#toxic work culture

[capybarasatwork]

[mattsmemes]

[femmefatalevibe]

Femme Fatale Guide: How To Reset From A Toxic Work Environment

Give yourself ample time to reset and indulge in basic self-care. Get a full night's sleep every night, eat a balanced & nutritious diet (most of the time) with meals you enjoy, incorporate daily movement & a consistent exercise routine into your week, read books, listen to music and podcasts that inspire you, hang out with loved ones/people who energize you, indulge in beauty routines/"spa" days and movies/TV shows you love

Once you feel recharged/not burned out anymore, take a step back and reflect on what your values are, your interests, desired lifestyle/workplace environment that best suits your personality and work style. Consider what you want out of your next opportunity instead of letting hiring managers decide for you once your interviewing processes begin. Remember, a job at a company should feel like a mutual fit. Decide to work as an employee, not a corporate slave.

Reassess and decide on your future workplace boundaries ahead of time. Once you're more emotionally distant from your current toxic work environment, allow yourself to act as a neutral observer of the interpersonal dynamics that played out while you were working in your (soon-to-be previous) toxic work environment. Consider any warning signs/red flags you might've ignored early on or certain ways you allowed yourself to be a pushover/people-pleaser to keep the peace while getting to know your co-workers. Looking back, how would you have handled these situations if you had the clarity and self-confidence you have now? Use your answer to this question as a roadmap to decide how you can show up as your best self before/while working in your next role.

Determine ways you can forge workplace connections early on in your next role. Embrace the "new job, new you" mentality here and decide how you want to show up as a sociable co-worker from your first week onward. Greet your team in the morning, engage in some small talk over a break to get to know each other better – try to find mutual interest/express interest in what they're saying, make it a priority to schedule one-on-ones with all team members/close collaborators within your company over the first month, invite co-workers to get coffee/lunch with you a couple of days per week, etc.

[whatacaitastrophe]

detouring a little bit from my usual content (okay, a lot), but all i've been able to think about for the last week is the fact that i spent the last six months getting absolutely gaslit into thinking i’m fucking terrible at a career i’ve otherwise excelled at, and there’s a pretty good chance someone else needs to hear this too:

crying at work is not normal.

going to bed on sunday evenings dreading monday morning is not normal.

being expected to be on call and available 24/7 for a job that DOES NOT require you to be on call is not normal.

you are not lazy, or a bad employee, or a bad coworker because you didn’t take your work laptop with you on vacation, and being made to feel guilty about being unavailable whilst on vacation is not normal.

being made to feel guilty about how much higher your salary is than your less experienced coworkers, and how unfair it is that they make less than you, when you make a mistake is not normal.

being expected to be in a leadership position when that isn’t in your job description, and without the title and the salary to go with it, is not normal.

being expected to understand the scope of a job and to perform that job successfully when you don’t have all the tools (training, a full list of tasks you are supposed to be performing), despite repeatedly asking for the tools, is not normal.

being blamed and called lazy because others are “doing your job for you” when your BOSS was the one who asked them to do tasks that should have been assigned to you, is not normal.

also, if you find yourself sitting at your desk with nothing to do, and everyone else is complaining about how busy they are, chances are your boss is delegating your work to someone else instead of you, and that's not normal-- ESPECIALLY if you ask your boss if they have anything they need you to work on and they say "no."

if a company doesn't have a local HR person, and HR has absolutely NO IDEA why you got let go / what your "performance issues" were that led to you being let go, because they were not looped in until your boss emailed them to tell them you were being let go? that is NOT. NORMAL.

if any of the above has happened to you at work, RUN. run as fast as you fucking can.

[attorney-anon]

Just found out my former boss has apparently told multiple people (including recently) that she wants to beat me up for leaving the firm back in January.

And I hope she does! Suing her for assault & battery would be so much fun for me.

[nando161mando]

I constantly get accused of making trouble by bringing up pay discrepancies and not doing enough work. These have made an appearance all over my workplace.

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

While I did get a chuckle out of those NSFW SpongeBob drawings, a part of me can’t help but feel weirded out by the fact that they even exist to begin with.

Not because it’s NSFW art that’s drawn by the show’s animators, but because it perfectly sums up how toxic Nickelodeon’s work environment was at the time.

I dunno if much has changed since the Dan Schneider scandal broke, but considering that the guy who came across this artwork chose to omit some stuff because a lot of it was just that vile, it really makes me wonder what other fucked up shit went on behind the scenes at Nickelodeon during that era.

And yes, before anyone says anything, I am aware of the Rugrats storyboard jam that started out as a goof but quickly devolved into a NSFW cluster fuck.

[nagitokomaeda-the69th]

Ever since I've come to know that Dama voiced the funny cat guard I'm convinced that this was just her subtle way of throwing shade at disney

And honestly? Mood

[savage-rhi]

Henhouse Syndrome: when a clique of women in their middle age and up convene (usually in an office setting) and proceed to gossip and slander their work peers. Most times, these women are not working the grind and stay cozied up in said office space and peck at everyone.

Karen's may be susceptible to Henhouse Syndrome more so than others. However, if a Karen is menopausal, a Henhouse may not last for more than a month without burning down and a double homicide.

Other victims of Henhouse Syndrome are people who thought HS was their prime are entitled/grew up with some form of nepotism or have unchecked egos. They may also exhibit similar powers akin to Energy Vampires.

If there are 3 or more "hens" in a vicinity, consider the space you frequented a biohazard and proceed to evacuate or get another job.

You may be able to get rid of or tamper down a Henhouse if your workplace hires a "Rooster" aka a dude or masculine presenting person. This will either cause the Hens to pipe down because of having a traditional "male authority" figure or they will peck his eyes out too. It's a 50/50 shot.

[walnutmediocre]

Why I'm quitting my job that I'm now 8 months into.

For about a week now, I've been having some self revelations. Or rather I should say some self re-discoveries (I'll go more into that later). For now, I'll describe all the straws singularly being plucked one by one, aka small things that drive me crazy.

Just to get right into it: my coworkers are extremely ignorant. The first day I was getting trained, the person training me already made racist jokes, calling black people "basketball Americans" and how "he's sick of them. they're so loud, and they smell like weed". That genuinely bothered me to my core.

Another thing, a lot of them are sexist. The men there complain about their wives. Genuinely grosses me out.

The manager and one of the female coworkers (who has a boyfriend btw) very obviously have a thing going on. All of my other coworkers mention how its weird, yet nobody is reporting it? In fact, the female coworkers sister is protecting the manager. A customer is aware of this situation (granted hes a piece of shit too. this customer harassed me, however I wish he actually called HR and reported it) and he made the joke that he'd all HR. Thats when my manager was warned about that by the sister. Im just sick of this. To make matters worse, that coworker called her boyfriend stupid for not picking up on what's happening. She would tell him about the gifts that her manager would give her, and he'd say how he's happy for her because that has to mean something positive about her work ethic, or how much the manager respects her, etc. she legit was like "bro you're so stupid lmfao" EVEN WORSE. Women would come up to her and ask her if she's single because they want to introduce her to someone they know. Her answer? "Well.. I'm not married... We can talk about it later!"

Today, I was ringing up these two customers. A dude, and what I can only assume to be a trans woman, either that or a masculine person dressing femininely (I'm describing that specifically bc its a relevant detail) and my male coworker legitimately asked "........is that a man. Is that a man in a skirt." First of all, we legit have a trans coworker so he's not actually stupid, he's being willingly ignorant. And secondly, asking me that as if this is some crazy thing to see like this is the wild or something is actually, well, wild.

Now, I'll be revisiting what I meant by "self re-discovery".

I noticed I've been growing tolerant towards certain things that, in actuality, I cannot stand. They drain me.

People like my co-workers, and people like the customers there, are the exact opposite of me. I miss community. I miss the times when I could walk into a building, a place and talk to people who I agree with, who I can talk about my hobbies with, who I can talk about my passions with. At work, I cant do that. My coworkers are- for a lack of the better phrase- too normal. Like... overwhelmingly normal. A lot of them don't have time for themselves, so their lives are filled with complaining about their car, or their kid, or about their day job. Constantly talking about sports. Constantly talking about becoming a pilot when they're older, or wanting to work at a golf course......... like, what? I cannot relate in the SLIGHEST to that.

When I walk into that building, I feel the loneliest. At first, it was fine, I could laugh with them at a distance, but then I re-discovered that I'm the type of person to be extremely bothered with stuff over time. I re-discovered that Im simply an intolerant person towards, well, intolerant people. Why be a shit human? My goal in life is to surround myself with people who are good for me. My goal is to surround myself with others who I wont constantly look for red flags in.

To close this out, I want to say that I most likely will be quitting in the span of 3 months. I'll be writing my 2 weeks notice soon.

And, if anyone needed to hear it, I just want you to know that ANY reason is a good reason to leave your job. Your employer is owed NOTHING. Leaving and not giving them your time is your right. I don't care if they end up under staffed, and you shouldn't either. That is not my responsibility, and it isn't yours!

[tehjleck]

Today's example in Toxic Bosses brought to you by this bitch

[capybarasatwork]

[trickortreatmeout]

Filled with anxiety from calling out from my office job for the first time (especially because I’m still in my new hire probationary period). I’m fighting a migraine (have been for about 12hrs) and nauseated due to it but I still am working myself I to a frenzy like I lied or something to just hang at home. I hate toxic workplace culture. I hate that I’ve been conditioned to try to come in no matter what. I hate it all so much that I’m gonna spend the first hour after telling my boss I’m too sick to come in panicking that I did that. “Oh maybe I still could have come open then left”

NO APOLLO!! You did the right thing. You feel unwell, a feeling that’s been creeping up for a few days. Take the time off to care for yourself.

[femmefatalevibe]

Hi!!!

Question: how to bounce back after workplace trauma? My job is ending soon (thankfully) and I dealt with awful social isolation from coworkers and treated terribly. I do not want to bring that into my next job - I’d love some tips on that.

Also while on my break (I’m looking for jobs currently before my job is over), how could I heal and enjoy myself before my next job? I know none of the things that happened to me was my fault, and dealt with lies from my coworkers. I just want to be happy :)

Hi love! So glad to hear you're able to quit a job that's negatively impacting your mental health and well-being. Sorry that you experienced this toxic work environment. Here are some of my tips:

Give yourself ample time to reset and indulge in basic self-care: Get a full night's sleep every night, eat a balanced & nutritious diet (most of the time) with meals you enjoy, incorporate daily movement & a consistent exercise routine into your week, read books, listen to music and podcasts that inspire you, hang out with loved ones/people who energize you, indulge in beauty routines/"spa" days and movies/TV shows you love

Once you feel recharged/not burned out anymore, take a step back and reflect on what your values are, your interests, desired lifestyle/workplace environment that best suits your personality and work style. Consider what you want out of your next opportunity instead of letting hiring managers decide for you once your interviewing processes begin. Remember, a job at a company should feel like a mutual fit. Decide to work as an employee, not a corporate slave.

Reassess and decide on your future workplace boundaries ahead of time. Once you're more emotionally distant from your current toxic work environment, allow yourself to act as a neutral observer of the interpersonal dynamics that played out while you were working in your (soon-to-be previous) toxic work environment. Consider any warning signs/red flags you might've ignored early on or certain ways you allowed yourself to be a pushover/people-pleaser to keep the peace while getting to know your co-workers. Looking back, how would you have handled these situations if you had the clarity and self-confidence you have now? Use your answer to this question as a roadmap to decide how you can show up as your best self before/while working in your next role.

Determine ways you can forge workplace connections early on in your next role. Embrace the "new job, new you" mentality here and decide how you want to show up as a sociable co-worker from your first week onward. Greet your team in the morning, engage in some small talk over a break to get to know each other better – try to find mutual interest/express interest in what they're saying, make it a priority to schedule one-on-ones with all team members/close collaborators within your company over the first month, invite co-workers to get coffee/lunch with you a couple of days per week, etc.

Best of luck! Hope this helps xx

[mdmcduff]

Remembering that time I was an administrative assistant in an office with a manager who relied on and looked down upon admins daily.

Her name was Arlene.

She decided to fire someone. She did not give any of the admins advance notice. She fired them the day her admin (Mel) was out of the office.

Planned PTO to watch her son compete in his college tournament.

Mel was the only one who knew how to change the door codes.

Arlene comes to me. I explain that Mel’s the only one who can do it. Arlene says “well, it needs to be done TODAY.” *stares*

(My autistic ass *stares* back) (I already told you Mel’s the only one who can do it)

Long story short: I waved to Arlene and my boss on my way out the door, Arlene calls me back and asks if I’ve removed fired employee’s door code, I tell her no because Mel’s the only one who can do it, and then I leave. I was hourly and not approved for overtime.

An hour later, my phone starts ringing. Arlene has decided that the office cannot be unattended until the door code is removed. She leaves an aggressive voicemail informing me that she and the supervisors are stuck until I resolve the situation.

Supervisors also start leaving me voicemails.

Mel calls me, panicking. I think about the situation long and hard for a few minutes and then decide I’m turning off my phone and advise her to do the same.

OH I forgot to say this was a Friday.

**fast forward**

They figure out some workaround and then Arlene insists that we have redundancy for all tasks - something we had put in our training plan and she had removed. Cool.

She insists that only two people in the office be able to access and change alarm codes: herself, and me.

She teaches me.

She has a terrible memory and is incredibly incapable.

For two years, I’m the only person handling the alarm.

And then…they eliminated my position.

My (lovely) boss asked me to send an email with the details of who would be taking over each of my responsibilities before I signed off for the last time.

I made sure each and every admin was set up for success.

I emailed my boss. My closing line was “that’s everything except the alarm code. Arlene knows how to do that. Don’t forget to remove me as the first person who gets a phone call when the alarm is triggered.”

[hellyeahheroes]

America’s Overwork Obsession by Second Thought