EXPLAINED: Terrible boss stories | Rare Historical Photos

My boss Gary (fake tho he looks like one) pulled me aside last week and says I need to dress better in order to look more professional not even kidding I literally work in a warehouse. We literally move boxes and operate forklifts like I was wearing clean jeans and a t shirt which seemed perfectly reasonable for you know manual labor. But he wanted that so I gave him professional where I showed up monday in a long shirt, dress shoes, wrist watch, the whole package. Looked like I was about to give a ted talk on supply chain management and when he saw me told me this a bit too much. Been doing this for three days now like my coworkers think it's hilarious and I'm getting genuine compliments from customers who think I'm upper management.

Gary can't say anything because I'm technically following his orders and I'm the most professionally dressed box mover in the area and honestly kinda feeling myself.

Had my annual review last week. Boss spent 20 minutes talking about how valuable I am and how much the company appreciates my work. Then came the bonus discussion → $0.

Not "we're having a tight year" or "budget constraints." Just straight up told me they decided to reallocate bonus funds to "other priorities." Meanwhile I watched two new managers get hired at probably double my salary.

Handed in my two weeks yesterday. Boss seemed shocked and asked what they could do to keep me. Told him he already showed me exactly what I'm worth to them.

Already got one interview lined up. Done with this place.

We had a team meeting where my boss said people are just getting up and disappearing without telling anyone and its unprofessional. So now I message him on Teams every single time. "Stepping away for restroom." "Going to grab coffee." "Printer run." I dont wait for a response I just let him know. Last week I sent him 9 messages in one day. On Friday he replied "you dont need to tell me every time you move" and I said "just wanted to make sure Im being professional like you asked." He hasnt brought it up since.

Early in my career I worked as an engineer for a defense contractor for about 4 years getting my typical 2-4% raises and standard promotions that take years and years to qualify for. I realized that in my current role I was pretty much maxed out for the foreseeable future, and would be scraping by for years more, so I tried to get on the management track and got given a project engineer position to prove myself.

I managed a team of 4 engineers, a designer, and 2 admins and we designed and manufactured a system that made $1.6M in sales in our first year of work. We got the company a patent, and were nominated by the USAF and became finalists as DoD Contractor Technical team of the year (I don't recall the exact wording) and were flown to DC for a big awards ceremony. I spent 100 days away from my family that year, traveling to test locations, customers, vendors, etc. It was brutal but we were wildly successful.

When annual performance reviews came in mine was 10/10. I was thrilled, then I found out one of MY team members (who had a different manager) was promoted early to a senior position and that I did not and I just got the standard 3% raise again. I was livid.

I had a meeting with my boss and his response was that he didn't think my team member deserved a promotion or a big raise but he wasn't their boss so basically I should try real hard again and we'll see next year.

Screw that. I basically quite quit and just barely worked my 40hrs and went home. I never traveled unless I really wanted to, I never stayed late, I took almost every Friday off to burn through my leave. I took all my sick days, etc. My mental health was much better. The only thing I really did extra was take advantage of the education budget our group had but rarely got used.

My previously promoted co-worker (who I really liked personally) started taking MBA evening classes, that the company reimbursed him for, but they came with obligations to stay there for x amount of years. They also had a nice budget for software training (without such stipulations) so we both signed up for FEA and 3D modelling classes. We traveled around together taking these classes and building our resumes.

About a month after the classes were finished I secretly started applying for jobs that required those specific skills and quickly got hired for a position with a base annual income that was 200% my existing rate plus it paid overtime. I put in my notice and my boss was really upset.

"We just paid for you to travel all over to learn these new skills that we need!"

"Don't you have any loyalty or guilt!"

"How much are they paying you, lets see if we can match it"

"That's more than I make!"

It was and with OT I made about 3X the following year for a competitor. Life changing good times.

I’ve been pulling double duty for 6 months since our senior dev quit. i’m fixing legacy code, training the two new interns, and generating the weekly client reports, none of which is actually in my job description.

last week i finally asked for a market adjustment. my boss gave me a 10-minute lecture on "budgets" and ended it by telling me to "focus on the core responsibilities outlined in your contract" instead of worrying about money.

bet.

i immediately stopped fixing the nightly build errors (not in my contract). i stopped answering the interns constant slack messages (not in my contract). and i definitely didn't run the client report this morning.

i just got a slack message marked "URGENT" asking where the data is for his 9am meeting.

i’m about to reply with a screenshot of the "core responsibilities" section of my contract. wish me luck.

Me and my entire team are going to be reporting to a newly hired manager on Monday.

Yesterday we had a departmental town hall. The new manager was not able to be present for it, but did supply an introduction slide.

It was very light on professional experience and somewhat heavy on The Lord. It included something about his leadership style being "Christ-Centric" and included a Bible Quote from the book of Matthew.

Y'all the way my stomach dropped.

We are not a faith-based organization as far as I can tell. Not a whiff of it in the three years I have been here. Our department is very culturally diverse (IT). I myself am a member of the LGBTQ community and we have a COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP (to say the least) with Christians.

Especially the Christians who are bold enough to announce their personal beliefs in a professional introduction slide. I've not met the man and I'm already uncomfortable and bracing myself for friction.

I don't need this, I didn't ASK for this. I am aware that I may be biased against Christians like this, so I'm not going to jump the gun and freak out (I need this job). I think it is HIGHLY inappropriate messaging from a power-dynamics standpoint. First thing he wants us to know about him is his faith.

If my beliefs don't align, what does that look like for my chances at advancement? Is he biased against the gays? Is he aware of it? Will my career suffer because deep down in him he doesn't root for "my kind".

What should I do?

EDIT for those pointing out that I might be the bigot here:

You've never had to worry about things like this, have you?

This will be the last time I try to explain, and then I'm muting my phone.

You will never know the panic of having someone with authority over you carrying strong negative feelings about who you are as a person. Negative feelings about something you always have been and something you can't change.

I'm feeling even more anxiety about it because of this current cultural climate where the bigots and homophobes have discovered some sort of license to be free with their hate and bigotry.

Even if he doesn't do or say anything further his introduction has already set the tone of what by all rights should have been normal and comfortable boss/employee power dynamic. I don't only have to please him, I have to be pleasing in the eyes of his Invisible Sky Daddy. So pardon me for being "dramatic" and freaking out.

I work as a purchasing manager for a mid-sized home goods retailer. We have used the same domestic importer for our seasonal decor for five years. They charge a markup, but they handle the customs, the quality checks, and the shipping. It is hassle-free.

My new Director of Operations is convinced that he is a business genius. He called a meeting last month and lectured me about how we are hemorrhaging money by using a local distributor. He told me to cancel our contract for the holiday shipment and go direct to the source.

I warned him. I told him that dealing with freight forwarders, tariffs, and port delays is a full-time job. He told me I was just being lazy. He actually said, “Just get me the contacts, I'll close the deal myself.”

So I did. I spent a few days on Alibaba compiling a list of legitimate Chinese manufacturing companies that produce glass ornaments. I handed him a spreadsheet with twenty factory contacts, their MOQ (Minimum Order Quantity) requirements, and the time zone differences.

I sat back and watched the show.

He realized that FOB Price does not include shipping to our warehouse.
He wired money to a supplier but forgot to hire a customs broker, so the shipment got flagged by CBP.
The container sat at the port for ten days because he didn't understand what an ISF filing was. The demurrage fees (fines for not moving the container) alone cost more than the 15% he was trying to save.

He came to my desk yesterday, looking incredibly humbled, and asked if I still had the phone number for our old importer.

TL;DR: Boss thought international trade was easy; I let him manage a direct import order and he ended up paying double in fines and fees.

I worked at this small manufacturing place for about 3 years. Did everything from inventory to coordinating shipments to handling vendor relationships. Boss was the typical "we're a family here" type who paid me garbage while he drove a new Tesla every year.

I asked for a raise multiple times. Got the runaround every time. Finally had enough and put in my two weeks. Boss didn't take it seriously, thought I was bluffing.

Here's the thing though... I was literally the only person who knew how our systems worked. I offered to train someone or at least document everything during my notice period. He said don't worry about it, they'd figure it out.

They did not figure it out.

Within a month I heard from old coworkers that they lost their biggest client because nobody could coordinate the shipments properly. Then another client left because of inventory screwups. Boss had to hire three people to replace me (at higher combined salary than what I asked for) and they're still apparently struggling.

Could've just given me the 15k raise I asked for. Instead he's probably down 300k in lost contracts and hiring costs.

Sometimes the trash takes itself out I guess.

Our boss was a petty tyrant. He would do things that put us in difficult situations then yell at us while blaming us for the hassle. Best of all he was impatient man-child. My coworker, Thom, was stuck in the office more than I was. Poor bastard. Thom's petty revenge was driving our boss more insane yet our boss had no idea he was doing it.

Our boss had the nice big office up front. The printers were in the back. Thom and I sat in the cube farm between them. The boss would print out something then quickly and impatiently sprint to pick up what he printed. He was hyper-focused on getting that printout.

Most times the laser printer spun up and our boss moved from his office, Thom would get up from his cube and get in his way. He would walk slowly to the printers, or he would be carefully carrying a coffee cup that was filled to the top, or waddling awkwardly towards the bathroom.

Sometimes he would do that side "which way are you gonna go" hopping as they tried to dodge each other - but Thom never got it right and they ended up running into each other.

I watched this happen whenever I was in the office. Thom was doing this multiple times per day. Our boss had no idea but his blood pressure went up every time he went to retrieve a printout.

Thank you Thom. Against all odds you made that place a tiny bit more tolerable.

I work at a café where the owner is obsessed with “maximizing profit.” We already charged extra for oat milk, syrup, takeaway cups, basically everything except breathing near the espresso machine. Not too bad.

But one day he decided we were going to start charging for tap water.
Not bottled water. Tap water.
Like, someone buys a sandwich and asks for a glass of water? Boom. 75 cents.
Everyone on staff thought it was stupid, but he acted like he’d invented modern economics.

He even printed little signs explaining how “cups, dishwashing, and labor have costs.”
The funniest part was that he and everyone knew customers would hate this. Which is fair. I would too if I was a customer.

So I decided that every single time someone asked me for tap water, I’d smile and say something like
“Oh, my boss actually handles all questions about the water policy. One second.”
And then I’d go get him.
Every. Single. Time.
Didn’t matter if he was in the office, unloading stock, eating lunch, or pretending to do accounting on his laptop. If someone wanted free water, I summoned him like a cursed spirit.

At first he’d come out all confident with his rehearsed explanation:
“Well, unfortunately there are operational costs associated with-“
And customers would immediately hit him with:

“You’re charging for TAP WATER?”

“Are you serious?”

“I just spent €14 here.”

“Every other café gives it for free.”

“Is this legal?” (I looked it up, it’s not, lol)

Meanwhile I’d just stand there pretending to wipe the counter while enjoying the show.
This went on for like two weeks before he completely lost it.

One afternoon a few days ago he pulled me aside and went:
“You need to stop bringing me out there for this.”
I said, “But you made the rule.”
And he goes:
“Yes, but it’s degrading having to explain it to customers all day.”
I genuinely had to look away so he wouldn’t see me smiling.
Like… my brother in Christ, if explaining your own policy humiliates you, maybe the policy is the problem.
Anyway, as for now, the tap water charge disappeared. No announcement. No apology. The little signs just vanished overnight like they’d never existed.
Still one of the funniest acts of malicious compliance I’ve ever committed.

Go to meeting. Boss shares the conversation he had with Claude and stone cold serious tells us we need to appease Claude and meet “his” projections.

Claude doesn’t understand our clients or their needs, so things don’t happen the way Claude projected.

Boss flips out. Has another conversation with Claude to ask why. Claude can’t figure it out so we must be the problem.

I’m watching him get deeper and deeper into the hole and it’s depressing to watch, and for his sake too. This can’t be good for his mental health, it’s not good for any of us. I don’t want to participate in the dog and pony show anymore. I want to lay in the grass. I think we all need to log off. Vent over. Thanks for listening.

Warning this involves deaths me dying. I work health care.

Okay this happened many years ago when I worked at a family owned nursing home. My uncle was on life support following a triple or quad bypass, I can’t remember. What lead to him on life support was an infection they didn’t catch until to late. Now my aunt wanted all her family there and called me at work to come to the hospital that was 2 hrs away from me and say good bye. So I go to my boss and tell her what is going on and her reply to me was “it’s just an uncle”

Welp I ended up getting fired for not wanting to commit fraud for her and got a job at the local hospital a few years later.

A few years into working at the local hospital her uncle is dying from old age and she is outside the door of his room. I look at her and pat her shoulder and say “it just an uncle” and I walk off and go do my charting as I was the aide taking care of him.

Monday team meeting on Zoom. Manager thinks he hits mute but doesn't.

I hear him talking to someone in his office: Yeah, Jim's doing fine but honestly? he's easily replaceable. If he starts asking for a raise we can just find someone else who'll do it for less.

Dead silence from the entire team. Takes him 10 seconds to realize what happened, face goes white. Oh sorry everyone, technical difficulties.

Technical difficulties? More like not knowing how to use mute while talking bad about your employees.

I've been grinding for this company for two years. Never missed a deadline, stayed late, covered for people, took on extra projects. And this is what they think of me?

Well, joke's on them. I was already planning to ask for that raise, and now I'm definitely making myself "replaceable" before they get the chance. Two years of my life and I'm easily replaceable. We'll see how easy it is when I'm gone.

In December, I was laid off from a small family business. I’d been there four years. Mr. Boss hoped to hire me back “when business picks up”. Maybe.

I told him it was cool to reach out to me, but was clear I wouldn’t be waiting around.

I started a new job this week. It’s going incredibly well.

I’ve also gotten three very long panicked voicemails from Mr. Boss this week…

The only other employee, (his wife) left him and the business. She didn’t train him on how to do our jobs. She just packed up her stuff and left. She won’t answer his calls.

Not sure how this is my problem…

Now he expects me to come in and train him “As a favor to a friend”. Not being rehired, totally unpaid and out of the goodness of my heart.

Nope! He laid me off two weeks before Christmas!

Also… He’d love me to come in Saturday or Sunday, because that “works for him”.

NOPE… I don’t care what works for him, because I don’t work for him anymore!

We aren’t “friends” and it’s NOT my problem. The audacity is audaciting! It astounds me that a business owner would think this is an okay thing to do.

Company missed my paycheck again (second time). Told my boss I'm not touching another thing until the money hits my account. No explanations, no excuses anymore.

He tried the usual "it'll be sorted Monday" routine. I said cool, see you Monday then. Walked out.

Got a call an hour later. Payment would be processed same day. Funny how fast they can move when they need to.

Still waiting on that direct deposit but at least now they know I'm serious. Should've done this the first time honestly.

So our company "restructured" and now existing employees have to formally reapply for positions. Same job, same responsibilities. But here's the kicker the posted salary is $8k less than what we're currently making.

I've been there 6 years. Built entire systems, trained new staff, covered shifts constantly. Now I'm competing against external candidates and being told I need to "prove my value" at a rate that's below what I was hired at.

They're banking on people being too scared to leave or thinking this is normal. It's not. This is wage theft with extra steps.

Update: Talked to two coworkers. Same situation. We're all looking elsewhere now.

I would be lying if I tell y'all that I am not nervous of what just happened. It literally sent shivers down my spine and I'm just acting cool about it *crying*

So earlier at work, at the company-based one since I also have a remote one, We were in a team meeting, and my boss made a joke about how slow I was with my tasks. I rolled my eyes, muttered something like, “Maybe if you actually checked your own emails once in a while…” and oops! The room went quiet and that's when I realize that everyone heard it. I could even feel my heart pounding coz of how the silence linger the very room.

Boss didn’t look happy, coz who would be? but honestly? His so like jokes was more insulting on my part and publicly embarrassing people isn’t leadership. After that, we took a break and my co-workers keep talking of how brave I was. I am not proud of it but their compliments are making me feel otherwise. It felt risky, but I’m done letting jokes be an excuse for disrespect. You don’t get to belittle people and call it management. Never.

Been busting my bum at this company for 2 years. Position opens up that I'm perfect for, everyone knows it. Boss brings in his drinking buddy from his last job instead.

Found out last week when they announced it in the team meeting. Didn't even get interviewed.

Well joke's on them, already got an offer somewhere else for 20% more. Just submitted my resignation. Boss looked like he swallowed a lemon lmao

Some people never learn that loyalty goes both ways.

We have an in office “team development” day tomorrow and my bosses’ new boss and his boss are joining in. My bosses clearly want to make a good impression.

They asked us all to make a short video of what we’re proud of from the last year, or give someone a shoutout, etc. My boss said it wasn’t mandatory, so I decided not to do it.

And then today she asked me if I was going to do it, and I said I’d prioritized the work I’d been assigned to prepare for tomorrow. She said there was still time today. I said I didn’t have capacity today.

Then she said “just write a short paragraph of what you’re proud of, you’ve done amazing work this year” so I broke down and wrote two sentences basically saying “2025 was a year of [project]. I’m grateful I got the opportunity to work on so much [stuff I like] and was able to develop my [skills].”

I sent it to her and asked “is that okay?” And she said yes.

And then this afternoon right before my day ended she messaged me saying she’d cloned my voice using the text-to-speech software and used it to add a voiceover to my words.

I asked her what she meant, and she said she uploaded a recording of me delivering a training session and the software analyzed and cloned my voice based on the recording.

I was speechless and asked “does it actually sound like me?” and she sent me the video clip.

In addition to the words I wrote, she added “I’m excited to [use the skills I developed to support the team in 2026!]”. I didn’t write that. But my cloned voice said it.

I feel so incredibly violated.

I told her I was NOT okay with it and asked her to remove the voiceover and delete my voice from the text-to-speech software.

I shut my laptop and tried to regulate myself but I am reeling.

I reported it to my bosses’ new boss who is coming tomorrow. We will see what happens.

I did save screenshots of my boss admitting what she did to my personal phone, and saved the video she created using my voice (with the added words).

Been at this marketing firm for 8 months. Manager loves the whole "we're a family here" speech whenever she needs free labor.

Last week she asked me to finish a presentation after my shift. I said no. She hit me with "I thought we were a team" and how it's "important for the company." I told her if it's that important, pay me overtime.

She looked genuinely shocked. Said I was being "difficult" and "not a team player." Then the classic boomer line: "when I was your age, I stayed late all the time to prove myself."

I replied "that's why you're still here and I'm planning my exit strategy."

She went quiet. Whole week she's been cold as hell. Then Friday comes and HR calls me in. They're "letting me go" for "cultural fit issues."

No severance. No warning. Just out.

They can keep their toxic "family." I'm filing for unemployment and never looking back. F corporate America and their manipulation tactics.