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[theweaselking]

BadBoss: Stories of workplace horror.

I landed my first job out of college at a financial institution. What I did not realize is that I was about to receive an education of a different kind. Each employee on the floor was paid partially on commission, and under the pretense of accounting reasons, each employee was set up as a one man department. The insidious side of this transaction was that everyone on the floor got billed for department level expenses.

I got billed $200 for my chair. I paid $10 a month for the coffee I couldn't drink because it was only served in the main office. The guy who emptied my nonexistent trash can got $7. I ordered pencils at $5 a box. When they came, they had the logo of a long defunct hotel chain on them. When the building was renamed with our companies new sign, I helped pay for it…every month of the year. I even got billed for the paper used to print our end of the month billing sheets!

The final straw came shortly after my father died unexpectedly. The owner didn't believe in bereavement, and we were not allowed to use sick time without a doctor's note. I used what little vacation time we were given (5 days a year) to bury my father and put his affairs in order. The company was nice enough to send flowers. Of course, they included a generic, unsigned card. The next month, my commission check was suspiciously light. $200 light, to be exact. When the billing sheets arrived the next day, my suspicions were confirmed. They billed me for the flowers they sent.

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Comments

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

There comes a point in everyone's employment history when the question arises. That question being: Why can't I burn the building down?

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

I like this one:

"He paints by the number," was the excuse I was given when I wanted to okay a psychiatric hospital stay for a patient who was out of state.

My patient was a veteran suffering from trauma triggered by watching news coverage of the war in Iraq. He had been taken to emergency and when they called for authorization, my boss said they cost too much. I tried to get the hopsital to bring the price down. So, they discharged my patient after making him put $5000 on his credit card. I tried to get the money back for him and get my boss to okay paying the hospital. It went back and forth for too long.

The patient committed suicide. He shot himself in the head.

I couldn't quit crying when I heard and took the rest of the day off. I used my personal time to do it.

My boss complained to my supervisor . He said, "I don't know why she had to take the day off. People commit suicide everyday."

I no longer work there. I'm in therapy now.

http://www.workingamerica.org/badboss/index.cfm?appState=winners