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The whole job hunt is basically a well-disguised hell on earth. With so many things at stake, from monthly rent to your dignity, it’s only fair to be over the moon after you hear that long-awaited “we are pleased to...”
But the truth is, things just don’t end there. The real challenge of getting on board in your new workplace begins, and if you’re lucky, you may end up having your dream job with cool colleagues, opportunities to grow and daily savory snacks. In the most common cases, the opposite happens—you start noticing weird things like office tension and burnouts that scream run like Forrest Gump.
“When u get hired and ur boss is like 'this isn't just a job it's a family' u bout to have the WORST experience of your life,” posted @bocxtop on Twitter, sparking a very relatable discussion in a thread. It turns out people are no strangers to red flags about just how toxic, even lethal, their workplaces are and here are some of the things they shared about it.
Image credits: bocxtop
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
In some European countries it's even illegal to ask during a job interview if a woman is pregnant.
Paul Davis 4 years ago
Also in the U.S., but that doesn't deter some people from asking because so many don't give a crap about the law.
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Rose 4 years ago
It is in the States as well, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen - frequently.
Load More Replies... Mazer 4 years ago
Back before the 1980’s when women were so much more marginalized, had a ton of company rules and policies that threatened their careers. This was especially true with flight attendants. Get married - lose your job, get pregnant - lose your job, gain weight (for any reason) - lose your job. My mother was a flight attendant for United Airlines, she got married after meeting my father at work, she lost her job. Decades later, I’m taking my dog into see an orthopedic surgeon veterinarian, we get to talking travel and he tells me it’s his wife who sued the airline winning so many freedoms for her flight attendant colleagues.
GirlFriday 4 years ago
When I was first starting my career in the early 90's, I was asked in more than a few interviews if I was single and when I said yes, they would ask if I was on birth control.
Angela B 4 years ago (edited)
I once had an Employer (at an Interview) ask: Do you have child4en? How old? Do they get sick often? Do you plan to have any more? Do you do drugs? Do you have any mental health problems? Are you deeply religious? Reported them to the recruitment agency that got me the interview....and never replied to the offer of position.
Na Schi 4 years ago
Had the same a couple of years ago as a woman. They didn't asked directly but surely in a way that would lead them to the conclusion... I had no problem to lie straight into their faces that I was single and were willing to full concentrate on my career (ok the second one was not even a lie). Nobody later called me out when I naturally spoke about my long term relationship and even if... there are always short term break-up... Funny thing? Up to until today I've never heard from my male partner that one single interview even pointed in this direction. They were asking a lot of crazy s**t but never were intrested in his private affairs or his need to reproduce...
RELATED:
#2
Gogeta Blue 4 years ago (edited)
This comment covers up another dang scam, here’s a dog instead 🐶 ( Yes it got deleted! )
Game Over 4 years ago
The scam is so fake it disintegrated as I looked at it.
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Sapna Sarfare 4 years ago
Precisely... And the thing is the bosses complain every time.. They are just not happy
#3
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And "Dedication to the job" means that you will not ever have the audacity to take time off for funerals, weddings or vacation.
Debra Robinson 4 years ago
Don't even DARE get sick/injured or have a family emergency!
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David Martin 4 years ago
When I hear "competitive wages", I picture just one, really high paying pay check, and every two weeks the entire office has to go into gladiatorial combat for it. Bonus points, sometimes I picture Dwight Schruet
Chucky Cheezburger 4 years ago
Yep, that flexibility usually goes one way... I don't miss the midnight calls to drive 45 minutes to work for 30 minutes, then drive back home.Only paid for actual time worked. But when I needed to use a half day to go to a funeral, you'd think I was asking for the blood of the firstborn...
Dave P 4 years ago
Not always true. Worked out a place that said "competitive wages, paid 30% above industry average. Used the term "Family" and literally it was an amazing place to work for, and they really did treat us that way. They also said flexible hours, so yes, they did demand you work after normal hours for projects if they needed, but they also paid time and half. Lots of extra money.
To find out more about the telltale signs of a toxic workplace so you can run far away from it the moment you realize it, we spoke with Marilyn Starkloff, a marketing coordinator and content strategist. According to Marilyn, a toxic workplace can be described in a variety of ways and everyone has their own unique story to tell.
“I recommend finding out whether a job is toxic right away. Don’t squander your time. Time is valuable and it deserves to be spent in the right environment with the right people. You can accomplish this by reading Glassdoor reviews (sometimes—however, some toxic employers will have their employees write fake reviews—mine did this),” she said.
#4
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And in half the time it would have taken 3 persons to do the work.
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago
And the boss will put their name on it, take all the praise, raises, and promotions, and never ever mention your name once——and may even babe so petty as to try and manufacture a reason tomhave you fired, because you know too much about their lies.
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Randy Klefbeck 3 years ago
Way before anyone started evaluating the term "multitasker" and calling it what it really is, I was saying it. No one can do more than one thing at a time in reality. People cannot think more than one thought at a time for that matter.
Robert Robi Z 4 years ago
And probably do the work of several other employees who are too lazy to work but are the boss's favourite so they don't have to work
#5
Joshua Seaman 4 years ago
It certainly isn't "the only reason", as people can enjoy other things about their jobs, but it's definitely the main one.
michael reid 4 years ago
I don't think many people have a passion for doing accounts. A lot of people do only the bare minimum to avoid getting sacked or going to jail. It's just a job, but we'll do it if you pay us
#6
PeachPossum 4 years ago
Give the dude a dictionary and ask him to look up the word "manager" -- the definition may surprise him.
Robert Robi Z 4 years ago
A friend of mine wanted to go to his close relative's funeral but his boss said 'Ask them to do the funeral at another time, so that you can finish your working hours'
Marilyn said that one major difference between her former employment and her present job was that “I could hear her ranting and cursing at one of the staff as soon as I went in for the interview,” she recounted. However, “I heard laughter in the background at my current non-toxic employment. I'm not sure about you, but I prefer to hear people laugh,” she said.
#7
#8
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
If they don't give you a chance to ask questions about the company, you should take that as a direct advice against working there.
Mike Loux 4 years ago
I'm not a hiring manager anymore, but I do participate in the occasional DevOps interview, and we try to make sure there is time left for questions. We also are trying to sell the job to the candidate as much as they are trying to sell their skills to us. It's nice being at a company you actually, ya know, WANT to be at, and wanting others to share in the awesomeness (first place in a while that I've actually felt that way).
Kari Holmes 4 years ago
I saw a book in my boss’ office; “How to work with People You Can’t Stand” 🥺
#9
Sage Gusano 4 years ago
"Everyone drinks after work....some drink at work....We all drink...a lot."
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
I never understand this one. “We play hard.” Are you a child? Nobody cares how you play. Get a life.
“A toxic work environment is one where you continually feel like you're walking on glass. Your heart rushes with terror whenever you see your employer. You're frightened to raise questions because you'll be yelled at, rejected, or belittled if you do. As a result, if you don't feel comfortable asking questions, the quality of your job will suffer,” Marilyn said and added that communication is the only way to learn and get the task done efficiently.
Another telltale sign is high turnover, Marilyn explained. “If everyone has only been there for a year or less, there's a good likelihood there's a reason. My advice is to ask, "What is your turnover rate?" in your next interview. This is a question that almost any decent employer will gladly answer.”
#10
#11
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
They also have other nice things to say: "Be glad that I'm not firing you." "If you don't talk you can work harder." "Your only excuse for not showing up is that you're dead." and the worst one: "If i start paying you in peanuts, would you at least improve and work like a monkey?"
Kathryn Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
F**k you, Boss. Your employees are the reason your company is still afloat, not any of your “genius” ideas (which all crash and burn spectacularly, btw). If they leave, you’re out of business—-and it will be completely your own fault.
Loty 4 years ago
He is not wrong. #1 way to appreciate your employees is to pay them appropriate wages. Everything else is secondary.
Mike Loux 4 years ago
Somehow, I don't think this particular owner gives a toss about competitive wages. Call it a hunch...
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DennyS (denzoren) 4 years ago
I am currently part of a similar environment and boy do I hope it's not for very long.
#12
John Dilligaf 4 years ago
that also translates into "you'll do several different jobs, but we won't train you in any of them"
A disorganized workplace can also be a red flag. “Within my five years, I understood that disorganization might be the root of most problems. The reason the office was so disorganized was because of the high turnover rate. There was no organizing structure in place, and every job was left open-ended (no awareness of who did what),” the marketing coordinator recounted.
She added that the owner would then accuse and rage at an employee for misplacing documentation, a sample, products, checks, and keys. “Because the organization was in such a state of disarray, this resulted in the accountants staying for only a year or less.”
#13
John Montgomery 4 years ago
Yet they still "expect" all genders to apply. Is it just me or does that read like a command?
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buttonpusher 4 years ago
Yeah my ex is on an apprenticeship, it's all male, very toxic and over time he became more and more like them. He just became a horrible person, the opposite to who he used to be. One of the reasons we split after over a decade together.
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Tracy Wallick 4 years ago
Translation: "we know our behavior is inappropriate but we're preemptively making it your fault."
Mewton’s Third Paw 4 years ago
Go in there and say shît about their moms. Like awful things. And then say “Naaap. Can’t be easily offended!”
Tyler Bt 4 years ago
I work in a mostly all male workplace. They are accepting, but I wonder if I showed up in my real clothes how they would react. I didn`t tell them I was transgender. They didn`t ask. They have no right to. Painted Nails. Big Earrings. Lipstick (under my mask). An open mind and positive attitude.I don`t fully appear as myself because I know how I appear, and I also want to be employed. I`m so sick of the BOYS CLUB. I can be a jerk just as much as anyone but I won`t ever judge someone based on how they present themselves. And also sick of people thinking I`m on their side by looking at me and sharing their homophobic racist beliefs because they think I`m on their side. Do not join the boys club. Isn`that the problem with the US Senate. Employers like this can go to hell.
#14
#15
gerry.garh 4 years ago
Sound precisely the kind of jobs I had when younger. I accepted them strictly based on the best pay offered. The reasoning was; If they didn't have an idea how to describe the job, they also wouldn't have a way to find that I didn't know how to do it neither. Usually lasted an average of two years. I have no remorse.
Zwiebel Suppe 4 years ago
How do you get through an interview for a job like this?
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#16
Claire Stanfield 4 years ago
If you look around and everyone's family but you - guess who gets blamed when things go wrong?
Memere 4 years ago (edited)
Back in the late 70's, I worked for a small family owned business, they sold playground equipment. It was a fun job, I really liked it, & I got along really well with everyone (so I thought). At 90 days, I was eligible for full benefits & a pay increase. I completely reorganized all the literature & forms, & had started working up quotes, even sold a very big playground set-up worth 10k USD. Then 10 days before the 90 days was up, the wife called me in & said "you're just not working out, we're letting you go". Started watching the job postings, & sure enough, every 90 days they advertised the exact job I had done. Sleazy employer using low paid labor & never having to actually give raises or benefits. The husband did get cancer a few years later, & the wife & sons lost the business. Thank you, Karma!
#18
Kimi Tomminello 4 years ago (edited)
Employer pockets all profits and instead of employees getting bonuses like they would if the business was legitimate they get a pizza party. Very shady.
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Sapna Sarfare 4 years ago
Why should an employee get excited about pizza parties at work? Why is it important? I mean pay me well and get me work which really excites me. I am sure employees will be happy to plan their own pizza parties
Autumn Artemis 4 years ago
They tell you it’ll be fun. They say you will laugh. JANET THESE ARE NOT TEARS OF LAUGHTER
Nicola Dimigen 4 years ago
Bloop. "Hello. I'm Janet. How may I help you?"
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Sue User 4 years ago
I once worked for a software company that was desperate to meet a deadline. So they offered dinner if you stayed late. Dinner was in the form of ask the admin for pizza money. After two weeks of staying late ( one of the only ones ) , I sheepishly asked. I was given $20. Later I found out the bosses were upset that I didn't return the change.
Loty 4 years ago
Was pizza party thrown in to make sure people are paying attention? The last two are ok with me. I like fun and pizza.
howdylee 4 years ago
Not when they're providing pizza to keep you in the office longer
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#19
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
At least the boss didn't cry, so it might not be hell but just purgatory to work there.
#20
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Easy, avoid speaking to your co-workers and bosses and don't listen to what they have to say.
#22
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago (edited)
That's ok as long as you pay every minute I'm working for you. I don't do free work, not even "sometime".
Philip Barrett 3 years ago
Yep, i was told at one job that i would "sometimes" go out of town to work.
Rhon Young 4 years ago
Yeah, many years ago my husband was told the job would mean that about once a month he would need to go interstate for a night, maybe two. His first trip was for a week and that was what all the trips were. For the next 6 years he was away for at least a week every second week. Our kids were young with only one of them in school. He missed out on so much.
#23
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago (edited)
No one can force you to take their shift, though. If they try to guild trip you, you just say that you can't because it's your turn that day to take care of your terminally ill mother, brother, sister, grandpa.
Robert Robi Z 4 years ago
If you treat the co-workers any better they treat you, you can make a fool of yourself
Memere 4 years ago
I had a part time job once & they called me to come in & cover a shift in an 'emergency'. Told them I couldn't do it. When they started getting all huffy about it, I calmly said "I'm in Colorado in the mountains for the weekend". Job was back home in Missouri, an 8-10 hour drive, lol
#24
#25
Beth Ellis 4 years ago
"Ability to pivot quickly in a dynamic enviro" = your boss will force you to go in a 100 different directions every day, without any guidance or leadership (soup de jour syndrome)
#26
Hugo Raible 4 years ago
"We see that you are a senior, best of class guy, but since we are a startup, we don't pay market rates" - so you are expecting me to work for less, but still with a high failure risk of a startup?
#27
#28
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
If we're like family, I'll be the black sheep and do as little as possible in as much possible time.
GirlFriday 4 years ago
I worked briefly for a company that touted being like a family and no s**t, I showed up for work one day and the owner asked me if his son could borrow my car for the day. I immediately said no and no one was spoke to me for two days. Silent treatment. Even if I had a question. On day two when I realized no one would be speaking to me, I went in my office and started scheduling interviews for other jobs. I left without notice.
Robert Robi Z 4 years ago
It usually means that you'll never again have time for your real family
#29
Moezzzz 4 years ago
Yep. Worked for one of these and it was the worst 2 yrs of my life. Towards the end of my tenure, I was roped into pretty much being the owners gopher. I was the office manager for one office and the Corp recruiter for 3 offices. When I say I was burned out, I was freakin burned out. And the worst part? I let it happen. I got roped into the "family" BS
#30
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
And you reply with: " Thanks, but I don't like working with inefficient people who are lousy in time management."
Julie Richards 4 years ago
I have been involved in so many of these. Granted, I never saw them as "bad" or "red flags" because I'd been trained by blood family and relationships. However, I was also chronically ill and needed the money. I'd work myself til I was too sick and would either quit (rarely) or get fired (almost all the time) and then "take a break" of a few days and go back out there and get something else. Rinse, repeat. This explains why I had 13 W-2 forms in one year - the height of my being able to work.
#31
#32
#33
Claire Stanfield 4 years ago
Many morticians participate in owning or running the funeral home - so they must also be personable, if in a less energetic and more sympathetic and solemn way.
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
At least people aren't walking out on you and they let you finish your sentences.
#34
#36
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago (edited)
Simple fact: If I'm not paid to be there, I'll be somewhere else and in better company.
Mike Loux 4 years ago
*bingo* - "The check rents. It does not buy." --Robert Crais
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#40
Tom Spade 4 years ago (edited)
F**k family-run companies. It literally means no upward advancement, no real money, and you get to spend your career making sure that you don't offend the owner or his incompetent dipshit relatives. Where you find nepotism, you find ignorance and incompetence. Jack's Campers in Mitchell, SD...
Tee Witt 4 years ago
This is true but I mainly worked for family run small businesses and was very happy in my work. Times change and people vary.
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#41
The Deez 4 years ago
See, this strikes me as kind of a weird attitude. I loved my coworkers at my former job, so much so that we WOULD sometimes get together outside of work to do something fun like karaoke. I'm still friends with several of them! I get that this wouldn't be EVERYONE's cup of tea but to just be like "No, we don't do that here..." is strange.
Brian bell 4 years ago
This. Every really good friend of mine at this point in my life came from different jobs I had. You work "most of" your woken hours. Don't people get this? Work IS a huge chunk of your life, might as well enjoy it (or) enjoy your co-workers at least.
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#43
#44
#45
#46
Memere 4 years ago
In the U.S., there are states that are "at will employment", meaning the employer can fire you at will for any perceived infraction. I worked an hourly job that I had to clock in for, & if I clocked in late too many times, I could be fired on the spot.
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#48
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
Involving your managers into your life just gives them more info to blackmail you to work harder and longer without extra pay.
#49
WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
If people got a really hideous present from their spouse and they lost it, they would be over the moon. Why do they cling to really hideous jobs?
#51
#55
#56
Mike Loux 4 years ago (edited)
Guessing they mean "commoditization" - "the action or process of treating something as a mere commodity." (per Oxford) Although, "commodization" sounds like it could mean "the act or process of treating something as a mere commode (toilet)", and that kind of fits, too...
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WilvanderHeijden 4 years ago
If you play your cards better you can have all of that in 5 years. It's just a matter of selling your skills to the highest bidder.
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What do you think ?
Natalie Williams 4 years ago (edited)
Unlimited PTO = you'll never have time to take it and we won't have to pay it out when you leave.
Claire Stanfield 4 years ago
If there seems to be no specific interest in you as an applicant and they're willing to start you same day or they seem overly desperate to get you working ASAP, they might have turnover problems and be looking for the next person with a pulse. Don't do it.
Jeweled Dragon 4 years ago
Reading posts like this makes me feel lucky to work where I work. The coworkers and managers actually are like a family, in a positive way. The policy for time off requests is that if you schedule a day off three weeks in advance, you are guaranteed to get it. If you need a day off after the three week mark, you can talk to your manager and they are more than happy to arrange it for you. They deliberately overbook most days so if someone ends up not being able to come in they won't be short-staffed and the person needing time off won't feel pressured to come in when they are sick, or if there is a family emergency.
Wise beauty 4 years ago
I feel like the overall message of these people hiring is “we’ll pay you less than minimum wage for your soul.”
Adrian 4 years ago
Because every boss has only one story about all his weird subordinates. Similarly, every subordinate has a story about weird bosses. There are a lot more employees than bosses - hence waaay more stories about weird bosses - its just statistics.
Load More Replies... Grady'sRaider 4 years ago
Sometimes the fertilizer hits the fan after you quit your last job and on the first day is. Your 8-5 job in the interview is "We work here until 6." You must be able to work with women, in the interview, is far from the professional mature women you worked with, but rather now the group of mean girls from junior high who were never socialized any further.
Jess-a-men 4 years ago (edited)
Always remember: If an employer uses the word "family" to describe a job, they do not mean the kind of family where a sweet granny bakes you cookies. They mean the type of family where a guy with a black suit and a rose on his lapel offers to do you a favour.
Natalie Williams 4 years ago (edited)
Unlimited PTO = you'll never have time to take it and we won't have to pay it out when you leave.
Claire Stanfield 4 years ago
If there seems to be no specific interest in you as an applicant and they're willing to start you same day or they seem overly desperate to get you working ASAP, they might have turnover problems and be looking for the next person with a pulse. Don't do it.
Jeweled Dragon 4 years ago
Reading posts like this makes me feel lucky to work where I work. The coworkers and managers actually are like a family, in a positive way. The policy for time off requests is that if you schedule a day off three weeks in advance, you are guaranteed to get it. If you need a day off after the three week mark, you can talk to your manager and they are more than happy to arrange it for you. They deliberately overbook most days so if someone ends up not being able to come in they won't be short-staffed and the person needing time off won't feel pressured to come in when they are sick, or if there is a family emergency.
Wise beauty 4 years ago
I feel like the overall message of these people hiring is “we’ll pay you less than minimum wage for your soul.”
Adrian 4 years ago
Because every boss has only one story about all his weird subordinates. Similarly, every subordinate has a story about weird bosses. There are a lot more employees than bosses - hence waaay more stories about weird bosses - its just statistics.
Load More Replies... Grady'sRaider 4 years ago
Sometimes the fertilizer hits the fan after you quit your last job and on the first day is. Your 8-5 job in the interview is "We work here until 6." You must be able to work with women, in the interview, is far from the professional mature women you worked with, but rather now the group of mean girls from junior high who were never socialized any further.
Jess-a-men 4 years ago (edited)
Always remember: If an employer uses the word "family" to describe a job, they do not mean the kind of family where a sweet granny bakes you cookies. They mean the type of family where a guy with a black suit and a rose on his lapel offers to do you a favour.
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