Boss Decides To Stop Paying His Employees, Regrets It After Everyone Quits And His Pub Shuts Down

If we could learn one thing based on the countless manager-related stories, it would probably be this: no matter the circumstances, the greed, or work specifications, they all rise and fall the same way. Only to prove yet again and again, that no man is truly an island. And u/triz___'s story, shared on r/antiwork, is no exception.

As it goes, everything was fine and dandy until one day, the bar owner decides to take over the author's duties to cut down on overtime. You'd think there's a silver lining somewhere or that he compensates for his staff's dedication and time they could be spending with their friends and loved ones or in any other way. But there you'd be wrong. "I had 18-year-old girls crying on my shoulder saying they can’t eat," OP wrote.

Not being able to stomach his beloved colleagues' despair, the OP maliciously complied with the owner's new overtime policy and closed the bar on time, sending everyone home and putting customers' food in the trash bin. This quickly got the owner's attention. But even this wasn't enough for him to realize where all of this mess was heading.

In today's world, the individuals who work tirelessly just to keep their heads above the water and feed loved ones' mouths are not treated with enough respect. These underappreciated and underpaid workers proved to be the lifeblood of our economy during the pandemic. And still, they are all too often treated with disrespect by their bosses. This explains, then, why two-thirds (or 62%) of hospitality workers don't think that their workplaces take great care of them, according to this research.

And that's not everything. A whopping 60% of respondents reported feeling emotionally detached from their work, State of the Global Workplace: 2022 report states, while nearly 1-in-5 reported feeling "downright miserable." That's a staggering number of people who are just going through the motions on the job. And to make matters worse, the percentage of workers who reported feeling engaged in their work keeps going down each year.

If you're in the U.S., the news is even more bleak. Half of all workers reported feeling stressed on a daily basis, while 41% are worried, 22% are sad, and 18% are "straight-up angry".

To find out what an expert had to say about this, we reached out to Christine Mitterbauer, a licensed and ICF-approved career coach based in the UK. "One of the most common reasons people are unhappy in their roles is that they don’t feel appreciated and valued and that the role doesn’t get the best out of them," she explained to Bored Panda.

Another factor that often leads to increased turnover rate is micromanagement, or the all-too-common practice in the hospitality industry, where managers often feel the need to keep a tight leash on their staff. But here's the thing: micromanaging can backfire in a big way. "I’ve had a few clients who have felt stressed due to a lot of pressure and micromanaging in the hospitality industry. Usually, this approach backfires, as employees like to feel trusted and appreciated," Mitterbauer argued.

And she's absolutely right about it. According to one study, 79% of employees reported that they had experienced micromanagement, and 36% of them actually quit because of it.

According to Jason Solomon, the Director of the National Institute of Workers’ Rights, money isn't the only thing that keeps the workforce happy and productive. Mutual respect is just as important. Solomon believes that more workers are realizing they don't have to stay in a job where they're mistreated or undervalued, and that loyalty should be earned, not demanded. As he explained to Bored Panda, "It’s not always or just about money; it’s often about respect."