r/talesfromthejob

This happened at workplace of mine in Japan.

Back then, going out for drinks with coworkers after work was still a pretty common part of office culture, especially when a manager invited younger employees.

One day, my manager complained:

“Young employees these days never come drinking with me.”

So I said, “Then why don’t you go drinking with your own manager?”

He immediately replied:

“Because drinking with my boss isn’t fun!”

I just looked at him and thought...

Exactly.

I go a little crazy every time I hear a business owner whining and saying, "People don't want to work anymore." The funny thing is, I saw an Operations Assistant job posted a few weeks ago. My friend applied for it, and they had already hired someone and closed applications in less than 6 days. More than 200 applicants. But yeah, go ahead and keep explaining how no one wants your miserable food service jobs, or warehouse shifts with awful pay, random schedules, and benefits that can barely be called benefits.

There's a reason these places have a "Now Hiring" sign up around 340 days a year. The turnover rate is insane, because these jobs are designed to burn people out and replace them. Honestly, it's not complicated. People really do want to work. They want work with a future, and employers who treat them with basic respect, not another exhausting, dead-end gig that makes them feel like poverty wages are a privilege.

It could be something funny, awkward, confusing, unexpected, or just plain unusual—something that stuck with you long after it happened. What happened? 👀

So, I work retail, you know, the usual. I was helping a customer who was looking for a specific item. They described it as "you know, that thingy. The one that does the thing."

I tried my best to get more details. "What does it do?"

I asked.

"Oh, you know, "they replied, gesturing vaguely with their hands. "It's for stuff."

After about ten minutes of this, I was about to give up.Then, they pointed to a completely unrelated product and said, "That! That's the thingy!"

It turned out they were looking for a vegetable peelers , VEGETABLE PEELER. I could have cried.

Anyone else have customers who describe items using absolutely zero useful information ? What's the most bizarre "thingy" request you've ever gotten?

So for me, it was the manager of my previous workplace making a personal statement on me,”I don't want a daughter like her” (The dirtiest thing someone had told about me that broke my heart and still haunts me to this day)

The plot? The manager gossiped with the other co-workers and one of them came to me and shared it.

Well, I would not be able to tell on it to the actual person as the co worker did. It was better I didn't ever know that piece of shit.

I learned a big lesson that day( the people acting like a companion on your face and but doing guffy stuffs behind)

I hate every person, in that workplace since that incident.

Dad was just diagnosed with a rapidly progressing brain tumor. I've already applied for FMLA and had to burn about 21 hours at the beginning of this week dealing with the hospital, because they lost track of Dad for a while and then tried to tell my eldest daughter that she wasn't allowed to go in and see him. Even so, I'm still going to my 10-hour shifts this week.

I have a pile of paperwork I need to finish on Thursday specifically for Dad, and on Friday I had finally planned to go back to the hospital to see him again (the hospital is about 50 minutes away), and on Monday I just wanted to spend a normal night with my husband and son because I barely see them these days. My manager came and asked me if I could come in on Friday. I told him, even though he already knows what's going on, that I would be with Dad. Then he started making me feel guilty, saying that everyone else is taking extra shifts and that they're extremely short-staffed.

I only have one father. I can find another job.

I work in the pharmacy department at one of the biggest supermarket chains that's supposed to be "respectable" and employee-owned. Real lunch breaks basically don't exist for us, because we're always understaffed, and any random rush can bury us in a second, so food gets swallowed quickly the moment there's half a second of quiet, while we're still on shift.

Earlier this week, I finally found a tiny chance to quickly go to the drinks aisle and grab a can of Peace Tea so I could pay and get right back behind the counter. That's what I usually do. This time, of course, there were several customers ahead of me and the line was moving painfully slowly. While I was standing there holding it, I opened it and took one sip. Then I paid for it normally and went straight back to my department.

About 50 minutes later, the store manager came over with two assistant managers and started questioning me about the tea. I showed them the receipt and told them they could check the cameras because I paid. They told me they had already checked the cameras, and what they saw was that I violated company policy by drinking something before buying it. I was so shocked that at first I didn't know how to answer. I literally went silent from shock.

Then the store manager told me, "Choose your next words very carefully," like I was being interrogated over some massive crime and not a cheap tea that I had literally bought. He asked me if I was under the influence of anything. Seriously??? I told him no, because obviously no, so he sent me home early and said I was temporarily banned from entering the place until he got a response from corporate.

After five days without pay, I got a call asking if I could come in to "talk about my future." I drove 45 minutes from one side of the city to the other just to sit in a room with corporate vultures while they tried to make me out to be a criminal over "stealing merchandise"... Even though the receipt was in my hand. They fired me right there on the spot. A giant multibillion-dollar company apparently can't survive the "theft" of a $1.19 can of tea.

And at the same time, I'm 20 years old and sleeping in my car and using a gym membership just so I can shower and have the basics. I already wasn't making enough to live before all this, rent around here keeps going up, I feel like a fucking failure, and I don't understand what I'm supposed to do now. My whole body hurts, I feel completely alone, I hate this life, and I just want to scream until there's nothing left in me.

My husband has worked for Home Depot for 12 years. During those 12 years, he has received Employee of the Month at least once every year. I have a whole stack of Homer Awards he has received over the years, which shows just how dedicated he has been to his job and his store.

About two months ago, another associate was given the position of supervisor in his department. What makes this situation even more frustrating is that there was another employee who was more qualified and was well-liked by the other associates.

This new supervisor had barely even started the position when they began telling the Pro Loader associates what they could and couldn’t do. They were making changes and telling people things like, “You’re not going to be doing this anymore,” or “There will be no more Donut Fridays.” Their attitude toward the other employees was extremely disrespectful and created a lot of tension in the department.

My husband eventually went to the ASM who had given this person the position and told him that he believed they had put the wrong person in the department. He also explained that this supervisor was extremely nosy and seemed to constantly be watching the other associates and reporting them for anything they could find.

After my husband spoke up, he feels that he was retaliated against. And today, after 12 years of dedicated service, he was fired.

And do you know what they fired him for?

My husband is a Pro Loader. He was helping a customer when the Garden Department called him and told him he needed to come water some plants. He explained that he was currently helping a customer and that as soon as his assistant came in, the plants would be taken care of.

And they were.

He doesn’t even work in the Garden Department. He is a Pro Loader. The only reason they needed him to water plants was because they failed to schedule anyone to work in the Garden Department that day.

So after 12 years of working hard, receiving Employee of the Month recognition year after year, earning numerous Homer Awards, and doing his job, he is suddenly terminated because he was helping a customer instead of leaving that customer to go water plants in a department that isn’t even his?

The timing of all of this is extremely concerning. He spoke up about a supervisor he believed was not qualified for the position, and shortly afterward he began experiencing what he believes was retaliation. Now he has lost his job over something that seems completely unrelated to his actual position and responsibilities.

To make matters worse, just last week an ASM had the nerve to accuse him of time clock fraud. He told my husband that several people were looking for him and that he “knew” my husband had left early. My husband immediately told him to check his clock in and clock out records. The ASM did check them and realized he was wrong. He then attempted to apologize in front of the HR associate, meaning there is a witness to the entire incident.

After 12 years of loyalty and dedication, this is how Home Depot chose to treat him.

I was working for a large hospital chain in Inpatient, I’d been there for a little over three years.
During that three years, management changed from an awesome manager to a coworker who only cared about her friends. I was not her friend. I was younger, cared more about my husband and two babies than gossiping with coworkers. Most of my coworkers didn’t have families and just had different priorities than me. I just wanted to do my job and go home every day. Worked great before, not so much when she became manager.

Anyway, pretty soon I became the scapegoat for everything. Low productivity day? They only checked me. Lost paperwork? She only went through my desk. I went to HR on three separate occasions for her talking shit about me and my family to coworkers. Nothing came of it. While 8 months pregnant with my second child I fell in the parking lot while walking into work and was taken up to be monitored. I texted her immediately, she wrote me up for a no call no show.

Finally came storm team. Huge snow storm, locked into the hospital for 3 nights. It was my first time away from my children overnight. I worked my schedule, then I slept on my air mattress. Just like every other therapist that was stuck there. Turns out, we were supposed to work longer shifts and had a higher productivity expectation. Manager didn’t tell us that. A week later, she was getting flack for it. I get called into a meeting, turns out in my stress during a 60 hour shift I accidentally put the same times for two patients. It was an honest mistake, one I’ve never made before, but I was terminated for “falsifying units”. For some reason, it was only me she decided to check the security camera feed of. It was my first time in any trouble in my 3 years working there. She embarrassed me in front of everyone when she fired me unfairly. A year later, I still hear from people at that hospital that I was intentionally stealing units. I wasn’t.

She’s trying to ruin my reputation to save hers. I have a new job now. But I just can’t get over it. I still think about what happened often and it makes me so angry and upset I sit up awake at night. Like I am right now.

Looking for advice? Validation? Similar experiences?

TLDR;; got fired from my inpatient OT job because the manager didn’t like me. Used me as a scapegoat when she got in trouble and it cost me my job and reputation in our small town. A year later, I still can’t move on from what happened.

My boss told me not to use automatic signature in emails. Instead, he told me to type my name every single time because this is what he does (he is Japanese). I was very shocked because I have been using automatic signature since 20 years ago and I don't understand why spending time typing your name instead of using the automatic signature which the main purpose is to help you save time and be efficient at work. I asked my coworkers (who are also Japanese), the more shocking thing is that both of them type their name!! I checked their emails, it's the same signature, best, xxx in all the emails. What's the point of repeatly doing this? Is this some Japanese culture thing? But all of our clients from Japan use automatic signature in their emails...I am very frustrated about this, because I feel like I'm being forced to do meaningless thing although it's such a small detail.

Guys, I have a bachelor's degree and some grad coursework too, but I'm still making less than $68K in an expensive city, and the work stress is seriously threatening me. I usually end up stuck in the office until 6:30-7:30pm, and the combination of the workload and the salary has become really draining.

For context, I work in training and employee development at a nonprofit.

So what's the deal, Reddit? Who's working a six-figure job where the stress and responsibility aren't slowly destroying their health? I feel like I won't be able to keep going like this much longer. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.

Right now I have a job with an 8-minute commute round trip. I accepted it because I'm still a new parent, and my partner's job sometimes keeps him very far from home. Before this, I used to work in the city, and my normal commute was about an hour and 35 minutes each way by train when everything was running smoothly.

The new job has honestly turned out to be less than I expected. I make 88k and pay about 1,050 a month for health insurance. And after daycare expenses are deducted, there's basically no room to breathe. I knew the salary when I accepted, but I didn't understand how difficult the health coverage would be. The job itself is still very demanding, and the retirement plan isn't impressive. Some of my more senior coworkers have honestly told me they think I should go back to my old employer because the retirement benefits there are much better. I've been with that company for 14 years, and I need to reach 18 years to qualify for full retirement benefits, which would be 32 years of service.

My old job was very heavy. It made me feel like I was working in urgent care - constant pressure and always something happening. But the pay was better. I was making 118k, the health insurance was almost no cost, and the 401k was much stronger. I keep thinking about reaching out to my old manager because I left on good terms, and I'm fairly sure he'd be happy to bring me back.

The part holding me back is my daughter. There have been mornings when she needed me at 7:10 a.m. And I was still able to get to my current job on time. That would never have happened with my old commute. I would already have been on the 6:08 or 6:31 a.m. Train by then.

And then I start thinking about how much less present I would be for them. I'd wake up around 5:10 in the morning, and on the best days I'd get home around 4:30 on 4 out of 6 workdays. There would also be late nights when I wouldn't get home until close to 7:30. For context, both jobs are about 190 workdays a year.

If I go back, it would put a much bigger burden on my husband. I'd probably need to get morning help so he isn't stuck handling everything alone. He recently changed his job to be more local, so now I'd be the one going back to the big commute again.

My husband says he'll support me in whatever I choose. But I feel like this decision comes back to money every time. I basically have nothing left after bills, and I'm not saving for retirement the way I should be. I'm not asking my partner for money, even though he offered to pay the health insurance if that would help.

Am I crazy for considering going back to the longer commute for better pay, better benefits, and a stronger team? I miss not feeling financially trapped. I also have a side hustle that brings in about 750 a month, and I still feel buried under expenses. Is being close to my family worth this financial loss? We can't move closer to my old job.

Honestly, I don't understand these employers. Isn't it supposed to cost them more to have people come into the office every week? Doesn't it make more financial sense for most jobs to stay remote?

I mean, how is paying rent for office space, utilities, snacks, parking, security, and all that stuff better, when employees are already happier working from home? Especially after we proved that we can get the same amount of work done remotely, and maybe even more.

Remote roles also let them hire from a much larger pool instead of being limited to people who live close enough to commute. That seems like an obvious win.

Part of me feels like my company is pushing the return-to-office thing because they're waiting for some people to leave on their own. It's probably an easier way to reduce headcount without doing layoffs.

If companies want people back in the office, that's their choice, but employees also have the choice to look for companies that offer the flexibility they actually want. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I'm starting to quietly look at other remote opportunities because it will be hard for someone who has been working remotely for years to return back to office. If I do start interviewing, I'm planning to use Interview VIP tool to help me stay confident, organize my answers, and explain why I'm looking for a new role without sounding negative about my current employer.

Most of us were never really taught how to build a life that can hold a career. Instead, we were taught to build our lives around one.
I think we should be aiming for a meaningful life, not just meaningful work. Expecting a single job to carry our identity, purpose, stability, and self-worth all at once feels like a setup for disappointment.

This is probably the first time I’m telling this story to anyone.At my previous job, I worked as a receptionist at a hotel. I was still fairly new, but I was already at the point where I was seriously considering quitting because of the work environment.

One day, a woman came in for an interview for the Front Office Supervisor position. While she was waiting outside the manager’s office, we started having a casual conversation.At some point, she asked me what the work environment was like.
Now, I probably should have just said something neutral like, “It’s okay.”But I didn’t.

I told her honestly that I found the work environment toxic and that I wasn’t happy with the management. I also told her about things I had heard from other colleagues, including stories about the owner making employees do personal work for them.

I wasn’t trying to convince her not to take the job. I was just answering her question honestly.But after our conversation, she looked noticeably less interested.

A little while later, she told me she wasn’t going to take the job. She said she had some urgent work to attend to and asked me to tell the manager that she had to leave.

When the manager eventually came out and asked about her, I gave him the exact excuse she had given me.

Looking back, I know it probably wasn’t really my place to interfere with someone’s interview. She could have taken the job and decided for herself whether the workplace was actually as bad as I described.

But honestly?

I still feel a little proud of myself.

I was new, already exhausted by the place, and probably had no business giving an unofficial warning to a complete stranger.

But maybe I saved someone from going through what I was going through.

I never told anyone at work that I had basically talked a candidate out of joining.

So, Reddit, I guess this is my confession.

I have someone on my team who is a literal ghost if you try to message them or text them about a quick project question. It will sit on read forever.