50 Delusional Notes That Bosses Actually Had The Nerve To Display At Work (New Pics)
The difference between a wholesomely supportive and genuinely toxic job environment is the people you work with. Your coworkers, managers, and bosses from all the way up the corporate ladder have the power to either inspire you to aim for new heights or to regret every moment you spend with them.
A major thing that gets employees’ blood boiling is seeing passive-aggressive signs put up all over the office, full of worker-unfriendly regulations, practically dripping with managerial arrogance and disdain for ‘regular’ workers. (A close second, if you’re curious, is people who microwave fish at work. Don’t do that.)
Our team here at Bored Panda dove deep into the r/antiwork archives to collect the very worst office and work signs that people have ever spotted. Including some really weird looking-for-work ads. Seriously, these are all an affront to dignity and perfectly illustrate what some higher-ups think of the people they pay.
Like, who reminds you that your dog is missing you because you can't work remotely and have to go into the office?! That's just inhumane (incanine?).
Scroll down for some horrendous pics that you’ll probably want to share with your coworkers at the water cooler. Have you seen any similar signs at work? Have you personally read anything worse? Do you want to vent about your manager for no reason? Drop by the comment section and share your thoughts with us and all the other Pandas.
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The Trashy Manager
Bored Panda had a chat about managerial 'tyrants,' nonsensical rules, and passive-aggressive communication with employees with workplace expert Lynn Taylor, who was kind enough to share her perspective and answer our questions. Lynn is the author of the bestseller 'Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job,' the head of the fashion brand 'Behind the Buckle,' and also runs a popular blog on Psychology Today.
"The proverbial power play at work can be maddening, especially when Draconian managers are in their element. These tyrant bosses can be downright insulting in their regular communications. And expert bullies can create rules and regulations that make you feel like you’re in 3rd grade; the recipient of a final parental warning; or reside in a bizarre prison. Heavy-handed signage, notes, and email reminders can run amok, making an otherwise decent job quite demoralizing," she told Bored Panda.
My Job Threatened To Withhold My Paycheck To Ensure No One Left Early; I Responded Accordingly
Pay Our Teachers More!
Bright And Bold In Midtown Manhattan
There should be a law stating you must clearly reveal rate of pay from the very beginning.
Remember We Are In It Together
Why Do Not We Have Freedom?
Workplace expert Lynn shared the steps that you can take as an employee in these situations with Bored Panda:
- "First, make sure you’re seeing a pattern before taking action. Typically, the real offenders have bad office habits that are hard to break. The techniques worked in the past, so they continue, and you’ll see more than one instance. If the signage becomes repeated and overbearing, it’s not your imagination.
- Depending on the relationship you have with your boss, and if the behavior is more episodic, you may be able to approach them, using reason. For example, you might suggest an internal memo that addresses the issue and explains the importance of doing X, with a team-oriented approach. It might read something like, 'I know we’re all working hard to meet our 4th Quarter project deadlines; thank you for the extra effort,' versus signage that, in effect, says, 'Get here on time, or else!'
- If the one-on-one approach won’t work or fails, there’s always power in numbers. Discreetly speak to your fellow beleaguered office mates, and see if the demoralizing signage is making everyone want to crawl under their desks in exasperation. If so, your group can propose a civil productive discussion, starting with the manager. If that doesn’t work, there’s the boss’s boss, and after that, Human Resources.
- Remember the end goal; to change the dialogue and make it more positive. Remind your boss of the end goal, too. Subtly let it be known that the oppressive approach may backfire, the stakes, and what will have the best outcome. If the notes are redundant, petty, or nonsensical, use your best emotional intelligence and be the voice of reason.
- Don’t fight fire with fire. If you’re the lucky recipient of an insulting email or note, don’t play the game. If you witness a passive-aggressive piece of communication, don’t try and think of a super clever retort. Just ask for clarification, e.g., 'Just so I understand, are you saying you want a more detailed report?' You want this to be a win-win (and keep your job, if it’s worth keeping!).
- If the language in company signs and communications is intimidating as opposed to merely disheartening, and the situation is untenable, it is likely time to visit your favorite job board."
I’m Probably Going To Be Fired For This… But I Don’t Care
This Is Up Front And Center And My Local Ice Cream Place. Thoughts?
Maybe someone thought they were delusional when they saw it. A good employer I must b hallucinating
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Why is that sign here? That is pretty much how things works in the rest of the civilised world. It is not delusional it is just plain common sense that you pay your staff for the work they do, so they won't have to rely on charities from customers that either pay them out of guilt, or choose not to pay them due to some kind of powertrip or unreasonable reasoning.
Ah yes, but in order for things to change, things have to change. Why are you dumping on someone resetting the expectations?
Load More Replies... Tipping is meant for exceptional service and never should have been an expected extra
In the USA it's not even an expected extra, it's an expected base.
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Looks like the store's name is Molly Moon's! And yeah, it.dors sound great!
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This is fantastic, and the more US employers do this, the better. People being able to go to work knowing how much they will bring home at the end of the day is a great policy. And as long as the rest of the benefits match up, the company also benefits because if/when someone leaves, they will have their choice of a VERY long list of employees to chose from as replacements. And hence - they get what they pay for. People who work there want to work there, will keep turning up for well-paid shifts, and will always have a drive to do right by the customer. Smart company.
Surprisingly, there are people who actually prefer to work tip-wage. All three of my restaurants are salary based. Starting salary is $19 per/hour. We’ve had a handful of applicants turn an offer down because they thought they can make more with tips. I was genuinely shocked the first time it happened.
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Brilliant! 1) Most customers will see that the *total* bill is about the same. 2) Better wages will mean better employees providing better service.
This is the example of a good employer. Maybe one of it's employees left this here to give us all some semblance of hope or peace of mind. Don't know where this is but I'll be happy to drop by and pick up an ice cream or two :-)
Cost of living in Seattle is insane... (Maybe I'm wrong here- post below by Raccoon says it was enough to live on. I've only heard horror stories from friends/family about how expensive it is to live there.)
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Any place that offers $19 for a dead basic job is going above and beyond they would have my business
Just looked at the company web page... Damn if I lived the Seattle area I'd only take my family there
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Wonderful. This country will be a better place the day everyone agrees to stop tipping. This business of outsourcing your payroll to your customers has to stop.
The fact that a note like this had to exist is the sad part. EVERY place should do this.
I like this picture, and enjoyed the sign behind the one about tips, that Icecream make you happy. In this case more than ordinarily happy.
This is the way most of the world does it. Relying on tips is bad for the employee AND the customer.
Living in a seasonal place as well, my coworkers and I would starve to death at $19/hour.
Molly Moon Ice Cream is a Washington state company but delivers their ice cream to many stores: https://www.mollymoon.com/locations
I don't see a problem with this. Maybe because where I'm from a service fee is already included in the final tab. You are free to leave a gratuity but a portion of the check is already going to your servers (cooks, bartenders, hosts, etc.)
Good idea, bad delivery. I wouldn't say "tip-free" but "tip optional" or something like that. "We pay our employees a fair salary, if you want to show your gratitude, you can, but if you don't, they will not die of starvation".
Is the business seasonal or do the employees have year round stable income. A little confusing or maybe I'm just tired
Yeah this isn't delusional, 19 an hour for an ice cream shop is really good money
Ok, but what if service is really good, and some customers are feeling generous?
Do you do that in a supermarket? Give the cashier some extra money? Or a clothing store? Why should an ice-cream shop be any different if the pay is the same?
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Isn’t this what the US want? Or is it that they don’t actually do what they say?
How it should be. And dude wtf I'm not tipping for someone to scoop ice cream.
This is just in the wrong place. It's like OP saw "TIP-FREE" and didn't read the rest of the note.
Good on Molly Moon's. Now let's hope an employee can confirm this.
This is amazing! I would go there constantly for that reason alone. This is the way it should be.
One of the worst things about visiting the US is the tipping. Pay your people proper wages.
Seattle,Bellevue ,and I think there's one in Kirkland . Washington of course
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Finally, I´m so fed up paying tip´s even though the food is c**p in US because the staff doesn´t get a normal wage.
It's only bad to a point. I loke tipping for exceptional service or special requests, but not to stop some entitled prick from spitting into my food because he thinks everyone should give him money if he just does what he is already paid to do. Edit: I was thinking, they could replace it with something like a "tip order". You order something small and cheap, let's say a 2 lei tiny icecream. If you want to give the cashier a tip, you pay more, let's say 12 lei. Those 10 lei go in their pockets, like a normal tip, and no manager is allowed to "deduct" it from the salary
Downvoting only because this isn't rude or delusional, so it's in the wrong article.
This is good. Tips are not appropriate in all situations. Tips are common for servers in restaurants because restaurants have VERY slim profit margins and barely manage to make ends meet most of the time. Having their staff's wages directly supplemented by happy customers helps ease their costs and ensure that only good servers work there. Other situations where tips are appropriate are for long/laborious/extremely unpleasant work, usually done by a self-employed person or a small business. Whenever someone needs something done and either can't or doesn't want to do it, it's a courtesy to compensate people for taking on your inconveniences.
If your business is seasonal...how are you taking care of your people during the off season? Or are you just a good employer for half the year?
Woo hoo, let's hope we see more and more of this type of employer, too bad the work is seasonal. I do not mind paying a little more and not tipping!!! 29 bucks to scoop ice cream, AWESOME that's almost 60k a year!!!
According to workplace expert Lynn, rather than always relying on signage or written communications to deal with sensitive topics, managers ought to have a regular forum where they can raise important issues.
"The item can be on the agenda, whether it pertains to new employee manual practices, office rules, personal time, etc. It might be a monthly staff meeting in person or Zoom call. The topics can be discussed at a regular meeting, but there’s nothing wrong with having a meeting to discuss administrative issues; get employee feedback; answer questions; and provide leave-behind materials," she told Bored Panda.
"One of the best things you can do is take excerpts from the company manual and ask the team to comply. That way, no one feels personally attacked. Consider the operative word, 'ask' for compliance; never threaten," the author of 'Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant' explained how managers might want to maintain discipline among their staff.
Rude Office Signs
Found In A Mall In My City This Weekend. Guess The Staff Finally Had Enough
Starting To See The Signs Of People Being Fed Up
"The emphasis is on 'team' because you’re only as good as your staff. Condescending notifications often backfire, but finding the positive angle that will appeal to the team is far more productive. Give your staff the benefit of the doubt; be encouraging; use emotional intelligence; and treat your staff like the adults they are. Remember the value of positive reinforcement; when employees get what you’re asking for and deliver, let them know you’re appreciative. Just be careful you don’t patronize when employees perform the task at hand privately or publicly," she said.
Meanwhile, if there are only a few employees who are consistently breaking the rules or not complying with business practices, it's best for managers not to make the entire team feel responsible. "It’s better to have private conversations with the individual employee(s) than to bring the whole team down," Lynn said.
"Finally, your employees are the best source of information that will support productivity. Consider soliciting ideas from your team on how to boost morale. If you must post signage, consider a contest on the most creative way to communicate the request. When your team is invested in an outcome, the results are almost always more favorable. The labor market is still strong, so it behooves managers to humanize their work environment, committing to motivational and retention practices."
Shout Out The Worst Place I Ever Worked (Minimum Wage, Of Course)
Show up at 9:54, leave an hour early. Because this is how it works, right?
Hot Topic Appears To Be In Hot Water
I don't think that that sign was written by a rude boss. I think it was a note that his employees left to the customers to help them understand why the shop was closed, and that it also served as a passive agressive message to a delutional manager, who had little clue on how vulnarable his business was and therefore how much he should do to satisfy his employees basic needs.
They Are Literally Admitting Jobs Don't Allow Us To Take Care Of Ourselves
There’s a delicate balance that needs to be maintained at work. On one side of the scale, you’ve got things like company morale, how inspired, creative, and motivated your employees feel, how much they trust their bosses, and how satisfied they are with their jobs and the opportunities that they’re offered. You want to know that your hard work pays off... though sometimes it totally doesn't.
On the other side of the scale are things like company profits, maintaining protocols and regulations, having a general sense of order and discipline, and keeping potentially reckless or unmotivated workers’ actions in line with the overall interests of each department.
In short, there’s no excuse for being toxic or rude as a boss; however, it doesn’t mean that every single employee is somehow above criticism. It’s human to err. And last we checked, our AI Overlords haven’t replaced any of the staff with androids (...yet).
There's This Local Café And The Last Few Times I've Walked Past I've Noticed It Has A Chalkboard Outside With Different Messages Mocking S**tty Employers On It - This Was Today's
85 Degree Bakery Enabled Tips On Their Point Of Sale Devices. Tips Don’t Go To Workers; You’re Just Giving The Company More Money
I Bet It’s Posted Right Next To A Sign Complaining That No One Wants To Work Anymore
There’s usually a deeper story behind each passive-aggressive office sign. Perhaps a manager feels underappreciated or believes that their workers are slacking off. Maybe they have a very different work ethic that’s completely at odds with the values held by younger generations. Or they had a really bad day and lashed out in an emotionally immature way.
Remember, just because someone has a fancy job title doesn't mean that they're actually a better person and more capable leader than you. You can be a leader no matter where in the corporate chain you fall.
That’s what happens when you have extremely poor communication within an organization. Managers and ‘regular’ employees need to know each others’ expectations and to enforce healthy boundaries. It all comes down to showing respect for everyone’s time, energy, and dignity, as well as looking for compromises. If either side is brow-beating the other, odds are that it’s a toxic place to work and not many people will stick around for long.
Sign On The Way Into A Local Restaurant
Came Into Work This Morning To Find This Taped To The Wall. Boss Went On Tirade Against Me And Co-Worker Yesterday For Taking To Each Other With No Customers In The Store
Just Saw This In A Mcdonald’s…
Look, at the end of the day, we’re all responsible for our own happiness, work/life balance, priorities, and what kind of behavior we’re willing to tolerate. Now, that’s no excuse for others acting like jerks and bullying you day-in, day-out. However, it does mean that we have to be proactive in sorting out the problems that drag us down at work.
That might mean different things for different people. Does your coworker keep microwaving fish and stinking up your office 24/7? Sit them down for a quick friendly chat and ask them to stop instead of putting up passive-aggressive sticky notes all over the kitchen.
Does your boss give you more and more work because you finish your tasks quicker than others? Have a discussion about a possible promotion because of your excellent results. Explain to them that there should be incentives in place to work faster instead of hard work being punished. Remind them how much you bring to the company at least a couple of times a year.
Is your boss 'quiet firing' you by subtly letting you know that you have absolutely no future career path at the company? You need to diplomatically confront them about being sidelined, hopefully, with HR acting as a witness. Odds are that your boss is extremely frightened of any and all confrontation and is taking the easiest way out by forcing you to leave on your own.
A Competing Company Is Offering Us 20 Percent More To Work For Them. Management's Response:
Recent “Sweat Pledge” My Wife Was Asked To Sign Before Employment
This can't be serious, can it? Only in America, Russia, China, North Korea et al. I'm betting the land of the free because rule #1 says so.
Update: They Changed The Sign, But It’s Not Any Better
Is your manager all grumpy that you’re not a brainwashed cultist showing absolute loyalty to the company and living every day in anticipation of going to work? Are they making you sing and dance in mandatory corporate TikToks? You might want to get HR or some other more-or-less-neutral party involved and set clear boundaries. If they keep harassing you to work unpaid overtime or guilt-tripping you to work on your days off, it’s time to have a very diplomatic-yet-honest chat about what the company is willing to offer you moving forward.
Found This Sign At A Local Dinner. Decided To Eat Somewhere Else. Sounds Like A Horrible Place To Work
My BF's Snapchat Memory From 2017 - Posted At His Old Job At A Grocery Store
Workers Are Important, Value Us
Obviously, if you’re harassed and feel unsafe at work, you need to get in touch with union representatives or seek legal help.
Meanwhile, if you feel burned out, chronically anxious, and depressed, it might do you well to speak about your issues openly with a close relative or a trusted friend. Seeking psychological help from a counselor can help solve some of these issues. Seeking help isn’t weakness. Taking active steps to solve deep-rooted issues, even if it’s going slowly, shows strength.
I Mean… The Math Checks Out
This F**king Motivational Quote When I Walked In This Morning
At Work - Where Water Isn’t Free Yo
I Just Can't With This One 🤦♀️
Mom and Dad also taught me not to get exploited by miserable employers, so yeah, not interested in your "job"!
Sign Posted At Walmart
This Sign At My Work. They Will Charge Staff For Anything As Minimal As A Broken Ice Cream Cone
Not how that works bro. If my work can charge me for broken/damaged product, then I should be able to charge them for broken damaged me. I have so many work related scars I could retire if I got paid for them. The number of times my job tried to kill me is unbelievable.
Sign At A Local BBQ Joint. (Chattanooga, Tn)
"This company will not be told by employees when we can and cannot open". ....isn't that exactly what you are doing when you blame them for your inability to open indoor dining???
This Sign Has Been Up For Months
A Department Manager Did This To My Bike When I Had It In The Back For A Single Day
The Most Toxic S**t I've Ever Seen Hanging On An Office Wall
Asked To Sign This As Part Of A Job Application. Immediate Termination!
Guarantee They Don’t Pay Enough. Pay More!
In Case You Would Like To Know What It’s Like Working At Starbucks
Who's going to Starbucks to shoot the s**t with the employees? Gimme my damn coffee and stay out of my business
Child Labour, Fantastic
I Work In A Min Wage Grocery Store. The Fire Exit Has Been Blocked Like This For Months And My Boss Threatened To Fire Me After He Saw Me Taking This Photo. What Should I Do?
Sign Posted Above The Thermostat At Work
For reference, you start to see your breath at about 13°C. About 20°C is what's generally deemed "room temperature", and 18°C is the lowest one can reasonably go inside a building where people are working/studying- even that's not comfortable for most people. Below that, you risk respiratory disease or even hypothermia if exposure is prolonged, and you aren't doing vigorous physical exercise.
Eat And Get Laid Off. Snitches Get $20
Desperate Sign At Papa John’s
Papa John himself has proven to be a thoroughly despicable person. So go f**k yourself, Papa John.
My Availability Has Always Been Strictly Mon-Fri. I Spoke To A Manager When I Saw This Sign And Was Told I Will Be Working That Day, Regardless Of My Availability. The Schedule Is Now Up And I Have Been Assigned A Full Shift That Saturday
Ask Every Customer To Sign Up For A Credit Card Or You Are Fired!
Being forced to upsell c**p nobody wants or needs is cruel. Just advertise it. Have a sign at the counter for your f*****g ripoff credit card. Your employees shouldn’t be forced to be a party to your scams.
This Annoying Sign In Ireland
If The Rent Is Free Sign Me Tf Up
Found 2 Of These Signs In The Tim Hortons I Work At Today, Figure Even Though They Pay Me S**t Wages, I’ll At Least Offer My 2 Cents
Note: this post originally had 73 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Years ago I worked for a small manufacturing company. They hired a team of consultants to see how to raise company morale. At one of the rah -rah meetings they asked for suggestions. Mine was to take the money paid the consultants and give the employees a raise/ bonus. Didn't go over well.
It's not anti-work. It's anti-low-wage employers who treat their employees poorly. Enough places have raised wages and hours that people can work full time at a single employer instead of multiple part time jobs for minimum wage. These businesses need to raise prices and increase wages or close, their model is no longer sustainable. It's capitalism, except the item in short supply is labor. Pay more, treat people well or close.
few of those were examples of "Delusional Notes That Bosses Actually Had The Nerve To Display At Work"
it's like the Bored Panda headline writers don't even look at the posts before writing the headlines
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If you are in the USA, you need to make yourself aware of the NLRB, the EEOC, and OSHA. There are laws that protect you, AND protect you from your bosses retaliating against you. You don't have to pay for the lawyers, they will fight for your rights if they have been violated. And it is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for taking that action, so if they do those entities will protect you from that too. Or get you rehired with back pay.
Can't upvote this enough. I used to work for a place like those shown above and started looking into the NLRB. I earned a LOT of c**p they were doing was bullsnot. Educate yourselves folks. There's a whole lot of information on the net. Learn and stand up for yourselves!
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Some of these sound like they were made by a mini-Ceaușescu. "Tell the manager if you see workers having a converstaion that's not about work", "Get a reward if you tell on someone who is eating".
All I saw, was poor management issues with each sign. There are so many people running businesses, that need to be trained in how to run a business, it isn't even funny anymore. Pay people a decent wage with benefits and adjust your prices accordingly and you may stay in business. Continue berating and threatening people and you can leave with a sad parting gift of, no company.
My first job was at Borders books. The management straight up told me, "You understand that we expect you to familiarize yourself with the store on your own time, right?" I was unfortunately new to the job force, and didn't know how illegal it was (not that I did it, but I could have reported it.) But yes, you were expected to walk around the store, learning where everything was off the clock, so they didn't have to pay you to be trained.
The issue is, bad bosses hold the power, and choose to use it to extort any employees under them. You can blame bad workers all you want, but when someone is deliberately keeping someone away from living conditions, you're really going to defend them?
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Years ago I worked for a small manufacturing company. They hired a team of consultants to see how to raise company morale. At one of the rah -rah meetings they asked for suggestions. Mine was to take the money paid the consultants and give the employees a raise/ bonus. Didn't go over well.
It's not anti-work. It's anti-low-wage employers who treat their employees poorly. Enough places have raised wages and hours that people can work full time at a single employer instead of multiple part time jobs for minimum wage. These businesses need to raise prices and increase wages or close, their model is no longer sustainable. It's capitalism, except the item in short supply is labor. Pay more, treat people well or close.
few of those were examples of "Delusional Notes That Bosses Actually Had The Nerve To Display At Work"
it's like the Bored Panda headline writers don't even look at the posts before writing the headlines
Load More Replies... If you are in the USA, you need to make yourself aware of the NLRB, the EEOC, and OSHA. There are laws that protect you, AND protect you from your bosses retaliating against you. You don't have to pay for the lawyers, they will fight for your rights if they have been violated. And it is illegal for your employer to retaliate against you for taking that action, so if they do those entities will protect you from that too. Or get you rehired with back pay.
Can't upvote this enough. I used to work for a place like those shown above and started looking into the NLRB. I earned a LOT of c**p they were doing was bullsnot. Educate yourselves folks. There's a whole lot of information on the net. Learn and stand up for yourselves!
Load More Replies... Some of these sound like they were made by a mini-Ceaușescu. "Tell the manager if you see workers having a converstaion that's not about work", "Get a reward if you tell on someone who is eating".
All I saw, was poor management issues with each sign. There are so many people running businesses, that need to be trained in how to run a business, it isn't even funny anymore. Pay people a decent wage with benefits and adjust your prices accordingly and you may stay in business. Continue berating and threatening people and you can leave with a sad parting gift of, no company.
My first job was at Borders books. The management straight up told me, "You understand that we expect you to familiarize yourself with the store on your own time, right?" I was unfortunately new to the job force, and didn't know how illegal it was (not that I did it, but I could have reported it.) But yes, you were expected to walk around the store, learning where everything was off the clock, so they didn't have to pay you to be trained.
The issue is, bad bosses hold the power, and choose to use it to extort any employees under them. You can blame bad workers all you want, but when someone is deliberately keeping someone away from living conditions, you're really going to defend them?
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