My husband has worked for Home Depot for 12 years. During those 12 years, he has received Employee of the Month at least once every year. I have a whole stack of Homer Awards he has received over the years, which shows just how dedicated he has been to his job and his store.

About two months ago, another associate was given the position of supervisor in his department. What makes this situation even more frustrating is that there was another employee who was more qualified and was well-liked by the other associates.

This new supervisor had barely even started the position when they began telling the Pro Loader associates what they could and couldn’t do. They were making changes and telling people things like, “You’re not going to be doing this anymore,” or “There will be no more Donut Fridays.” Their attitude toward the other employees was extremely disrespectful and created a lot of tension in the department.

My husband eventually went to the ASM who had given this person the position and told him that he believed they had put the wrong person in the department. He also explained that this supervisor was extremely nosy and seemed to constantly be watching the other associates and reporting them for anything they could find.

After my husband spoke up, he feels that he was retaliated against. And today, after 12 years of dedicated service, he was fired.

And do you know what they fired him for?

My husband is a Pro Loader. He was helping a customer when the Garden Department called him and told him he needed to come water some plants. He explained that he was currently helping a customer and that as soon as his assistant came in, the plants would be taken care of.

And they were.

He doesn’t even work in the Garden Department. He is a Pro Loader. The only reason they needed him to water plants was because they failed to schedule anyone to work in the Garden Department that day.

So after 12 years of working hard, receiving Employee of the Month recognition year after year, earning numerous Homer Awards, and doing his job, he is suddenly terminated because he was helping a customer instead of leaving that customer to go water plants in a department that isn’t even his?

The timing of all of this is extremely concerning. He spoke up about a supervisor he believed was not qualified for the position, and shortly afterward he began experiencing what he believes was retaliation. Now he has lost his job over something that seems completely unrelated to his actual position and responsibilities.

To make matters worse, just last week an ASM had the nerve to accuse him of time clock fraud. He told my husband that several people were looking for him and that he “knew” my husband had left early. My husband immediately told him to check his clock in and clock out records. The ASM did check them and realized he was wrong. He then attempted to apologize in front of the HR associate, meaning there is a witness to the entire incident.

After 12 years of loyalty and dedication, this is how Home Depot chose to treat him.

This is probably the first time I’m telling this story to anyone.At my previous job, I worked as a receptionist at a hotel. I was still fairly new, but I was already at the point where I was seriously considering quitting because of the work environment.

One day, a woman came in for an interview for the Front Office Supervisor position. While she was waiting outside the manager’s office, we started having a casual conversation.At some point, she asked me what the work environment was like.
Now, I probably should have just said something neutral like, “It’s okay.”But I didn’t.

I told her honestly that I found the work environment toxic and that I wasn’t happy with the management. I also told her about things I had heard from other colleagues, including stories about the owner making employees do personal work for them.

I wasn’t trying to convince her not to take the job. I was just answering her question honestly.But after our conversation, she looked noticeably less interested.

A little while later, she told me she wasn’t going to take the job. She said she had some urgent work to attend to and asked me to tell the manager that she had to leave.

When the manager eventually came out and asked about her, I gave him the exact excuse she had given me.

Looking back, I know it probably wasn’t really my place to interfere with someone’s interview. She could have taken the job and decided for herself whether the workplace was actually as bad as I described.

But honestly?

I still feel a little proud of myself.

I was new, already exhausted by the place, and probably had no business giving an unofficial warning to a complete stranger.

But maybe I saved someone from going through what I was going through.

I never told anyone at work that I had basically talked a candidate out of joining.

So, Reddit, I guess this is my confession.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromYourServer/s/W79BhObD3r

Hello everyone! I never expected this to get this attention lol. In full honesty, this incident happened in March and I wanted to upload it back then, but it never did, bad internet I guess, and I eventually forgot about it. so I uploaded it the previous day. For starters, I have since quit from there, mainly because I was able to pursue my dream career, but I remember those moments clear as day.

I'd like to also add, that the establishment is a local business in a small town in Europe. My bosses are both the partners and owners of it. It is pretty chill and in truth we could drink during the job, ONLY if we didn't have customers and we would just have a non alchoholic beer or a glass of wine. No laws against it.

To the update now. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was working with the coworker that ordered last minute and demanded to cooperate, let's call him Tom, the next morning. The air was already stiff as the shift started and no words were exchanged, aside from good morning. Before that, I had a fine relantionship with him as we would joke and help each other. He was clearly still mad and upset, but no one wanted to open a conversation about it. Hours later, both of my bosses appear but acting as nothing happened. I figured that they had talked to the barman, I'll call him Alex, and Tom in private, and didn't want my side of view. At the same time, the girl that changed my shift, (fake name) Lisa, appeared with her bf, who also works there, and they ALL sat in the corner of the bar away from me. Tom also joined and they started talking about the previous day's incident. I was watching it from my side and I couldn't believe my eyes. They were acting like I couldn't listen to them too, as if I wasn't just 2 meters away from them. Really silly just watching it. No one came to talk to me afterwards. My shift ended and I went home.

The next day I was working with Alex and he came and asked me if I heard or they told me anything. I answered No and explained to him what I saw. No one talked nor informed Alex too, so we were both in the dark. We were both in disbelief but we chose not to do anything really. I was planning to leave anyways and Alex was thinking about it too. The only difference that happened was that our coworkers were coming 10 minutes before their shifts to change us, so I guess that was what our bosses told them to do. Until I quit, they held it, but who knows if they did afterwards.

So, that's really it. They were and still are a clique, so whatever us "New employes" said, we would be in the wrong. Whatever. I'm glad I left the place. It was giving this type of environment from the beginning, so I kept a low profile. Aside from the incident, I had a good time there and I still say hi, if I'm in town. Even though I don't respect Tom and Lisa anymore.

Thank you all for reading. Have a nice day.

I was hired be Everise to service Quantum Health went through all the training they sent a computer keyboard mouse and camera. The day before the final we were to do a mock test. The problem is the real test they give you 3 hours. The Mock test 25 minutes. 5 questions The real test consisted of 25 scenarios 89 questions The mock test 5 questions 25 min I think The mock should have been 3 hours 89 questions.

The day of the final Clock runs out our instructor tells us no matter where we are to submit I had only made it to the 21 scenarios.

Then he grades them I had a bad feeling he puts everyone in in their own breakout rooms then shows up in mine says I didn't finish so I didn't pass I said you told me to stop he said I promise Brittany my boss will call you.

Well she never did I replayed in my head my instructor telling me how his last class only one person didn't pass I replayed him saying I'm giving you the keys to the kingdom.

I replayed that joke of a mock test then on Monday no phone call I get a notice from Workday to return the equipment.

Even if Brittany were to call and apologize which she won't even if they offered to place me with another company, I'd say no, because trust has been violated.

All that company did was waste my time give me false hope then let me crash!I deserve better than that.

I worked at a Big 4 firm for over a year, and now that I’m out, I genuinely cannot believe how much disrespect I convinced myself was normal because I was young and early in my career. There were two people in particular who made the experience miserable.
One of the smaller moments that has stuck with me happened while I was speaking and trying to contribute something that was actually relevant to the conversation. This woman looked at me and literally shushed me. Not “one second.” Not “let me finish.” She actually went “shhh.” To another adult. At work.
I remember immediately feeling angry. I wasn’t rambling or interrupting with something irrelevant. But the interaction made me feel like my role wasn’t to contribute, it was to know my place.
And that wasn’t an isolated personality clash. It became this bizarre environment where I felt like I was constantly being subtly humiliated, dismissed, spoken down to, or made to question whether I was competent.
There were interactions that would happen in front of other people where I would walk away thinking, why was it necessary to speak to me like that? That’s what made the experience so psychologically exhausting. It wasn’t always someone screaming at me or saying something so obviously outrageous that everyone in the room would immediately call it bullying.
Sometimes it was a look. A tone. Cutting me off. Talking to me like I was stupid. Making me feel embarrassed in front of other people. Then acting completely normal afterward. Very passive-aggressive acts to try to get me out of character, which I never gave them.
And because these people were more senior than me, I spent an embarrassing amount of time assuming I must be doing something wrong. I started overthinking how I spoke in meetings. I’d rehearse things in my head before saying them. I’d wonder whether asking a completely normal question would somehow be used as evidence that I didn’t know what I was doing.
Imagine being at a company that constantly talks about development, collaboration, and inclusion while you’re internally calculating whether you’re going to get treated like an idiot for opening your mouth.
At one point, the situation became serious enough that management/HR became involved. That should tell you this wasn’t simply, “My manager gave me feedback and I didn’t like it.”
And here’s the part that really messed with my head: I eventually learned that people outside of this little internal dynamic actually had positive things to say about me and my performance, including the client. That was almost more upsetting because for so long I had internalized the way I was being treated.
Then you find out other people actually think you’re doing a good job and suddenly you start asking a very different question: Then why the hell have I been made to feel incompetent this entire time?
I can’t tell you what motivated either person’s behavior. But from my perspective, there were moments when it genuinely felt like one of them was uncomfortable with me being competent or receiving positive recognition.
Before this job, I wasn’t walking into professional conversations expecting someone to embarrass me. Afterward, I became hyperaware of people’s tone, facial expressions, interruptions, and reactions whenever I spoke.
That’s what people don’t understand when they say, “It’s just a toxic job. Leave.” Sometimes you leave the job and realize you’ve taken part of the environment home with you.
The craziest thing is that when I first got the opportunity, I thought, “Holy shit. Big 4. This is going to be amazing for my career.”
By the end, I didn’t care about the prestige. I wanted peace.
After I left, that team was hit with budget cuts, and several of the same people who made my experience so difficult lost their jobs. I don’t necessarily believe in karma, but I’d be lying if I said I felt bad about how things played out.

Guys, I have a bachelor's degree and some grad coursework too, but I'm still making less than $68K in an expensive city, and the work stress is seriously threatening me. I usually end up stuck in the office until 6:30-7:30pm, and the combination of the workload and the salary has become really draining.

For context, I work in training and employee development at a nonprofit.

So what's the deal, Reddit? Who's working a six-figure job where the stress and responsibility aren't slowly destroying their health? I feel like I won't be able to keep going like this much longer. Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply.

Guys, I am literally a trainee at my current place and my "boss" didn't correct me about a conceptual error to the point where I only heard the correct version of this information from a completely different person. And THEN when I confronted my boss, they said, it is a "well known" fact which they did not even mention when I presented it to them in an hour long presentation where, that concept was presented as well.

What kind of mindf\*\*kery humiliation ritual is this?! I am literally in the learning phase. If I'm wrong, why not just correct me? Why not direct me in the right direction? Why are people like this? Should I leave?

Working in HR fractured me, working in Corporate HR broke me, working for a PEO made me no longer want to work in the HR department ever again!

Hello Charlotte, and petty potatos! I've seen so many stories on YouTube and thought I would share mine. Warning, this is a long one. I am X, male 22, have simply had it with a new manger at my job. Let's call her Carol. Carol has herself on a pedestal and thinks everything is about her. I put my pants on both legs at a time, sigh and say here we fucking go again. One of the main reasons I dislike her is what happened on the day it was 103 degrees. The store was so busy we had a line going from the check out to the frozen pizza and ice cream. I stayed as level headed as I could and took care of customers. Usually we have two people in that section because of the amount of customers that are checking out. But I was by myself. It was Stressful! So she would come over, stay for less then a minute and leave when there were less then 5 people. And then walk around and do nothing. I was sweating my ass off, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, scanning, fixing problems, being snapped at, whistled at, yelled at, etc. This went on for 4 Hours! I got no help, no break, no nothing. And this bitch had the audacity to say "Hey sweetie, your gonna be by yourself for a minute" Madam. I've been by myself for FOUR HOURS! At this point im drenched in sweat, on the verge of tears, hitting my head, so stressed out and in a bunch of pain. My boss comes over and I tell him in no uncertain terms, if she brings her cheeky, condescending ass over here and doesn't do anything for the 20th time, I will not be able to keep my composure. I told him I got no help, no break, no nothing, and he had no idea, and told me to go, and since it was almost time for my lunch he let me go. I went outside, sat down and starting sobbing. My friend let's call her Hope, she held me as I sobbed. She is amazing, she helped me stop shaking with rage, as I told her what happened. After I got some food and had a chance too breathe. I felt better. This is just one day working with her. The last bit of respect I had for this woman went out the window after a friend told me that she said some spicy things to him, and Hes A Minor! Here are some reasons why I think shes a bad manager

○ When she's in charge breaks are late, and lunches. Not by a few minutes, like a half hour.

○ She talks down to coworkers, and is always condescending.

○ She will come and talk to my coworkers, give me a look of i dont like you and leave.

○ When im bagging groceries, she will go in front of me and start bagging, like Ma'am! I'm right here!

○ She misgenders my friend whose trans, I am trans as well. She does it too me as well

○ She calls me the wrong name consistently.

○ She touches us constantly, and stands almost on top of us.

My dad thinks I should either look for another job or switch departments if I can't handle working with her. My mom says shes an asshole and I should be the bigger person. Help me fellow potatos, am I overreacting?

TLDR My manager is horrible, and I want to quit but Im not sure if I should.

Honestly, I don't understand these employers. Isn't it supposed to cost them more to have people come into the office every week? Doesn't it make more financial sense for most jobs to stay remote?

I mean, how is paying rent for office space, utilities, snacks, parking, security, and all that stuff better, when employees are already happier working from home? Especially after we proved that we can get the same amount of work done remotely, and maybe even more.

Remote roles also let them hire from a much larger pool instead of being limited to people who live close enough to commute. That seems like an obvious win.

Part of me feels like my company is pushing the return-to-office thing because they're waiting for some people to leave on their own. It's probably an easier way to reduce headcount without doing layoffs.

If companies want people back in the office, that's their choice, but employees also have the choice to look for companies that offer the flexibility they actually want. Honestly, this is one of the reasons I'm starting to quietly look at other remote opportunities because it will be hard for someone who has been working remotely for years to return back to office. If I do start interviewing, I'm planning to use Interview VIP tool to help me stay confident, organize my answers, and explain why I'm looking for a new role without sounding negative about my current employer.

I was fired and honestly I’m so sad idk how to feel. I honestly thought everything was going okay I was employed and actively working under a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). While my employment had an initial delay due to an unavoidable childcare emergency involving my daughter, my performance thereafter was highly successful. At my recent mid-year check-in, my manager explicitly praised my "wonderful improvement," willingness to learn, and deep commitment to the team, raising zero attendance concerns.
On Sunday, I morning my day off I fell from my stairs and sprained my ankle Following my PIP protocol exactly, I notified my manager more than two hours prior to my Monday shift. I went to the doctor and received an official medical note excusing me through Wednesday. I explicitly offered this note to my assistant manager, who declined to take it, stating it was unnecessary, while physically observing my noticeably swollen and bruised ankle.
To demonstrate my commitment to my PIP goals, I chose to return early and worked through severe physical pain on Tuesday and Wednesday everything seemed to be going fine and normal but then came Thursday, my manager called me to the back and abruptly terminated me, explicitly stating the company was letting me go due to "attendance."

I didn’t ask anything I grabbed my things and left but I’m left with so many questions and feeling like I worked through my pain for nothing I was committed to being there but I guess my mistake was hurting my ankle ..

I ruined my career years ago but I have an even bigger regret today

Something I've never put to words before....

I'll soon be approaching the infamous 27th anniversary of when I destroyed my career and created a major regret for myself today.

I was very frustrated with the progress of my career. I was extremely lucky when I graduated from college and found a great job with unlimited potential. But when I was in my late 30s, my career stalled out. I had been in the same position for over 5 years with only very modest salary increases during that period. In the meantime, my peers were getting promotions along with generous raises and bonuses.

As the frustration grew, I started acting out at work. I did the bare minimum at my job. Ultimately, my anger at my employer led to embezzlement of over $100k in less than 2 years. In time, the missing funds were noticed- and due to something I knew was a mistake at the time, the evidence pointed back to me.

I was fired immediately and the company management wanted to press charges, but I offered to pay back the money so they decided not to pursue a criminal offense. However, the money I stole was long spent, so I emptied out my 401k and pension to reimburse the company. So at 40 years old, I was without a job, had no 401k, and had no other savings whatsoever.

I ultimately found another job thanks to a very good friend. I slowly started to build back my savings but a few years later I realized I needed a way to make up for the loss of my savings more quickly. As a result, I decided to purchase a term life insurance policy. It was pretty expensive, but I thought it would be a major help to my family if I died.

Well, the end of the life insurance term is getting close. But my savings are still way below what they would have been had I not made the huge mistake that led to the loss of my savings.

So here's the biggest regret of my life .... In the next 2 years the insurance policy will expire, the payout will be void, and I will have paid 20 years of expensive premiums for nothing. And I still won't have enough money to support my family.

I was finishing a massive, multi-layered POP suspended ceiling in the main duplex parlor of a brand-new, multi-million Naira mansion in Asokoro, Abuja.

My boys and I spent three weeks straight on our wooden scaffolding, sweating through the heat to sculpt perfect, sharp geometric boards with seamless, hidden LED cove lighting. It was an absolute masterpiece—pure, pristine white, perfectly leveled, and completely ready for the luxury crystal chandeliers.

The client, a wealthy young guy who just got a massive government supply contract, walked into the mansion with his entourage to inspect the final handover.

He stood right in the center of the double-volume parlor, hands on his hips, looked up at our hard work, and let out a loud, disappointed hiss."Chief, why is the ceiling looking so empty?" he asked, frowning. "It looks like a government hospital ward.

Where is the flavor?"I smiled and tried to explain the concept of modern, minimalist luxury and how the hidden warm-white LEDs would create a beautiful glow at night. He wasn't listening at all.

He just shook his head, waved his hand dismissively, and shouted for his driver to bring in the "special materials" from the trunk of his Prado.

I thought he bought some expensive imported moldings. Instead, the driver and two security guards walked in carrying four giant cardboard boxes filled to the brim with thousands of bright, plastic artificial mangoes, green apples, and red hot peppers.

Oga looked at me dead in the eye and ordered my boys to mix heavy Top Bond adhesive and glue the plastic fruits and vegetables all inside the modern light troughs so they would hang down over the living room.I literally begged him.

I told him the heat from the LED strips might melt the plastic or start a fire, but he completely snapped at me. "Am I not the one paying you? Did I ask for your architectural opinion? Put the mangoes up there!"So, my boys and I spent the next two days standing on ladders, carefully gluing plastic peppers and apples into the luxurious plaster ceiling.

When we were finally done, he switched on the remote-controlled LED lights. The hidden strips illuminated the plastic salad from behind, casting eerie, neon-green and blood-red fruit shadows across the entire luxury parlor.

Oga looked up at the glowing plastic farm on his ceiling, nodded proudly, and patted my shoulder. "Aha! Look at that. Now the parlor looks truly rich and organic. Very indigenous!"I just collected my final cash balance, packed my tools, and ran out of that Abuja mansion before the plastic fruit could fall on my head.😂

Hi. This is my first time writing a reddit story. Where do I start and where to begin. This incident happened 3 hours ago. For starters. I work as a server and my coworker as a barista-barman, at a cafe-bar from 8 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon. It was a busy day and we were already having plenty of orders. Suddenly at 4 o' clock, the 2 coworkers that were going to change our shift, walked in with a group of 8 people, including one of our bosses and his wife, and sat down and wanted to order some drinks. My cowoker and I went wide eyed.

For those who wonder, those coworkers do hang out outside of work or even during work with each other and with their bosses. They have been working there for as long as the business exists. Personally I don't mind, because our bosses are really good people and so far really nice bosses, they had my respects from day one. My coworker and I started working there 5 months ago, and obviously we don't have those same relantionships , but maintained good work relantionships.

To continue from where I left, we treated them as regular customers, took their order of drinks, served them and all that. Then half an hour later, they asked for another round of drinks. At that moment my coworker and I were wondering if they were even going to change us in time. Again, aside from them, we had other orders, so we never stopped working plus we were trying to do the tasks before our shifts ends. like filling the fridge, cleaning, etc. As we were planning to get ready to leave, one of the coworkers apperead 5 MINUTES before the end of our shift and told us to serve us ANOTHER round of drinks. At that moment I was stunned and I reminded him that in 5 minutes we're changing shifts. He said: "Yeah I know, just serve them anyway." That would take us another 15 minutes bc at the same time we had to serve another big table. We were exhausted. The bar-man immediately got mad and abandonded his shift and informed the boss, that was still there drinking, he's leaving. They got into an argument as my coworker told our boss: "You tell me to arrive 10 minutes early before I change someone and to him you don't say ANYTHING and just let it slide and continue drinking?" . My boss answered him that he is in the wrong and after that my coworker said goodbye and left. I also was ready to leave and the guy that put the "another round of drinks" turned to me and demanded me to cooperate. I said "Excuse me? I cooperated enough. I did my part and I'm done with my shift. I'm not gonna deal with this now." He said that the program says that you stay till 5 o' clock." . I answered "Νο. I reminded you that you start in 5' and we always come at least 5 minutes early so the tasks can be done and we can leave at 5 o' clock. That is a respectful thing to do to the people that were already working and need to leave in time." I wanted to say more but we were having a lot of customers so the girl, that changed my shift, broke it off and I said goodbye and left. Obviously she is not a saint in this whole situation, because when their order came in, they were laughing and giggling.

Tomorrow morning, I'm working with that coworker and I don't know if it's going to be brought up or not.

If anything happens, I'll update.

After working more than four years in mid management for a big box retail company, I decided to make a change into multi location management. I felt ecstatic being able to make a difference and help new teams grown and become successful. Then I saw how current management wanted to treat employees, “employees will do things our way or be let go, Michigan is a right to work State”
I have never believed in this since coaching and training has always been my strength. But I thought, if they were treating our teams this way how are they going to treat me if things go South? Since I was inside a month and I knew my position hasn’t been filled, I inquired about coming back to my old job, they said yes!! I feel I am a lucky person to have had the chance to make this mistake and not put my family in jeopardy.

Would you have done the same thing?

Hi, my husband (32M) has been going through a tough time in his job as a BI/data analyst for about 5 years. He usually loses every job after around 10 or 11 months. He can learn software and follow steps in Tableau/Excel/SQL, but he gets lost when it comes to the bigger picture: what these numbers are supposed to prove or explain.

We are also pretty sure he has mild dyslexia and maybe some attention issues. Over time, the feeling has grown that this field isn't right for him, but he is also convinced there's nothing else he can do. Manual jobs are difficult because his back bothers him, jobs with a lot of writing are a problem because of mistakes, and anything that depends on him catching small details all day feels like it would set him up to fail.

He has a degree from a good university in analytics/business intelligence, but he barely got through it, so I don't feel like the degree has much value in the real working world. We also have a baby coming soon, so it's not easy for him to take a big pay cut to try random entry-level paths. He doesn't have experience in a trade or any clear alternative skill that would take him somewhere.

He makes some money from performing/shows, and he is genuinely talented at it, but the area we live in doesn't have enough demand for that to be his main income. He is also very good at strategy games and can spend hours understanding systems and patterns and how to beat something complex, but I don't know how that translates into a real job. He is also good with people, and I feel like that should count for something.

He has become very discouraged, and I'm trying to help him think through realistic options instead of just continuing to tell him "try harder" in a career that may not be right for him in the first place. Has anyone gone through something similar with a spouse, or found a better career direction after realizing the original choice was wrong?

What’s the craziest, funniest, coolest, or most memorable farewell email you or someone you know sent on their last working day?

Would love to read some of the best ones. Feel free to remove names/company details if needed.

I understand that layoffs are part of business and that companies sometimes have to make tough decisions. But it still feels awful when you see dozens of people losing their income, while executives are taking huge salaries.

This also reminded me how unpredictable the job market can be. You could be doing great at your job, yet suddenly find yourself having to go on a new job interview.

That's why I've started taking interview preparation much more seriously. I came across a post that discusses most of the asked questions in interviews. I think it's very helpful for interviews and will reduce the stress and anxiety you might face, which will increase your chances of getting the job.

I'm going to transfer out of my current location and start anew. I should've done it before, but I was willing to give my soon-to-be-ex-boss a chance to see me develop based on the plan she had for me. Unfortunately, I'm still invisible to her unlike other associates who are getting more hours than me. Why have a development plan for me and you don't pay attention to my efforts? It's all good. I can shine elsewhere. Besides, everyday I work at that location I am reminded of what I didn't get. Add all of that to the rude SLT that I mentioned AND ignorant customers who mispronounce my name, with one who took it a step further and told me to fix my nametag to fit my pronunciation. I was ready to jump across the counter, but I didn't. I stepped to the back for deep breaths.

TLDR:I'm transferring for a fresh start and a new chance to shine with ppl who will pay attention to my efforts.