“They Never Listened”: Woman Times Maternity Leave Perfectly, Leaves Bakery To Fend For Itself

In any line of work, employees bring lots of value to their employers, for which they deserve to get fair compensation and appreciation when they go the extra mile. However, many workers go without the recognition they are worthy of, which can have a negative effect on employee satisfaction and productivity. 

One of them was this woman, who had to work with an underappreciative and berating manager for more than 6 years. But just before she left for maternity leave, she was able to serve a little petty revenge moment, which got the boss demoted.

When workers go the extra mile, they often expect compensation or at least appreciation

Woman decorating a frosted cake with fresh raspberries, adding the perfect delicious icing on the cake.

Image credits: Olimpia Davies (not the actual photo)

However, this woman got neither, which motivated her to pull a petty revenge moment before going into maternity leave

Woman takes revenge on bakery manager with the perfectly delicious icing on the cake story text excerpt.

Text excerpt about a woman’s frustration with a bakery manager, highlighting revenge and the perfect icing on the cake.

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Text on a white background reads: When you’re in a town with 3+ colleges and 4 high schools just in a ten mile radius, you get a LOT of orders to fill.

Alt text: Woman takes revenge on bakery manager with a perfectly delicious icing on the cake in a colorful cake decorating setting

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Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by delivering the perfectly delicious icing on the cake in a clever way.

Woman taking revenge on bakery manager, celebrating with a perfectly delicious icing on the cake moment.

Image credits: Wesley Tingey (not the actual photo)

Text with black font on white background: The day I delivered my baby, guess who finally got demoted??? Jill had scheduled one of her four day weekends again, missed three supply orders, didn’t cover my shift, and the icing on the cake??? Alt text: Woman takes revenge on bakery manager with missed orders and the perfect icing on the cake consequences.

Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by leaving 19 cake orders unfulfilled, causing angry customers to wait.

Bakery manager mishandling cakes by randomly sprinkling and giving out free products worth over $1000.

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Text explaining a woman recalling her old bakery job while now baking cakes for fun and raising her son.

Woman bakery worker in apron and glasses talking on phone, holding papers, planning her revenge on bakery manager.

Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)

Later, the woman came back to clear some things up

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Text showing a person explaining stress from their job causing gestational hypertension before taking unplanned vacation.

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Text excerpt about a woman taking revenge on a bakery manager with the perfectly delicious icing on the cake.

Woman spreading icing on a layered cake, illustrating the perfect delicious bakery revenge scene.

Image credits: Joanna Stołowicz (not the actual photo)

Screenshot of a story update about a woman’s revenge on a bakery manager with a clever icing on the cake ending.

Text screenshot showing a person stating they don’t plan on opening a bakery soon due to five bakeries in their small town.

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Text excerpt discussing a woman receiving multiple warnings from bakery managers before making a mistake.

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With her third update she even shared some of the cakes she decorated

Alt text: Text discussing creation of Reddit page cakesivemade with photos for cake questions and curiosity about baking.

Image source: ChaosRisingBook

Unicorn cake with colorful icing details on a green frosting base, showcasing creative bakery cake decoration.

Wolf-shaped cake with icing details and purple birthday message, showcasing the perfect delicious icing on the cake.

Two-tiered cake decorated with red icing roses and small white flowers, showcasing perfect icing on the cake.

Three-tiered orange gradient cake decorated with white icing flowers, displayed in a bakery kitchen setting.

Birthday cake decorated with colorful icing characters from Mario, showcasing detailed bakery cake design and decoration.

Image source: ChaosRisingBook

Studies show that employees rarely receive praise for their good work

Woman looks frustrated at laptop in office, representing a bakery manager dealing with a challenging situation.

Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)

Unfortunately, many workers end up in a similar situation to this woman. Meaning, they excel quietly and make everything run smoothly behind the scenes without the recognition they truly deserve. In fact, 67% of Americans feel appreciation at work is in short supply, with a Gallup study proving that employees rarely receive praise for their good work. 

This costs organizations $350 billion per year in lost productivity and a large number of employees who quit due to feeling undervalued. 

The reasons why employees’ efforts go unrecognized vary greatly. Sometimes, these employees prefer to work quietly and avoid the spotlight or don’t have the self-promotional skills that would help them get noticed. Because of this, it’s easy, especially for inexperienced managers, to overlook their achievements and needs. 

Companies can also undervalue employees when they’re overly focused on meeting immediate targets or financial goals. As a result, the organization develops tunnel vision, which can lead to undervaluing members of their team. 

Organizations that lack systems to accurately assess their employees can have trouble fairly evaluating their employees as well. 

Taking everything into consideration, every company needs to do better when it comes to undervalued employees, as this issue is responsible for making the entire workforce very much dissatisfied with their working conditions. It was found that more than half of employees feel disengaged or lack enthusiasm for their work, which leads to lower productivity and morale that are tightly connected with the success of companies.  

Feelings of unappreciation shouldn’t even be an issue in the workplace

Woman in business attire holding documents during a meeting, illustrating woman takes revenge on bakery manager.

Image credits: Vitaly Gariev (not the actual photo)

When an employee feels undervalued and underappreciated, ideally, they should voice their concerns to their manager. Having a meeting to discuss the performance and contribution of the worker might be the best way to go. 

That said, feeling undervalued shouldn’t be an issue in the workplace in the first place. To avoid such a problem from arising, every competent manager should practice the five recognition languages: words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, gifts, and physical touch.

You might be confused about the last one, but it’s nothing inappropriate. It’s just a way of showing appreciation through a handshake, high five, tap on the shoulder, or fist bump. According to the creators of these five recognition languages, physical gestures like these can go a long way in expressing gratitude. 

That said, this shouldn’t be the primary way to express appreciation. What’s more, anyone who doesn’t want to be touched shouldn’t be touched—no exceptions.

In a nutshell, the rest of the appreciation languages ensure that employees receive tangible rewards and praise for their efforts, get help when their workload is too much, and have open communication channels with their colleagues and managers. In hindsight, this seems simple, so if every manager applied such logic with their employees, more people would feel valued and satisfied at work. 

The woman also responded to some of the reactions people had

Screenshot of a discussion about a woman taking revenge on bakery manager with the perfectly delicious icing on the cake.

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Woman takes revenge on bakery manager with a perfectly delicious and clever icing on the cake moment.

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Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by starting her own successful independent cake business.

Comment discussing a woman who owns a home bakery and teaches at a community college as an inspiration.

Alt text: Online discussion about starting a home bakery, mentioning challenges like plantar fasciitis and carpal tunnel from baking work.

Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by skillfully icing and decorating cakes after a long, exhausting day.

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Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by delivering the perfectly delicious icing on the cake in a clever way.

Woman takes revenge on bakery manager serving a perfectly delicious and satisfying icing on the cake moment.

Alt text: Screenshot of a Reddit comment describing a woman’s revenge on a bakery manager involving workplace complaints and favoritism.

Alt text: Woman takes revenge on bakery manager by cleverly reclaiming her last check during a tense store conflict.

Text comment about woman takes revenge on bakery manager describing a common occurrence from employees’ perspective.

Text-based image showing a Reddit comment discussing maternity protection and rights for pregnant women in Germany.

Woman holding a cake in a bakery, symbolizing revenge and the delicious icing on the cake moment.

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Woman taking revenge on bakery manager in a kitchen with cupcakes and cake ingredients, preparing a sweet treat.

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