- I used to work in high pressure sales. Once a week, the director would come in and to get everyone energized, and they brought in Monster drinks. Now, I liked the Director. She was nice and professional. My manager, on the other hand, was not.
I got tired of drinking energy drinks, so I decided to not participate this one week. My boss came to me and said, “You didn’t get a monster. You know Wendy bought these for the entire division?” I said I was aware of that, but I didn’t want one. He came up to me and said this, “Listen, go into that office and get one right now.”
So I got up, grabbed a can, walked back to my desk and just left it sitting there. He came back and asked why I didn’t drink it. I told him I didn’t want to have one because my body doesn’t do well with so much caffeine. He stated to me that my lack of energy shows in my performance.
He ended with, “If you keep this up, we may have to let you go.” Lo and behold, I ended up getting fired.
8.
- Everything, and I mean every. single. thing was always our “top priority.” “Getting the applications done is your top priority.” “We need to produce this report daily – it’s your top priority.” “That backlog has to be cleared and then kept on top of going forward. It’s your top priority.” I ended up telling her every task can’t be the “top priority” and basically nothing was actually priority anymore. We had a brief argument about it, she threw a hissy fit and stormed off.
9.
- I worked in a kitchen. I was the morning cook and became good friends with the night cook before he got promoted to head chef. I attended his wedding with my partner, and was close to him. Shortly after he got promoted, he started to get more and more lazy.
I used to stay late after shifts to make sure all the orders were properly put away, while my boss would sit outside for an hour at a time. I put up with it for months. When I told him my partner was pregnant and our baby was due in July, his response was, “Man, that better not ruin my birthday weekend.”
Fast-forward to 4:30 a.m.—my partner goes into labor. I call to let him know I won’t be coming in because, well, my child is being born. An hour later, at 5:30 a.m., he calls back and asks, “Has the baby been born yet?” I say no—and he goes, “Think you can come in for a few hours while you’re waiting?”
10.
- My first job was working fast food for the biggest cheapskate ever. This was over ten years ago, so I am kinda fuzzy on specifics, but he would regularly schedule me for more hours than I signed up for, didn’t pay me well, and refused to turn the ac on, even in the lobby, to save money.
One day, I was scheduled for a shift that he knew I was not available for (I relied on my parents for rides so I couldn’t work week days), so I spent the night before at a friend’s house who lived close enough for me to walk. It was raining heavily that day, so after walking twenty minutes to work I was drenched. I pulled the door handle and the building was locked.
No signs on the door, just locked. I call my boss, and he says, “You don’t have to work today, we are closed for business.” I say, “Am I working tomorrow?” “No, we are closed for good.”
At the end of the day, terrible bosses give us two valuable gifts: thick skin and dark humor material that bonds coworkers for life. While no one would wish these managers on their worst enemies, at least their ridiculous behavior makes for legendary stories. Craving the workplace drama? Here’s some more.
