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Nobody likes a micromanager! Rules, standards, and discipline are definitely crucial in a working environment, that’s true. However, what’s equally essential is the trust that managers place in their employees. If you have little of that, you’ll only breed resentment in the workplace and have to deal with huge turnover rates.
Some of the employees of Reddit shared their most bizarre work stories on r/meirl. They spilled the tea about the most ridiculous reasons that they ever got in trouble for at work. We’ve collected the most interesting and frustrating posts for you to enjoy on your coffee break. But God forbid anyone’s 12 seconds late to get back to their desk!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Got in trouble for eating in my car during my break because I might be needed to come back early. I explained that's why I eat in my car.
TaeilOfTime 2 years ago
Depends on the state, in Missorui teachers aren't allowed to leave the premises during the school day
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LynzCatastrophe 2 years ago
An old job tried that with me once. I explained to them that I was not the only one who was trained to do the job they kept dumping on me and would be eating in the food court from now on.
RELATED:
#2
I was reprimanded for working too much, and for not working enough, within an hour of each other. I was the only person remaining in a team of four people, so I was sneaking into the office early to get some extra stuff done off the clock. I was caught and written up for that. About an hour after I had walked out of my boss's office she asked me to come back again to threaten to put me on my "final warning" for failing to deal with the backlog that was accumulating while we were understaffed.
Squirrelly Panda 2 years ago
I would have asked for the write up, then taken copies of both to HR. I would also be looking for my next job because no matter how things went with HR I would not want to be there anymore.
Craig Boddys 2 years ago
Id have asked for a written warning, rolled it up into a really sharp point, dipped it in salt then lemon juice, and shoved it right up her nose.
Annie Persson 2 years ago
Bonus point for restraining yourself to the nose..
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Debbie 2 years ago
4 employees at work in a team, 4 employees at work, one leaves at fall and down goes all, 3 employees are left in the team... .
Load More Replies... #3
I was 12 seconds late coming back from break once
Was talked to about time management
Meowzers! 2 years ago (edited)
I had this happen at one job. We had to log off our phones with a break code if we were on lunch or needed the toilet. The ladies' toilets were 5 mins away from my desk, and usually there was a queue as there were only 6 cubicles for an office of over 100 (there were multiple men's toilet facilities but only one for ladies). We were allowed exactly 10 mins as toilet breaks for the whole day. Apparently, I was 3 mins late getting back from said toilet after having a p1ss and so got written up for it. It didn't help when I brought up the double standards of my supervisor who seemingly took cigarette breaks whenever they fancied it even though they were meant to be managing the paperwork for our calls and we needed them to sign off our work after each call. I didn't stay in the job too long after that, I quit after getting written up again after I was crippled with pain and needed an ambulance to take me to hospital for emergency surgery after I had an ovarian cyst rupture.
Kyle D 2 years ago (edited)
I got the same 'talk'. I was called into the office & was chastised for being 40 hours and 01 minute. I chuckled but she was totally serious. I realize that IS technically 60 seconds of overtime they have to pay me, and 60 seconds over the allotted schedule budget, but really ... if 60 seconds is going to break the company, maybe the company needs to revaluate their finances.
pinkpie 2 years ago
I hope that $3.45 keeps you up at night you wicked overtimer
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Rob Williams 2 years ago
I bet that the time management talk took a lot longer than the 12 seconds they were complaining about!
Sami-Jo Ross 2 years ago
Had a head cashier who was like this. From the front of the store to the break room was almost three minutes on its own out of a fifteen minutes. When it was break time she expected you to be back in exactly fifteen minutes. So you effectively only got ten.
Saphyre Fyre 2 years ago
And the person who literally sat there and counted the seconds....is that the best use of their time????
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
So sorry. That enormous sh*t took longer than I expected. Next time I'll take a picture for you to prove it.
BlindAres 2 years ago
I'm definitely not defending someone clock watching down to the second. However, late is late. Especially in the no nonsense military culture my background is in.
The Other Guest 2 years ago
In order to know they were 12 seconds late, they would have had to note *to the second* at what time the person left. Even in the military I think that would be overkill.
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Employees value managers who value them and find ways to encourage them. On the flip side, micromanagers are a living, breathing, typing nightmare to be around. You know that you’re working with the latter if they never delegate their work, constantly pester you for updates, and don’t want you making any decisions without their knowledge.
Micromanagers can’t see the forest for the trees: they focus so much on itty-bitty details that they ignore the bigger perspective. They’re hardly ever satisfied, have a massive employee turnover rate, and get irritated if you don’t loop them in on everything that you do. Micromanagers are also very big on monitoring their employees’ performance to a bizarre extent. And they also tend to ignore others’ work-life boundaries, insisting that their jobs are more important than anything else.
#4
I got told I'm too sensitive and need to accept people have their own personalities or leave... After reporting a guy for repeatedly calling team members racial slurs and then assaulting me and threatening to kill me multiple times when I called out his bad behavior. All of which was in front of our supervisor... F**k Home Depot.
Ken Schroeder 2 years ago
Home Depot, where it's okay to be a racist but not okay to upset a racist. See also: Chic-fil-a and gays.
#5
I got written up for taking 4.5 sick days in a calendar year when we had 12 allotted. The company average was 4, so they wrote up everyone who had more.
Not-a-Clue (she/her) 2 years ago
Do they not realise that an average by definition has to have some greater & some fewer?
Marcellus II 2 years ago
"Think how stupid the average person is, now realise half are stupider than that, by definition", yes. So they're probably stupid enough to use the mean instead of median --- now, if you have 1 very-long-illness actually all the others are below average!
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Justme 2 years ago
When I was 6months pregnant, my water broke and I left work to go to the hospital. My boss wasn’t there yet (she had a leisurely schedule of ~10-3) so I just let everyone else in my office know what was going on. I got written up for not calling out sick the next day…. While in the middle of an emergency c-section.
The Other Guest 2 years ago
Unless everyone is taking the same amount of sick time, there will be some who take more than average. I mean, that's just how averages work.
similarly 2 years ago
In most countries, you are legally allowed to use all of your sick leave, and cannot be punished for using it. Depending on the country, I'd consult a lawyer.
Sylvia Schmitz 2 years ago
There are even countries where there is no alotted sick leave one could use up. If the doctor says you need to stay home for a week or a month then you do just that.
Load More Replies... Lordb0304 2 years ago
I don't get this. In the UK, if you're ill and need time off, you take it. We don't get told you're only allowed so many days sick. We can literally be signed off for months if it's necessary
Tim Douglass 2 years ago
Do you get paid no matter how long you take off? People seem to miss that the sick days aren't "days you can be sick" but "days you will be paid while being gone".
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#6
Suspended from my waitressing job for a week for having overly bushy eyebrows. Not poorly groomed, just very full. Like Brooke Shield’s eyebrows. Manager said they were “distracting” to the customers. He wanted me to pluck them into the thin style that was more popular in the 90’s. I enjoyed my week off and, when I came back he asked me if I’d thought about what I was going to do about my eyebrows. Told him I was going to keep their natural shape and, if he didn’t like it I’d be happy to talk to a lawyer about racial discrimination at work. He dropped the issue and I quit soon after.
brittany 2 years ago
i got fired bc i refused to let the managers niece shape my eyebrows or do my makeup for her cosmetology class. we worked in an office, not a makeup store or cosmetology school. im allergic to 95 percent of the cosmetics out there and the ones i can wear are stupid expensive so unless im going to a wedding or something i do not wear makeup. i have clear skin and it looks decent. her niece didnt even have real eyebrows. they were shaved of and drawn on with pencil. i refused their makeover offer flat out and was fired the next week.
jmdirks 2 years ago
My beautiful wife has a very distinctive laugh. Regular customers tell her jokes just to make her laugh because they enjoy it so much. She was pulled into the office by the manager to tell her that her laugh was distracting to customers and she needed to control or change it. Got the union involved and found out absolutely no one had complained. The manager was just being his usual d!ck self.
Any traditional working environment needs all of its employees to be on the same page on the stuff that truly matters. That means having a clear understanding of your responsibilities, knowing what kinds of deadlines you have to meet, how you’re supposed to treat your clients, and what your working day and potential overtime look like.
Rules are there for clarity. They also ensure that the projects that matter are completed on time and that your customers end up getting exactly what they wanted. However, no set of workplace regulations is ever going to be ‘perfect’: there’s always going to be some nuances, misinterpretations, and rules that simply do not work in real life. So it helps to see the rules as general guidelines that are meant to be followed, but not something to be worshipped ‘as written.’
#7
Leaving town and going to the lake because I wasn't scheduled for four days straight. My manager told me that just because I'm not on the schedule doesn't mean I'm guaranteed a day off. I needed to put in for vacation if I'm actually leaving town. Otherwise, I need to stay at home in case I'm called in. I lasted two months there.
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
In that case, the OP should've been paid for the entire time since he's considered on-call.
Ian Reynolds 2 years ago
Should have rang them constantly when you were popping out of your house for permission. "Going to the shops, will you be needing to contact me in the next hour?"
apesauce531 2 years ago
Ireland here. Nursing years back and was told I had to check the off duty every night before leaving at the end of my shift. No. Union rules state that I need 24hrs notice and then it's just a request to change my duty rota and I can refuse the change. Also, tried to insist that I took the class A drug cabinet keys on my break. Again, nope, that's my time and holding them does not let me go or do what I want on an official break. You've got to love unions!
Khavrinen 2 years ago
When I was working at a video arcade one of my regulars got fired from Godfather's Pizza because when he left on Saturday night, the posted schedule said he wasn't supposed to work until Monday afternoon. Sunday morning they changed the schedule, and fired him because he didn't come in for "his shift" on Sunday afternoon, even though nobody had bothered to call him to let him know.
Saphyre Fyre 2 years ago
So this place thinks they own you as a human being, and every moment of your life is now their business.
#8
I politely told multiple C level executives to put steel toe shoes on while on my production floor because it set a bad example that all the production workers had to wear them per the rules but the suits were in dress shoes and heels. So basically I was in trouble for following and enforcing the company safety policy.
Captain McSmoot 2 years ago
OSHA would absolutely love, love, LOVE to pay this place a visit and perhaps watch the CCTV footage. This is one of those times were OSHA getting involved is a great thing.
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Jo Davies 2 years ago
I worked for a petro-chemical company for years. Every single person who walked through the gates into the plant (second Nd biggest in South Africa). Had to wear safety shoes. Loved this as I was a safety officer. We go new ones every 6 months, or if needed due to damage. They gave us a great selection as well. I have sneakers and smart shoes as well as really nice Chelsea boots. They ar great when going to a festival and you are close to the mosh pit!
Ian Reynolds 2 years ago
If they were injured they would have been at fault for not following procedure. I hate this, I just to work in a builders yard, and management would attend the branch without the correct PPE, and we would have to tell them, if the yard staff can do it, you can do.
Gavin Johnson 2 years ago
No one and I mean no one got to walk out onto our steelworks floor without a minimum of steel toes boots, head protection and eye and ear protection.. We were actively encouraged to ask anyone who broke the rules to leave immediately. Health & Safety had no boss, no hierarchy and everyone is responsible for keeping themselves and each other safe. You could tell the CEO to leave if they weren’t appropriately kitted out and they’d have zero say in the matter, they couldn’t argue. Because of this it was extremely rare to find someone without the correct kit, no one from the management team want to be made to look daft so they complied 99/100.
Givemeabreak101 2 years ago
I worked in quality control once. we had 99% pure alcohol in the QC office. A guy from corporate walked in smoking signs everywhere. I unloaded on him got called into a meeting with all the bosses I was warned about how I talk to people. I want back to my office and called the corporate QA guy told him what happened it hit the fan the next day.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
I like the old biblical saying: Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's. When management makes up all kinds of rules, I make sure they have to abide to them too. Even did that in military in a war zone. we used to get scolded for not leaving base on time b/c people were late showing up. And it was always their people. So we started leaving on time & leaving them behind.
#9
I was told I was insubordinate because when my boss asked me a question, I said "Let me dig a little deeper before making a decision."
Adam Belaire 2 years ago
Once my co-worker was trying to explain something technical to our boss (all of us are in IT), she was arguing with him about it and in the end he just said "Do you want me to draw you a picture?" At the time, I thought he was going to get it. Now, we all laugh about it.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
Lawrence of Arabia one told a superior "I'm not really insubordinate. I just sound that way."
Some managers (and even regular employees) take the rules far too seriously for everyone’s good. They’re overly zealous. They might berate you for being a few seconds late coming into work. Or they lecture you about minute details while never praising you for your accomplishments. For them, nothing you do will ever be good enough because they have unrealistic standards for performance.
Someone shouldn't be lectured because they're a few seconds late (unless you want to start keeping track of all the times they've been early). However, if there's a genuine issue with chronic lateness, it's something that needs to be addressed in a friendly but firm one-on-one meeting.
Here’s the thing, though. Having standards and aiming for quality is essential if you want to do well in business, however, you get there by having a capable, highly motivated, and empowered team. If you’re constantly criticizing your employees, writing them up for nonsense, and failing to find ways to praise and support them, you might soon be putting out job ads—looking for new coworkers.
For some more ridiculous work stories and micromanagers ruining everyone’s day, check out Bored Panda’s previous article.
#10
I got fired from McDonald's for looking at the prices when I had a customer ask how much a new menu item was. It was my second day on the job.
Rob Williams 2 years ago
So they expect you to say "F****d if I know, chum" rather than look things up?
Fiji Apple 2 years ago
Micky's has high prices now so just assume that you'll have to mortgage your house and you'll be fine
#11
I got a stern talking to because I took credit for my idea in my annual review. The head of the department had said it was her idea and been touting this as something great she did that year. Our reviews did pass over her boss’s desk, and he saw it. So I got in trouble for accidentally outing her lie and taking credit for my work.
Jennik 2 years ago
I've had multiple managers take credit for ideas/projects of mine. Some overtly, others sneakily in discussions with the CEO (not realising I could hear every word from my desk). Then there was the manager who insisted on a certain project direction despite a colleague and I (both experts in that particular field) strongly advising against it. When it failed she said (in a meeting, with lots of people around), "I cannot imagine why you thought it was a good idea to do that."
Scott Rackley 2 years ago
That's why you save all your emails and get directions in writing. I have sprung it on a department head and he was shown the door.
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Heffalump 2 years ago
I've never understood that in managers. Their bosses understand that they are there to make sure their teams run well, not to have all the ideas. 'Joe on my team had a great idea I think we should run with' reflects well on the manager and their ability to recognize and champion good ideas. 'All my team are dolts and I'm the only one with an imagination' comes off as poor leadership.
Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
I had a PM start saying "that great idea I had" in team meetings. I took her to one side and said if she did it again I'd out her to the entire project by sending the original email. There was much "I'm so sorry, I didn't realise", 2 months later she was gone, it wasn't just my toes she was treading on.
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
I was in a management meeting with about 12 other employees, including the company President. This one blowhard was always taking credit for other people's work/ideas, but he was a really aggressive guy and nobody ever called him on it. Yeah? I happen to be a bit on the aggressive side myself. So, he proposes this idea that would cut down on physical inventory counting every month. Everyone congratulates him, so I piped up and said "Yeah, Greg - that's an amazing idea. I thought it was pretty amazing when I came up with it and then told you all about it yesterday at lunch. Maybe I should scoot over to my office and get my file notes and spreadsheets so I can outline MY idea a little more fully to the group?" He turned beet red and everyone KNEW I was telling the truth because it had happened to most of them at one time or another. The President REAMED him for a full ten minutes in front of everyone and then kicked him out of the meeting. He never spoke to me again. AW.
#12
The lines of my excel charts were not thick enough, I was following the company design guide
DB 2 years ago
When I sent paperwork to the main office it was slightly out of alignment, and it triggered someone's OCD. A co-worker was reprimanded because he didn't put the paperwork package together properly. The next time he included the example of how to put it together which was a photocopy of how he had been doing it right down to his name and employee number.
#13
I was told I wasn't a team player because I didn't want to go to the waterslides on my day off.
crazydogmama 2 years ago
I had this happen to me when I didn't want to go do Go Karts with the team.
Sami-Jo Ross 2 years ago
If you're expected to go somewhere on a "day off" then it's not a day off, it's a business trip and they better be paying you.
Colleen Glim 2 years ago (edited)
I work with you 5 days a week. The last thing I want to do is hang out with you on my day off. I do have a life outside of work you know.
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
That whole "team player" bullsh*t. Being a team player means getting your responsibilities taken care and not inconveniencing others. Period. The implied working contract is that I work and you give me money. This is NOT my family and you are NOT my friends.
#14
Not smiling enough. Written up and coached every morning on smiling, how to smile, when to smile, how long to hold a smile, etc.
Cat Palmer 2 years ago
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say OP is female (presenting) and the subject was never raised with anyone who presents as male.
Marcellus II 2 years ago
OOoooh this will backfire so badly, them holding the client's gaze with a creepy fake smile...
Captain Awesome 2 years ago
And now I can hold a radiant smile and tell you to fûck off with aplomb
Meowzers! 2 years ago
I had this whilst working in a sh1tty pub that always had trouble and the police called out to daily. I got told I needed to smile more. There was nothing to smile about; all the staff were more interested in trying not to get threatened or stabbed, or hit by bullets from the multiple drive by shootings that happened there. I lasted 3 weeks and quit. At 18 I hadn't quite reached the despair of adulthood and certainly didn't want to die in a stupid bar fight.
Annie Persson 2 years ago
I would do my very best to follow the instructions to the very letter, I would practice at home in front of the mirror until I had perfected the Uncanny Valley grin. You know, the one that looks like an (almost) perfect imitation of a human expression. Where they can't put the finger on what is wrong, they just sense vaguely that something is off
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
I knew a girl who the human version of Grumpy Cat. She worked at Disney Store. She got written up for this too.
#15
I once got a written warning for my attendance record. Their policy was to take the number of days of work you missed divided by the number of work days in the fiscal year so far. If it was below a certain percentage, they would write you up. Mine dipped below the "acceptable" percentage because I took two weeks off at the beginning of the fiscal year for the birth of my son.
AnnaB 2 years ago
In the U.S. they're not obligated to give ANY paid maternity leave.
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Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
Ha, I once got a final written warning for losing my temper 3 years previously. 1st line support had a checklist to do before passing it us Devs, they'd just allocate the tickets straight to us. Initially I started just allocating them back with the checklist attached telling them to fill the checklist in. Anyway, after months of complaining to their manager, she was sacked and they got worse, I started sending them back with "do your ****ing job". 3 years later, different role in the same company they bring it up and say it's gross misconduct, I should have gone through their manager, I say you sacked their manager, should've gone through the IT manager, but yeah, you'd sacked him too, in fact only the IT director was still employed and he was out for 9 months due to stress (essentially they were scapegoating and replacing the entire IT dept). Eventually I brought the IT director in and we wrangled redundancy for me, 1 month of pay for each year of service, so 5 months redundancy.
Definitely a Human 2 years ago
So if you had one day off at the start of the year, you'd be written up?
#16
I was a top producer at this company and went “out of policy” to correct a mistake someone else made on one of our largest accounts. A new director wrote me up, and I refused to sign the corrective action arguing I did what was necessary to retain their business. I was placed on a PIP until I would sign the write up. I was number one in sales and was on a PIP. I received another job offer and left a couple weeks later. That account dropped that company when they learned I was leaving.
BlindAres 2 years ago
Performance Improvement Plan. It's the corporate way of documenting any perceived or actual deficiencies in job performance. Once you fail the Performance Improvement Plan, they very typically fire you. It is vastly, by an overwhelming margin, recommended by career professionals that you dust of the resume and start looking for a new job once this paperwork is brought out.
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MotherofGuineaPigs 2 years ago
I was once told by a Union rep - Sign it - 'Paperwork received (date)' instead of your signature.
#17
Not me, but my student (a woman) who was on a year in industry and I was helping supervise got yelled at by my boss (also a woman) for wearing a pink dress to the office once
A pink dress wasn't appropriate for a woman in engineering, apparently
MotherofGuineaPigs 2 years ago
Said the same thing when my job wanted me to dress 'business casual' since I was a manager. Had to go to the shop floor (sheet metal) several times a day. Bought the clothes that I got to wear twice before they were too trashed to wear, handed my boss the receipt. Got to wear jeans and steel toes after that.
Load More Replies... Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
"It's not pink it's salmon" said every male engineer wearing a pink shirt to work.
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
I would have started wearing too short creased and cuffed trousers, with a short sleeved white button down shirt and the requisite pocket protector. I would have made it my daily uniform.
#18
I once got in trouble for making too much money. I worked a straight commission job.
Dread Pirate Roberts 2 years ago
Lol why are people getting downvoted for finding this funny? 😆
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#19
I once got fired because when we came back from our mandatory Christmas break they asked if I was glad to be back at work and I said no, said I had a bad attitude.
Cat Palmer 2 years ago
Yeah, that's just one of the polite little lies you have to tell, like answering "fine, thanks" when asked how you are. No-one on a work context wants to know your inner trauma.
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago (edited)
I get it, but in the same breath, it's honest and they asked. I dislike giving b.s. pleasantries. Good thing I'm retired.
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Honcho Chorcoran 2 years ago
Meh, kinda have to agree with this one slightly. Part of social graces.
Dread Pirate Roberts 2 years ago
Maybe they shouldn't insist on asking questions they don't wanna know the answer to. She was merely being honest.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
I returned home from war & went back to work. My boss asked me if it was good to back at work instead of being in a war. I said "no". At least there if someone tried to foul things up we could have it pounded by artillery & airstrikes. Management was who always seemed to foul things up at work. I didn't get in trouble though.
#20
Drinking free water at our beverage station, that’s free to everyone… even us..
Richard Michael 2 years ago
Abuse free water? TF? Are you crazy or just illiterate?
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#21
Was told not to copy the VP. Should go through the "chain of command." My boss didn't know the VP had asked me to find that info and send it to him. I was copying my boss so she wasn't out of the loop.
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
See, I would have sent a follow-up email to the VP asking if I was to ignore his requests as I had been reprimanded for not "going through the chain of command". Go ahead and fire me, I could use some time off on unemployment benefits while I get my lawsuit in order.
#22
Got in trouble because the finance director bought on of those fake titles from online, the ones where you buy a tiny bit of land in Scotland, and get to call yourself a ‘Lord’ (even though it’s b******t). The finance director sent out an email to all the staff stating that we had to address him as ‘Lord….name) and all emails had to have the honorific. It thought he was being funny, that it was a joke, and that he was being ironic, I replied ‘ this is funny, made me laugh’. He wasn’t joking.
Poison Ivy/Boo 2 years ago
Ha! Those titles are a joke! The land you're buying is usually a small plot of landfill 🤣
Rostit. . 2 years ago
its not even that. You're not buying anything at all aside from a piece of paper. These are pure scams.
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Michael Largey 2 years ago (edited)
I would buy a title that would make me outrank him, like the Duke of Earl. (Nothing can stop the Duke of Earl.)
censorshipsucks 2 years ago
buy a similar piece of land and demand that he also calls you lord?
Amy Dunaway 2 years ago
https://scottishlaird.co.uk/pages/becomelordlady It's legitimate thing. I own a square foot on the estate. It's a fun way for them to raise money for repair and renovations to the castle. They send out a newsletter every month with extensive photos of the current work.
Dr Robert Neville 2 years ago
I had a friend buy my wife and I those as a joke wedding present, I think they're in the loft.
#23
I worked as part of an account management team for a "corporate, inner city" type company. I was raised to be polite to everyone I guess, so when I'd find myself at a door at the same time as someone else, I'd hold the door open for them and allow them to pass through first. No need to converse further, it's just what you do, right? I did this for everyone. I got called into a full investigative committee of owners and management when one of the women I worked with reported me for sexual harassment. Apparently, holding a door open whilst indicating they should go through first a handful of times over the course of months constitutes sexual predation to this person. Thank the gods my immediate supervisor ( also a woman) was a very down to earth person. After the "charges" had been laid out to me, she spent about 5 minutes explaining that I did this as a general rule and all was quickly forgotten. That lady rocked! I left soon after that incident but I have fond memories of her, I hope she's well. I'm glad I live in the hinterlands now and don't have to worry about things like this.
Honcho Chorcoran 2 years ago
Good on your boss. What a ridiculous chip on the shoulder of that person - they no doubt live in perpetual persecution and victimhood in their mind. So toxic.
Donald 2 years ago
The same kind of person who would cry abuse or discrimination if they didn't hold the door for them. Can't win with those types.
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Cassie 2 years ago
I'm a woman and I hold doors open for people if they're close behind me. Normally, people just keep going with no interaction whatsoever and sometimes somebody will issue some polite gratitude. On a couple of occasions, it was a man who would insist on taking the door from me and shooing me to go first, but on one occasion, it was a man who lost his everloving mind that a woman was holding a door for him. Apparently, this was an egregious offence and how tf dare I. He was still raging as I went in and let the door close behind me.
johnny smitherman 2 years ago
I always hold the door for anyone behind me. Was screamed at by a women once for being sexist, horrible person, etc all while still holding the door open for the guys behind her...
Michael Largey 2 years ago
I always hold the door open for other people because I don't trust them to hold it open for me.
Imagineer 2 years ago
Women are such hypocrites, actually. "Let me parade half nude everywhere, but don't you dare whistle at me." (Women aren't dressing like that for other women.) They think this is strength. I am a woman and I'm saying that isn't strength.
Red_panda 2 years ago
You are right, women don't dress that way for other women. They dress that way for themselves. Because it makes them feel good about themselves. And if that's what they like, more power to them.
Load More Replies... #24
Invited a new co worker to have lunch with us.
Proceeds to be called into a meeting by one of the directors and was lectured about peer pressure and how its the “first cousin” of bullying.
#25
Got written up for insubordination because of the expressions I had during a Zoom interview. I didn't say one word, all I did was nod or shake my head at the wrong times apparently.
Honcho Chorcoran 2 years ago
F*****g toxic c**t bosses. I can't imagine working at such a horrid miserable place.
#26
Written up for falling below the calculated percentage of available time off. I had 24 hours of PTO available and took 8 hours off, still had 16 hours available but got in trouble. Why even say I have time available if you aren’t going to let me use it?
Cat Palmer 2 years ago
You don't. You donate it to the company to show your dedication. /s
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Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I really don't get this, where is this allowed? Or are they just banking on the employees not complaining and getting union/lawyers involved? Leave hours are leave hours. If you have some remaining you can use them, end of discussion!
Michael Largey 2 years ago
They should hire young people from Lake Wobegon, "where all the children are above average".
#27
Two senior leaders at a previous company didn't like that I answered all of their questions with "no ma'am" or "yes ma'am". I was raised in the south. *Everyone* is ma'am or sir, and it's not even an age related thing! It's not my fault that both of them were successful, recently divorced single mothers in their mid 40's with tons of recent plastic surgery. They said me calling them "ma'am" hurt their feelings, and made them feel old. I thought they had accomplished a lot that they should feel great about, and it's a little weird that one lowly employee saying "ma'am" bothers them so much. I'm also not their damn therapist, and won't tap dance around their insecurities. I told that to HR when they called me in to give me an actual talking-to about it.
Khavrinen 2 years ago
One of the substitutes I had in school told us about getting in trouble for this both ways. When she was a girl her family moved to the South, and her first day in class she got sent to the Principal for not saying "sir/ma'am" to her teachers, because she was "being disrespectful". After four or five years, they moved back to Washington State, and her first day in class she got sent to the Principal for saying "sir/ma'am" to her teachers, because she was "being sarcastic".
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
Or dude! That's always my go-to, regardless of gender.
Load More Replies... Jane Doe 2 years ago
HR: "OP, you have to respect how people identify themselves." OP: I'm sorry. I thought they represented themselves as women. HR: They do. OP: so calling them ma'am didn't misgender them? HR: No. It mis-aged them. They identify as 22 and ma'am is an ageist word. OP: good talk. Bet you're glad you went to college.
Stephanie 2 years ago
i understand the "cultural" aspect of saying ma'am or sir, but if someone tells you not to and you keep doing it you're being disrespectful. if these people DIDN'T say not to and took it to management that's a different story. but you need to listen to what people do and don't want to be called, including ma'am or sir
Givemeabreak101 2 years ago
I was not raised in the south, but I am the same way even to people much younger than me. I get some strange looks sometimes I can't help it I'm too old to change.
#28
Not "managing" my chair. Aka not tucking it in far enough when I walked away from my desk. This guy just lost it on me.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
He must be an awesomely effective manager if that's all that's left for him to worry about.
#29
Working as a cook in a restaurant, I got yelled at by the owner for telling him one of the waitresses was throwing away the (metal) silverware instead of washing it.
lily jones 2 years ago (edited)
Not surprised, working in a restaurant, everyone yells at you, and you're always in someone's way. Still this instance seems unreasonable
#30
I got a stern talking to in my first office job for starting an email saying "Hey ____" instead of "Hi ____". I was told it was unprofessional for using "hey"...
BlindAres 2 years ago (edited)
Depending on who the email was going to, "hey" could most definitely be unprofessional. There was exactly a zero percent chance I'd address an email with "hey (insert any Officer rank here with last name) while in the military.
lily jones 2 years ago
Hi and hey are equally informal, a gentle reminder if either were used instead of Good morning or what have you would suffice
Michael Largey 2 years ago
I don't see them as interchangable. "Hey, kid, get off of my lawn." has a different ring than "Hi, kid, get off of my lawn".
Load More Replies... Missy Mars 2 years ago
I once got in trouble for asking to leave early during a flood. I was doing the work of three people at the time. I mean this literally, they had to hire three people when I finally left.
#31
My first job out of college, I told someone I would “shoot them an email.” One of the managers got angry at me because I allegedly didn’t know how to speak professionally in a business setting. She told my boss and all. Fast forward 11 years and I’ve heard others say “shoot an email” too many times to count.
#32
being right and in his words "I was too smug about it". I worked at a laboratory and I told my supervisor what the fix was for one of our pipetting robots and he told me it was impossible that that was the fix as it was "too straightforward for a complex robot" and I was completely right about how it needed to be fixed. and then I said "well we could have saved a lot of time if you did what I told you" (which was pretty smug) also I studied for lab technician and he studied chemistry so there's that.
#33
I was a new hire at a software company and part of the new employee training included having a senior member review your work after you finished a task. The senior members were all volunteers and you got randomly assigned one. This review and approval was required for the task to be considered complete and failing to complete things on time would get you penalized (stuck in training an additional 2 weeks, forced to bring in donuts for the team, etc.). The training program management told us that we should email our mentors when our tasks were done so they would know to review our work and get things done by the end of the week. So I finished my work one week on like Wednesday, and sent an email to my assigned mentor saying "Hey got my tasks done, when you get the chance can you give it a review and I can close it out before the end of the week". Next morning I got the nastiest email ever about how I was rushing her and pressuring her. That it was totally unprofessional and rude for me to make such demands and that shes been dealing with issues so she might not have the time this week. She then reported me to the training program and they marked it in my training record and kept me in training for an additional 2 weeks. I did however forward the email chain back to the training program and explained that this person was not able or willing to mentor me and she was removed from the program. I got a new mentor that was super chill and helpful and breezed through the last 2 weeks. Th entire program was shut down like 6 months later, apparently I was not the first to have issues and it was deemed ineffective.
René Sauer 2 years ago
Uhm, excuse me? Forced to bring in donuts for everyone? F*ck that! Why should I spend more money then neccesary on that job?
#34
I got yelled at . I mean red-face-spit-flying-everywhere kind of yelling. The reason? I cc someone who felt that it wasn't his business to know about the stuff. It was. Also, it was his first week.
Michael Largey 2 years ago
I've worked with people whose specialty was not knowing stuff. Sadly, they were often in charge.
Ron Baza 2 years ago
Included in an email. Go to send an email now, and you’ll see ‘To’ (the principle recipients), ‘cc’ (people copied in), and ‘bcc’ (also copied in but nobody else can see that they received it). It’s an acronym for ‘carbon copy’.
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#35
I got a talking to from the boss because I finished my work in 40 hours instead of needing approved overtime to work Fridays to finish. F**k contract firms that just want your a*s in a chair to make them $. Also in that job they made me jump through hoops if I finished something in 40 hours they thought would take 80. According to the schedule, it was only half done if I only used 40 hours!
#36
My boss called me a thief and called the police on me. All I did was replace a shared computer's monitor that I thought I had approval for. Approval was the following week and he "caught me" stealing. I didn't take the monitor home and I could have just walked to the station and replace it with the old one but he didn't want to hear it. Police never talked to me but they talked to my boss and told him to f**k off.
#37
my wife got disciplined at work for not saying thank you for receiving a 3$ lunch coupon due to being required to stay after work another hour. her charge nurse knew she wanted to leave on time but told her to stay anyways (cardiac sonography in a hospital)
#38
I had a meeting with HR because my co worker who was my mothers age decided that I wasn’t speaking to her enough and therefore I made it a hostile work environment, even though she hated me from the very beginning so why would she want to speak to me?
#39
I was told I was 'hassling senior managers' by emailing the finance director as soon as he got off a flight. Reality: Sent an email requesting his approval for thing requiring his level of approval while (unknown to me) he was on a 12 hour flight to the far east. He turns on his blackberry as soon as he leaves the airplane, and my request comes up in his unread list. Apparently I should have waited a while. And yes, he was the finance director of the tech. division.
#40
We got fruit baskets to eat over the week. Free of charge, you can just pick something up. A few months ago we also occasionaly had mangoes. I had such a busy day I hadn't eaten anything yet. So when I went home, I took a mango with me. Didn't eat it though. First had to walk my dog. And I s**t you not, while I was walking; my boss asked me if I took the mango. When I confirmed it, he said "This isn't the intention of those. Can you take it with you again tomorrow?" I found it super f*****g weird but okay fine. Took it with me again the next day and ate it at work and no one batted an eye.
#41
Clocked in 1 minute late a couple of times a week and regularly worked avg 7 minutes after shift-end. Guess what the problem was. Of course I should have known that working extra time to get the job done wasn't appreciated. Quickly learned to wait 15 mins to get the OT. Hey boss, if you don't give a little, I'll make you give more.
#42
I was called in to my supervisor's office to discuss my "unprofessional conduct". The unorofessional conduct: adding a smiley face to an internal email when a colleague did me a huge favor. That supervisor was the worst person I have ever worked for.
Mary Leverett 2 years ago
Had one supervisor, while working federal civil service, who, when I asked about something that was the "next level", from MY job, was something I didn't "need to know". My response, while admittedly vehement, was that ignorance is one helluva LOT more expensive than knowledge.
#43
A co-worker and I were reprimanded for leaving at the end of our shift while the toilet flooded in a different department. * We asked the manager of the department if they needed us to stay, and they said no. * We were told our manager was on the way to help fix it. Our department manager sat us down the next morning and said we should have waited for her to arrive for her to dismiss us. Previously she told us we should not stay past working hours.
#44
Coming in early and leaving the front door unlocked, when it was a member of the cleaning crew that left it unlocked after coming in after me. The boss only saw me and assumed it was me that did it.
#45
At a work party, I had grabbed a small plate for food but I didn't grab much (I figured if I wanted more I could go back). I went back for more CHIPS and my boss told me that I couldn't have seconds because others hadn't gotten their food. I just wanted chips. So I looked her in the eye and grabbed more chips and left. They pulled me aside to scold me after lunch.
The Starsong Princess 2 years ago
So you butted in at a work party for seconds before everyone was served? But you think it doesn’t count because you only took a little? Yeah, I’m not surprised you heard about it. You need to work on your manners.
Rebekah Krause 2 years ago
Seriously, everybody should know the rules. No seconds until everyone is served.
Load More Replies... #46
Ran a small crew cleaning 3 car dealerships at one 4 way intersection. Boss got mad at me for not cleaning out the insides of the trash cans, like spraying the empty trash cans out after we'd taken the trash bag out. I bout got fired for saying that's probably something we needed to be told to do
#47
I got a letter from child support that told me I owe them 10k for the workers comp I took, but I didn't have workers comp, so I went to HR, the name on the sheet that signed off on the workers Comp, asked why she reported that I had workers comp when u didn't, and they she need to call child support to tell them it was a mistake. She fired me cause, "you can't just accuse people of stuff like that"
Donald 2 years ago
If you have unpaid child support and receive any money from the government or a settlement they will take the back-pay child support from that. My sisters bio father cut and ran to FL after my mom get pregnant and didn't pay any child support for years. He got mauled by a dog at work and sued for 60k, won the case and my mom had a check for like 45k in the mail 3 days later.
Load More Replies... #48
I got in trouble for "wasting everyone's time" by being critical of a new HR policy in a team-wide chat group, which apparently was not the correct forum. Nevermind that people share stupid stuff in the chat groups all the time, *I* was the one wasting people's time.
What do you think ?
Kirsten Kerkhof 2 years ago
I was reprimanded once for 'standing too straight'. It was in retail and apparently this made me look proud and aloof. I have Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis and I stand very straight to counteract the curve in my spine, and keep my back muscles strong.
Cat Palmer 2 years ago
Took 'too much time off' - I was in hospital having surgery, and had provided a doctor's letter to inform them of this. This is in the UK where we have functionally limitless sick time, so there was no reason to penalise me except that the whole place was a toxic mess.
Littlemiss 2 years ago
How much time do you have?? #1I got threatened with a written warning for opening a door. A weird person walked in a d much boss had to speak to them. #2 Education review office showed. I was the only person noted to actually hold conversations with the children and was complimented on my practice. I responded in kind, and loudly stated how it was great it was raining outside so the inspectors couldn't see the swamp we had outside due to flooding. Flooding that could have been fixed but the manager didn't want to 'waste' money. ie: the budget looked better if she didn't use it. I cost them about $45,000 in upgrading. #3 I actually did my job. So parents complimented me to the manager. Oh huge no no. Only team leaders were allowed compliments, no lowly scum like me.
the one dude who likes cheese 2 years ago
My boss is threatening to write me up if i dont come in on thanksgiving weekend. im quitting hte monday before thanksgiving, with no 2 week notice. screw her :)
Jip Smirloff 2 years ago
Used to refurbish alloy wheels. Got screamed at because my colleague broke a tyre pressure censor off a wheel. Then again when he dropped a freshly painted wheel. Then also, when he ripped a hole in the side wall of a brand new tyre costing my (ex)boss over £180, that was also somehow my fault. One day, I got told off when the same colleague left early... Then, when I asked how that was my responsibility, the boss told me to leave for the rest of the day. He was literally the worst business owner ever. I actually hope the business failed and he went completely bankrupt. *Raises glass to wishful thinking*
Tomato Smudge 2 years ago
Years ago I got in trouble for something a coworker did because we share the same first name and management didn't even look at the operator ID to verify despite me saying I had those days off. I'm absolutely certain it's because she's white and I'm not. She was way newer than me too. Both management and she left the store so this isn't going to happen again.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
The federal agency I worked at I was on the emergency response team. We got an email the one day about the top three disasters we needed to be our priority. Hurricanes, floods, & insurrections. WTF is with that last one? I ignored the restricted nature of the email & it's high priority. I shot back that the last one was ludicrous. It's early 2009, there isn't going to be an insurrection. Get real. Since out facility was right next to a major highway, why not put HAZMAT situation as the 3rd incident to prepare for. The next thing I know I have the chief of our police in my office telling me to shut up. OMG, just let it go. You can either be fired or arrested for what you just sent. He agreed that #3 seemed crazy. I asked what idiot came up with it. It came from the top, the very top. Meaning the White House. I know the officer pretty well & I had to ask. Is the new administration preparing for war with the people? I hate conspiracy theories. He agreed with my question.
ROSESARERED 2 years ago (edited)
I was written up for not having a tiny bit of plastic, 1 × 4 cm, on the edge of one lable to hold it into place on the shelf in a retail store...one missing, out of over 1000 in my department, on Christmas eve, queue wrapped oround my counter, 3 people deep, no help. ONE missing. Idiot store manager chose to yell at me in front of customers and wrote me up, I refused to sign
Kirsten Kerkhof 2 years ago
I was reprimanded once for 'standing too straight'. It was in retail and apparently this made me look proud and aloof. I have Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis and I stand very straight to counteract the curve in my spine, and keep my back muscles strong.
Cat Palmer 2 years ago
Took 'too much time off' - I was in hospital having surgery, and had provided a doctor's letter to inform them of this. This is in the UK where we have functionally limitless sick time, so there was no reason to penalise me except that the whole place was a toxic mess.
Littlemiss 2 years ago
How much time do you have?? #1I got threatened with a written warning for opening a door. A weird person walked in a d much boss had to speak to them. #2 Education review office showed. I was the only person noted to actually hold conversations with the children and was complimented on my practice. I responded in kind, and loudly stated how it was great it was raining outside so the inspectors couldn't see the swamp we had outside due to flooding. Flooding that could have been fixed but the manager didn't want to 'waste' money. ie: the budget looked better if she didn't use it. I cost them about $45,000 in upgrading. #3 I actually did my job. So parents complimented me to the manager. Oh huge no no. Only team leaders were allowed compliments, no lowly scum like me.
the one dude who likes cheese 2 years ago
My boss is threatening to write me up if i dont come in on thanksgiving weekend. im quitting hte monday before thanksgiving, with no 2 week notice. screw her :)
Jip Smirloff 2 years ago
Used to refurbish alloy wheels. Got screamed at because my colleague broke a tyre pressure censor off a wheel. Then again when he dropped a freshly painted wheel. Then also, when he ripped a hole in the side wall of a brand new tyre costing my (ex)boss over £180, that was also somehow my fault. One day, I got told off when the same colleague left early... Then, when I asked how that was my responsibility, the boss told me to leave for the rest of the day. He was literally the worst business owner ever. I actually hope the business failed and he went completely bankrupt. *Raises glass to wishful thinking*
Tomato Smudge 2 years ago
Years ago I got in trouble for something a coworker did because we share the same first name and management didn't even look at the operator ID to verify despite me saying I had those days off. I'm absolutely certain it's because she's white and I'm not. She was way newer than me too. Both management and she left the store so this isn't going to happen again.
Ralph Watkins 2 years ago
The federal agency I worked at I was on the emergency response team. We got an email the one day about the top three disasters we needed to be our priority. Hurricanes, floods, & insurrections. WTF is with that last one? I ignored the restricted nature of the email & it's high priority. I shot back that the last one was ludicrous. It's early 2009, there isn't going to be an insurrection. Get real. Since out facility was right next to a major highway, why not put HAZMAT situation as the 3rd incident to prepare for. The next thing I know I have the chief of our police in my office telling me to shut up. OMG, just let it go. You can either be fired or arrested for what you just sent. He agreed that #3 seemed crazy. I asked what idiot came up with it. It came from the top, the very top. Meaning the White House. I know the officer pretty well & I had to ask. Is the new administration preparing for war with the people? I hate conspiracy theories. He agreed with my question.
ROSESARERED 2 years ago (edited)
I was written up for not having a tiny bit of plastic, 1 × 4 cm, on the edge of one lable to hold it into place on the shelf in a retail store...one missing, out of over 1000 in my department, on Christmas eve, queue wrapped oround my counter, 3 people deep, no help. ONE missing. Idiot store manager chose to yell at me in front of customers and wrote me up, I refused to sign
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