Lindsey Weedston
A post on Reddit is inspiring many who have terrible bosses and jobs by showing a text conversation between a worker and their boss, who got an earful after complaining to said worker that they were seen sitting on a stool for most of their shift, calling this “completely unacceptable behavior.”
What the boss didn’t know, but probably should have, was that their employee was sitting down because they had a broken foot.
Understandably, the boss got a little static in their worker’s reply. When they complained about that, they found themself with one less employee to micromanage.
“Quit my job last night, it was nice to be home to make the kids breakfast and take them to school today!” the Reddit post’s title reads. “Off to hunt for a new opportunity, wish me luck.”
“I was reviewing the cameras from our shift today and noticed that you were sitting on a stool for the majority of your shift,” the boss wrote. “This is completely unacceptable behavior and we will be discussing it tomorrow before shift.”
Interesting that they said it was “our shift” when clearing, this boss person was not there. The worker hit back by explaining that they had cleared their temporary sitting privileges with a lead.
“I have 2 broken bones in my left foot (doctor documented),” they said. The worker then pointed out that, as was also documented in the workplace, they packed up more units than anyone else on their 12-hour shift even while sitting and didn’t appreciate getting grief for such a high-level performance.
“So, just to be clear — my impressive performance was overshadowed by the fact that I wasn’t uncomfortable enough while doing it?”
Instead of recognizing their mistake and apologizing, the worker’s boss gave them yet more static for being “disrespectful.”
“This type of behavior isn’t going to get you anywhere here,” the boss wrote.
That was just fine, however, because the worker was going anywhere that wasn’t at that job, effective immediately.
“Hey, thanks for wasting my precious off time with some garbage you didn’t bother to investigate beforehand,” they wrote back.
“I’m not concerned with going ‘anywhere’ there. It’s a toxic environment with ignorant people at the helm. I won’t be in tomorrow or ever again.”
Seeing that they were losing perhaps their best employee, the boss tried to backpedal and salvage the situation, saying they could “sort this out.” This offer was rejected in no uncertain terms.”
Refusing to let employees sit down is a common rule in workplaces such as warehouses or retail establishments regardless of the fact that standing does not increase productivity or how busy a store is. Sitting is often labeled by bosses as “unprofessional” but can never seem to explain why, leading many workers to assume it’s an arbitrary way to exert control. Then they wonder why people are now quitting their jobs in record numbers.
Unsurprisingly, the post was a huge hit on the “Antiwork” Reddit forum.
