“You Are Replaceable”: Boss Eats Their Own Words When An Employee Takes Them At Their Word

Some managers seem to believe that a work-life balance is a conspiracy created to destroy their business. Workers take time off specifically to spite them, no doubt. Some bosses also have such an inflated sense of power that they often forget that people can simply just quit, which can actually destroy their business.

An internet user shared the time they were contacted by their boss who had decided that they needed to come in on a day they took off. OP stood their ground, leading to the boss making some inadvisable statements about replacing them. However, this plan backfired very quickly when OP called their bluff.

OP was not the only employee who, having assessed their working environment, chose to just leave. The overall US turnover rate is roughly over 55%, of which half is voluntary turnover. Though, unfortunately, most probably didn’t get to see that horrible boss eat their words too quickly. Unless the company very actively plans for employees to be replaceable, they are most definitely not. While it differs from industry to industry and position to position, the cost of replacement is approximately 16 '000$ on top of whatever the employee is paid. HR, training, and onboarding all have indirect costs to the company, plus the losses generated by not having a position filled.

Even worse, for the company at least, employees don’t just exist in a vacuum. They talk to each other, see how their peers are treated, and make judgments. A toxic boss and the one in this story absolutely fits the label, ends up creating negative outcomes for multiple employees just by pushing around one. Imagine being OP’s coworker, and realizing that your boss, firstly, thinks your role is expendable and, secondly, might terminate your time off because they feel like it. With a single text, this boss has pitted a sizable section of the workforce against themselves without accomplishing anything.

Some research on toxic leadership might indicate that the primary goal of a horrible manager isn’t just to make employees feel terrible. They might be trying to hide their own lack of competence and ability. Their ultimate goal is to maintain a position of power, regardless of the long-term effects on the business itself. The waters become a little muddled when it comes to a manager that’s also the owner. But it does not take a genius to realize that blatant disrespect of others and making empty threats are not effective strategies on a preschool playground, let alone a business. So it’s fair enough to call into question the competence of this particular boss.

Nevertheless, some toxic, egotistical, and horrible people do end up thriving, to the chagrin of all of us. By meticulously working on and maintaining their image, they can escape the consequences of their actions. This is partially due to an inflated perception of self. For just a moment, OP’s boss might have actually thought their request was reasonable, their behavior acceptable, and that they could easily replace a lowly worker overnight. By standing their ground, OP brought reality crashing down upon the boss, who could either continue to live in their fantasy world or now has to deal with the consequences of their actions.