Very few things in life give us as much satisfaction as being proven right. Of course, being petty shouldn’t be glorified, and we should strive to be the best versions of ourselves, but hey, we’re only human — and yes, we’re all flawed.
But sometimes, that pettiness is rewarded, like in a story brought to us from r/pettyrevenge. A man complaining about his toxic workplace was sent home as a ploy to avoid paying him severance. But things didn’t exactly turn out the way his entitled boss wanted them to, and well, it all ended up going exactly as the narrator hoped. So, here’s what happened.
It’s no surprise that those in power will often try to get their way without having to pay a dime to their employees
And a man realized this when his boss decided to send him home for 2 months just to see if he could get away with not paying severance
Corporate psychopathy is a common trait among corporate executives and those in leadership roles
Unfortunately, the narrator’s situation is far from being the only story that starts off with a toxic boss. And oddly enough, that’s because there’s scientific evidence that people with Dark Triad traits, like subclinical narcissism and psychopathy, are actually highly represented in corporate leadership positions. In fact, while only 1% of the general population has been diagnosed with clinical psychopathy, that number increases among senior business executives to between 3.5% and 12%.
These negative traits become more and more noticeable as the story goes on, but the narrator starts off by telling the story of how he made a girl cry, then promptly denied her feelings by claiming she was lying despite proof otherwise. This is, unfortunately, a textbook example of extreme gaslighting, a form of psychological manipulation where a perpetrator tries to make a person or group doubt their memory and beliefs.
And unfortunately, that is also an extension of the anchoring effect, a concept formulated by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. It happens when people rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions, regardless of whether it is even legal. So, the boss is relying on the employees’ anxiety and lack of legal knowledge to make them choose an option that doesn’t benefit them at all.
The employee was knowledgeable about the law, which saved him from being taken advantage of
Thankfully, the narrator actually knew his rights as a worker pretty well, but that doesn’t mean he left that place without any trauma. Experts indicate that prolonged exposure to workplace bullying and abusive supervision can actually lead to chronic stress, anxiety disorders, and reactions that mirror even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In fact, over 40% of targets of workplace bullying have reported diagnoses of clinical depression and even stress-related physical illnesses.
Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough to work for an employer that must pay severance without a contract. It’s even more common in Western Europe and South America, while economic research has shown that several countries with major corporate economies, like the United States and Japan, are not required to offer severance upon termination.
All in all, though, the man acted brilliantly given the stress-inducing situation he found himself in. When faced with a conflict and potentially illegal situation, experts recommend having a paper trail to back everything up. Verbal terminations might lead to complications and miscommunication, so with written proof, he made sure nothing like that happened. Good for him.
Readers praised the man's knowledge, showing they were glad he got the full amount
