No, your boss isn’t always right. But you probably knew that already! According to the Peter Principle, employees tend to get promoted until they reach a point where they are incompetent. And some folks simply aren’t cut out to manage other people. It’s natural to feel frustrated by some of their awful decisions and toxic behavior. Sometimes, those feelings begin to boil over.
Today, we’re featuring some of the most interesting subordinate-superior conflicts from all over the internet that might make you feel cathartic about your own job or studies. These folks opened up about how they finally snapped and called out their bosses or other authority figures. Keep scrolling to find out what happened and what the fallout was like.
#1
I have this teacher who hates me, I don't really know why. Anyway, a few weeks ago we had to present a subject in front of the class. Each group was made of 3-4 students(ours had 3). My group had worked fairly hard for weeks and our presentation was going very well. Anyway, after 5 minute of starting the teacher started explaining things before we even had the time. I politely told her we were getting to that part. Then she suddenly started shouting at me about not having any respect and not being raised well. The whole class was quiet while she was just there shouting me.
After at least 3 minutes of standing there listening to her shout I told her to stop humiliating herself and left.
After at least 3 minutes of standing there listening to her shout I told her to stop humiliating herself and left.
50points
#2
Yes. I worked for a middle eastern bank back in NYC and during my first week one of the VP’s in IT appeared at my desk and started yelling at me for no apparent reason. I’ve been there literally 2 days. So me being a NYer started yelling back. Just defending myself really. He called me into his office later on and apologized and said I better get used to the yelling it’s just how they talk. I said I’m Italian it’s how we talk too shake? He never yelled at me after that.
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43points
#3
When I was 16 I was the lighting and sound engineer for a school musical. The director had hated me for years for reasons I still do not know, and had been riding me particularly hard on this show. He criticized my every move when he knew next to nothing about theater tech. Lets just say that if I followed his advise, I would not be here right now.
On the last practice before curtain he came over to give me a hard time. I said something along the lines of "well you can go f**k yourself sir" then continued my work. He kinda just stood there, dazed, as if no one had ever challenged him before. I have worked on a few of his shows sense and he has never said another word to me.
On the last practice before curtain he came over to give me a hard time. I said something along the lines of "well you can go f**k yourself sir" then continued my work. He kinda just stood there, dazed, as if no one had ever challenged him before. I have worked on a few of his shows sense and he has never said another word to me.
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37points
There’s a certain balance you want to find at work. On the one hand, you want to stand up for your interests, protect your boundaries, and demand to be treated with the respect that any human being deserves. On the other hand, you want to be professional, polite, diplomatic, friendly, and cordial. If you lean too much into either approach, you can end up harming your career.
For instance, if you’re overly belligerent and aggressive, nobody will want to work with you. Sure, you might be a super-skilled and talented worker, but if you’re a jerk to everyone, you probably won’t get that promotion or raise you’ve been angling for. You need to be emotionally intelligent and sincerely empathetic to get ahead in life. If you constantly yell at your superiors (even if they deserve it), you're going to have a very hard life.
On the other hand, if you’re overly friendly and flexible, always saying ‘yes’ to more work, and way too eager to please your superiors, it’s also a drawback. You’ll probably end up with extra work, which will lead to burnout, which is awful for your physical, mental, and emotional health. Not to mention it’s bad for your work results. And if you’re unwilling to stand up for yourself when the situation calls for it, your boss will know they can walk all over you.
#4
My Senior Manager wanted me to do the reviews of my co-workers (his job) I said I didn't feel comfortable reviewing my equals. He said something to the effect of "You don't do anything all day, you have plenty of time." I snapped back, "What do YOU do all day?!".
Nothing happened, he backed down and said I don't have to do the reviews. We had a 2 minute discussion with his equal about respect and I still got a promotion 2 months later.
Nothing happened, he backed down and said I don't have to do the reviews. We had a 2 minute discussion with his equal about respect and I still got a promotion 2 months later.
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35points
#5
Haha yes!!
The year before I went to University, sixth form for the UK, we had an abnoxious t**t of a design teacher. constantly changing dates for deadlines and messing us around like that. Also the odd bit of favouitism and being a bit of a d**k.
I am normally the quiet student that gets on with work, meets deadlines and has a couple of friends, not popular but not the opposite. I was also new to the sixth form/college so none of the teachers knew me very well.
the anoying d**k of a teacher pissed me off one last time and i snapped, the conversation went something like this:
Teacher: "I have decided to change this deadline to next week so I expect you to all be done" (giving us 3 weeks less time)
class: "you cant do that etc etc etc (uproar)"
Teacher: "I need you all to shut up and get on with the work!"
class: -silence-
me: "I need you to be a teacher"
class explodes in laughter and "ooooo's"
I feel epic.
Result, I'm hailed as some sort of rebel. no detention, not in trouble... I still go back there when I need to use there equiptment as I am now studying Industrial Design and top of my class.
The year before I went to University, sixth form for the UK, we had an abnoxious t**t of a design teacher. constantly changing dates for deadlines and messing us around like that. Also the odd bit of favouitism and being a bit of a d**k.
I am normally the quiet student that gets on with work, meets deadlines and has a couple of friends, not popular but not the opposite. I was also new to the sixth form/college so none of the teachers knew me very well.
the anoying d**k of a teacher pissed me off one last time and i snapped, the conversation went something like this:
Teacher: "I have decided to change this deadline to next week so I expect you to all be done" (giving us 3 weeks less time)
class: "you cant do that etc etc etc (uproar)"
Teacher: "I need you all to shut up and get on with the work!"
class: -silence-
me: "I need you to be a teacher"
class explodes in laughter and "ooooo's"
I feel epic.
Result, I'm hailed as some sort of rebel. no detention, not in trouble... I still go back there when I need to use there equiptment as I am now studying Industrial Design and top of my class.
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35points
#6
Had a new Director once who was very hands-on with her new role. She got a bit too involved with my usual vendor processes, to the point where she was unintentionally gumming up the works. I asked her to back off, politely, and she did. We had a good rapport after that and she no longer interfered.
34points
Forbes suggests that if you plan on talking with your boss about a difficult topic, you should:
- Organize your thoughts by writing them out first, before the meeting
- Focus on the problem, instead of making things personal
- Stay calm, cool, collected, and composed. Stick to the agenda and be respectful
- Prepare ahead by scheduling a meeting, actively listening, focusing on solutions, and following up after your talk
- Value your boss’s time and be as direct and specific as possible
- Employ the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method by discussing the situation, describing your role and how you’re affected, coming up with recommendations, and sharing expected results
- Stick to the facts, avoid blaming others, and don’t get defensive or overly emotional. You can broach a sensitive topic without being hostile
- Admit that you’re uncomfortable, nervous, or angry if you feel this way, so that your boss sees you as an actual living, breathing human being
#7
Yep. Previous manager, couple decades older than me, both were in the military and we both did pretty much the same job. Kept speaking down to me like a child, and eventually one day I snapped and said something to the effect of "You're not my father and I'm not your son, so stop *f*****g* speaking to me like that." He got the message.
Working relationship improved after that. He saw me as an employee from then on, and things improved at the office. Moral of the story: set personal boundaries.
Working relationship improved after that. He saw me as an employee from then on, and things improved at the office. Moral of the story: set personal boundaries.
31points
#8
I had a s****y s****y part time maintenance job in college, just for a little spending money for the weekends. The worst part of the job was this manager named Dale. I always got all of my work done and did a pretty good job (an acceptable job, not alway great but certainly never bad). There was a very high turnover rate for employees at this job, and I was reliable for 2yrs, so I felt like I was a pretty good employee. Dale was CONSTANTLY on my case, everything I did he would have done differently and better. He came in one Monday with a terrible, I mean TERRIBLE, sunburn on his little bald head. (which he got because he forgot to bring a hat to a NASCAR race he attended over the weekend) I could tell he was irritable, so I did my best to avoid him. About halfway through my shift, while I was mopping the back lobby, he found me and confronted me about some windows I had cleaned or something. He was like (shouting in front of customers) "you have to do them over they look like s**t, and the mop smells musty, they must not have washed it last night, I can't believe you're using that. After you clean the windows again you need to mop both lobbies again with a towel" I looked at him, handed him the mop, and told him to do it his f*****g self. Then, I tipped the soap bucket over and walked out. Felt unbelievable, 10/10 would do again.
TL;DR... told off a grumpy manager while working a s****y job in college. Felt great, I think everyone should do it once.
TL;DR... told off a grumpy manager while working a s****y job in college. Felt great, I think everyone should do it once.
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27points
#9
D**k of a professor; snapped told him to shut up, was kicked out of class as I deserved, but once I found out the things he started saying *after* I got kicked out--I had had enough and reported his unethical a*s.
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25points
A good rule of thumb to remember when your boss wants to pile more work on you is that you always have a choice of how to react. If you have free time, have the headspace to take on more tasks, have no prior responsibilities, and you’re given overtime, by all means, say ‘yes’ to that new project. However, if you’re stretched thin, like butter scraped over too much bread, explain the situation to your boss. Tell them that you can’t do it. Or you can ask them what they’d like you to stop working on so you can prioritize their new task. Be realistic instead of eager-to-please.
Meanwhile, if your boss’s behavior is bothering you or is outright unacceptable, talk to them about it. Be professional but direct. You can always get HR involved to mediate the conflict. And you can always reach out to your union representative or lawyer for advice on how to best handle delicate work situations. If you document your superior’s egregious behavior and have some colleagues to back you up, it’s far easier than going it alone.
Obviously, if your boss is doing something illegal or that goes against your rights, get the authorities involved. It’s scary to stand up for what’s right, but it’s something you have to do.
#10
I was working for a hotel as the front desk supervisor. I had a mustache, which was allowed by corporate. The GM didn't like it, he thought it looked unprofessional. I talked to HR, she said that as long as corporate was ok with it they had to be, just make sure to keep it neat. A week or so later I'm checking a bunch of people in and the GM walks up and interrupts. He asks me to step out from the desk. I do, he says "I want you to be the doorman now". I laugh and tell him he has a good sense of humor. He looks at me and tells me that he's not kidding. A bus load of people are checking in, I'm the only one there and he wants me to be the doorman. I tell him, ok, show me how you want me to be the doorman. We walk to the door, he opens it, looks at me and says "was this too hard?". I ask him what I'm supposed to say. He gets pissed and says "Having a nice evening". I say "thanks" then I keep on walking. I turn and tell him to f**k off before giving him the bird. That was my last hospitality job.
25points
#11
MOTHER.EFFING.BREAD.COMPANY
When I was 19 I worked at a St. Louis Bread Company (Panera in some areas). I had been working there since I was 16, I knew all of the managers pretty well, and got along with most of them swimmingly. Except one. Let's call him Jim.
Jim was the GM, and was notorious for being a huge drama queen. In the 3 years I worked with Jim, we had countless heated disagreements. Keep in mind, this is a 40+ year old man arguing with a teenage girl, and more often than not these arguments were started by him and rarely carried out in a professional manner.
He was big on trying to embarass people and make them look small, and most of the employees had put in complaints against him to district because of his unprofessional attitude. He would get mad at you, and then just go after who were as a person.
He even once told me that if he was my dad, he would be the most disappointed dad ever.
He would use the whole "I'm gonna give you one more chance, so you better kiss my a*s for it" approach.
It's not what he said that would get to me, it was that he got away with the way he treated his employees and always expected people to just go with it with a smile on their face.
Well, I went with it for 3 years before I finally snapped.
One afternoon one of the baristas called in, and they day shift manager had called me an hour before the scheduled shift to see if I would come in. I agree'd, but told him I would probably be 10 minutes late because I was chrismas shopping with my sister and would have to go all they way back home for my uniform. He said that was fine, to just get there as soon as I could. So I get home, get changed, and as predicted, I didn't get there until 10 after.
The shift manager never relayed the message that I would be late, and before I could even clock in, Jim was on me like stink on s**t, calling me everything but a white woman.
Told me he should have known better to trust me, that I was no good to the company, that I've been nothing but a s****y employee for the 3 years I worked there....Just absolutely TORE into me.
Once he was done with his tirade and saw that I was just blankly staring at him waiting to finish, he started to realize that he probably went to far.
While he was chewing me out, he had grabbed a write-up sheet for me to sign, but hadn't handed it to me yet as he was waiting for my response.
Boy did he get it.
I went off. Three years of pent of aggression and legitimate hate flew out of my mouth like a bat out of hell.
I went on for a good minute or two while his face took on about 7 different expressions and his jaw finally coming to rest agape. I snatched the write up sheet out of his hand, wrote "kiss my a*s", stomped on my bread co. hat, and walked out that joint.
I'm 22 now, and no part of me regrets it, and Jim ended up getting fired for being too "touchy" with the male workers.
TLDR; a*****e manger finally brought out the devil in me after 3 years of working there.
***edit: spelling.
When I was 19 I worked at a St. Louis Bread Company (Panera in some areas). I had been working there since I was 16, I knew all of the managers pretty well, and got along with most of them swimmingly. Except one. Let's call him Jim.
Jim was the GM, and was notorious for being a huge drama queen. In the 3 years I worked with Jim, we had countless heated disagreements. Keep in mind, this is a 40+ year old man arguing with a teenage girl, and more often than not these arguments were started by him and rarely carried out in a professional manner.
He was big on trying to embarass people and make them look small, and most of the employees had put in complaints against him to district because of his unprofessional attitude. He would get mad at you, and then just go after who were as a person.
He even once told me that if he was my dad, he would be the most disappointed dad ever.
He would use the whole "I'm gonna give you one more chance, so you better kiss my a*s for it" approach.
It's not what he said that would get to me, it was that he got away with the way he treated his employees and always expected people to just go with it with a smile on their face.
Well, I went with it for 3 years before I finally snapped.
One afternoon one of the baristas called in, and they day shift manager had called me an hour before the scheduled shift to see if I would come in. I agree'd, but told him I would probably be 10 minutes late because I was chrismas shopping with my sister and would have to go all they way back home for my uniform. He said that was fine, to just get there as soon as I could. So I get home, get changed, and as predicted, I didn't get there until 10 after.
The shift manager never relayed the message that I would be late, and before I could even clock in, Jim was on me like stink on s**t, calling me everything but a white woman.
Told me he should have known better to trust me, that I was no good to the company, that I've been nothing but a s****y employee for the 3 years I worked there....Just absolutely TORE into me.
Once he was done with his tirade and saw that I was just blankly staring at him waiting to finish, he started to realize that he probably went to far.
While he was chewing me out, he had grabbed a write-up sheet for me to sign, but hadn't handed it to me yet as he was waiting for my response.
Boy did he get it.
I went off. Three years of pent of aggression and legitimate hate flew out of my mouth like a bat out of hell.
I went on for a good minute or two while his face took on about 7 different expressions and his jaw finally coming to rest agape. I snatched the write up sheet out of his hand, wrote "kiss my a*s", stomped on my bread co. hat, and walked out that joint.
I'm 22 now, and no part of me regrets it, and Jim ended up getting fired for being too "touchy" with the male workers.
TLDR; a*****e manger finally brought out the devil in me after 3 years of working there.
***edit: spelling.
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25points
#12
I once told a professor to "Fail me and be damned!" He did.
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23points
Have you ever snapped and called your boss out for something before at work, dear Pandas? What happened next?
Who is the very worst manager you’ve worked under? What, for you personally, are the hallmarks of a truly awesome boss?
Let us know in the comments at the bottom of this post.
#13
I work in catering and our catering manager is a nut. He has always been out of touch with employees and routinely condescends us. One night after an event. One of our employees with a coconut allergy accidentally ate one of the desserts with coconut in it. She started to have difficulty breathing, ran outside coughing. She happened to run past the aforementioned manager, while she passed him he shot in a quip "that's why you don't smoke." After I attended to the girl, and saw that she had plenty of help from our fellow employees I went straight up to him and chewed him out, calling him out on all of his s**t. Watching the color drain from his face was awesome. He became legitimately concerned for the girl and after the incident became a much more bearable boss. I have since left that position and he has been a huge help in getting me set up as a manager at another restaurant. So yeah, if someone deserves to be called out on their s**t. Do it.
23points
#14
Yes mostly because he snapped at me. I had a boss that was notorious for trying to intimidate employees by yelling at them in front of the entire office. But one thing I do not tolerate from anyone is disrespect. I don’t care who you are I will not accept disrespect. So he came out of his office while I was talking to other staff members and started yelling at me. I turned around and yelled back at him and told him don’t ever come out of his office talking to me like that again. I reminded him that I have parents and they don’t even disrespect me like that. He quickly calmed down and then said “ok, ok let’s not get upset” and I said then don’t speak to me that way ever again. He stopped doing it to me but he would still do it to others that didn’t speak up for themselves.
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22points
#15
I once talked back to my dad, which was a shocker since we don't really talk and we're not that close and also he scared me a bit. Biggest adrenaline rush I've ever had probably.
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21points
#16
Told one boss he was a "Tory C**t". Apparently he had more respect for me after. Same guy that threatened to fire the support staff and replace them with robots, he was one of those ...
20points
#17
Yes but let me explain why. I have a difficult relationship with boss since she found out I have not only an anxiety disorder but also essential tremors. After finding out about that and some problems at home such as my mom having Parkinsons and my grandma dying of lung cancer things suddenly changed at work and I began being watched and wrote up for my anxiety and everytime my hands shook. She claims my anxiety makes the patients nervous because I shake. Well after being wrote up for the second damn time she then bombarded me and the only nurse with all these admissions. The nurse started freaking out because that would make us seven patients in total and back to back admissions. My boss flat out told her to relax and that I being the nurses aide needed to start tending to the rest of the patients well I had been doing that for the past several hours while the nurse kept having anxiety attacks of her own I was making sure our patients were ok and taken care of but here was my boss telling me I wasn’t doing a good enough job so I snapped at her that yes I was. My patients came first and I had been constantly on my feet checking on them but that the nurse who was new needed help looking in the system to find the info on the new patients. My boss just told me to stop being so defensive but I was pissed. I am still looking for a different job because I can’t stand being watched like a hawk because of my disability and being told I am not good enough.
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20points
#18
Not sure about a better relationship as not much changed in the relationship. Once was the boss gathering the team to say they were implementing on-call with no compensation. I immediately came back with saying 'you implement that, and any reasonable person is going to work just hard enough not to get fired while they look for a new job'. They did come back with a compensation term though, however I did coincidentally not get a COL raise that year.
Another time I had a boss who constantly would talk over me, even if I was mid sentence. Could be team meetings, one on one, didn't matter. One day when he did it during a Dept meeting, I told him "Mrboss, I don't interrupt you when you're talking, do me the courtesy of doing the same" and kept talking on my point. Not sure if the director talked to him, but he didn't do it again. At least to me.
Another time I had a boss who constantly would talk over me, even if I was mid sentence. Could be team meetings, one on one, didn't matter. One day when he did it during a Dept meeting, I told him "Mrboss, I don't interrupt you when you're talking, do me the courtesy of doing the same" and kept talking on my point. Not sure if the director talked to him, but he didn't do it again. At least to me.
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18points
#19
I take really long s***s. 10-15 minutes at a time, usually once a day. I try to avoid doing it at school but hey, s**t happens. It was in study hall last week and I knew a bad one was coming. I asked my teacher, a 60 year old woman who is rumored to have been in p**n and everyone hates, if I could use the bathroom. I came back 12 minutes later, and she loudly called me out across the room in front of my entire class asking what I had been doing. I told her I was in the bathroom. She went from accusing me of lying, to saying that without a doctors note I would never be able to use the bathroom at school again. She did all of this in a sneering tone, I'm front of everyone. After class was over, I approached her desk and told her what she had done was not only unprofessional, but also incredibly rude. I told her I understood why she would be suspicious, but if she wanted to talk to me she should have done it privately. The way she handled the situation was disrespectful, and there was going to be an issue if she pulled something like that again. Surprisingly, she apologized and has kept to herself since then.
17points
#20
The first day of my current job, the owner sat me down and said:
>>From time to time I’m going to yell at you. Don’t be a b*tch: if I’m wrong, you yell back. Just make sure you’re not wrong.
Sort of tough love if you will, but it was an effective way of letting me know that I had some sway when needed.
He’s mellowed over the years, and I’ve never actually yelled at him. I have challenged him on a lot of things over the years for the better. I’m not sure I would have without that day 1 speech.
>>From time to time I’m going to yell at you. Don’t be a b*tch: if I’m wrong, you yell back. Just make sure you’re not wrong.
Sort of tough love if you will, but it was an effective way of letting me know that I had some sway when needed.
He’s mellowed over the years, and I’ve never actually yelled at him. I have challenged him on a lot of things over the years for the better. I’m not sure I would have without that day 1 speech.
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16points