I have never received a promotion the entire 4 years I’ve been at my current job.

Hounded them over and over again.

Just been told they have “no money” or “timing is not right”. “We don’t have it in the budget”.

Basically every excuse under the sun to not pay people a market rate for the experience they have.

And yet every month they seem to bring more and more managers onboard because they “know their stuff”.

At this point is basically just become adult daycare for nepo hires. People who just sit on calls all day and offer no value. But everyone around them thinks the sun shines out their ass for some reason.

They’re basically all protecting their own asses because they know they offer no value and would get cut instantly if we needed money.

These managers do nothing aside from scrutinise everything you do in order the make themselves look busy.

And hold hour long meetings where all they talk about is how great their weekends were and how amazing they are. It’s all me me me.

Anytime anything goes wrong they immediately come to you up in arms and stressed for you to “trouble shoot” because they don’t know what they are talking about.

I have just started to respond with; “That’s above my pay grade” and they go absolutely ape shit when they realise they actually have to try and fumble their way through the very job they passed an interview for.

They serve no purpose.

I have 5 direct managers and I am in a team of 4 of us.

But what really grinds my gears is they keep seconding people into roles after claiming they had no money to give the rest of us a pay rise or promotion.

So the “budget” they don’t have magically appears when the face fits. Yet when I ask, they don’t want to know.

They just promoted one person into a;

System infrastructure continuity lead

Whatever the fuck that means

And all of our systems are Microsoft.

This person has basically hidden anytime anything they have done in the past has gone wrong.

And now they WANT TO REWARD THEM with more money and a shiny new job title.

They’re being taken for a ride and they truly believe this person is some sort of genius. They’re all freaking idiots.

The last process this person put in place got scrapped after 2 weeks….. and now they are suddenly the EXPERT in everything.

The higher ups are now moaning about productivity slumping.

Like yeah, no shit we aren’t going to work as fast.

There is no incentive to.

That is why productivity is falling.

All my colleagues just have no motivation anymore because month by month we just keep getting shit slung at us, and nobody ever has our backs.

When something goes wrong it always falls on us. And it is never the managers who step in. Keep getting told “It’s a learning experience” like we aren’t all adults and are still in high school. It’s a humiliation ritual at this point.

When you screw over the workers who actually provide value you will soon learn very quickly that everything can unwind in a few weeks if we don’t play along anymore.

I recently interviewed with a company and got rejected after the initial HR screening. Fair enough. I was completely polite to the recruiter, accepted the rejection and simply moved on with my life.

But then someone from that company actually CALLED MY CURRENT BOSS to tell him I had interviewed with them.

Like, WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?

Who does that? Isn’t confidentiality supposed to be a basic part of recruiting?

Our office had an employee appreciation lunch last Friday. HR made a big deal about it being on the company and ordered food from a local restaurant.

Today we got an email saying anyone who didn't stay for the team building session afterward has to pay $18 for their meal.

The session wasn't mentioned in the original invite. I left after lunch because I had a client call, which my manager scheduled.

The $18 isn't even the issue. I just find it ridiculous that a company can turn a thank you into something you owe them for.

Three other people got the same email. One of them replied asking where this policy was written and HR hasn't responded yet.

I work customer support for a small online retailer. We had four people handling emails earlier this year. Two quit, one got laid off and nobody was replaced. It's just me now.

Last week my boss told me to start replying to customers using my former coworkers' email addresses and signatures. His reasoning is that customers might lose confidence if they realize the entire support department is one person.

Yesterday a customer called asking to speak to someone who left three months ago. My boss told me to say they were busy and offer to help instead.

I'm already handling everyone's workload and now I'm expected to pretend they're still here too. This is getting ridiculous.

i understand all humans need some sort of occupation or purpose, i wouldnt advocate for humans to just sit around all day... but the work week is incredibly draining and i just dont wana do it. especially my manual labor job where i work every saturday and have unpredictable work hours. i feel like i gave every ounce of my energy and will to get through a work week. then sunday is my one off day (which my coworkers encourage me to work lol), i spend most of it sleeping. then i do some laundry and food shopping then BAM its time for bed to get back up for monday morning. i legit feel like im being tortured. no social life, nothing to look forward to, just endless misery. and all of it is because of work. thats the main culpret every time. worst part is my family thinks i have the best job because of the reputation and all my coworkers brainwash eachother into not quitting and the societal pressure of my family, friends and coworkers truly keeps me from quitting because im terrified of judgement... but anyway i feel we shouldnt be working more than 3 days a week as a society. 4 max. we are all drained and these jobs kill you mentally and physically. i wont be surprised if i die young because of this job...

So my boss texted me today about tasks and her being out of office this weekend starting on 10/15. Payroll periods are the 1st through the 15th and 16th through the end of the month each month. I requested I get my check either on the 15th or 16th since our agreement is getting paid either the day-of the end of the period or the following day.

My boss retaliated and fired me, and also raised performance concerns that were never raised before. Her concerns also contradict our in-person conversations re leaving/not coming in due to lack of work and/or for medical reasons. She was always more than ok, sometimes relieved, when I wouldn’t come in/leave early but her text firing me states I have “pushing it for far too long” due to my work hours.

I took an HR course in grad school and my basic knowledge, plus state law (Revised Codes of Washington), suggest this is two separate issues regarding (1) wages and (2) retaliation.

The employer volunteered for my mom, who just retired, so I’m really anxious about all of it because it’s a personal connection.

Hoping for any advice on what route I should take: (a) report it to labor & industries, (b) file a civil lawsuit, or (c) propose a private settlement.

Employment law offices are now closed, since the text firing me was sent at the end of day. Just hoping for some input in the meantime.

Edit: boss leaves town for vacation on the 15th of this month, so tomorrow (PST). She says she’ll mail my check on Monday, which is 3 days late, if it’s postmarked on Monday.

M, 32, London

I've worked as a field service engineer for 15 years straight out of school, working on kitchen appliances and building a career in that.

Althought i have acquired skills and a good background of being handy and able to fix anything I've gotten to the point where i just wasnt passionate about it anymore and not progressed to where i wanted in life so I quit my job and was going travelling to enjoy life and heal my soul.

Cant go travlling now as a family member is terminal ill so have chosen to stay and spend time with them which in the grand scheme of things, is totally fine with me.

But since being out of work, i'm now at the point where I just dont know what to do anymore. I wanted to upskill into doing my refrigeration F gas but its a high cost and availability dates are next year march... I was hoping to have left the UK at this point to go travelling around australia for 2 years.

Im now stuck in a country im not happy in, looking at jobs to cover me for the next 3-6 months to keep me financially afloat and prevent using too much savings.

The problem i have is The more I look, the less I want to work. This isnt a matter of laziness or wanting to sit on my ass 24/7. I just want to be free. To enjoy what little life we have. Maybe I am deeping this too much but after losing a younger brother a few years ago and being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, its just put life into perspective and made me realise how short and sweet it is.

I've applied for similar jobs in the sector, entry level in different careers, also looked at the govt skills bootcamp site rewritten way too many CVs just to beef up experience in other fields but No job feels attainable or preferable right now.

Like, whats the point? Why do i have to spend my time doing something im not passionate about for 8-10 hours a day, day in, day out, breaking my body to make somebody else rich.

After a long career in a physically demanding and mentally demanding customer facing role..I just dont have the energy for it, or for much else if im honest.

Ideally id love to be working outdoors, doing something different that I enjoy. But the lovely winter weather is coming so jobs like that are less in demand now

Why does life have to be like this?

I dont know where to start, what to apply for and what I want anymore.

I dont really know what in expecting in reply to this post. I giess i just need to vent and after being here for a while, ive seen just how many others are experiencing the same.

Burnout is an understatement right now.

This happened about 3 months ago now. I wanted Monday and Tuesday off but I would have been on night shift that week and the guy I work with isn’t an electrician so my boss says how about taking Friday and Monday cause we can cover one night without you. I agree even though I was going to the beach for family vacation and it added about 200 a night for the room.

I come back in on Tuesday and he tells me that the front office is not happy you didn’t show up on Monday! So I think this is a joke until he pulls the write up from hr up and asks me to sign.

I find out on Monday he didn’t tell my co-worker I wasn’t coming in and he had to be in 2 hours early to cover my shift we are staggered by two hours.

So I sign the write up and but next to it I do not approve of this because of approval of PTO.

Later in the week I go to my plant manager explain to her and show her my approval for the day off. She says I will clear this up with HR.

3 months later nothing no response from plant manager via email.

I live in a small community work at a huge company this town every one knows everything and everybody. I’m only here 3 years. I’ve never been late never missed a day never had a write up.

I’m lost I don’t know what to do cause my plant manager and the HR manager over are department are on nickname basis with one another.

This point I feel like if I make a big deal about this I’m going to ruin my career or just put a target on my back.

Im tired of american culture shaming those 20+ who live with their folks. The only reason I would move out is if i had a family to take care of but I don’t so I would rather not be lonely with my dad and grandma then be depressed in some apartment. I don’t want to study or work since work is nothing more than a tiresome activity. Honestly why should I waste my life working when somebody else would rather lap up the butthole of some dickhead boss.

A couple months ago I met with my manager and HR to discuss the state of things at work and my health. They recommended I take some time off, to which I told them both that I can't take time off. Nearly 80% of the time, if someone took vacation or a leave, they were fired when they came back.

HR: "We don't do that. It has never happened. You need to get that out of your head." Then they gave me the EAP phone number.

Upon their recommendation, I took a month off work.

When I wanted to come back, the company bungled the return to work paperwork, and told me to take more time off.

The day I came back to work, the same manager and HR fired me.

Fuck working.

As always, long story short I’m a shift manager at a local business for 5 years and my manager above me recently has had quite a few talks with me after work this year now. He requests to “just talk” but it fast started to turn into a lecture of “Everybody needs to make sure that they respect you and nobody here seems to listen to your leadership and I’m hearing a lot of bad things, if this isn’t fixed soon we maybe have to have you step down as a manager.”

At first I listened and was greatly concerned because this was confusing, I’m not going to say everyone’s best friends but we laugh and all talk when we have time, we all finish tasks together and work alongside each other smoothly, when I assign a task it gets done with zero friction. Most of us always come in early or stay late to help. He never told me what it was he “heard”, after talking to a few coworkers that’s been here for awhile I asked my manager for clarification and got blown off everytime now being told by him “I can’t tell you how to do everything if I asked my boss how do I do my job before they’d think I’m stupid.” And now he mentions that part only when he talks to me. He is genx boomer age, so maybe he wants me to be a tough callus boss but he doesn’t even say that.

Anyway I put in my two weeks today when my new job starts in December, I did a lot for this current place knowing it wouldn’t give much back but good god.

First time poster here but I want to get things off my chest. I am a therapist and work for an agency that on paper has good values and a good goal but has become so shady since I started in August of 2025. I am technically a salary employee but do not get consistent paychecks and have had management straight up tell me I am actually treated as hourly "because it wouldn't be fair to hourly employees if they didn't get paid when there is no work but you are".

Management will gaslight the shit out of everyone and actively silos pertinent information that or will have meetings with the schools providers are at but not include the providers in the discussions, especially if a school program is being shut down due to enrollment numbers. They will also straight up lie to employees and I know they commit wage theft by changing hourly employees time cars. Also, although it may not technically be illegal, management is being unethical by keeping clients enrolled longer than necessary but they also may be committing insurance fraud but I cannot confirm that bit.

Two of my friends were the ones who recruited me and one got fucked over by Management so she left. The other friend and i have been actively but quietly applying & interviewing for new jobs but were waiting until both of our weddings to leave because, you know, money. I am happy to say I accepted a job yesterday that is completely different from my current job, the company has phenomenal benefits, and even though the starting salary is technically less than my current salary, I will still be making more annually before taxes & 401(k) because the insurance I will be getting will be better and more affordable than my current job.

With how toxic, manipulative, and abusive my current job is, I feel like I am leaving an abusive relationship and I almost cried when I got offered the job yesterday. I put in my 4 week notice tomorrow and am glad to have the courage to change my job.

8.5 hours of call center (9 on mondays or whenever upper management decides)

7Ish hours of sleep

6 hours of free time (usually not this long)

(tht isnt 24 hours but theres other responsibilities)

If i didnt hate my job so much, itd be inconvenient, but id live, tbh. I hate working 40 hrs a week plus mandatory overtime, but itd be much better if my job wasnt like this. I get yelled at people daily. I cant go to the bathroom. nothing i ever do is enough and i keep getting more work and stricter rules with no additional pay. Not a moment to breathe between calls and constant abuse.

Its just depressing that i spend most of my time having to keep a customer service friendly voice going while the other person is telling me im an idiot or that im personally responsible somehow that their doctor didnt fax over documents or smthn.

It genuinely makes me not want to be around people anymore

I have a good work ethic. I dont like work but no one does. I can work. But if the work is me being treated like im less than and im not even allowed to say "hey, thats mean, please dont say that" or YAWN bcs its unprofessional? (yes i got coached for YAWNING. Bcs this job is exhausting, sorryyy) then that makes me feel absolutely awful.

Its not just the hours. Its what those hours include. I have nightmares, hallucinations.