Getting the job done isn't easy. And for leadership positions, the responsibilities can be even harder, so organizations need to make sure that people who ascend to those roles have all the necessary skills. But that's not always the case.
One Reddit post asked platform users to share the most ridiculous things their bosses have ever said to them, and got hundreds of stories, full of entitled demands and out-of-touch comments. Seems like management courses should put a bigger emphasis on the "think before you speak" module.
#1
The manager of my part time (10 hrs a week) bakery job told me I should prioritize my job there rather than attend my final year exam. I think the hell not, mate.
49points
#2
I used to work a really busy section in a large couriers. I could just about clear the workload each day but it didn't allow for any hold ups or delays. At times my colleagues would have to jump in to help.
I had a 2 week holiday and when I came back, no one had covered my work so not only was there a fortnight's worth of work but also a fortnight's worth of complaints.
I walked in at 9am and my manager goes "you gotta get that lot clear today or there'll be trouble" so I turned around and went back home without saying a word. Never returned to the job despite my managers pleas and I refused to go and train anyone else.
I had a 2 week holiday and when I came back, no one had covered my work so not only was there a fortnight's worth of work but also a fortnight's worth of complaints.
I walked in at 9am and my manager goes "you gotta get that lot clear today or there'll be trouble" so I turned around and went back home without saying a word. Never returned to the job despite my managers pleas and I refused to go and train anyone else.
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47points
#3
Boss: "GreyBeard, what's the furthest you think you could drive in a day?"
Me: "Umm, what's the context?"
Boss: "I'm just interested in how far you think you could drive in a day."
Me: "I don't know, maybe 10 hours driving, average of 60mph so 600 miles I guess. Why?"
Boss: "Great, so that equates to 300 miles each way. How do you fancy covering one of our stores in the North of England, but you'll need to drive there each day."
Me: "Err, firstly no thank you, secondly we're based on the South Coast.".
Me: "Umm, what's the context?"
Boss: "I'm just interested in how far you think you could drive in a day."
Me: "I don't know, maybe 10 hours driving, average of 60mph so 600 miles I guess. Why?"
Boss: "Great, so that equates to 300 miles each way. How do you fancy covering one of our stores in the North of England, but you'll need to drive there each day."
Me: "Err, firstly no thank you, secondly we're based on the South Coast.".
40points
#4
Years ago I quit my part time bar job because I'd landed a full-time job in finance. My contract said I need to give a week's notice so I popped in on my day off to speak to the manager and give her my week's notice.
She threw a tantrum and told me that I need to work the following week also because I was "on the rota". I told her she could rota me in for 2 year's time if she wants, it doesn't mean I have to work it, the contract states 1 week.
She banned me from the bar.
She threw a tantrum and told me that I need to work the following week also because I was "on the rota". I told her she could rota me in for 2 year's time if she wants, it doesn't mean I have to work it, the contract states 1 week.
She banned me from the bar.
39points
#5
At work in an estate agency and got a call from my wife, youngest son being rushed to hospital as his throat was swelling shut. We are talking maybe 10 month old child. I was needed to get out of work and collect the older children from nursery while this was dealt with.
Explained to my boss who said "we have viewings booked, what if i dont let you go?"
I said "you misundertood me. I didnt ASK to leave, I TOLD you I am leaving now. Bye."
I sent my CV to every other agency in a 10 mile radius that night.
Explained to my boss who said "we have viewings booked, what if i dont let you go?"
I said "you misundertood me. I didnt ASK to leave, I TOLD you I am leaving now. Bye."
I sent my CV to every other agency in a 10 mile radius that night.
38points
#6
Technically he was my ex-boss but it was still ridiculous what he asked.
I had worked for this pub for 3 years, working up from waitress to bar staff with responsibilities for cashing up, opening up etc. Essentially trusted enough to have the safe keys and run the place in his absence.
Finally handed in my notice as I had secured a new job with 9-5 hours and better pay. Worked my two weeks notice and everything was fine until he announced on my last day that I was now banned from ever coming back in the pub, because it might be 'bad for business.'
Well, that's fine. It was bad for business... but only because it meant he lost 50% of his regular bookings because they were friends of the family who used the function rooms for their bi-weekly event, and I wasn't able to go so they found somewhere new. He called me to ask them to rebook, just not have me attend.
I just hung up. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
I had worked for this pub for 3 years, working up from waitress to bar staff with responsibilities for cashing up, opening up etc. Essentially trusted enough to have the safe keys and run the place in his absence.
Finally handed in my notice as I had secured a new job with 9-5 hours and better pay. Worked my two weeks notice and everything was fine until he announced on my last day that I was now banned from ever coming back in the pub, because it might be 'bad for business.'
Well, that's fine. It was bad for business... but only because it meant he lost 50% of his regular bookings because they were friends of the family who used the function rooms for their bi-weekly event, and I wasn't able to go so they found somewhere new. He called me to ask them to rebook, just not have me attend.
I just hung up. Not my circus, not my monkeys.
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37points
#7
My old boss in 2007 asked me to come in to the office when it was the heaviest snow in about a decade - we were in an office on a converted farm site 5 miles from the nearest town and the road to the office was notorious for crashes. No other way to get their but with a car.
She gave me a load of verbal over the phone as I was refusing to come in as it was too dangerous to do so.
In the end, she was the only one to attempt to get to the office (even the Directors didn’t) and she wrote off her car on the way there by coming off the road in the snow and flipping it in a ditch.
She still seemed to think I should have attempted coming in and was somehow still angry I never attempted it.
She gave me a load of verbal over the phone as I was refusing to come in as it was too dangerous to do so.
In the end, she was the only one to attempt to get to the office (even the Directors didn’t) and she wrote off her car on the way there by coming off the road in the snow and flipping it in a ditch.
She still seemed to think I should have attempted coming in and was somehow still angry I never attempted it.
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35points
#8
Whilst having a severe allergic reaction, boss asks if I could finish up my shift before going to the doctors. I ended up leaving about a week later on medical advice because the thing I was allergic too was served there (bloody peppers of all things). Yeah, working for Subways was not a fantastic experience (I got told off one time for opening 20 minutes late because an old lady collapsed on my way in and I was helping until the ambo came), and almost everything comes in frozen, the lying buggers!
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35points
#9
Not me but my coworker at a previous job was asked by our boss to go on a date (lunch and a football match) with his 14 year old son because he had a crush on her and boss wanted to help improve his confidence with girls. Coworker (who was in her mid 20s) refused of course but boss continued to passive aggressively giver her a hard time about it. He was such a creep.
32points
#10
Blamed me for poor stock rotation during the first 10 minutes of my shift, told me I was the worst assistant manager the store had because of it and was causing massive losses. I was asked to write an action plan on how to improve my management style.
Once he was done shouting I politely reminded him I had been on holiday the last two weeks and this was my first shift back so had no way to influence stock rotation from home.
I went on sick leave two weeks later and never returned. Last I heard all the other assistant managers who had spent a year blaming me had asked to go to different stores because they were getting shouted at for all the things they used to blame on me.
Once he was done shouting I politely reminded him I had been on holiday the last two weeks and this was my first shift back so had no way to influence stock rotation from home.
I went on sick leave two weeks later and never returned. Last I heard all the other assistant managers who had spent a year blaming me had asked to go to different stores because they were getting shouted at for all the things they used to blame on me.
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28points
#11
I worked for a recruitment firm. I interviewed to take over from the Team Manager who was being promoted. I didn't hear anything for two weeks, and for a special project my manager linked our emails so I had access to the information whilst he was on annual leave. I had nothing to hide. Foolishly the managers recruiting were openly emailing about me. I saw an email chain saying that they wanted to give me the job and were impressed with my work ethic, but didn't want to change my job title, or promote me, or even inform me I wasn't getting the job formally. They had a 3 month plan to slowly transition me into the Team Manager role by slowly replacing my duties as I 'covered' the role. They actually thought I wouldn't notice, so the next time the managers were in I printed off the email chain and had saved a copy. I called a meeting and turned over the pages of paper one by one and watched them all d*e inside as I roasted them, rather loudly, for their conduct.
I finished the meeting by telling them I had emailed the head of our division with the email chain, and every other Manager in the small office, and also to my team, informing them I won't be taking the position. I then went sick, claiming stress, claimed all my holiday, and then found another job. I never went back into the office. I was later told the recruiting manager was let go as the ice was already too thin with him.
Sometimes it is what they covertly get you to do.
I finished the meeting by telling them I had emailed the head of our division with the email chain, and every other Manager in the small office, and also to my team, informing them I won't be taking the position. I then went sick, claiming stress, claimed all my holiday, and then found another job. I never went back into the office. I was later told the recruiting manager was let go as the ice was already too thin with him.
Sometimes it is what they covertly get you to do.
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28points
#12
Got a call from someone senior in the company, they said "If the police turn up with a warrant to search our premises this afternoon whatever you do, do not let them in".
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24points
#13
I got a call at 2AM on Christmas morning from my boss saying one of our servers was down and could I find the issue and release a fix. I actually did it because I love the guy (and I was really drunk), he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy Christmas knowing our website and app weren’t fully functional during a busy period and we were a tiny start up.
Work at a big bank now. We have an on call rota and I once got a call out when I wasn’t on the rota. Was about to tell them to leave it but remembered I’d get an extra £500 for what would be a couple minute’s work. Logged in, rolled back that day’s code change, and went back to bed.
Work at a big bank now. We have an on call rota and I once got a call out when I wasn’t on the rota. Was about to tell them to leave it but remembered I’d get an extra £500 for what would be a couple minute’s work. Logged in, rolled back that day’s code change, and went back to bed.
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23points
#14
Told off by manager for not helping to move the desks to a different room, while I was in hospital.
22points
#15
I was told to run a gravity fed drain UP and over a doorway and along a wall before draining into a sump across the room, instead of a sump right next to the main I was coming off. Despite my explanation on how stupid that was, the foreman insisted, and I relented and obliged. It was 12 hours Sat and Sunday, (double time).
It was ripped out Monday and ran into the sump I said originally.
It was ripped out Monday and ran into the sump I said originally.
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22points
#16
I had annual leave left pending for my birthday for two months only for my boss to decline it, take those days off himself, and then proceed to come into the office anyway.
Banned our team from participating in a flexible working trial (only dept in the company not doing it) and the same day onwards he left an hour early.
Said I couldn't work from home after 3 days of doing it and after I returned back to the office, starting loading his equipment into his car.
Yeah, handing in my notice last week was pretty sweet.
Banned our team from participating in a flexible working trial (only dept in the company not doing it) and the same day onwards he left an hour early.
Said I couldn't work from home after 3 days of doing it and after I returned back to the office, starting loading his equipment into his car.
Yeah, handing in my notice last week was pretty sweet.
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22points
#17
Used to work for a popular fast food chain which offered chicken wraps. The chicken came pre cooked and frozen and was thawed the previous day in a chiller then microwaved to heat. Boss found a full pan of chicken in the microwave that a cook had obviously forgotten about and let it cool down to lukewarm temperatures. So just to be clear at this point, this chicken had:
- been initially cooked
- frozen
- thawed
- reheated
- left to cool down
She insisted we heat it back up and still serve it out and threatened anybody who tried to say we shouldn't. I chucked it in the bin the moment she had left the kitchen.
- been initially cooked
- frozen
- thawed
- reheated
- left to cool down
She insisted we heat it back up and still serve it out and threatened anybody who tried to say we shouldn't. I chucked it in the bin the moment she had left the kitchen.
21points
#18
My boss asked me not to claim my travel expenses in order to save the programme money.
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19points
#19
Come in early 1 hour early, and stay back an hour later for no pay. I mean, f right off.
I come in 20 minutes early every day. The one day I come 5 minute late, it's on my record forever and they remind every day.
I come in 20 minutes early every day. The one day I come 5 minute late, it's on my record forever and they remind every day.
19points
#20
Asked me to climb metal shelving without any safely equipment, I told him to f off and I carried on with what I was doing.
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19points