Employment can be a real piece of work. Being the underling of your boss can go sour quickly. As anyone in the workforce knows, employers are often more than willing to take advantage of their employees because they think they can get away with it. Horrible bosses believe they can squeeze the life out of their workers and continue doing so because they don't think they will ever quit. Who among us hasn't had a boss who watches our every move, making you terrified of making one error to risk bei…

Overreact much?

If someone is going out of their way to do your job for you, it would probably pay to be kind and appreciative towards that person. Alas, the types of managers who are putting their subordinates in this position probably also lack the basic people skills necessary to make this realization. The thing is, there are all kinds of clever ways that you can “delegate” your own tasks to subordinate workers; as a manager, I've worked for certain organizations in the past that would dangle the carrot of…

Moral of the story: don't mess with PTO

So many job postings list very strange requirement for applying. Sometimes they're innocuous, like jobs that anyone could learn in 3 days needing applicants with 3-5 years of full time working experience. Other instances are shadier, like when jobs that require no manual labor whatsoever need employees who have the ability to life 30-50 pounds. That was a requirement for my job as a library security guard. The heaviest thing I had to lift in that job was a walkie talkie. It's far less socially…

When fed-up employees stick it to the man

From the time we were little, we were taught to be grateful for whatever gifts we were given during the holidays. Parents coach their children to say thank you no matter what present they get because doing anything else would be most unkind. However, as you grow up, you realize that some gifts are actually an insult. The mean girl in middle school didn't give you a Lady Speed Stick out of the kindness of her heart. Likewise, sometimes companies give gifts that are far more insulting than they a…

So productive

The one thing people expect from their employers is to be compensated for their work in a timely manner. Can you imagine what would happen if, after purchasing something in a store, you reached into the cash register to take your money back? Or what if you turned in your rent and then cancelled the check before it could be cashed. Do you think your landlord would let that slide? Of course not. Under no circumstances should a company be able to “reverse payroll” on their employees. This is exact…

A disgruntled worker shared this experience to Reddit's r/ antiwork subreddit, claiming that their employer had refused to honor their accrued PTO once they handed in their notice. They had thought that they were doing the correct and honorable thing by giving their notice to their employer but felt that this had just come back to bite them. The relationship between an organization and its workers is built upon trust. Once that trust is betrayed by a worker/workers it's completely fair that the…

When I was applying for jobs, I was a bit skeptical of any job that asked me to take a personality test before the interview. I understand wanting to hire somebody with good vibes, but isn't that what multiple rounds of interviews are for? You would think companies might do such a test to understand someone's temperament and working style to ensure they're right for this position. That, unfortunately, is not usually the purpose. Although it's quite a shady practice, many jobs that use “personal…

It is normal to ask yourself occasionally, “does my job contribute anything substantive to society?” When I worked as a security guard at my college's library, I would have to watch unattended items on the security camera to make sure they weren't stolen. After almost a year of working at these libraries and countless hours watching footage of unattended laptops sitting on a table, I never saw an item get stolen. Never! Not once! My watching it had no positive impact whatsoever. That really mad…

Nobody wants to have a medical emergency , yet sometimes we get shamed or scolded when we do. It's common for people, especially women, to be accused of faking or exaggerating symptoms. Why? Who knows. Usually, the accusation goes that a woman in severe pain is trying to get drugs, attention, or both. It is incredibly dehumanizing to those suffering from excruciating ailments to be dismissed or told that they're making it all up. This kind of dismissal doesn't only happen within the confines of…

There's nothing worse than waiting to get paid by a shady corporation . When I worked at a restaurant during my senior year of high school, my boss told me that the clock-in system was broken. He told me not to worry and that he would ensure I got the time I worked during those shifts accounted for. I did as I was told and didn't clock in for about 5 or 6 shifts during the Christmas season. Little did I know that I would never see any of that money from those shifts. I don't know if my boss for…

Working a thankless customer service job can be grueling. You get regularly disrespected by both customers and your boss . Customers might yell at you or even in rare situations throw a glass at your head, but they typically don't pose real danger to your safety. They come in, they ruin your night, and then they leave. Your boss is much more likely to put you in unsafe situations due to their negligence. Sure, they might not intend to hurt you, but they do hurt you just the same through inane p…

Worst boss ever.