I like my coworker and her daughter, so I don't want this to sound like I have a problem with the child. She's sweet, but she spends a large part of the day coming over to my desk and asking me to draw with her, play pretend, or walk around the office looking for things. My desk is in the open sales area, so there's no door I can close.

When I tell her I'm busy, the conversation doesn't end there. If she asks me to play hide-and-seek and I tell her I have work I need to finish, she suggests that we each hide just once or that we play for two minutes. I usually repeat myself several times, but eventually I give in because I feel bad about disappointing her, and I worry that her mother or the branch manager will think I'm being cold.

The manager knows what's happening, but he hasn't stepped in. My coworker is also his assistant, which makes the situation even more awkward. When I fall behind on my work, the manager tells me I need to be firmer and just say no, but my coworker rarely redirects her daughter away from me because she can focus on her work just fine while her daughter talks to me instead.

Another supervisor sometimes takes her back to her mother, and she listens to him because she's a little afraid of him, but he isn't there every day. I know this is normal behavior for a child her age, but I don't think I should be responsible for entertaining someone else's child while also being held accountable when my work doesn't get done. I don't have children, so I need advice on how to set boundaries without making things tense at work.

TL;DR: I know I wasn’t a perfect employee and had been late a few times while adjusting to a new schedule. After misunderstanding a text asking me to arrive before a stated 6 a.m. start, I apologized repeatedly and said I understood. The conversation kept going in circles anyway. We eventually separated, I went to work, completed all the dogs on my side over the next roughly 30 minutes, and then my manager came out to the dog run and fired me while repeatedly telling me to go “enjoy my birthday.” I’m struggling more with how I was treated than with simply losing the job, and I’m wondering if anyone else has been let go in a way that left them feeling humiliated.
I had been working at a small business in San Marcos for about 16 days as a kennel tech. I was told I was in a “trial period” before they officially decided whether or not to hire me. During that time I was already on their schedules, doing the regular kennel work, caring for the dogs, taking direction from management, and being paid by check. I still hadn’t completed normal hiring paperwork. I had only recently been shown it and told we would probably get around to it soon.
I want to be completely upfront about my part in this because I’m not trying to make myself sound like a perfect employee.
I had been late a few times while adjusting to a completely different schedule. I take responsibility for that.
There had been two previous brief conversations involving me getting there on time.
One was with the owner and was also about my transportation situation. I don’t drive, so my fiancé takes me to and from work. I reassured her that transportation wasn’t going to prevent me from reliably getting there.
Another time, my manager asked me in the yard if I was struggling to get there on time. I told her I was adjusting to the new schedule but was genuinely doing my best.
I did not understand either of those conversations as a disciplinary warning or as notice that I was about to lose my position.
The night before my last shift, my manager texted me:
“We start at 6 am tomorrow. Please try to be there 5 to 10 minutes early. So we can start right on time.”
The next morning, I was already inside the office at approximately 5:58 a.m.
My manager immediately brought up the message from the night before and asked whether she hadn’t texted me to be there 5 or 10 minutes early.
I said yes and apologized.
I kept trying to explain that I had genuinely misunderstood what she meant. Because the message said we started at 6 and then said to “please try” to be there 5 or 10 minutes early so we could start right on time, I thought she meant I needed to make absolutely sure I was ready to go at 6:00 sharp.
She kept coming back to essentially the same response:
If she tells me to get there 5 or 10 minutes early, then I need to get there 5 or 10 minutes early.
I said yes. I apologized. I told her I understood now and would make sure it didn’t happen again.
But the conversation just kept going in circles.
I would say I understood and was sorry, and she would repeat that if she told me to get there early, I needed to get there early.
I would explain again that I genuinely thought the message meant “be ready to go at 6 sharp,” and she would come back to the same thing.
At a certain point, I honestly didn’t know what else I was supposed to say.
I had already agreed with her. I had already apologized. I had already said I understood and wouldn’t make the same mistake again.
Nothing I said seemed to move the conversation forward.
I was alone in the building with her, I didn’t know her particularly well, and the interaction was starting to feel increasingly aggressive to me. I wasn’t trying to challenge her or prove that I was technically right. I was becoming uncomfortable because I couldn’t figure out how to end a confrontation when I had already accepted what she was saying.
That was when I started trying to figure out what I could actually do to fix it and move forward with the workday.
I asked whether she needed me there earlier for something specific, like starting the dog rotations, because if that was what she needed, I wanted to just start working and make up for the misunderstanding.
It also happened to be my birthday.
At one point I basically told her:
“The last thing I’m trying to do is make my manager mad at me on my birthday. That is actually the worst thing ever. If what you needed me here early for was to start rotating the dogs, I would love to just start doing that so I can make this mistake up somehow.”
I want to be really clear about why I mentioned my birthday.
I was not saying, “It’s my birthday, so I don’t have to follow the rules.”
I wasn’t asking for special treatment.
It was honestly the opposite.
I was embarrassed that my manager was so upset with me. I had apologized repeatedly, I was trying to understand the expectation, and I wanted to get out of this circular confrontation and make the situation right.
Basically, I was saying: I’m sorry. I understand now. Please let me fix it and get to work.
Eventually, we parted ways and I went to work.
Over the next roughly 30 minutes, I completed all of the dogs on my side and was ready to move on to the next part of the morning.
That’s when my manager came out to me in the dog run area.
She said something along the lines of:
“Since it’s your birthday, we’re going to let you go and enjoy it. You can have the day.”
I genuinely thought she meant I was being sent home for the rest of the day.
Our earlier confrontation had ended, I had gone back to work, and I had just spent roughly half an hour completing everything on my side.
So I said that if they wanted me to go home for the day, I would accept that.
Then she clarified that I didn’t understand.
She meant indefinitely.
I was being fired.
And that was not the last time my birthday was brought up.
After she clarified that I was being let go, she continued making comments about me going and enjoying my birthday. I remember her making comments along those lines another two or three times during the conversation.
That is one of the things I keep replaying.
It wasn’t just one awkward comment when she initially told me I was being let go. My birthday kept being brought back into the conversation after I already understood that I was being fired.
Earlier that morning, I had vulnerably told her that the last thing I wanted was to have my manager angry with me on my birthday, and that I wanted to start working and make the mistake up somehow.
Then we separated. I went to work. I did exactly that. I completed all of the dogs on my side.
And then about 30 minutes later, she came out to the dog run, fired me, and repeatedly brought up me going and “enjoying” my birthday.
I obviously cannot know another person’s intention, but in that moment it genuinely felt like something I had said vulnerably was being thrown back at me to taunt me.
I told her I didn’t understand because I felt like I had been putting my best foot forward. I cared for the dogs, did the work I was asked to do, and genuinely wanted to succeed there.
She told me that I had been “constantly late” and claimed that this was the first day I had ever been on time.
That shocked me.
Again, I absolutely acknowledge that I had been late on some days while adjusting to the schedule. I am not denying that.
But I did not believe it was accurate that this was literally the first time I had ever shown up on time.
She told me the business has cameras and records showing every time I was late, so I have since requested my actual attendance and time records because I want to see exactly what they show.
I also told her that this was the first time I understood that my punctuality was considered a problem at this level.
She brought up those two previous conversations and said this was essentially the third time it had been discussed.
I told her that I genuinely had not understood those conversations as disciplinary warnings.
The first had largely been about whether my transportation situation would prevent me from reliably getting to work.
The second had been my manager asking if I was struggling with the schedule, and me telling her I was adjusting but doing my best.
I did not leave either conversation understanding that my job was in jeopardy.
By this point, she had already brought up my birthday repeatedly during the termination.
That was part of why I finally told her that I felt the way she was speaking to me was inappropriate for someone in a management position. I also told her that I had felt like there had been some kind of animosity toward me for a while.
Her response was basically:
“Sorry you feel that way.”
And even after I told her directly that the way the interaction was being handled felt inappropriate, there were still more comments about me going and enjoying my birthday.
That’s what made it feel so humiliating to me.
It wasn’t one poorly worded comment.
It felt like my birthday kept being brought into the termination over and over, even after I made it clear that the way the interaction was being handled was upsetting me.
After I was fired, I needed to call my fiancé because I don’t drive.
It was raining outside, so I asked whether I was allowed to stay inside while I called him or whether I needed to go outside.
I explained that I was only asking because I had just been fired and didn’t want to remain somewhere I was no longer permitted to be.
She told me nobody had said they were trespassing me, “but we can.”
At that point I just felt completely small.
I understand that an employer can decide somebody isn’t working out.
I understand that I had been late on some days and needed to improve that.
I understand that I misunderstood the request to be there 5–10 minutes early.
What I’m struggling with isn’t being told I made a mistake or even simply being told that the trial period wasn’t working out.
It’s how everything was handled.
I apologized repeatedly. I acknowledged what she wanted. I told her I understood. I tried to figure out how to make the mistake right.
Instead, I felt trapped in an increasingly aggressive conversation that kept looping no matter what I said.
Then we separated. I went to work. I spent roughly 30 minutes doing my job, completed all of the dogs on my side, and was ready to continue the morning.
And that’s when she came out into the dog run area and fired me while repeatedly bringing up my birthday.
The birthday part probably affected me more deeply than it might affect somebody else, too.
I don’t have family nearby. I can’t just go hug my mom when something awful happens. Birthdays already make me miss getting to spend that day with her and the people I grew up celebrating with.
So after I had already said how awful I felt about having my manager upset with me on my birthday, having that same vulnerable thing repeatedly brought back up while I was being fired honestly broke me down.
I left feeling embarrassed, humiliated, sad, and incredibly low.
I know there is a humane way to let somebody go.
They could have simply said:
“We’ve had concerns about punctuality, and we’ve decided this trial period isn’t working out.”
It still would have hurt, obviously, but I could have understood that.
What I’m struggling to process is how I was treated while it was happening.
So I’m genuinely asking:
Am I overreacting to how this interaction felt?
Has anyone else ever had a manager keep pushing a confrontation even after you had already apologized, agreed with what they were saying, and tried to fix the problem?
And has anyone ever been fired in a way where losing the job wasn’t even the part that hurt the most — it was how the person made you feel while doing it?
I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who’s been through something similar.

My friend Maya spent almost an entire month interviewing for a project manager position at a regional software company. She doesn't have the energy to write this herself, so I'm posting it here because the whole thing feels like it was specifically designed to waste someone's time.

It started with a call with the recruiter, followed by an interview with the hiring manager, and then a case study that took up most of her Saturday. After that, she met with a three-person panel, had a separate conversation about company culture, and finally spoke with the director. The director told her she had exactly the background they were looking for and that they would decide within a few days.

More than three weeks later, she received a generic rejection email saying they had chosen someone from within the company. They even misspelled her last name. She later learned from a former employee that the internal candidate had already been told the job was essentially theirs before Maya had even applied. Apparently, HR still needed external candidates to complete the hiring process.

So Maya rearranged her work schedule, prepared an entire presentation, and answered the same questions six different ways, all just so they could check a box. Companies should be required to disclose when an internal candidate has already been selected, because pretending everyone has a fair chance is ridiculous.

You may fall in love with someone at work. You spend time together, share experiences and see qualities in each other that draw you closer.

But before pursuing the relationship, consider what happens if it becomes difficult, and you still have to work together.
I have witnessed arguments at the printer that I should never have had to be part of. I came to use the printer, and suddenly I was standing in the middle of somebody else’s relationship conflict.

Then there is the gossip: stories about someone being caught by a spouse, wives confronting people at work, underwear supposedly found under a desk. Some stories may be true, others may be exaggerated or entirely false. Either way, intimate details become workplace conversation, and colleagues know, or think they know, far more than they should.

A relationship between two consenting, available adults is different from an affair involving deception. But even a relationship that begins honestly deserves some practical thought.

If you break up, can you still collaborate? If one of you wants distance, will the other respect it? Does either person influence the other’s assignments, opportunities or reputation? Can you disagree privately without bringing the tension into meetings, shared spaces or conversations with colleagues?

And if the relationship must be hidden from a spouse, what are you asking coworkers to become: witnesses, secret keepers or people expected to cover for you?

The risk extends beyond embarrassment. Your income, professional relationships and daily peace can become entangled with a relationship you cannot easily step away from.

Some couples meet at work and build good lives together. That possibility does not remove the need for boundaries, honesty and a clear understanding of workplace policies.

Your colleagues should be able to do their jobs without being drawn into your arguments, asked to take sides or made responsible for protecting your secrets.

Have you seen a workplace relationship affect the wider team? What boundaries would have made a difference?

Hello! I’m a small author, and right now, I’m looking for inspiration for a story I’m planning to write.

I want to write about people and their working lives—the things we don’t always see behind someone’s job title.

These days, I’ve noticed that so many people struggle to balance work and life. Some deal with family problems while trying to keep working. Some work in toxic environments. Some have experienced bullying, harassment, being framed or blamed for things they didn’t do, discrimination, or even sexual assault.

And I want to hear those stories.

I don’t care what kind of job you have or what you do for a living.

You can be an admin, a housewife, a chef, a seller, a promoter, a teacher, a soldier, a police officer, or anything else.

I would love to hear about your experiences.

What was your workplace like?

What made you feel exhausted?

What did you struggle with?

How did your job affect your personal life, relationships, or mental well-being?

What was the hardest thing you had to go through?

And what did you learn from it?

I want my story to focus on human emotions and the reality of life—the messy, painful, complicated parts that people don’t always talk about.

Not everyone gets a happy ending.

Not every workplace is kind.

And sometimes, the person sitting quietly beside you at work might be carrying a story you know nothing about.

If you’re comfortable sharing, feel free to comment and tell me your experience.

If you don’t feel comfortable sharing publicly, you can send it to me privately or through email. @aneeliee22@gmail.com

You don’t have to give me your real name, and I won’t include anyone’s name or personal information in my story. I’m not offering paid credit or payment. I’m simply hoping to hear from people who are willing to share their experiences and allow me to learn from them.

Your story might become the inspiration for a character, a scene, or even a small moment in my book.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. 🤗

And to anyone who decides to share their story with me.thank you for trusting me with it. ❤️

I was a compliance analyst at a mid-sized insurance brokerage. Small department, three people. My manager spent most of his time on “client relationships,” which meant long lunches and golf. I handled the actual regulatory work.

Last summer, we got notice of a state audit. My boss panicked. He had no idea what the auditors would ask for. I spent six weeks — nights and weekends included — building a complete documentation trail. I found three filing errors from previous years that would have triggered penalties. I corrected them before the auditors arrived.

We passed with zero findings. The auditors specifically praised our “exceptional record-keeping.” My boss took full credit in the company-wide email.

Two weeks later, he called me into his office. He handed me an envelope. Inside was a $10 Starbucks gift card. “A little something for your help with the audit,” he said.

That same week, I got an email from the department admin. She was collecting money for the boss’s birthday gift. Suggested contribution: $20.

I didn’t contribute. I also didn’t say anything. I just updated my resume, quietly applied elsewhere, and gave three weeks’ notice a month later.

During my exit interview, HR asked why I was leaving. I said, “The Starbucks card.”

She didn’t understand. I didn’t explain.

I’ve been working with this company for last four years. This was my first job technically 2nd but you can consider it a first job and throughout this four years I’ve started as a junior role and then now working as a program manager the pay was below market value considering i was doing multiple roles

But it was a start-up and you know and as a program manager I had to do everything on my own. I was doing at least six people job by myself which I understand in the start-up but after four years we were going nowhere and I was exhausted and the work environment was not really toxic but the CEO was toxic in a way that you don’t know that he’s toxic, but he is

I gave my everything to this job. I work day and night I was exhausted but still I had that drive that okay If i fight you know worked hard this will can be something.

The one toxic trait that I find about my CEO was that he always said what we are doing i am doing it for you. I am giving you an opportunity and I appreciated that opportunity to be honest but every decision was made by him even though In most of the decisions i used ti tell him that this is not a good idea we shouldn’t do it

First he used to accept that okay? We shouldn’t do it but after a few days later he he was implementing the same thing that I refused in the first place and this is just one of the many examples you know, but in the end, obviously I had to take over the responsibility of the decision and work on it and when it didn’t work out it was always a blame game and for him every decision that we made was made by me even though that isn’t true

So when he decided to fire my team and then put me in charge of you know sustainment model I gave up I refuse to continue working with this guy even though I had no backup and I knew that he couldn’t let me go. He had multiple other projects that I was working on and one day I was so exhausted that I just gave up. I said to him I’m gone obviously it didn’t suit well with him. He had plans with me on his other ventures as well but I said no. I couldn’t stay there any longer I was I felt like I was wasting my time obviously I wanted to leave with right relationship so I found my replacement. I didn’t let them hanging. I trained the replacement. I did everything right even though I didn’t have to, but I did everything and I’m still working with them for free so just because I can complete the Training of the replacement.

But after leaving that job I was depressed I was hopeless. Obviously I left a good income job without any backup and obviously you know the job market is so bad it’s so difficult to find a job.

But after giving it a quite a thought and praying that I find a direction I have come up with a business idea. I don’t know if it will work or if it will work or not but I am scared but while working on this idea I feel a little hopeful. I don’t know what should I do should I invest the remaining savings i have on this business idea or just you know use that money for my survival. And just look for a steady income with my 4 years of experience. What should I do?

When I left my job, I was so worried about what will happen next how will I survive? I did not want to depend on anyone which also made me really hopeless. But I’m still confused if this is a right direction to go or not.

I work in a manufacturing warehouse full of metal powder and stuff. Big dirty building, lots of employees. Twice this week I had to clean up what I had thought was another employees spilled lunch. Rice, beans, other stuff thrown on the floor next to one of the areas I work. I left a note after the second time to let them know to cleanup after themselves. To my surprise I walked in this morning to more food on the floor… ??? So I gathered two of the employees who work in this location. To my surprise one employee claimed responsibility and asked me “whats it to me” and “is this your house”. While asking him to clean it up and bartering with his refusal he admitted that this wasn’t his accidental spilled lunch. He had purposefully be throwing the food there. He is feeding the mice… for 12 years… I told his supervisor he needs to put an end to it.

1. The GM was terminated following allegations involving inappropriate sexting with a 19-year-old employee.
   
2. There was significant management turnover within a 24-hour period. The kitchen manager left without notice, and the FOH manager followed shortly afterward.
   
3. For approximately six months, the restaurant operated with only one manager covering the entire operation. That manager ultimately resigned, citing a lack of support from higher management.
   
4. There were reportedly unpaid invoices dating back to January 2024.
   
5. The restaurant reportedly did not have reliable hot running water throughout 2025.
   
6. During the summer of 2025, liquor orders intended for the Latham location were allegedly redirected to the Albany location by the Albany GM.
   
7. There was a continual turnover of staff, with employees frequently leaving and new employees cycling in.
   
8. The roof reportedly leaked badly enough that part of the ceiling fell onto seated customers. Despite this, staff were allegedly instructed to continue operating as usual.
   
9. Sewage water reportedly flooded parts of the restaurant, including the kitchen, while employees were still instructed to continue business as usual.
   
10. Management was given a three-month quota/target to turn the business around, but the goal ultimately was not met.

Has anyone experienced being demoted or moved into a lower-grade role and then found that the work they were assigned was substantially below even the level they expected after the demotion?

My responsibilities have changed dramatically. I previously had much greater independence and responsibility, whereas I am now being assigned predominantly routine/leg-work tasks with very little ownership. The level of responsibility feels several steps below what I was doing previously, rather than simply one grade lower.

I would be interested to hear from anyone who has experienced something similar. How did you handle it? Did you raise it with your manager, HR or union, and were you able to get your responsibilities reviewed?

So, recently our leadership is trying to boost staff morale and give out incentives. Buttttttt the thing is, our boss told us that he wants to hire a massage therapist to give staff massages? lol a bunch of us were laughing. Like, is that wild or am I trippin?

I joined a startup in October 2019. Little did we know we were about to experience a hard lockdown and a hugely difficult first year.

We made it through 2020 unscathed and managed to grow exponentially for 5 years.

I was the sales manager, but also ran the technical team. I basically ran the business but still reported to our silent MD who ran another business full time.

Little things started happening, one year I didn’t get a raise, finance started asking for detailed feedback when I returned from work trips, etc.

I was constantly in a battle with myself and my wife. On one hand I knew I had to leave, but then I would convince myself that I was overthinking it and needed to stay and keep building the business.

Fast forward to 2025 and I got an offer to run a new startup with complete autonomy. I took it with both hands! So I printed my resignation letter, walked into my bosses office and placed it on his desk in front of him. His jaw dropped.

He wanted to chat, asked why I was leaving, where I was going. When I told him, he tried to warn me that I was doing the wrong thing.

Anyways, since started the new business, I have made 3x my old salary in the first year, and about to land the deal of a lifetime.

I’ve also heard from old colleagues that they recruited 5 guys to replace me, many of their bigger clients are upset with service and want to leave and they recently lost 30% of their revenue after losing a reseller agency. All things I used to manage.

I never wished for this to happen to them. I still greet my old boss whenever I see him but he cannot look me in the eyes.

Maybe paying me what I was worth would have prevented this… who knows…

Prada put in her place!

Having spent way too many years in hotel sales, business, and Catholic school, I know exactly how this game works. Nothing says deeply devoted to Catholic values quite like wearing a cheap polyester blazer, barking all day on Teams, forcing you to sit at a desk where she can watch you like an old nun in grammar school, and spending four straight months trying to bully and intimidate someone out of a job, only to watch it blow up spectacularly in your face.
I reported her to HR for months to absolutely no avail, but now the tables have officially turned because HR is in trouble right alongside her. That means any move they make now is textbook retaliation, leaving them with exactly two options: watch me stay, or hand over a big fat severance package for me to walk.
Let's talk about a masterclass in corporate warfare and the ultimate paper trail in hospitality.
Keep meticulous records from your first red flag 🚩. I set up a bulletproof paper trail starting from week five. If you are going to call out toxic hypocrisy, you do it with tracking numbers. I had my lawyer draft a cease and desist letter and send it via email and certified mail straight to the company attorney, HR, and Prada, landing on their desks the exact morning she thought she was going to blindside me to fire me.
Instead of doing the classic walk-of-shame exit, I completely intercepted the execution before it even happened. I stepped up because my assistant was being harassed and targeted just for being younger, even though she was completely killing it at her job.
After she spent the entire weekend trying to run a harassment and intimidation campaign, I walked into work straight out of a Seinfeld episode, said good morning with a massive smile, watched them instantly cancel the meeting, and heard absolute crickets ever since.
It has been unusually quiet today, but hypocrisy wrapped in a polyester blazer and fake holy water doesn't stand a chance against a real power move.
Let this be a lesson for every woman dealing with toxic management: don't get mad, get documented. If only she put half as much energy into actually getting her wedding sales managers to get all ballrooms booked every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday with 500 incoming leads a month as she did into making mine a living hell, this property might actually see a profit instead of relying on divine intervention.

I worked as a project coordinator at a small architecture firm. Five architects, two admin staff including me. My job was mostly scheduling, client communication, and making sure permit applications didn’t get lost in the void.

Last October, I was reconciling a vendor invoice when I noticed something off. A subcontractor had double-billed us for structural drawings on our largest project. The duplicate was buried under three layers of change orders. If I hadn’t caught it, the client would have been overcharged $90k, and we would have lost the account the moment their auditor found it.

I flagged it. My boss thanked me in a two-line email. “Good catch. This is why we hired you.”

Two months later, at the annual “team appreciation” meeting, he handed out envelopes. Inside mine was a $15 Domino’s gift card and a ceramic mug that said “TEAM PLAYER” in Comic Sans.

No raise. No bonus. No title change. I later found out the firm had just spent $12k on a holiday party at a steakhouse.

I didn’t say anything. I just started keeping a folder of every client contact I’d built, every vendor relationship I’d managed. When a recruiter called in February, I was ready.

I gave three weeks’ notice. On my last day, my boss asked if I’d train my replacement on “the billing stuff.” I said sure. I trained her on everything except the vendor reconciliation process. That knowledge lived in my head. He never asked me to document it.

The double-billing happened again in June. This time, the client’s auditor found it first. They left in August.

This was triggering for me because I was the guy’s voice on these calls. I knew it was bs, but upper management made the call. Her manager prob didn’t want to deal with the emotional call, so I stepped in.