While some people are blessed with thoughtful and down-to-earth bosses, others have to bear superiors boasting way less positive qualities. And unless you switch jobs until you find one of the former kind, the type of boss you get at a workplace is more or less a lottery.
Today, we’re focusing on the people who, unfortunately, haven’t won in said lottery. Having to deal with higher-ups with all sorts of aggravating traits, these people have screenshots to show just how difficult working with them can be. If you’re curious to see what it entails, scroll down to find them on the list below and see how your boss looks compared to this “hall of fame”.
#1 I’m Probably Going To Be Fired For This, But I Don’t Care
"ATTENTION! We do not get our tips! Our boss takes all of our tips! For more information, please talk to the cashier."
Image credits: Cherry_P0pper
#2 I'm Still In Shock
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#3 I Hope They Feel Really Awkward
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#4 Dollar General Management With An Inspiring Message To The Staff
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#5 The Cry Tells Us Everything We Need To Know
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#6 Why Would You Assume People Who Use Public Transportation Won't Be On Time?
And he said it wasn’t his problem. He didn’t pay attention, so I hired anyone who was qualified and then quit.
Image credits: kirbaqueen
#7 This Was My Boss's Response To Me Calling In Sick. What Should I Do? I Can't Find A Cover
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#8 The Audacity Of This Restaurant Owner. He's Asking Customers To Increase Tipping So That His Staff Could Be Paid More
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#9 Owner Prohibits Drive-Through Employees From Wearing Jackets During Cold Winter Months
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#10 The Office Manager Tries To Bully Me Into Giving Money For A Present For Our Millionaire Boss
The office manager is your typical social butterfly who loves to gossip and suck up to the boss at any opportunity she gets. I’m paid so poorly, but I have a job to make ends meet for my family. I don’t have anything extra in my budget for myself or my kids, let alone to put towards a gift for my already rich boss. I hate this toxic workplace.
Image credits: brooklyn3264
#11 I Got Fired For Not Going To Work The Day Of My Grandpa's Funeral
I was a great waitress. I had worked there for over a year, made a slightly higher tip percentage than the other girls, was always on time, and showed up. To give "proof" that I was a great waitress, I had just been given a raise and been promoted to a shift lead position.
The restaurant had planned a Halloween party. We were all supposed to dress up, and we had a special menu planned. My grandpa was in hospice during this time and unfortunately passed away. As soon as I knew when his funeral was, I asked if I could have the day off. They said no because "all waitresses needed to work on the Halloween party". However, they let a girl take the night off because she’d been there a month and she "wasn’t comfortable working at a party yet". Well, fast-forward to the day of the funeral, and I just could not bring myself to rush home, put makeup and costume on, and be energetic with strangers, a mere three hours after burying my grandpa. I texted this at 1 PM, and the shift starts at 5 PM. It was really unfortunate because I considered my manager a true friend, but this really showed their true colors.
Image credits: Miserable_Sand3826
#12 I Was Just Trying To Get Enough To Eat, And My Manager Sent Me This
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#13 My Boss Offered A "Smile" To Incentivize Me Picking Up Extra Hours
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#14 My Mum Has Stage 4 Cancer In 5 Areas And Her Boss Has Been Pressuring Her To Come Back To Work
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#15 They Told Me The Staff Reduction Was Necessary
I just got laid off without even being given 2 weeks' notice and then I got this sent to me accidentally from one of my bosses.
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#16 My Contract Is For 25 Hours A Week, Part-Time And Today I Received This Week’s Schedule. I'm Scheduled For 48 Hours With No Prior Warning
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#17 Villain Behavior
Then they fired me for talking about it.
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#18 I Asked For A Raise On Tuesday And Received This Text Message Yesterday Morning
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#19 I Woke Up On My Day Off To A Voicemail Asking Why I Wasn't At Work. Apparently Someone Changed My Schedule Without My Knowledge, And That's My Fault?
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#20 The Last Text I Sent My Boss
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#21 Should I Take His Advice?
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#22 Cassidy, Read That Again, But Slowly
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#23 My Dad Had A Stroke. He's Not Doing Too Well, So My Significant Other And I Are Moving. I Had To Give A 1-Week Notice And Got This Text From The Boss
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#24 Should I Just Not Go In?
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#25 I Was Told to Serve Ice Cream At A Nursing Home While Throwing Up. Where And How Can I Report This?
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#26 My Boss Admitted To Taking Money From My Tips To Cover The Bill That Was Short And That Everyone Has Access To, It Is Not Assigned To Anyone
Image credits: BumbleBeeTuna_85
#27 This Is An Insulting Statement Against Wife's Work
My wife's salary is made out of commissions and instead of getting cash payment for a product she sold, her company gave her 6k Hong Kong dollars ($766) in vouchers to spend in a "Japanese supermarket".
This supermarket isn't even located in our area and we will have to carry the groceries from far away by public transport or cab.
P.S. In Hong Kong, we don’t drive like most locals.
Image credits: Empty-Blacksmith-592
#28 This Is How My Coworker Handled This Text From My Boss
Update and context: This line cook had already previously put in his two-week notice due to moving out of state to take care of sick family and was days away from leaving anyway. Yes, he hit send and actually quit. Yes, he is leaving the industry. This isn't our chef he is texting. It's the owner.
Image credits: Ecstatic-Ad-9322
#29 I Was Admitted To The Hospital With Sepsis And My Boss Expected Me To Roll Out Of The Hospital Straight To Work. "Audrey" Is HR. This Was After 3 Days Of Her Harassing Me Non-Stop About Work
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#30 I Have Been In The Hospital For A Week, Trying To Determine The Source Of My Pain. Potentially Having Surgery This Week To Get My Gall Bladder Removed. This Is My Lovely Boss's Response
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#31 So Serving Expired Food Isn't A Big Deal Anymore
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#32 Text I Received From My Boss While I Was Sick In Bed
I had told her the day before that I was attempting to look, but of course, nobody wanted to cover. She didn't respond, so I sent a follow-up text, and that was the reply I got. What is this joke about making employees find their own coverage while sick? I was literally passed out on the floor, being told I needed to find coverage.
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#33 My Girlfriend Has Asked For Reduced Hours At Her Work For 2 Weeks, And They’ve Been Ignoring Her. Today She Asked To Come In Late, And This Is What The Manager Replied
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#34 My Boss Threw Everything Out, Or As He Says "Cleaned My Desk". I Had To Go Digging In The Trash To Get My Personal Items, Along With Client Files, Receipt Records And Other Things
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#35 Boss Tried To Make Me Pay For My Mistake, Which Is Illegal In New York. When I Expressed I Wouldn't Pay For A One-Time Mistake, He Doubled Down And Said This
To be fair, it was a to-go order that I just blanked on and forgot to make sure it was paid before I handed it out. Regardless, it's illegal to try and make me pay for it in my state. I tried to give him the opportunity to correct his reaction, and he doubled down. He even said that breaking the law is a common practice.
Image credits: kissingkiller22
#36 Just Because Of The Corset
I'm a waitress at a restaurant in a country club. We had a change of management, and I got into a heated argument with my supervisor when he went off at me for loosening my corset while I was on my break. I just got sent this and found that my hours have been cut in half. Is there anything I can do?
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#37 The Most Satisfying Text I've Ever Sent. Long Story Short, The Guy Who Made The Schedule Was My Roommate, And We Fell Out, So He Cut My Hours Drastically
At the time, I had secured another job and had training scheduled. I got the few shifts I had covered and was ready to go. Just days before I’m supposed to leave for training, the schedule is changed, and all of a sudden I’m at 30 hours and can’t get anyone to cover my shifts at the last minute. This was the response I got.
Image credits: reddit.com
#38 Boss: Will You Work 17 Hours So I Don’t Have To Work 12?
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#39 This Banana My Boss Gave Me To Celebrate 1 Year Of Work
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#40 Having A Fever And Feeling Unfit To Make It In. "Boss" Responded With This
I was feeling fine at work today, but as I drove home, I rapidly started sweating and having a throbbing headache, so I took a test. I sent this picture, letting him know I could not make it tomorrow. For context, the reason for the "bad timing" statement is the fact that he texted me off work hours just before I took this test and when I was already feeling unwell. Is it unreasonable of me to excuse myself so I can care for my health? I don’t feel he respects my personal needs or simply does not have the awareness, but I also honestly don’t want to let the team down if possible. I did inform both a general manager and a second-hand manager, who were both understanding.
Image credits: jayy_tw
#41 My Boss Is Upset That I'm Not Grateful For A 3-Cent Raise
It’s been a grueling year at work, and over the last few months, our boss has been heavily hinting that we’ll finally be getting some raises, so when I had my performance review and HR was smiling as they slid me a piece of paper that said my raise was just 3 cents, I literally couldn’t hold it in. I was so upset, I literally had to leave because I was starting to tear up, and I cried when I left. I thought my hard work was finally going to pay off. I'm tired of being broke all the time. I thought I was going to get a good raise or a bonus so I could finally treat myself for once and go out to dinner or the movies or something, but nope, I can’t have anything good in life.
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#42 My Boss Called Me 12 Times After Hours About Unimportant Information
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#43 My Boss At Work Plays The Same Playlist Everyday For The Past 6 Years. I Feel Like I'm In My Own Personal Purgatory
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#44 No Time For Compassion
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#45 I Rage Quit My Job At The Gas Station Right Before My Shift, Without Another Job Lined Up. Here’s To Going From Poverty To Destitution, I Guess
The manager came in on my scheduled shift to relieve her. Joyce has a history of running off staff, stepping on the toes of management, obtaining coworkers' phone numbers by digging for them in the manager's office, and calling or messaging them when she feels that they are not performing up to her standards. This is on top of being downright mean for no reason, running off customers, etc. Over the past few weeks, her hours have been cut by more than half because everyone is tired of her. The only reason she is still employed there is because she rarely calls in. In her text, she said she thought I was the "nice one." That’s because I was the only one who put up with her and let her run over me. I was always courteous, kind, and professional.
Image credits: skeeter2078
#46 Manager Ignoring My Time Off Request That Was Approved
Over two months ago, I requested time off for Halloween, and it was approved the next day. Then earlier today, next week’s schedule came out, and I’m scheduled to work on Halloween. I wouldn’t be as mad if I didn’t make plans for Halloween, but I did. Should I be as frustrated as I am, and how should I approach this?
Image credits: Broad_Friendship_858
#47 My Boss Sent Me This Text After I Asked To Be Paid
I work in a very small bakery, getting paid under the table. My boss, the owner of the bakery, and I work together a lot of the time, and we’ve opened up to each other about lots of things. I trusted her when I confided in her about my family’s financial situation. I was not looking for pity, and I did not expect her to use it against me. It’s been 2 days since she was supposed to have paid me, and if she’s late, I usually ask if she’s done or is planning on doing payroll. I have no idea what to do or say. I get paid below the minimum wage, which certainly isn’t enough to deal with all of this.
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#48 My Girlfriend's Boss "Fixed" Everyone's Schedules After They Were Complaining About Not Getting A Lunch Break On Sunday By Making Them Work 10 Minutes Short Of Being Legally Entitled To One
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#49 Boss Brought In Drumsticks For Employee Appreciation Day
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#50 I Legitimately Thought I Was Dying Last Night, And After I Called My Shift Lead About It This Morning, My Boss Texted Me This
This is hypocritical because her daughter works with me and calls out all the time over being hungover. But no, me bleeding myself damn near unconscious last night doesn't warrant me taking a day off.
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#51 My Manager Hires Only Teenagers And Expects Them To Devote Their Lives To Their Part-Time Job
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#52 Not Sure I Appreciate This Much
A little background. I work as maintenance at an extended-stay hotel and live there as well since I'm on call 24/7. My boss, at any given time, can fire me for any reason, and I can lose my home as well. And he's not afraid to remind me of this power. But I think I'm about to draw the line. I just feel like this isn't the way to talk to an employee on their day off.
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#53 Sent This Picture To My Boss And They Said That The Wheel Was "Not That Bad"
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#54 This Is The Thermostat In The Office. I Told My Boss That If I’m Going To Work In A Sauna, I Will Do It Naked
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#55 I Had A Stroke At Work, And Me Almost Dying Inconvenienced My Boss
Enjoy the text between me and my (ex) coworker. I was in the hospital for 7 days while they figured out why it happened since I was "younger". I’m wondering if I stroked out because I worked for such a heartless woman.
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#56 Every Single Day, My Boss Puts Piles Of Work On My Chair When I Literally Have A "New To Be Done" Inbox Right There
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#57 My Boss Asked Me To Cover A Shift While I’m On Vacation
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#58 The Picture Was Taken Last Night In The Kitchen Of The Restaurant I Work At. The Temperature Inside Was 86 Degrees. This Has Been Going On For Weeks
The hood vents have not been working properly, and it’s been dreadfully hot. The cooks are constantly sweating and miserable, one even filed a complaint with OSHA because they were tired of working in that condition. They were confronted by the owner. Servers and bartenders were raising concerns in the work group chat last night about their asthma and how customers in the front of the house can smell the smoke. Rather than assuring and being helpful to employees, the manager shut down the conversation and stated that if anyone had an issue, they could speak to them and the owner privately. They stated that they were probably affected by the storm yesterday (this has been happening for weeks) and should be fixed today. I’m pretty sure they’re under the pressure of OSHA’s grace period.
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#59 Thought My Boss Was Playing An April Fool's Day Joke
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#60 I Got Fired For The First Time
My boss added extra work to my schedule at 2 o’clock on Friday for this weekend because she decided that she didn’t want to work. She took on last-minute clients but took the day off because even when she doesn’t work she gets 50% of what I make. I was a good employee. I didn’t even miss when I had the flu. I took my kids when I didn’t have a sitter. The "few weekends" I had off was one weekend which was last weekend for my daughter's birthday! I worked Thanksgiving, the day after, that Saturday, and my birthday. I’ve worked almost every weekend since September.
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#61 Isn't This Against Policy Or Something? I'm Not Going To Clock Out For 3 Minutes Because I Had To Go To The Toilet
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#62 Boss Wrote "Thief" On My Check
I filed a wage theft report against my former employer and was told he only paid 80% of what was owed, but I sucked it up. When I picked up the check at the Department of Labor, it had "THIEF" boldly written on the subject line. It was super awkward, unfair, and embarrassing, especially with others witnessing it. Is there anything that can be done?
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#63 How Does Unemployment Work?
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#64 How I Feel When My Boss Jammed My Thumb On The Safe Door, Tells Me I Have To Work The Next Day, And Warns Me Not To Go To Urgent Care So He Doesn't Have To Pay Worker's Compensation
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#65 Message From The Boss In The Company Group Chat (Where All Employees Can See)
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#66 I've Texted My Boss After I Tested Positive For COVID. Is There Anything I Can Do About This?
This is a new job, and I've only invoiced them for work so far and haven't gotten officially on the payroll. I just moved to a new town for this job and would hate to have to find a new job, but I don't know if I want to work for a place that has these policies.
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#67 Managers Told Me They Had To "Hurry Up And Go Home," But They Made Cold Brew Right Before They Left Our Team To This. I Should Call Corporate, But I Already Quit
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#68 I Left A Bad Job In 2021 With A Resignation Letter. Last Week, They Sent Me This
I left this job in 2021 because I was moving. I provided a resignation letter with two weeks' notice to my boss. He was a rather negligent boss because I was injured on the job once and it took months to get Workers' Compensation paperwork, but I assumed he would do what was necessary to terminate my employment. Well, apparently not, as just this week I received this correspondence from my former place of work. Mind you, I have not visited, signed in, or done anything at my prior place of employment in nearly two years.
Does anyone know what the best course of action is in this scenario? I don’t want to owe my prior place of employment anything or have it on my record that I was fired for "job abandonment".
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#69 Boss Wants Me To Risk My Life To Go To A Work Dinner
Dangerous snow squall, an extraordinary threat to life and property, and rapidly failing visibility. Guess I better turn on the fog lights...
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#70 My Boss Wouldn’t Pay Two Months After She Fired Me
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#71 You're Still Coming In Right?
Not me, but on my way home, I saw this truck in the ditch. I pulled over to see if he needed help, but he was already gone. But there was another guy in the parking lot talking to his boss on the phone. He had sent him the same picture, telling his boss he didn't feel safe. We talked a bit after he got off the phone. His boss was so angry that he asked to go back home. A young kid was probably 19-20. I told him that the minimum wage wasn't worth it and to go home to look for something better. These supervisors, managers, and companies don't understand or don't care. Ridiculous.
Image credits: ADeadlyFerret
#72 My Mental Health Job Doesn’t Have A Bereavement Leave Policy In Place
For context, my company is pretty small, and my boss and her boss are both aware that this was the death of my mother. I work in mental health, specifically crisis aversion, and my company talks a lot about self-care and taking care of your mental health. It's just so absurd that it’s funny.
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#73 My Former Boss's Reaction When I Told Her That My House Almost Collapsed And I'm Basically Homeless Now. She Wanted Me To Bring The T-Shirt She Gave Me For Work
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#74 Am I In The Wrong Here?
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#75 The Text I Got From My Boss While Recovering From Food Poisoning
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#76 This Is An Email I Got From My Boss. I Work In A Lab Doing (Mostly) Data Entry And Preparing Specimens To Be Tested. I Fought To Sit Where I Do. I Need A Quieter Area To Focus Better
If I were to move workstations, my productivity would suffer for a couple reasons: distractions from coworkers, etc. And I’m already overstimulated from having a 6-month-old baby I’m with all day.
I feel like she is just trying to micromanage and feel like she’s in control more. But I do see where it may be beneficial that I do move, but it would make me hate going to work even more. I’d love to quit and probably could, but I do like my job and my coworkers; I just don’t want to sit near them.
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#77 My Bosses Staffed Me Alone On President's Day And Had The Courage To Complain About How I Left The Shop After Working 10 Hours Alone
I have been working at this place for 3 years, and they have continuously let their business run to the ground. Minimum staffing, 10-hour shifts every time, and overloading us with work in a busy food market in a Midwest city. To top it off, they told us just this past Thursday that the shop was closing at the end of the month with no prior notice, and now I'm struggling to find a new job and just did major maintenance on my car and paid off a large bill. The market even offered them a month of free rent for March to give everyone time to sort stuff out, but my bosses said no.
So I show up on President's Day to do my usual duties, and it's busy. I'm staffed alone and have to run the shop while the other vendors have 4 or more people staffed all day. The person covering my break was late, and this is a 10-hour shift I'm working. The other day my boss was supposed to cover my lunch but never showed up. Then she sent me this text, and if it wasn't for the fact that I needed to file for unemployment, I would have quit on the spot.
Image credits: Fusionkid12
#78 I Worked The Entire 24 Hours Of Christmas Day For No Extra Pay Too
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#79 Dawn, The Manager, Has Been Fired
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#80 I Did Not Receive My Tips For The Last Day Of Work. Are They Allowed To Do This?
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#81 My Girlfriend Works 40 Hours A Week, And Her Boss Is Forcing Everyone To Come In On Sunday To "Deep Clean"
She already works an average of 10 hours a day. Sometimes she'll get a day where she only works 4 or 5 hours. However, many days run from 7 AM to 6:30 PM. The boss is forcing everyone to come in on a Sunday to "deep clean" the place. She won't augment the work week to allow for the deep cleaning during the week. My girlfriend basically said that she won't be coming on the weekend because it's her only time off and is expected to always be off since that's what the job description said. The boss replied that she was putting it off for a while but still wanted everyone to come in on a Sunday, regardless of what anyone says or suggests.
Image credits: reddit.com
#82 I Put In My 2 Weeks Because Of Poor Working Conditions
My husband worked at this restaurant, and I’m writing this for him from his point of view. I used to work here, and I had the same experience. This restaurant is run extremely poorly and is absolutely disgusting.
I started as a busser and, throughout the years, worked up the chain as a head cook. The head manager was an aggressive man who constantly spouted his opinions every single day. He constantly broke labor laws, lying about hiring wages, telling us not to talk about our wages to one another, allowing workers to work sick, and serving old food to save labor costs. He would lie and make fun of customers who had food allergies and would lie to them about accommodations. He would tell me I got a raise and would "forget" to put it in for many weeks at a time. Also, he said roaches weren’t a problem as long as we didn’t see them.
Image credits: CreepyInky
#83 It's Been Over A Year
Last January, I was let go from a place I’d worked at since April 2013. Since then, I’ve taken a year off to get my mental health in check and figure out what I want out of life. I got 4 months of severance and then some unemployment. The department consisted of myself and one other coordinator, who today told them she was quitting. 2 hours and 3 minutes later, the boss messaged me. The thing is, the job hasn’t changed. The other coordinator and myself are dear friends, so we talk constantly. I’m just shocked that after they let me go, they immediately came back to me to fill the role. I’m not going back. I refuse. Part of my mental health situation was because of them.
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#84 These Texts I Received From My Manager Tonight
What he’s referring to is that the other week I was venting to some coworkers since we live paycheck to paycheck and money is extremely tight. I was just so frustrated and hungry.
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#85 Never Working With A Startup Again
Context: I work at a local online Instagram page that covers news and has a couple thousand followers. It's me, the founder, and another unpaid intern who has been working for 2 months. I pretty much do all the Instagram content for the page unpaid, work weekends unasked, and photograph any events I happen to be at with my own camera, and also overtime. The founder mentions me delaying a story for her page, which was in fact a story for a protest I covered on a weekend and could've gotten arrested for (she was aware of this and told me to capture footage anyways despite me not being officially press). I was in the process of editing 2-hours worth of footage into a 90-second reel while doing multiple other videos for her in the morning. She expected the story by noon, and I gave it to her by 5 PM. The fact that she's threatening to "let go" of an unpaid intern blew my mind despite all I've done, and she just expects me to keep working for free. Thankfully, the other intern sided with me and is leaving after three days, leaving no one to create content for her page.
P.S. No contract was ever signed.
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#86 Our Boss Left This For Us To Find This Morning
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#87 Boss Wants Me To Be On-Call All The Time Without Paying Me More
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#88 My Boss Didn’t Approved My Timesheet, And Now I Didn’t Get Paid This Week
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#89 No Phones
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