Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
594Kviews
People Are Sharing The Moment They Understood They Were Being Exploited (30 Comments)
There's only so much an employee can take. No matter how big the pot of gold their boss is promising, if the worker is exploited, eventually they'll realize that.
In an attempt to find out what pushes people over the edge, Redditor u/UsefulComputer4476 recently posted this question on the platform: "What was your 'I'm not paid enough for this s*** moment?" And I think they did because the replies came flying in!
As of this article, there are over a thousand of them. Continue scrolling and check out the most upvoted ones.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
So if you're familiar with build a bear, you know the happy faces the employees are supposed to have. You might also be familiar with the bear stuffing process. You pick a bear, bring it to me, pick a heart and you do a little dance (or whatever else I'd pick) I'd stuff the bear, you put the heart in and I stitch it up. There was a couple that came in one night in January 2008. She was extremely pregnant. They came in and pick one of the little blue bears. I asked how they want it stuffed, the normal. And then when they pick the heart oh, they also pick one of the fancy hearts that has a heartbeat. Then tell me that their son, who she is still pregnant with is going to be stillborn. And they are making a bear together to give to him to be buried with. Obviously, I immediately tone down to the happy-go-lucky bulls**t. The store was empty so it didn't really matter. And no, I didn't make them do the little dance and wish that you do for most people. I finished the bear myself, walk them through the clothing, check them out myself and then close the store. I got written up the next day for not showing the Build-A-Bear spirit. I was 16. I quit and got into a screaming match with that dumbass manager.
SentimentAndBadJokes 3 years ago
That's honestly so heartbreaking. What a terrible manager, and you did the right thing in that situation. I cannot imagine the feelings of the couple, so thank you for being real with them.
"I was just going on with my daily routine when I randomly thought about asking Reddit this question," u/UsefulComputer4476 told Bored Panda. "Most of the replies came from retail, but a lot are from other sectors too."
The Redditor doesn't think that there is a culture of exploiting workers but they do not believe that these are standalone examples, either. u/UsefulComputer4476 expects that the reasons giving rise to such stories are somewhere in between.
RELATED:
#2
When the boss said he was going to hire "Mary" back.
Mary, the woman who was fired for having her friends call me with death threats because I wouldn't switch days off with her.
Mary, the woman he told me he was never in a room alone with because she was 'the type to claim sexual harassment'.
He hired Mary back and gave her my job after I quit.
He was fired 6 months later over the sexual harassment claim filed by . . . . Mary.
#3
I worked at a Starbucks in a grocery store and a customer got mad because she wanted a drink cold but it was served hot (the girl taking her order was new and didn’t ask her if she wanted hot or cold, I was making the drinks so went with what was on the cup) so she threw it at me, while still freshly hot. Burned my face down to my stomach. I was 5 months pregnant. I quit a week later.
Interestingly, this fall might be a good time to look for another employer. According to a recent CNBC | Momentive Small Business Survey, that there are more than 10 million open jobs in the U.S., the highest level ever, and over one million more jobs than unemployed people.
Half of small business owners (50%) say it’s gotten harder to find qualified people to hire compared to a year ago and almost one-third (31%) say they have open roles they have not been able to fill for at least three months (up from 24% last quarter and 16% in Q1 2020).
#4
While working with a client as a consultant employed by a consulting agency. The client tried to hire me full time and offered me triple the salary. That was like the wtf moment which made me research the market value of my skills and turned out I was super underpaid. So I left and found a new job straight away.
#5
Scooping a stillborn baby out of a toilet.
I'm a cop and I make $20/hr.
Swamparella McJudgeface 3 years ago
Aue! ( A cry of despair). This makes my heart hurt for you
#6
State of Louisiana. 8 year employee, Good employee. Weeks of accumulated sick time. Professional position.
They send us to work at home and put time tracking software on our computer so they can see we are working; because that big pile of finished work at the end of the just got there by its self.
I got a message one day asking to explain what I was doing on my bathroom break and why it was longer than 5 minutes.
Because of this, companies are investing more resources into retaining the employees they do have. 41% of small business owners are saying they are currently experiencing a rising cost in wages.
"It turns out that revving the economy back up after months of shutdowns, layoffs, and work-from-home is really disorienting," Laura Wronski, research science manager at Momentive, said. "Unfortunately, there’s no on-or-off switch, and these labor and supply shocks that we’re seeing are totally expected on our path back to normal, even if they are disruptive in the short term."
#7
When a customer had a full-blown adult tantrum on the floor of the supermarket I was working at because we were out of red cabbage two hours before we closed on Christmas Eve. Mind you that almost everyone eats red cabbage on Christmas here in Germany. To top this off she also threw frozen bread rolls after me because I told her to have her tantrum outside.
#8
Realizing the police reports i'm translating are not to help the victim escape her abusive husband, they're to help the abusive husband gain a refugee visa to Canada.....
I quit translating as a freelancer soon after.
#9
I was told to look the other way on a $1.5 million mistake I found on the books that one of the managers had made. Told the higher ups and was pressured to quit as a result.
#10
My boss refused to evacuate for hurricane Ida and somehow managed not to lose power or sustain damage. Everyone around her did. I evacuated with a large group and my complex lost power and water for days. The day after the hurricane hit she demanded we all traverse flooded roads so I could come back and do some things she “just didn’t have time for.” She threw a tantrum over the phone when I told her I wasn’t going back to an apartment without power or running water. I’m looking for another job right now.
Valisbourne Spiritforge 3 years ago
Amazing how often, during a natural weather disaster, that the boss manages to make it in to work so every employee who didn't is at fault for not making it.
#11
I live in a country where there is no particular 'minimum wage'. So the job I work in doesn't pay us much and we generally get paid very late (mostly a 1 month delay). Our boss's daughter had a very fancy wedding and all that, his son bought a fancy car but we still were not paid our salaries. One fine evening, I finished my usual work and i was on my way out. My boss called me and asked me why i leave on time and why i dont spend extra time in the evenings. I just stared at him and said I have a personal life too and went home.
#12
Working for a nonprofit. At a fundraising dinner, a major donor touched my knee then later my butt and flirted heavily. I am a woman and was 25 at the time. When I brought it to my supervisor I was told that is just something you have to put up with when fundraising if you want to make the organization money. Stayed at that job a few months before I was fired for not being happy enough. Note that after that incident I refused to attend events where the creep would be there.. Can't say I was sad. Got a job that paid twice as much and came without sexual harassment. An employment lawyer probably would have loved if I called them, but I lacked the confidence to take that big of a stand. Now I would absolutely take action. I would actually probably yell in the moment to get your forking hands off me. Which would have been awkward for him because his wife was present.
#13
I was the 24/7 OnCall for failing jobs in our I.T. department. After 3 days of no sleep and stress I had a "cardiac event". Quit the next day.
#14
When my boss laughed and bragged to my face about how much he was saving by having me do professional design work (in addition to my other duties) instead of a designer he'd have to pay 5-6x more. That didn't last long.
#15
Being scheduled to work 30 days in a row without a day off
Jo Choto 3 years ago
Oh, I know how that feels. I was a single parent in a salaried property management job and we couldn't get a part-timer hired, so I ended up working over 90 days without a day off, 7 days a week. When I finally did find someone to work, they quit, because I had so many hours leave, they were working full time!
#16
So I’m working this register at a truck stop circa 2011. It’s by a door that gets very little traffic so I mostly just watch the gift shop area and try to deter people from stealing. It’s an overnight shift about 3 am. This man comes barreling in bleeding from his hand and yells “IVE BEEN STABBED!”
Immediately I call for security. My manager is nearby. Security calls 911 on their way and shows up a few moments later. This guy is bleeding profusely, all over my freshly mopped floor mind you.
I’m off to the side “Sir where is the stabber?!”
My manager is asking for towels, so I bring a clean towel. Again I ask “SIR, where is the stabber?!”
My manager and security are saying stuff like “Put pressure on it. Go wave down the ambulance when they arrive!”
So at this point I’m practically yelling “There is a stabber on the loose in that parking lot some where and I’m not going out there until I know where he is!”
Finally the guy goes “Oh he was at the truck stop across the street. We got into an argument it wasn’t random.”
Relived and now no longer fearing for my safety I went out to wave down the ambulance.
Unfortunately $8/hr is not enough to get stabbed over.
#17
Was working in a large bakery for my first job at 15. Tried to pull a six foot tall baking tray but there’s a lip to get the tray over, started to fall on me and caught it with my forearms, burning myself (not terribly, but still not great feeling). Told my boss and showed him my swelling, reddened forearms and asked to go home. He said I could, once I’d mopped out the bottom of all the 10+ freezers and then he left, leaving me alone. I left as soon as he did and then road my bike home to take care of my burns.
#18
When I was 16 and worked in a supermarket, I was asked to escort a mentally and physically disabled person around and help him with his shopping. No biggie, I did that quite a lot. This one was veeeery different though.
When we went by the clothing section he took a pair of panties and asked me to try them on for him. I was shocked to say the least, but firmly told him that I would not do that, and he had better behave like a gentleman, or I wouldn't help him anymore.
He then proceeded to take of his pants and started masturbating! I don't think I've noped out of anything as fast as I did in that situation.
#19
I practically saved a 100.000 euros deal at a company, and I got awarded a pay cut. What a time to be alive.
#20
I worked at a high-end car dealership in the service department where the customers could be pretty demanding. One lady came in complaining that her car was making a noise. I asked what kind of noise and where it was coming from, since the car wasn’t currently making any unusual noises. She snapped that I should be able to figure it out. I told her very politely that since the car was not making the noise at the time and no codes had come up on the computer when we plugged it in, that knowing what kind of noise and generally where it seemed to be coming from would help the technicians figure out what was going on. She screamed “JUST DO YOUR F-ING JOB AND FIGURE IT OUT!” and threw her keys at my face. I caught them, threw them on the ground, and walked to my manager’s office to tell him what happened and to request that he deal with her, because I was not going to. He told me that difficult customers come with the job. I’d been yelled at, talked down to, hit on, basically disrespected in so many ways at that job, but having someone chuck keys at my face and being told to accept it was the last straw.
Lunar Bicycle 3 years ago
I hope you remembered to throw her keys on the roof before you left.
#21
Leaving my previous position that hired three people and an intern to replace me.
#22
Two specific cases.
One was when I was working retail. I was sick as a dog, throwing up, completely lost my voice. Got a call from the manager that even though I had called out sick I needed to come in that day because the district manager was there. Was told in no uncertain terms that if I didn't show up I could expect to lose my job. So I got dressed, came in, and within the hour proceeded to get absolutely reamed out by the aforementioned DM for making a mistake on a receipt. I saw red, resigned on the spot and never looked back.
Second case was when I was working in construction a decade later. I was told to visit a vacant apartment in the Bronx to take measurements and provide an estimate for carpet removal. Nothing out of the ordinary, visited a ton of apartments before. It wasn't until the super let me in and immediately left that I realized something was off. I walked into the bedroom to find a blood-stained mattress and splatter all over the wall. Apparently this apartment had been the site of a murder-suicide a few days earlier. I did the job, drove back to the office, and proceeded to tell my boss that if they ever sent me into a job like that blind without informing me that I would be walking into the middle of a crime scene, they would have to find a new estimator. Thankfully they did not.
#23
Worked in recruitment, my phone would start around 6am and stop around 10pm, go off at weekends and even got calls on my personal phone when I was out of the country on holiday. I lasted 2 years and left, even now, when I hear the Apple ringtone, I still get an ill feeling in my belly.
Jaclyn Levy 3 years ago
I know this answer isn't always feasible, but don't answer the phone when you're supposed to be off! I used to tell employees this all the time when I worked at hr. They call you because they know you'll answer. You have to train people when you can be reachable. They'll adjust.
#24
I enjoyed my job, but it could have been better. There were certain aspects of it that were making it hard to work there. Then, in a span of 3 months, half of my coworkers quit (2 of then resigned within 2 weeks of each other). So I started cleaning up my resume and was ready to get back out there. I figured I'd ask for a raise to see what would happen. I mean I was picking up the slack from 3 different people and other departments were seeing people resign for similar reasons (people were being given tasks that weren't anywhere near their job descriptions).
Suddenly, I see my very own role posted on the company website. Word for word what I was currently doing, with the same exact title. I had already submitted my request for a raise the week before, so this seemed like they were giving me the boot. The next morning my boss was scrambling. Turns out they didn't mean to post that job yet and they were reformatting the team and giving me a promotion. I was honest with him that it's been an absolute mess lately and I wasn't enjoying the direction we were heading.
I got a 20% raise and have been given some room to make higher level decisions, so I guess now I'm paid enough for this s**t.
Amanda Trent 3 years ago
That one is actually nice to hear it turned out proper. Good for you!
#25
Telling a grown ass man that he shouldn’t be sh***ing in a customers parking lot.
#26
When the public school system told me to either risk my life or leave. Bye.
#27
Lying in intensive care, reading a text from my manager that said I should have really phoned in - not texted - to advise I was in intensive care and would not be in work that day. Also instructions to phone every day until I was back in the office. Nurse took my phone off me and literally said they weren't paying me to do that.
When I got back (two operations and two months later) work had just been piled on my desk with management telling me "well, we didn't know when you'd be back". Put my notice in around 3 weeks after that. While working my notice I was suddenly made "office contact" for a department in another country and one day found myself covering for our IT support team.
#28
I was on a royal navy warship and we'd pulled into Hull UK for a visit. Their dockyard regulations prevented the ship from discharging solids overboard so the total of all the crews toilet flushings were diverted to a holding tank so we could discharge it overboard when back at sea. After the crew had been in port for two days, which for most involved copious drinking and then finishing off with a large curry or spicy kebab, the additional load on the system was too much for the circulating pump inside tank. The pump was also used pump the contents overboard so needed to be fixed before we went back to sea. Unfortunately I was duty electrician the day the pump failed. The contents of the tank was about a foot and half deep! I suited up with waterproofs and copious amounts of duct tape to seal the seams and descended. The pump was bolted in place and to free it I had to work with my face about four inches from the liquid curry and beer smoothies as I bent over. I definitely want getting paid enough... But I was given an order and it was my job, so I just got on and did it.
#29
Being paid $13/hr to be a one-on-one Para to a 10 year old who swore, ran away, tried to stab me and other kids with pencils, scissors, etc. AND having to listen to the parents blame me for not getting their child to behave. I felt bad for the kid - seriously damaged, in a less than great home. He’s in an fortified school now.
#30
Coming in to afternoon shifts as a cook at KFC and finding that the morning cook didn't clean anything before leaving (and left everything particularly trashed) and prepped nothing. And this was a normal occurrence. I'd leave morning shifts stocked up and perfectly clean every morning I worked. I think the GM there quit not long after I left.
What do you think ?
Crowley The Snake 3 years ago
I'd like to add mine, not much of a horrible story, but something I'd like to share. I worked at a toy store over this summer. I have worked at a toy store before, In fact, someone from my new job opened the store I used to work at. This toy store was hiring, and since it was the summer I applied. Long story short, got the job. First days of this job was a bit of a learning curve, but after a week I felt confident. I hadn't seen the women who hired me for more then about 5 minutes a day. One day she pulls me aside and starts telling me what an awful job I was doing. I was very upset, but also confused, since she had never been around. When I asked how she had heard this, she said she's been watching me (False, she's rarely around). As I contiuned, I started noticing things, like how she would hire emyploees for days they said that they cannot do, and she would often make mistakes that we would have to deal with the burden of. The computers did not work, even after someone "fixed" them.
Crowley The Snake 3 years ago
Cont: When we told her this, she told us that it was fine (it's not, becuase when I quit, we had 37 backed up files). I had to bargin for my already paid for vaction. I spoke to her about my vacation a month in advance, and she was upset, but when she posts the schedule for the month the day before your scheduled its fine. She posted month schedules half way through the month, so knowing what days you were working was touch and go. The final straw was when she called the store when I was working on a saturday. My co-worker, who has been working there for 4 to 5 years, answered while I bagged up a toy. I couldn't hear my boss, but I could see my co-workers anger. She had called to tell us we would be working tomorrow, the sunday. This may sound like a normal request, but my co-worker, Mary, had planned a lovely afternoon with her daughter, since that was the day she went to college. Mary had also made it clear to our boss that she was only to work one of the weekends and thats all.
Load More Replies... Bobert Robertson 3 years ago
For some situations I still think regardless of the salary, it doesn't matter you don't want to deal with them. I make a good income, yet I still wish I didn't have to deal with the employee who decided to do LSD at work, or the employee who snuck out the side door presumably stealing parts, and end up chasing him through a gas station and a parking lot. Or have people cursing and hurling insults at me. Or claiming harassment simply because I expect them to adhere to our code of conduct, taking me to court (several times, each time same result - I was found to have been acting in line with my responsibility and the law). Or have my boss suggest I hang myself. Or go off on sick leave for 2 weeks to come back to being put on a performance review because of my lack of dedication. I know a lot of people will say "you should quit" but those are just the negative things. There are a lot of positives at work for me too, and I love what I do aside from all those things
Biba Little 3 years ago
Not at job, but usually in relationship. Who dates a guy who won't commit after more than 10 years of dating and then says he "can't really plan future"? Losers like me.
Viviane 3 years ago (edited)
From the term "dating", it sounds as if he doesn't live with you, so you're probably not financially dependent on him. You might also feel that you don't deserve better, that you can't find anyone else and that being single is worse than being jerked around. Just because you invested 10 years of your life does not mean that you must continue dating him. Don't invest any more time in something that makes you unhappy. You might grieve the loss, you may feel sadness at what you lost and relief that it's over and you might feel a bit lost as a single person -- this is normal. One advantage of being single is that you give yourself a chance to meet someone else.
Load More Replies...
Crowley The Snake 3 years ago
I'd like to add mine, not much of a horrible story, but something I'd like to share. I worked at a toy store over this summer. I have worked at a toy store before, In fact, someone from my new job opened the store I used to work at. This toy store was hiring, and since it was the summer I applied. Long story short, got the job. First days of this job was a bit of a learning curve, but after a week I felt confident. I hadn't seen the women who hired me for more then about 5 minutes a day. One day she pulls me aside and starts telling me what an awful job I was doing. I was very upset, but also confused, since she had never been around. When I asked how she had heard this, she said she's been watching me (False, she's rarely around). As I contiuned, I started noticing things, like how she would hire emyploees for days they said that they cannot do, and she would often make mistakes that we would have to deal with the burden of. The computers did not work, even after someone "fixed" them.
Crowley The Snake 3 years ago
Cont: When we told her this, she told us that it was fine (it's not, becuase when I quit, we had 37 backed up files). I had to bargin for my already paid for vaction. I spoke to her about my vacation a month in advance, and she was upset, but when she posts the schedule for the month the day before your scheduled its fine. She posted month schedules half way through the month, so knowing what days you were working was touch and go. The final straw was when she called the store when I was working on a saturday. My co-worker, who has been working there for 4 to 5 years, answered while I bagged up a toy. I couldn't hear my boss, but I could see my co-workers anger. She had called to tell us we would be working tomorrow, the sunday. This may sound like a normal request, but my co-worker, Mary, had planned a lovely afternoon with her daughter, since that was the day she went to college. Mary had also made it clear to our boss that she was only to work one of the weekends and thats all.
Load More Replies... Bobert Robertson 3 years ago
For some situations I still think regardless of the salary, it doesn't matter you don't want to deal with them. I make a good income, yet I still wish I didn't have to deal with the employee who decided to do LSD at work, or the employee who snuck out the side door presumably stealing parts, and end up chasing him through a gas station and a parking lot. Or have people cursing and hurling insults at me. Or claiming harassment simply because I expect them to adhere to our code of conduct, taking me to court (several times, each time same result - I was found to have been acting in line with my responsibility and the law). Or have my boss suggest I hang myself. Or go off on sick leave for 2 weeks to come back to being put on a performance review because of my lack of dedication. I know a lot of people will say "you should quit" but those are just the negative things. There are a lot of positives at work for me too, and I love what I do aside from all those things
Biba Little 3 years ago
Not at job, but usually in relationship. Who dates a guy who won't commit after more than 10 years of dating and then says he "can't really plan future"? Losers like me.
Viviane 3 years ago (edited)
From the term "dating", it sounds as if he doesn't live with you, so you're probably not financially dependent on him. You might also feel that you don't deserve better, that you can't find anyone else and that being single is worse than being jerked around. Just because you invested 10 years of your life does not mean that you must continue dating him. Don't invest any more time in something that makes you unhappy. You might grieve the loss, you may feel sadness at what you lost and relief that it's over and you might feel a bit lost as a single person -- this is normal. One advantage of being single is that you give yourself a chance to meet someone else.
Load More Replies...
Related on Bored Panda
