that? I'm an Army brat and every time we changed assignments and I got to a different school, they did the math different, Army school we'd do New Math, civilian school-old math. We moved to Fort Hood and I went to a civilian school. They took me to my math class and the teacher gave me the book and said, start on this page and when you get to the end of the chapter come to my desk and I'll give you the test. She was also the Art teacher & would do art stuff and was very not fond about math questions.I was not a self starter, so I would go the the little store at lunch, get my Hostess cup cake and a comic book and read it during class time, tucked inside my both. Can we all say what my final grade was. We had moved from VA to TX in the middle of class.
#12
"You have the potential to be a good nurse". After being a combat medic, paramedic and now a nurse for 8 years. Get out.
superfluous 7 months ago
Sorry to get hung up on this, but where does it indicate OP is a woman? Is it because of the picture?
SweetCheesySpaghetti 7 months ago
Probably. That, or the stereotype that nurses are all women.
Load More Replies... Susie Elle 7 months ago
She already WAS a nurse and medic, so saying something like that is very demeaning
Load More Replies... #13
"look for stuff, but not too hard"
We were in-house environmental officers for an engineering company doing environmental impact assessments to make sure building projects weren't going to be damaging to local wildlife etc.
I found out that the construction company had destroyed a whole Badger set and "accidentally" k****d a few of the animals in the process. Highly illegal here.
Pferdchen 7 months ago
I've been trying to recall a quote and who said it. It was along the lines of "Self-regulation is the naive belief that there isn't any act that is so vile that there isn't a despicable person out there who will do it if it makes them a dollar." Any help pinning this down would be much appreciated!
Seadog 6 months ago (edited)
Oh, so that's where the power companies got their business model from. There is no state or federal agency that certifies power meters, it's solely up to the utility company to make sure they're accurate, Therefore, they adjust them to read whatever they desire. I now use 1/2 the KWH I used to and my bill dropped for 3 months then went right back up. Proof they adjust the meters to read inaccurately. AEP is you're interested.
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Phae Thompson 3 months ago
My husband used to do commercial electrical work and the GC's (General contractors) would always tell them to "just make it look pretty".
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
This reminds me of all the dead koalas found on an agricultural area in Australia- only noticed but a person walking by, company's boss claimed they hadn't done it, though it was obvious they had.
MonsterMum 7 months ago
Terrible picture, she doesn't know how to measure. Soft trainers and a hard hat!
urbeinghunted 25 7 months ago
Terrible knowledge, you don't know how to identify BP pictures from real ones. Soft intelligence and hard critique.
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#14
My dad recommended taking my own life to me when I was a young teenager. I wasn’t infuriated at the moment, but as I processed the gravity of it, over time, it became infuriating.
Depressed Lesbian(she/they/he) 6 months ago
I almost did that. It was hell on earth. I’d never wish what I went through in my worst enemy, let alone my own child. My blood is boiling and I’m streaming mad.
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Dirk Daring 7 months ago
I think your old man and my old man should get together and go bowling.
Broad Panda 7 months ago
In a couple of weeks I'm seeing Breakfast Club on the big screen for the first time. So excited.
Load More Replies... Robin Roper 7 months ago
I don't think infuriating is the correct word to use. There has to be a word stronger than this.
Nicole Weymann 7 months ago
I understand the impulse, but seeing as m u r d e r is frowned upon by society I'd rather recommend the "walk away and never look back" approach. That scum is not worth going to jail for.
Load More Replies... #15
Wrote a paper for an essay during my first year of undergrad; professor tells me "bad argument, unsubstantiated," and marks me down.
Next lesson, he quotes my essay, word-for-word, and says he "came up with it" when "reading his material." I left that class, and never watched the recordings/attended in person. I passed, yes (got the Aussie equivalent of an A), and I just found out he's done this to other students/did it to other students.
We complained, but "you're only students,
you don't know anything." F**k you, Mr A.
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Professors plagiarising off students is, unfortunately, a meme in research. Choose your teachers with care.
urbeinghunted 25 7 months ago
He does this cuz he's not smart enough/too lazy to come up with one himself
#16
A very long time ago I had a manager say in a meeting that everyone needed to stop acting so selfish because "nobody here is irreplaceable. Get some perspective." Then a bit later he was replaced for sleeping with a teenager.
I still get a good laugh every time I remember it.
Luke Branwen 7 months ago
Everyone is replaceable at work, but nobody is replaceable at home. Reject the hustle, peeps.
#17
"What of thos tasks has the highest priority?"
"Everything has the highest priority."
Well great that means *nothing has* and I get to choose by what task I feel like doing right now, got it.
No, I don't have that ticket done yet, I was working on another high priority task, remember?
Strings 7 months ago
Played that game several years ago. Boss was NOT happy when I forced him to create an actual priority list for tasks
Only Me 6 months ago
Great technical skills doesn't always = great managment skills. Learning to manage takes time.
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 6 months ago
"Do them both first" or, "You should have done this one already". Too many managers actually don't know the meaning of 'priority'.
#18
“You’re acting like a d**g a****t” coming from my parents who put me on narcotics at 9 years old because I was an inconvenience.
Yes, I am acting like a child on m**h, because I’m a child…on m**h. Turns out amphetamines don’t cure ASD1.
Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
ASD1? As in autism? The idea that "aUtIsM nEeDs To Be CuReD" is MAGA dung
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Maybe labelling a poor 'solution' to a difficult situation with a political label, isn't very helpful.
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Jan Goodman 7 months ago
I'm wondering what age the story is about. I have a son with autism and I was advised to medicate him at around 9 or 10. He wasn't an "inconvenience" but our family was falling apart because of the rages that he experienced. He's 39yo now and I couldn't be more proud of him. When he was born, he didn't come with an instruction manual... he is my middle child and I didn't know how to raise him. I'm sure I made a lot of mistakes but it's a bit harsh blaming bad parenting.
Niamh_ie 3 months ago
While that is true in your case. There's no way that giving your child męth isn't bad parenting.
Load More Replies... #19
When I was 17 I was working as office assistant - doing mail, typing, watching reception, making deliveries; stuff like that. We also held weekly fancy lunches for up to 12 clients for which I collected, plated and served the formal catering (three courses then coffee) and cleaned up afterwards (which could take hours in a tiny kitchen sink). The boss came into the kitchen after one of these lunches to get a drink from the fridge and asked how I was doing. I said “we need a dishwasher”. His response was “that’s what you are”.
This was also the 60+ year old guy who couldn’t remember my name so called me “the one with the t**s”. 😐.
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Too many bosses seem to think that, because they pay you, they own you.
#20
When I was in my first year of teaching, my school screwed me over by giving me an unqualified mentor. This meant I would’ve had to redo a year of training (I appealed and won). I ended up resigning and my principal said within ear shot “she doesn’t know how good she has it here”. Absof**kinglutely not.
ETA: the next school I taught at… my dad ended up in hospital fighting pneumonia and we were told not to leave the area because doctors didn’t think he’d make it. Principal knew all this information “we’re not giving you any more time off” spoiler: he survived and I decided I was done with teaching due to d*******g principals.
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I gave up on my 'full' teaching registration, partly because my mentor teacher had never mentored before and didn't really try to see what I was doing (we had to do a lengthy project connected to what we taught).
Jnausicaa 6 months ago
The attrition rate of new teachers in the USA is just ridiculous. 50% gone in 5 years or less, 50% of the remainder in another 5 years and by the time you get to a 20 year veteran you have maybe 5% of the original group. New teachers are expected to have the wherewithal of those 20 yeat veterans on their first day.
#21
You just need to focus on my subject, I don't care about how you do on others - my 8th grade teacher.. I still kinda hate her.
Seadog 6 months ago
Reminds me of one of my youngest sons teachers. He assigned so much homework first day that even my wife and I couldn't complete it and we stayed up until 1AM trying. Next day so many parents came to school to complain the principal had no choice but to call this idiot to the office and rip him a new one. First year teacher, straight out of college. He didn't last long.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
I told my students to get the other subjects out of the way first so that they'd have their minds free and clear to learn the math.
#22
“Work harder or find a different job”
In response to being asked for a COL adjustment. Tried the ‘work harder’ route, eventually found a different job at a 125% raise.
Uncle Schmickle 7 months ago
Work harder = "look how good that person is, so we'll give them more work ( at the same pay of course )"
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Often followed up by "We can't possibly promote you, you're doing such a good job here". Which does, in fairness, explain the quality of management there.
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#23
As a server, a s****y restaurant manager overloaded me (and my colleagues) with too many tables, I told the hostess I couldn’t take another until I at least got the order in for a 12-top…he confronts me and says “when you’re given a table, you have to take it!” To which I try to reason with him by asking if I should let my other tables wait unnecessarily long to have their orders taken, and he interrupts me with “you take the tables, end of story! End of story!”
Service suffered that night, and many more nights under his supervision. He was eventually fired for his incompetence.
#24
I was an assistant golf pro in California at the time. I told my head golf pro that I wanted to be a golf pro in Hawaii, and he told me that was a pipe dream. Like who says that?
I ended up being a golf pro on cruise ships that sailed the Hawaiian islands, and eventually on a yacht that sailed the globe, which was better than my original dream.
Michael Largey 7 months ago (edited)
The problem with golfing on a ship is that if your ball goes into the rough your caddy isn't going after it.
Milady Blue 7 months ago
Depends on the feeling of entitlement of the person using the services of a caddy.
Load More Replies... Amanda Reinstatler 6 months ago
Who says that?? Someone that does not want to see you do better than him.
#25
HS Teacher saying that i can t do maths as a girl - even after becoming second of the whole country in a maths competition. When my parents told him thats impossible he said my achievement was ‘just luck’ and ‘i guessed the right answers’… yeah right.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
When your student excels, bask in the reflected glory. (You might as well. It certainly won't get you a raise.)
Gavin Johnson 7 months ago
Weird that, my Grandma worked for the tax office checking audits and number crunching, my Mum was a Maths teacher and my daughter is currently leading her year in the top maths set. Hmmm obviously no one told them that females can’t do maths! Naturally as I’m a bloke my maths is of a slightly higher standard than theirs….. *runs for cover*
Panda Parade 3 months ago
From my experience, women are better with numbers, so that guy must be some old school j*****s
Debbi Weimer 3 months ago
Did said math teacher not know that it was a woman who did the math to figure out the trajectory to the moon???
Amanda Reinstatler 6 months ago
Cuz math is all about luck LOL theres no way that man graduated college
#26
"My expecting is that you should always exceed expectations so I cannot give you an exceeds expectations ranking because you're simply meeting my expectations".
Michael Largey 7 months ago (edited)
"Don't have any expection of me staying here because you have exceeded my patience."
Geoffrey Scott 7 months ago
" Did it occur to you I am exceeding expectations due to no one else meeting expectations?
Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
"Ah yes, the poison. The poison for Kuzco. The poison specifically chosen to k I ll Kusco. Kusco's poison. That poison?" is the vibe I get here
#27
"Are you sure you are having an asthma attack and not just running away from your bullies?" Said a teacher (principal to be exact) at school.
To visibly out of breath, shaking (due to Salbutamol) and sweaty me. No I wasn't avoiding them, they weren't in my class, yes I was on puff 10 of inhaler still worsening until I was taken to the ER.
Orysha 7 months ago
Don't run away from your bullies, send them to the ER (yes violence is always the best answer against bullies).
Milady Blue 7 months ago
Public humiliation of said bullies comes in a close second. Had one that would not get off my back in the middle of class, even though the teacher, who could see the steam coming out of my ears told her to stop. I finally snapped, and screamed at the top of my lungs in that chick's face. Teacher just shrugged and said to that bully, "I told you she was getting mad."
Load More Replies... Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Unfortunately, finding someone to fire the principal can be difficult.
Load More Replies... #28
"You don't have that symptom, you haven't been diagnosed with that disorder."
Mother, I regret to inform you that executive dysfunction is indeed a symptom of the ADHD you insisted I had, and got me diagnosed for. But my mother never admitted she was wrong so I got into a several day beef with a grown woman over this, before realizing I was wasting my time and just ignoring her. It just joined a looooong list of medical gaslighting.
Also, executive dysfunction isn't unique to ADHD? This woman is so deep in denial, I'd have to cough a tonsil stone into the palm of her hand before she'd believe I have one.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
In psychology and neuroscience, executive dysfunction, or executive function deficit is a disruption to the efficacy of the executive functions, which is a group of cognitive processes that regulate, control, and manage other cognitive processes. Executive dysfunction can refer to both neurocognitive deficits and behavioural symptoms. It is implicated in numerous neurological and Wikipedia · Text under CC-BY-SA license
Ge Po 7 months ago
executive dysfunction. Basically, you know what, when and how to do something, but that knowledge gets scrambled up and/or blocked once you try to put that knowledge to action. The result is, that you loose focus, don't know where to start, become insecure about what to do, get so overloaded that you can't take in new information ... etc. It is like an overload of all commands arrive at the same time, but not necessarily in the right order and every brain with this condition has a different way of reacting to that overload/chaos, but the cause is that executive dysfunction.
#29
"I don't like the sticky notes on your files. They're too big, also you need to use this blue pen from now on. Not black." The sticky notes were for me to remind myself of what I had done in the auditing process. Once it was ready to hand off I removed the notes. She was the ultimate micro manager.
HardBoiledBlonde 7 months ago
Legal documents must be signed in black ink, that's why most default to using black ink, professionally at least.
BarfyCat 7 months ago
Depends on the country. In Armenia, blue ink is required.
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#30
‘it’s all in your head’ – mental health commission (I walked away with a paper that read ‘fully mentally healthy’).
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Well. certain mentalities are a pain in the a*s.
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urbeinghunted 25 7 months ago
Your brain is an organ, just like everything else. Saying "it's all in your head" it's like saying to people with asthma "it's all in your lungs". Read this somewhere. Really good advice
#31
"Women shouldn't be in management, they don't make good leaders." - my female lead.
urbeinghunted 25 7 months ago
Okay let's list some bad leaders: Hitler, Bin Laden, Orange dude... list goes on. How many have been women?
Andrew Keir 6 months ago
Liz Truss comes to mind. Be fair, refer to a country which gives women *some* possibility of reaching the top.
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#32
I was once fired even though he agreed my work was fine, but I had said I was there (waiter job while in grad school) for the money. He wanted people who were there for the company. It was a british themed chain restaurant. It was dumb I just laughed and left.
Luke Branwen 7 months ago
I'm curious if the bosses are really delusional enough to think their employees are passionate about the company and its success. Such people probably exist only in their imaginary capitalist wonderland.
Nicole Weymann 7 months ago
Strangely that wonderland likes to use money as incentive - but only as bonuses for the upper echelons. Lower tiers are supposed to work for "passion", "visions", and a pittance. For some reason money as a motivator is only acceptable when your paycheck has more figures than the battle of Moria, not when you actually need the money to pay for food or rent.
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 7 months ago
If you're serving customers British food, that means you already have a deep-seated grudge against people.
Amanda Reinstatler 6 months ago
Ummmmm its a JOB> EVERYONE IS THERE FOR THE MONEY YOU EFFING HALFWIT
#33
Today I was told I don’t show initiative and then in the next sentence complained I set up a bunch of monitors without asking him.
Same guy I complained to about my team mate doing my work without telling me hence wasting my time. He said it’s my fault and I need to communicate to him a lot better.
I love my job and the people I support but f**k I hate my IT team mates.
Deep One 6 months ago
The one thing I liked about being the sole I.T. guy at the engineering firm I worked at was I didn't have to coordinate with anyone except the users. Then the boss/owner gat the I.T. role to his kid who proceeded to screw up everything I had running smooth for 15 years. Then, after about 5 years, he quit, leaving zero documentation.
#34
My manager:
"We're not that far behind. You and [coworker] just need to work harder"
This was a year ago. And we're still behind.
Seadog 6 months ago
The #1 controllable expense in any business is payroll. The problem is, far too often they cut the payroll for the department that actually does the work/keeps the company in business while those that actually do nothing just keep getting raises. This is what's wrong with every big corporation in America today.
#35
Management wanted us to report everything and be very mindful of health and safety and keep accurate paperwork.
I did and always reported everything to auditors as I am required.
Management later fired me for gross misconduct without warning. I hit and exceeded all my targets and even helped out other departments regularly once I had the time.
I did not interact with other employees or behave inappropriately either. They just hated my reporting and I blew the whistle on them doing illegal practices. We made fire doors for reference and the big boss only cared when his boss stopped by and saw us do it.
Edit:
For further context I was also groped/s****************d by a coworker on multiple occasions and management was uninterested either.
Genuinely one of the worst companies in the UK, it's a shame they make fire doors.
#36
I was musing about why so many guys targeted me for sexual harassment (nothing too serious, but it was annoying) and my mom said "probably because you have that ring in your nose."
Great. Victim blamed by my own mother because she doesn't like my facial piercings.
She also once told me I wouldn't get into the college I wanted to go to because I dyed my hair black... I'm not sure what one thing has to do with the other? And the college doesn't see you when you apply?
Oh, and if you bring any of this up later, she'll just say it never happened. No idea if she actually forgot or just doesn't want to own up to it. Other people with boomer parents can probably relate.
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Are your parents actually boomer? More than likely, it's the next younger generation, or perhaps the one younger than than. I'll always downvote "boomer" references unless you specify a known age.
Broad Panda 7 months ago
They don't say when this happened, so there's no reason their parents can't be boomers.
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#37
“Man up and tough it out” as my 9 year old self was having an asthma attack triggered by cold winter air outside while stacking firewood. Finally got done enough with that to be able to go back inside to the warm house to get my breathing under control the best I could while dad chain smoked cigarettes in the house and got drunk. It took another three years to figure out that smoking in the house probably wasn’t the best idea with an asthmatic kid.
Yes, I am a very independent person now. Very, very independent.
#38
A boss I had once said that I only had been accepted to college and gotten good grades because I am not white.
I remember crying in my car in the parking lot at work for a long time before I finally felt strong enough to drive myself home.
I worked so hard to get to and through college--had a 4.0 until my junior year, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, won multiple academic+merit scholarships, and even an international research award... but yeah, totally all because of reverse racism or whatever.
#39
I tried to talk to my mom about some of the a**se I suffered as a child and my mom told me "I was making it up and that i only was saying i was a**sed to make her feel bad.".
Nicole Weymann 7 months ago
...but the tree remembers(?) I'm asking, because I don't know that proverb.
Load More Replies... Little Bit 7 months ago
When I tried to tell my mum that my husband was violent and a*****e towards me and that sometimes I feared for my life she said I was "talking rubbish", even though she had actually seen some of the injuries he'd caused me.
#40
I had a part time job at a grocery store when I was studying. Our idiot boss did not seem to understand that I prioritized school over the underpaid job at the hellhole of a store. I told him way in advance that I could not work on a specific day because that was the day of my exams, and that I could not take on any extra work that week. And of course he assigned me work almost every day that entire week. Including the day I said that I had to have off. He refused to listen to any of what I said, and none of the other people I worked with bothered helping. In the end I had to fake an illness to be able to complete my exams.
The boss eventually got fired by his superiors after he suddenly disappeared completely for 6 months. He tried to blame it on diabetes.
Oerff On Tour 7 months ago
Maybe it was an All-inclusive vacation in a State-owned "Resort" instead of diabetes
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Well, the other inmates did call him "Sugar".
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#41
You don't sound happy enough - from a foreman. I was the only woman on the crew and the only one to get comments like this. I retaliated by using my best Alicia Silverstone Clueless imitation whenever he spoke to me.
#42
The owner of a company I worked for told me to sell a particular product to a client. The client was our biggest and had explicitly told me they do not want that product in advance. I made the pitch based on what the boss said. The client changed to a new supplier and our company folded not long after.
Seadog 6 months ago
Probably but bosses like that want to get rid of something they ordered by mistake and figure a sales rep can talk the client into it.
Load More Replies... #43
I was at school. Teacher was acting all high and mighty. Like, "oh, you didn't ask to go to the bathroom? Marked absent.: that kind of high and mighty. So I said "oh, well I guess I should've just pissed in a bottle so I didn't leave without permission" so the teacher said "I am your teacher, you have to do as I say because I am better than you".
Michael Largey 7 months ago
I never refused a student permission to go to the bathroom. I'm sure a few abused it (looking at you, Sheila G.). But I couldn't read their minds, let alone their bladders.
Seadog 6 months ago
My oldest 1st grade teacher refused to allow anyone to go. He of course then ran a temperature so the school sent him home. 3 days of this and the school demanded a doctors note. (for those who may not know it, holding a BM will make your temperature rise). So wife took him to the doctors and told him what was happening. Doctor went ballistic on the school and told the principal if he ever heard of any teacher doing it again he'd have the health department pay them a visit and he'd personally make sure fines were levied. We changed schools because we knew that teacher would retaliate.
#44
Remember to be thankful we have a job here.
Nicole Weymann 7 months ago
I LOVE that approach. (/S, in case that wasn't clear) As if companies handed out jobs like alms or candy for being a good boy/girl. They have work that needs to be done. We need money. It's an effing business contract. You be thankful you found people to do your work for you, and I'll be greatful for being paid.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
If you have to reminded to be thankful you have a certain job, you probably shouldn't be.
#45
My 10 year old son can do that
This was logistics coordination and tracking.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
"That's not all your son and I have in common. We both hate you too."
#46
My husband used to work for a place that would tell him to think about what his daughter would feel if he kept causing trouble and got fired. We don't have children at all, much less a daughter.
#47
My teacher in elementary school used to encourage us to go outside and fight
cops always telling me what I did, why I did it, how I'm feeling, how nobody's going to believe me over them
my boss not understanding why a running track is staggered
my mom telling me she wishes i was never born.
#48
When I did QC for a company that made parts for aircraft. When in doubt, ship it out. Their reasoning, it was the end of the month and they wanted the numbers to look good and if something was wrong, their receiving inspector would kick it back. I quit right after that.
Seadog 6 months ago
QC is a thankless job. I did QC in a mirror factory when the regular guy got sick. Edging and beveling kept trying to get me to pass mirrors that had flaws so obvious Ray Charles could've spotted them. Everyone knew if we'd shipped them, they would've just called to complain and gotten a reorder so why not just fix the problem now?
#49
My manager: "I know that's the rules but this is me telling you"
My Boss asking me to break the rule they themselves implemented three weeks earlier because of the consequences.
Same Manager: "We can't just force that task on them, that's not how it works"
When I asked why we couldn't return responsibility of a task to another group, that they forced on us, when we were severely understaffed.
#50
I was a hostess at around 16. Server told me a table needed a manager so told manager and found out she accidentally ended up giving me the wrong table number, resulting in him going to a different table and ended up yelling at me in front of customers for "embarrassing himself and making him look r*tarded".
Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
That word is the worst word in the world. My internal rule is that similar to the "black people can use the n-word, ADHD/autistic/dyslexic/etc people can use the r word".
Huddo's sister 7 months ago
I agree that word is the worst, but even ADHD/autistic/dyslexic/etc people shouldn't use it in my opinion. It refers to a particular type of intellectual disability (not the ones mentioned) and even people who fit into that category can speak about themselves better. It's got totally degrading connotations and should only be used by doctors in a medical setting.
Load More Replies... #51
Working for a company in London :"Don't hire someone with an accent. You know N (one of the owners) doesn't like accents".
"But I have an accent!"
"Oh, with you it's different...".
Lady Eowyn 7 months ago
Everyone has an accent. You just don't notice it until you're around people with a different accent.
Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
Yeah, Americans seem to think that. I'm Canadian, played Portal 2, and at one point, a character with a British accent speaks with a US accent (non-cowboy accent) and this is how it sounds to me as he transitions into it: "I'm sh-peaking in an ak-shent that is bee-yawned her range of hearing!"
Load More Replies... #52
U may have good grades, but you're dumb
-Granny.
#53
“Your parents *do* actually own you” said the attack therapist paid for by my a*****e (now estranged) mother. Attack therapy is a non-evidence based “modality” b*********d from similarly debunked dog training, based on abusing children into compliance.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
As a teacher I dealt with many parents who need no outside assistance with this.
HardBoiledBlonde 7 months ago
Betcha it was a self identified "christian counselor," to which I say: run!
Cyndi Hafele 7 months ago
South Park did an episode about that. The Dog Whisperer was hired by Cartman's mother to train him. It worked well until his mom fell in love with Cesar.
#54
"He's fine now."
Said to me by my mother *every single time* I tried to tell her about the latest unhinged thing my father did and that I was scared he was going to snap and k**l me. After a while I just gave up trying.
#55
Had a new Bar manager when I was a Bar Supervisor had been running the bar single handedly for over 6months waiting for a new manager.
When he came in I was told to stop doing what I do to run place efficiently, so I did. After a while I went on holidays for 2 weeks and when I got back the first thing he told me was
'Please... fix everything...'.
Seadog 6 months ago
I hate people who don't know that try to tell people who do know, how to do something. Had a DM at O'Reilly Auto try to tell me I was turning a brake drum wrong. 1st of all, the customer said he didn't care how smooth it came out because anything would be better than what it was. Second, I have my own lathe that cost about 10X as much as that POS they use in the store and last but not least, I've been turning drum and rotors longer than the DM has been alive. He really didn't like me much because I was very good at my job, too good for him to be micromanaging.
#56
Basically if they don't take you seriously and believe lies about you, it does hurt.
I had a former Vice Principal (?) accuse me of being a d**g a****t because I missed a lot of school. He screamed at me in his office and was absolutely disrespectful. I was a teenager at the time...who had never even done a d**g in my life. Not even marijuana. I'd heard stories about this man and they all seemed crazy. Then I had my own experience with him.
If he'd literally....just cared enough to ask why I missed so much school instead of being so judgmental, I could have received the help I needed much faster.
In the end, he did help me. Got me into an alternate program where I needed to be. But not before he absolutely judged me.
Seadog 6 months ago
I was out 7 weeks straight my senior year. Got back just in time for final exams. D***s? No. Several bouts of tonsilitis combined with sinus infections and strep, quite a few days I couldn't even stand up. If the VP mentioned above had accused me like that, I likely would've cussed him out.
#57
My boss was ordering me things to do from the other side of the restaurant and when I asked what? he walked away because he didn't hear me (obviously) just like I couldn't hear him because he was literally on the other side of the restaurant. So a few minutes later he was like did you do the thing I asked you? and I said no I didn't hear what you said and he said "then you should listen better" and I said "its not about not listening its about the fact that I just couldn't hear you" and he said "God you're always so arrogant" I was so shocked he could say something like that to his employee. Later I apologized for being smart in the hopes he would apologize for calling me arrogant and he said it was fine and it was just the heat of the moment without ever acknowledging what he said.
#58
Telling me to do something while I'm already doing it/on my way to do it. Makes the petty part of me immediately not want to do it.
"You need to clean up this mess."
*me, holding the freshly-soaked mop:* "Well, now I don't want to.".
#59
"Find a boyfriend while you are in university. After you graduate men will be intimidated by your success and you will end up a spinster". This from an uncle who deemed himself as progressive (facepalm). He did mean well but what a way to show it. Needless to say his advice was not taken.
Michael Largey 7 months ago
Well, he wasn't wrong about a lot of men in the past. It was his remedy that was off.
#60
I have adhd and autism. I get overwhelmed quite quickly in a public setting. I said this to my boss as I was starting to fall into a panic attack. She said “it’s okay everyone feels like this.”
I’m literally having a panic attack because I have to mask at work and it’s exhausting and my mask was starting to slip.
Sam Trudeau 7 months ago
I'm the same diagnosis. For me, it's loud areas like high school sports games. I enter a "shut it, I can't think" when I go into one as a spectator.
What do you think ?
Little Bit 7 months ago
When I reported my now ex-husband to the police for domestic abuse, violence and r**e, they treated me like I was the criminal. The interviewing officer said, "You women are all the same." He implied that I deserved it and said, "He couldn't possibly have r***d you. He's your husband." He also told me that if the case went to court and I lost I would be the one going to prison. I was so out of my mind with stress and fright that I believed him. I went in with a glimmer of hope that I would get help and came out wishing that I was dead.
Tonyah Mcanelly 7 months ago
Not me but my sister got a bad yearly review because her supervisor told her she should not be travelling so much she would not be so tired on her work days. This happened when our mother died and she had to travel cross country for the funeral .
Littlemiss 7 months ago (edited)
Had an idiot complaining that I didn't want to sit in puddles of wet sand and soak my clothes. I was accused of not getting right into children's play. I over explained, and told her that I only had so many work clothes to wear. I had a single income and was struggling, compared to and her and her husband's 6 figure incomes. She told me how she kept multiple chsnges of clothes, had wet weather gear, jackets etc. I did not. Apparently this affected her badly and left her with an impression I needed to improve my attitude and work. This woman is still telling her version of the story 25 years later. Apparently being working poor and not having a completely waterproof work gear, and how dare I not want to get continuously wet and dirty at work?? Paint, snot, dirt, etc fine. I draw the line at being wet and cold.
Little Bit 7 months ago
When I reported my now ex-husband to the police for domestic abuse, violence and r**e, they treated me like I was the criminal. The interviewing officer said, "You women are all the same." He implied that I deserved it and said, "He couldn't possibly have r***d you. He's your husband." He also told me that if the case went to court and I lost I would be the one going to prison. I was so out of my mind with stress and fright that I believed him. I went in with a glimmer of hope that I would get help and came out wishing that I was dead.
Tonyah Mcanelly 7 months ago
Not me but my sister got a bad yearly review because her supervisor told her she should not be travelling so much she would not be so tired on her work days. This happened when our mother died and she had to travel cross country for the funeral .
Littlemiss 7 months ago (edited)
Had an idiot complaining that I didn't want to sit in puddles of wet sand and soak my clothes. I was accused of not getting right into children's play. I over explained, and told her that I only had so many work clothes to wear. I had a single income and was struggling, compared to and her and her husband's 6 figure incomes. She told me how she kept multiple chsnges of clothes, had wet weather gear, jackets etc. I did not. Apparently this affected her badly and left her with an impression I needed to improve my attitude and work. This woman is still telling her version of the story 25 years later. Apparently being working poor and not having a completely waterproof work gear, and how dare I not want to get continuously wet and dirty at work?? Paint, snot, dirt, etc fine. I draw the line at being wet and cold.
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