It’s tragic but it’s true that most of us have had to suffer under a toxic boss at least once in our lifetime. And look at the OG toxic boss, Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada, she was definitely a commendable mentor for some of such people out there. Because she was really good at being bad.
Today’s story is also about a toxic boss who yelled at the original poster (OP) in front of his customers. All because he spent a weekend with his newly married wife rather than go for a work retreat. So, of course, he quit!
More info: Reddit
Whenever we hear an atrocious tale about a toxic boss, most of us can say, "Been there, done that!"
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster of the story was invited for a work retreat at his boss' cabin over the long Labor Day weekend at short notice
Image credits: Waldorf_Astoria
Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
But his newly married wife had already booked a campsite for them on the same weekend, so he chose to go there with her and missed the retreat
Image credits: Waldorf_Astoria
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
This was reason enough for his boss to berate him in front of his customers and he even gave away tips to everyone else except the poster
Image credits: Waldorf_Astoria
Fed-up with this toxic behavior, the poster gave his notice as he had a job lined up where he would get better treatment and benefits
Yet again, we dive into the life of an employee with a toxic boss. Reddit user Waldorf_Astoria tells us that his boss invited management on short notice. It was a work retreat on the long weekend of Labor Day at his cabin. But OP’s newly married wife had already booked a campsite for them on the same weekend. And, of course, he chose to spend time with his new spouse.
Apparently, this was enough for his boss to go ballistic on him, within earshot of his customers, who got all awkward, stuck in this uncomfortable situation. His boss’s argument was that they had some good ideas about the restaurant and he wanted everyone to be on the same page. So, OP just asked him to fill him in so he could be on the same page.
To this, Mr. Boss said that he was looking for someone who would “immerse themselves in the job entirely.” OP justified himself by saying that he was immersed in his work, and besides, he had just gotten married. This just further angered the boss who went completely gaga by stating that he had a stack of resumes from people who were dying to get in there.
The poster sarcastically thought that he was sure that these people would work just as hard as he did for the compensation he received. Well, he didn’t word it out, rather he just clarified that he had always been a good employee and their “right hand guy”. Turns out, things just escalated because of it.
Fuming with rage, the boss handed out the tips to all the other employees except for the poster. He even dramatically announced in front of everyone, “Nothing for you”. Boy, does he sound mature! So what did OP do next? Of course, he quit!
Image credits: Sora Shimazaki / Pexels (not the actual photo)
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that as per a 2023 survey, 71% of workers have had a toxic boss at one point in their careers, while 31% are currently working with one. And since so many people have this experience, Redditors couldn’t help but share their stories as well when OP posted this.
Many folks found it unjustifiable that he had the audacity to yell at the poster right in front of his customers. Well, that just speaks a lot about his leadership skills. To get expert advice on the matter, Bored Panda reached out to Apoorva Kale, an industrial and organizational psychology practitioner.
She said, “Yelling at an employee in front of the customers will negatively impact the employee’s morale, feeling embarrassed and disrespected. The employee would be fearful and anxious around the boss, straining their relationship and making interactions less collaborative, ending up with higher rates of employee turnover as well.”
She also added that the customers would view the organization as unprofessional, affecting their business relationships. And this does make sense when you see that the customers were quite uncomfortable to be stuck in that situation. Some folks also commented that the customers would definitely contemplate whether to consider going to the place in the future or not.
Apoorva also informed us that toxic bosses create an environment of distrust and fear, making employees second guess their opinions or being unable to express themselves. She claimed that this can lead to a lack of inventiveness resulting in burnout and increased turnover rates. And it’s pretty obvious that your performance might drop if you constantly have a toxic boss breathing down your neck.
Moreover, netizens were also complaining about how these work retreats are conveniently on a weekend when they could utilize any weekday for the same. They said that weekends were for family and they found it really unfair that employees were asked to compromise this family time.
Apoorva expressed that working on weekends disrupts the employee’s work-life balance, affects their job satisfaction, and results in resentment, stress, fatigue, and burnout. She also emphasized that their absence will also affect their relationship with their family resulting in constant conflicts and a lack of support from their family.
Well, looks like OP did the right thing by quitting, and some people even applauded this. What are your thoughts about it? Let us know in the comments!
Folks online mocked the boss' tantrum and even shared similar experiences of such horrible bosses
