If you suddenly didn’t have to worry about money at all, would you still want to spend 40 hours a week typing in spreadsheets or answering phone calls for your boss? Probably not. But when times are tough, we often find ourselves sticking with jobs that we hate.
However, after one woman stayed at a company with an abusive manager until she just couldn’t take it anymore, her story didn’t end with a resignation letter. A few months later, she had the chance to finally get revenge on the woman who made her work life a living hell, so below, you’ll find the full story that she recently shared online.
This woman took abuse from her former manager until she reached a breaking point
Image credits: ima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
But even after resigning, she still had the chance to come back and take the terrible manager down
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Vlada Karpovich (not the actual photo)
Image credits: TravelingABC
Later, the woman clarified some additional details about the situation
Unfortunately, working for a toxic manager or boss is an extremely common experience
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
If you’ve ever worked for a manager that you hated, you’re not alone. According to one 2018 study of British workers, 1 in 5 employees can’t stand their boss. This could be for a wide variety of reasons, but one survey from Zippia narrowed down some of the top traits that cause employees to despise their leaders. Workers reported that their bosses were lazy, ungrateful, inappropriate, had bad tempers, were self-serving, liked to gossip, listened poorly, lacked empathy, were condescending, rude, incompetent, unavailable and micromanaged their workers. Among all of these traits, however, micromanaging took the cake for being the issue the largest number of employees complained about.
Having a terrible boss or manager is not something to sweep under the rug. It can have detrimental effects on a company’s culture and, as this story makes clear, it can lead to drastic increases in turnover rates. A Gallup poll of over 7,000 adults living in the US found that half of them would quit a job where they hated their manager. And when it comes to the most unacceptable behaviors managers can exhibit, a survey by Signs.com found that men and women agree that “playing favorites” is unforgivable. Some of the other top behaviors that workers won’t tolerate are making informal threats to fire employees, using company expense accounts for personal items, making romantic advances towards employees, taking credit for other employees' work, and using drugs or alcohol at work.
Toxic supervisors quickly erode company culture and increase turnover rates
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
The woman in this particular story had plenty of examples of inappropriate behaviors that her manager displayed, such as making rude comments about her body and forcing her to work outside of her regular hours. But if you’re wondering if you work for a toxic manager as well, even if your boss has not made as aggressively nasty comments, The Muse has broken down some of the ways to spot a toxic employer. If you’re feeling many negative emotions during the workday, such as worry, stress, sadness, anger or are burning out easily, you might want to take a moment to consider if your boss is at the crux of the issue.
Some trademark signs of toxic employers are bosses who don’t listen, who micromanage, don’t foster growth, act differently around their own managers, make employees feel insecure, and have unreasonable expectations. They may make you feel trapped in your position and discourage you from ever trying to achieve more. “A toxic boss demotivates,” Tiziana Casciaro, Professor of Organizational Behavior and HR Management at the University of Toronto, told The Muse. “They allow very little leeway in how a subordinate conducts the work that is assigned to them, listen very little and do not make the most of the capabilities of a subordinate.” A great boss will also always build company morale, rather than shaming employees and making them feel unsafe.
It’s important for workers to remember their worth and find employers who actually value them
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
So what is an employee to do when they’re faced with a toxic employer who makes their work life a living hell? The Muse recommends first giving them feedback and attempting to understand where their behavior is coming from. Perhaps they didn’t even realize what they were doing, and if you can get to the bottom of it, you might learn how to prevent it. It’s also wise to make other connections in the company, so you will still have mentors and people on your side who do support you. Don’t forget to prioritize self-care as well. Find humor and joy in your day wherever you can, and try to focus on the positives to keep yourself mentally healthy. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it or to ban together with fellow employees who are feeling the same way. And when all else fails, you can always leave the position altogether. There might even be another role you can take on within the same company that will allow you to have a new, more supportive supervisor.
We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Have you ever worked for a toxic manager like this? If so, feel free to share your stories and if you managed to enact some pro revenge. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article discussing toxic bosses, look no further than right here.
Many readers applauded the woman for her brilliant act of revenge and called out her former manager
