Transparency is incredibly important in any professional setting. Openness and honesty build trust. But without trust, you can’t expect to have a good working relationship between management and the staff. Simply put, if your boss misrepresents how much work you’ll be doing only to dump tons of overtime on your shoulders, it’s a toxic situation to be in.
Redditor u/ButtKylerJr went massively viral on the r/antiwork online community after he shared how he was lied to during his job interview. Frustrated and wanting to fight for a healthy work-life balance, he decided that the only reasonable option was to quit. Check out the full story below. Bored Panda reached out to the author via Reddit, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.
It’s hard to trust your superiors if you find out that they’ve lied to you about basic things like your work hours from the start
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko / pexels (not the actual photo)
An employee opened up how they immediately quit after facing a toxic situation at their new job
Image credits: puhimec / envanto (not the actual photo)
Image source: ButtKylerJr
Enforcing healthy boundaries at work is no easy feat
Most of us would probably agree that our loved ones matter to us more than our jobs. However, how many of us actually practice what we preach? Having a healthy work-life balance is a massive challenge.
It requires that not only do we communicate our personal boundaries when it comes to work, but we also enforce them when somebody (inevitably) oversteps them. That means saying ‘no’ to unpaid overtime. That means not answering work calls or emails after you’re officially done for the day. That means refusing to take on additional projects and tasks meant for somebody else.
But when push comes to shove, all of this is easier said than done. It’s hard to refuse a request from your manager. Especially if they’re friendly, you know your burned-out colleagues need help with everything, and you’re worried about your finances and the future of your career.
However, the reality is that if you show that you’re willing to take on lots of extra work (without any additional compensation or other rewards), then that’s all you’ll only ever get: extra work. You’ll be known as the person everyone can ‘delegate’ (aka dump) their extra work on.
It’s one thing to show some solidarity and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your coworkers during crunch time. It’s a whole different ball game when you’re being exploited.
It is vital that you know your rights and carefully read your employment contract
Before you start any job, make sure that you go through your contract in detail. If there are any parts that seem ambiguous to you, ask the company rep for an explanation. In short, make sure that you’re familiar with what the company expects from you and what you’ll be responsible for.
If your contract states that you work specific hours and will not be asked to do overtime when you’re not on call, then you have the rules on your side. So, if your superior tries to force you to sacrifice the time you’d rather spend with your family for the sake of some surprise overtime, it would be incredibly clear that they’re in the wrong.
You can bring the issue up with their boss or with the HR department. It’s super important to keep a paper trail. If you have any emails or documents that confirm that management promised you one thing and then went and did something else entirely, then they’ll serve in your favor.
Great managers will find ways to motivate their employees, instead of browbeating them into submission
Most of us probably want to work for a good boss who genuinely cares about us. Good managers take the time to get to know their employees. They look for ways to motivate their workers individually.
They understand you don’t get efficient workers and that good results (and, well, profit) don’t happen when you chronically overwork and disempower your staff. Quite the opposite. Well-rested employees who feel empowered, have their voices heard, have ample free time, and feel like their contributions actually matter will do a better job.
At the end of the day, we all decide how much our loved ones are a priority. If they’re at the top of our list, it falls to us to push back against unfairness in the workplace so that we have enough time to spend in the company of our family and friends. And if the company is unwilling to change its worker-unfriendly culture, then it might be best to look for better alternatives elsewhere. The job market is full of great opportunities, after all.
The author of the viral post shared a lot more context and interacted with other internet users in the comments
A few people had some similar stories of their own that they wanted to share
Many readers wanted to share their take on what happened. Here’s what some of them had to say
