'I know exactly what must be done': Karen takes dude's spot at gas station, dude blocks her from leaving

There's nothing like a ruthless Karen at a gas station getting exactly what she deserves! These days, there are only a few instances in which human decency can go a long way in general interactions. Most of the time, these instances involve behavior in long lines. When everyone is waiting for quite some time, people can get impatient, and when patience is tested, that's when the Karens reveal themselves in their truest form.

 

Here, we have a Karen who asked this Redditor if she could use the air pump first because she only had one tire to fill up. However, OP had been waiting for a long time and kindly requested if she would wait in the back of the line. She muttered something under her breath as she rolled her window back up. One would think the encounter ended right then and there, but Karen was not having it. As soon as the driver of the car in front of them was on his way, Karen swooped right in and cut off OP. Not only was this incredibly rude, but it was also incredibly unsafe. However, OP found a way to get back at her. He wound up using the adjacent air pump and filled up his car in such a way that blocked the lady from leaving any time soon. We hope that this ruined the rest of Karen's day.

 

For more stories like this, check out these top trending Karens.

'Don't use price labels': Manager's extreme cost cutting measures cost them big time

Extreme couponing is an interesting hobby that serves as a great past-time for house spouses who need a break from the tiring work of pitching the latest MLM fad to old acquaintances. It also makes for some pretty mediocre television that makes for a passable watch when you're drifting in a fever dream and too sick to change the channel. It does not, however, make for a good means of operating a business. And, yet, many managers and business owners out there employ it as a strategy, paying no heed to any advice and forewarning. 

This grocery worker shared their story of malicious compliance to the popular subreddit community of the same name. In their story, they tell how the small local supermarket where they worked was purchased by a national chain that incentivized managers to reduce operating costs in exchange for a kickback bonus. The predictable then occurs here—as we've learned through the course of many of these stories online, if you focus too much business incentive on a single metric, you end up with workers blindly chasing to increase that singular thing, to the detriment of all other areas of the business, which fall to the wayside. 

So, new bonus locked in the manager's sights… cost-cutting initiatives began, leading to huge costs to the business in the long run.

Read on. Next, see this Karen customer who demanded to be helped by a man; the female manager maliciously complied. 

'I put in my formal notice and that’s when the fun started': Employee bests boss who made them drive 200 miles a day for work and refused to sign off important paperwork

The only thing worse than a long commute is a long commute to a job you really dislike. 

Even if you bring a book, music, or a movie, commuting is still annoying to do every day. I used to commute 90 minutes each way twice a day, and it was soul-deadening. Even with entertainment, it's hard to sacrifice so much of your day every day without being paid. If you made me president, I would make every single company reimburse its' workers for their commuting time. If you have to take time out of your own day just to get to the job, you're basically almost working anyway, so these companies better pay up!

This person worked at a pharmacy, and they really wanted to be in a floater position, meaning they could float between stores. Instead, their boss wanted them to stay at one location. This place was dangerous and far away from where u/ClubWag lived. They had to drive several hundred miles per day, only to get to a job they despised. If they couldn't be a floater, they asked their boss if they could at least be paid like a staffer, and this toxic boss still said no. At least the OP got their ultimate revenge through some excellent malicious compliance. In the comments, people loved the story, and some even shared their own malicious compliance tales. 

Check out the whole story and comments below. Then, check out these maximum-sized chonky animals who are living large. 

Top 21 Mildly Infuriating Flops of the Week

Our patience is running thin, per usual, thanks to a variety of different vexing mishaps. Welcome to this week's edition of the top mildly infuriating flops of the week. The incidents we're about to showcase may not be catastrophic, but they certainly rankle and irritate. Life has its ways of throwing curveballs at us, and we're constantly dodging them. Whether it's an intrusive neighbor prying into our affairs, or someone like Karen putting her dirty, stinky feet on our armrest on a plane, there is always something that manages to disrupt our peace.

It's possible that our frustration stems from a sense of entitlement or sheer boredom, or maybe it's the lofty expectations we place on the universe. In fact, it might be precisely due to their triviality that these occurrences become so aggravating. Regardless of the underlying cause for our boiling brains, the reality remains unchanged. Scroll down and discover the collective sentiments surrounding these irksome incidents.

For more, here is a barista who quit after one Karen took it a little too far.

'A very obviously used candle': Top 20 Birthday Gift Flops

For some folks, gift-giving is very much not their love language. In fact, some people are so bad at coming up with thoughtful ideas for presents that they should just be barred from doing so at all. It's almost better for the relationship if those folks accept this reality, relieve themselves of the stress of coming up with a good idea that will inevitably be bad, and relieve the receiver of the gift who will have to lie about how great said idea was. In short, bad gift-givers should stop trying. It's almost like genetics: you either have the ability to give good gifts or you don't. 

 

Like many of the folks who shared their horrible birthday gift stories via this r/AskReddit thread, I have personal experience with this top as well. When I turned 12, my mother got me a dictionary. We mocked her for this even then. The next year, she really outdid herself when she got me a pencil cup holder. Not a pencil, mind you. Not even a pen. A pencil cup holder. This is when we accepted the reality that my mom is just not the best gift-giver and since then, our relationship has thrived. So I'm living proof that these kinds of honest moments with the bad gift-givers in your life can improve relationships and expectations. That is, unless the bad gift-givers react poorly to this news and are completely surprised by the conversation. In that case, this person in your life is not just a bad gift-giver, but they are also just plain old delusional.

 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of bad birthday gifts. For more, check out these Michael Scott-esque boss moments.

Update: 'I said, "Guess I’m not a team player"': Boss floods security guard employee with texts and emails while she's on vacation, employee brings in HR

It would take a lot for you to block your boss's phone number, but this woman had to do exactly that. Her boss just wouldn't leave her be as he tried his hardest to interrupt her vacation time. 

U/Pinkyrye shared her story to r/AmItheA**hole, and she provided several updates on her situation as well. Despite working at her security guard job for six years, her boss still gave her a hard time about taking five days of vacation time. Some places really are stingy with time off, paid or unpaid. It doesn't seem to matter to them how hard you work or how long you've worked there — you're just a number to them. And especially if you work in retail or food service, managers are known to try and get you to find someone to cover the shifts you're missing. 

These days, stores have apps where you can trade shifts, give them up, and take them from others. But in the recent past, you'd have to sit there with the phone numbers of every employee, and literally call every person one by one until you found enough people to take your shifts. At that point, you're basically a manager. 

Check out this story below, as well as the immensely satisfying updates. Then, this COO decided to show up to work in a full prom outfit after the CEO mocked her fashion choices. 

'Why wasn't I at my desk? I'll tell you why': Karen Boss asks where employee went after berating her, employee CC's all of HR in her response

Here's a great reminder to be careful what you say out loud at work. It shouldn't matter if you are the lowest-level employee at your company or the CEO, but regrettable words will undoubtedly be held against you, especially if you are already widely disliked by your department. 

 

That's exactly what happened to this Karen boss, who frequently berated her employees, one of whom shared this post on Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit. She would always complete what her Karen boss asked of her, albeit with a little sass that she attributes to being in her twenties at the time. When the employee was five months pregnant, Karen asked her to do something and OP said she was on it but added a slightly sassy "whatever." This prompted Karen to mutter something under her breath that OP and a fellow coworker heard.

 

We'll let you scroll below to see exactly what was uttered, but let's just say that OP was understandably upset. She cooled off at employee healthcare (they worked at a hospital). Once she returned to her desk, she saw a number of emails from Karen asking why she hadn't been at her desk. That's when OP decided to reveal that she heard exactly what Karen said about her… but not just to Karen. She also let all of HR and Karen's bosses know as well.

 

Keep scrolling below to learn what happened next. For more stories like this, check out this post about a coworker's parking fiasco. 

'I saw red': Road raging hero chases after a rogue work truck that nearly squashed a family on the freeway, bringing their recklessness to justice

Road rage is usually a bad thing. When you're behind the wheel and you start to see red, it's probably time to take a break from traffic and give your blood pressure a rest. Not in this case. In this situation, one man's road rage actually became a potential life saver after he witnessed a reckless driver nearly pancake an innocent family. 

While driving on the freeway, OP saw a company truck veering left and right, driving like a maniac. Before he knew it, the truck swerved into oncoming traffic and nearly crashed, head-on into an oncoming minivan. When the family car was forced to swerve into the shoulder to save their lives from a fiery explosion, OP couldn't contain himself. He saw red, road raged, and went into vigilante mode. 

Keep scrolling for the full story of how one man turned his rage into heroics, bringing a dangerous driver to justice with his relentless attitude. For more stories of people who couldn't stand for injustice, check out this tale of an employee that got fired for being sick then got begged to come back after 2 years of an empty position– not for less than a 40% raise though…

'[She] began playing a film without headphones': Flight attendant makes passenger apologize to woman playing a movie out loud on the plane

Typically, when you're in the right of something, you expect might expect an apology from the person who has wronged you. You probably wouldn't expect yourself to be the one apologizing… if that were the case, wouldn't that make you the one in the wrong?

There will be times in our lives when it seems like the entire world is against us, where we're absolutely certain we've done everything right and nothing wrong, and—yet, everyone else seems to think otherwise. This can lead us to wonder, are we wrong? Is our entire perspective skewed? Or are we being collectively gaslit by an entire community of people who have it wrong for some reason?

If you find yourself in this position, maybe take a step back, look at things from a different perspective, and appeal to someone (or some people) who are removed from the situation to gain theirs.

That's what this airline passenger did when he had a confrontation with another passenger on a plane after the other passenger began watching a movie without headphones through the speakers of her phone at 1 AM. After suffering an hour of this, the passenger tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention, asking her to please put on headphones and triggering an explosive reaction.

When the flight attendant came past, she attempted to resolve the issue, appealing to the passengers in the row in front to see whether or not the noise was bothering them. It wasn't, as they, of course, were wearing noise-canceling headphones. This led the flight attendant—self-elected judge and executioner—to demand that the first passenger apologize to the one refusing to use headphones.

For anyone born yesterday, playing media out loud in a public space or on public transport is a bad move. Just don't do it. There's no doubt that the passenger playing media out loud was in the wrong here. And, yet, the first passenger was forced to turn to the internet to appeal to readers and see whether or not they were in the wrong for their role in the exchange.

They shared their account of events with a popular workplace subreddit, where readers shared their thoughts.

Read on to see their account of events and the reader's responses. Next, see this passenger who confronted another loud-talking passenger on their flight which led to a confrontation.

'My boss walks in and sees the steak lying on the window sill': Cringy husband embarrasses wife, acts utterly bizarre at business dinner with her boss

First impressions mean nothing to this dude. In a post from r/TIFU, a woman shared what happened when she tried to take her husband to a dinner with her boss, resulting in one of the cringiest outcomes imaginable. 

"I had just gotten a brand new job that I was really excited about," writes the OP. She was trying to get on her boss's good side by getting to know her better. It's not always easy to get to know your boss in a business setting when they need to be serious and focused. Instead, sharing a meal is a fantastic way to have some casual conversation and get to know each other on a more personal basis. After all, if you're aiming for your boss to be your mentor or just looking to improve your standing in the workplace, being close with your manager can't hurt. 

That's why it's especially baffling that this OP decided to bring her husband along. By her own admission, he has a history of doing some really dumb things, and sometimes acts unpredictable around others. Neither of those qualities seem good when planning a business dinner, but since the OP invited him, it ended up in a mess-around-and-find-out scenario. 

Next up, check out these bosses who could have had a starring role in "The Office," thanks to their silly work habits. 

'You need to move, or get out': Karen gets kicked out of pizzeria after blocking server from waiting other tables

The service industry is riddled with careless, entitled, and rude customers who think you, as a server, should worship the ground they trample on. At the rate employees come and go in this industry, it's easy to decipher why nobody really likes to work as wait staff. In this case, OP was working at a pizzeria, waiting on an entire floor of tables alone, as there were no other servers on duty that shift. Running to and fro, most of the customers could recognize a damsel in distress when they saw one. But alas, not everybody is so bright or aware of their surroundings.

OP admitted they made a mistake and forgot to order Karen's pizza, but that didn't warrant the response and attitude they received. Karen reacted in an absurdly disproportionate way to news like that, and OP was having none of it. Scroll down to read what exactly happened. For more like this, here is a boss who promoted the wrong employee, leading to the company crumbling.

'I deliberately didn't suction her mouth properly; it made her gag': Dental hygienist gives an ageist Karen what she deserves after getting disrespected at the front desk; Karen ends up being banned for life

Just because you look young, doesn't mean you're unqualified. Although society is still torn on whether we want to look 'young and hot' or 'seasoned and successful', one Karen made it crystal clear to her dental hygienist that she thought that her youthful looks deemed her an unfit health provider. Although she was still in the early years of her career, OP was working one morning at the reception desk when Karen set foot in the office. After waiting in for the doctor for a sweltering 5 minutes, Karen was extremely rude with OP about how useless and unqualified she was as at her job– little did she know, a few moments later, OP would actually pull and uno-reverse on her in the dentist's chair. 

When Karen was brought in the doctor's office for her teeth cleaning, OP stepped in and was introduced as her dental hygienist. Slack-jawed and backtracking, Karen proceeded to endure the grossest dental cleaning at the hands of the woman she was just insulting as OP got the perfect revenge. How's that for "unqualified"? 

Scroll for the full details of this petty revenge as well as the spiraling fallout of a Karen unhinged and defeated in the dental office. Next, check out this story of a heroic road rager who saved a family from being crushed by a semi. 

'Do not iron while wearing shirt': 20 funny signs and labels for careless folks

There's a reason why everyone tells you to always read the label first. For one, as your mother probably told you growing up, you don't want to purchase, eat, wear, or try anything that might cause any damage whatsoever. However, in addition to that far more important reason, there's also the fact that if you don't read your signs and labels, you might be missing out on some quality content. I mean, there really is nothing quite like reading a sign and doing an immediate "Did I read that right?" double take. 

 

These sign memes, tweets, and fails, which were compiled by otisermac, are further proof that people can be careless, foolish, and very very funny. Some of these signs include warnings about opening a pizza box before eating your pizza (I mean, how else would one eat a slice?), a message to "beware of invisible cows" (I'm sorry… what?), and a classic, completely futile "don't eat the cookie dough" message that everyone will likely ignore. Let us enjoy our raw cookie dough. We know it's not good for us, but we do it anyway. There's no need to waste your time making a sign about it. But I digress…

 

Keep scrolling below for this collection of sign fails. When you're finished, take a look at this list of workplace memes and this compilation of top Tinder moments.

Update: 'I walked out mid shift': Front desk agent quits after encounter with Karen and no support from manager

Quitting impulsively may not be ideal, but sometimes less than ideal is more than necessary. This is true for any profession, but one can imagine that the front desk agents of the world have had to put up with more than most. This means that quitting on the spot is all the more tempting. 

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk subreddit and was updated recently to include OP's impulsive departure. It turns out that the straw that broke the camel's back was actually a combination of factors. First, it was the fact that OP's managers locked access to the back room, which meant that if guests got crazy and OP was completely alone, they had absolutely nowhere to go. It doesn't get less safe than that because if you've been on FAIL Blog before, you know that hotel guests can get crazy. And of course, it came as no surprise when one night, a Karen guest did lose it at OP and OP was not able to hide in the back room. So when OP was left desperately clutching their can of pepper spray under the front desk, something finally clicked: this was just not worth it. 

 

Keep scrolling below to hear the full play-by-play including the original post, the update, and the best reactions from the comments section. For more stories like this, check out this post about a neighbor's petty revenge on another Karen and their HOA.

'I demand that you fire him!' [...] 'I can't': Heroic 6'5" and 250Ibs man comes to the rescue of young pharmacist getting berated by Karen customer

Any sort of job that involves customer service is going to attract Karens. It's just inevitable. Why? Who knows? Maybe it's because entitled people think that "customer service" means that the employee needs to wait on them hand and foot and if they do anything wrong they can smite them? We don't know for sure… But we all know that these types of entitled customers have earned the named Karen. Going to pick up your prescription can be a quick and painless process, or, if there was a mixup with your insurance or everyone in town is also picking up their script at that time, it's going to be long and probably a little frustrating. What Karens don't understand is, that is not the fault of the pharmacist. 

One man, who happened to be 6'5" and 250Ibs, encountered one of these Karens while at the pharmacy. This guy posted on Reddit that he used to be a delivery guy for medication delivery service. He admits he doesn't have the temperament to deal with customer service, which is why he enjoyed just picking up the packages and dropping them off and not dealing with anyone. He went to one pharmacy in particular quite often to pick up scripts and he ended up befriending many of the pharmacists there because he would just be sitting there waiting and they'd chat. One day he gets there to pick up a prescription for a customer and he walks in mid-Karen tantrum. 

This Karen was literally yelling at the pharmacist who he said could be more than 20 and was starting to back away because the Karen was being so threatening. He felt like it was his time to shine and he approached the Karen and boy did he lay down the most epic lie of the century. The Karen of course got the manager and tried to get him fired, but the thing was, he didn't work for the pharmacy. The Karen stormed out and the pharmacist brought him a plate of homemade brownies the next day. He never got in trouble by his own work and he was friends with those pharmacist his entire career. Read the entire satisfying story below! 

'You don't have a choice in the matter': Assistant manager tries to force worker to work closing shift, they quit on the spot

It turns out they had a choice after all….

The bounds of any authority are limited, but that doesn't stop those wielding it from consistently overestimating where those limits are. And, when you're the assistant manager of a pizza place, the bounds of your authority are probably much less than you think… Your power in that position isn't unchecked—it's not like you're the United States Secretary of Defense or anything.

Still, as always, where there exists a single shred of power, there is someone out there trying to exploit it. It's the same reason you see power-tripping officials, even at the lowest level of competitive 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' trading card game tournaments. 

What is an Assistant Manager anyways? Assistant to the Manager? Sure—but don't ask them. In their mind, they're one step away from unchecked dominion over their subjects, free to govern at the whims of their mercy. (Just wait until they hear about the Regional Manager.)

You'd hate to be the manager in this position, and it's a shame they couldn't figure it out in time before getting married to the assistant manager. But in that way, the manager bears most of the responsibility here, too. (One wonders how she got that promotion and why he was so willing to turn a blind eye in the first place.)

Read on for the worker's recounting of the events as they unfolded, which led them to quit their job at this particular pizza place.

Next, check out this pizza delivery guy who got fired after his coworkers got back at him for manipulating orders to get the best tips.

'There was zero cooperation': Employees team up to make coworker lose important client

Office camaraderie is never stronger when you're pitted against an annoying coworker or boss. It really brings people together to know that you're both subject to the whims of a jerk who you can't do anything about. There are certainly better ways to build team camaraderie, but you work with what you have. 

This malicious compliance story comes from u/flavius_lacivious, who worked at a manufacturing plant in the shipping and receiving department. Unfortunately for them, they were surrounded by people who were incompetent and unwilling to change anything to make their workflow easier. In fact, the owner was especially terrible — he enjoyed making everyone's life a nightmare. That's a sign that you could never be happy at a company. If their owner is so insistent on causing misery, it's best to get out as soon as possible to find a workplace where people actually care about their employees' wellbeing. 

Check out this story, as well as commenters who loved the tale. Up next, if you're the sleepy employee who's got one eye on the clock at all times, these memes are for you. 

'Chill out': Boss gives overachieving employee a warning for working too hard

Does anyone else totally wish they had this guy as their boss? Picture this. You're being called into your manager's office. You're stressed because who knows what this could be about? A mistake? A denied promotion? Layoffs? Clearly, I am a pessimistic thinker given all these options, but I digress. You finally pull yourself together and make it to your boss's office. He tells you to have a seat. You stifle panic as you nervously ask what this is about. Finally, he tells you, and the news is not exactly what you expected to hear.

 

He's telling you to be less enthusiastic on the job, to stop replying to every single email, to take more time completing certain tasks, and to just chill the heck out. You almost guffaw because this is not what your last boss would ever say or the boss you had before that. But then you have an epiphany. He's totally serious right now. He genuinely wants you to avoid burnout, perhaps for your own mental well-being or perhaps so that the other coworkers on your team don't have to feel the need to match your energy. Regardless of what the reason is, you have been given a verbal warning to just do less. 

 

That's what happened to this Redditor, who clearly is new to the workplace and feels the need to go above and beyond for no extra pay. Thankfully, if they end up reading all the responses from folks in the comments section, they will learn the importance of pacing oneself. Keep scrolling below to see the original story and the best reactions. For more posts like this, here's one about a boss who unexpectedly changed his employee's hours.

Top 28 Dating App Flops of the Week (July 13, 2023)

Modern dating is rapidly becoming more and more overwhelming, and it seems like the 'single' rate is higher than ever. Is it any wonder, though? Getting ghosted is the norm, even though it's probably one of the most dehumanizing things someone can do. You'd think that the person who is doing the ghosting would do so after one or two dates, but no… you can be dating someone for a good couple of weeks/months, and still get ghosted. It makes you feel like… what's the point? These sentiments are echoed by singles all over.

Dating app conversations are awkward, and assuming you get a date, there is a good chance you'll meet someone who doesn't look at all like their profile pictures. Why bother uploading pictures of yourself from ten years ago? You realize the person is gonna find out you gained 40 kilos when they meet you, right? Not that there is anything wrong with being a little bit bigger, but people do have preferences, and you might as well be honest and save yourselves both the time.

These frustrations are shared by fellow Redditors; we've gathered the top dating app flops of the week for you to read below. For more hilariously awkward screenshots, click here.

30+ Technically Correct Memes of Hilarious Utter Nonsense

There's a certain joy in something completely non-serious. With all that's happening constantly in our lives and in the world at large, everything often feels as if it is so dreadfully serious—there's no escaping the weight of how immensely serious everything is. But, in a certain way, it becomes about perspective and the things that we choose to focus our minds on. Shifting our thoughts towards a lighter place can often lighten the load weighing us down and bring us relief that we thought to be impossible. Something as simple as doing something we enjoy, sipping a steaming cup of coffee, sharing laughter with a friend, a moment and a shared smile with a  complete stranger over some witnessed random absurdity; these things serve to us as a distraction from those darker places. 

This might all seem deeply profound as an introduction to a collection of borrowed memes—and it most definitely is—but the uncontrollable guffaw that these memes brought out of me as I was making this list sparked a moment of reflection.

Keep scrolling to peruse this collection of memes. When you're done here, 

'GM [threw] his keys in the deep fryer': 10+ work stories where coworkers completely lost it

The only thing more entertaining than watching someone quit is watching them quit in glorious fashion. Not that we intend to make light of someone completely losing it on the job, but in the midst of our mundane work days where the average excitement only comes from leaving the office slightly earlier than usual, those kinds of outbursts are welcomed with open arms. 

 

As someone who is generally non-confrontational with most in-person encounters, I have to marvel at the audacity of some of these coworkers, even when they are completely out of line. They tend to be entirely confident when they snap in a public workplace. I simply could never, even if I were justified in my behavior (and in most of these stories, the coworkers were not justified). In fact, if they weren't quitting while having these outbursts, they were all likely fired pretty much immediately afterward. Thankfully, because we compiled these stories from r/AskReddit, we have the satisfaction of hearing all the drama without having it affect our lives in any way whatsoever. Let's be honest with ourselves: that's the best kind of drama, isn't it?

 

Keep scrolling below for these coworker outbursts. When you're finished, take a look at these food deliveries gone wrong.

 

Thumbnail background photo credit: Redd F via Unsplash

'Congratalations on your weeding': 25+ Freshly baked cake mistakes

We get distracted by the outside, but it's what's on the inside that counts. That's especially true with cakes, which can look stunning on the outside (thanks to fondant or other technically-edible decorations) but taste bland and dry on the inside. In my book, no matter how unfortunate the cake turns out, if it tastes good, it's still a win. 

Everyone has had a few baking mishaps. There was that time when we were all stuck indoors for a while back in 2020, and a lot of us got into baking bread. I kept making loaves that were so flat they were useless. Instead of fluffy, warm loaves, I created floppy, smushed-looking loaves that were only a few inches tall and six inches wide, making them pretty useless for a sandwich. No matter how well you follow a recipe, some foods just don't feel like baking properly. If your oven is too hot that day or you wrongly measure your flour, that baked good might just decide to droop into an inedible dough. With cake decorating, it takes practice…and also, please don't frost hot cakes, everyone. They have to cool first, even though icing the cake is the most fun part. 

Next up, these bosses make their workplace a lot like "The Office" with their constant goofy shenanigans. 

'Not for less than $45/hour': Irreplaceable employee gets fired after falling sick; two years later, the company begs him to return; he refuses unless he gets a 40% raise

'Know your worth' is a phrase we usually hear when we're down in the dumps on a break up, but some of the unlucky few get this 3-word pep talk from strangers online when they get fired from a dead-end job. In this case, a loyal employee and construction manager for a large company, got fired after he got extremely ill. Because he had to call out sick for 2 months, the higher ups decided he was no longer 'employee' material and phoned in their pink slip. 

Outraged and disappointed, the family flopped for a few months before he was able to bounce back, but OP's wife kept her ear to the streets, listening for news from his old company, curious to see who they would get to replace her irreplaceable husband. She always saw job listings, but never saw them fulfilled. Sure enough, almost two years later, OP received a call from the company basically begging him to come back to his old post because they couldn't find anyone who would accept his $17/hour rate.

Keep scrolling for the full story on how one man got wrongfully terminated, but came back years later, hyped up from the Internet encouragement, demanding a 40% raise and a bit of respect. For more stories about minimum wage workers getting the raise they deserve, check out this story of a man who cheated the system to get his dream job.

'I have another job during the weekends': Boss changes employees schedule with two days notice, forcing them to choose between this or abandoning their second job

If you're working a full-time job that doesn't pay you enough to make ends meet, why on earth are you working that job? Better yet, how are they justifying paying you less than the basic living wage? Then when you eventually have to go and take up a second job to make up for the shortfall, how dare they go and make an issue about it, harping on about "loyalty" as if you owe them an ounce of it.

This was the matter at hand when a user on Reddit's r/antiwork subreddit community shared a highly personal account of their experience within their workplace. In their post, they illustrated the many challenges and obstacles they faced from their boss when their boss suddenly decided to change their schedule at the last minute, forcing them to choose between their two jobs. Their account sparked discussion in the comments, which provided insights into the broader issues and trends impacting workers today. The post was widely shared and generated debate among members of the community.

Read on for their account, which was originally shared on Reddit. Next, see this manufacturer that had to close an entire division after their only competent worker quit when they tried to make them come back early from sick leave.

25 Relatable Work Memes for Weary Workers Who Would Quit Tomorrow If They Had No More Bills to Pay

Whoever came up with the 40 hour work week should be dragged into the town square and bludgeoned by vegetables by the angry townsfolk. We simply can't take it anymore! As functioning members of feudal society, it's tough not to get completely burnt out on spending 70% of your life working, recovering from a long day, or thinking about your job. Frankly, most weary workers have a foot halfway out the door and would be thrilled to quiet quit in lieu of another day of suffering. Alas, all we have are our meager paychecks to warm the wood-burning stove and fill our bellies, so as long as the bills keep coming in the mail, we'll keep setting at 7AM alarm to get up in time for our 9-5 grind. 

So for those of you who spend 30 minutes every morning on the company toilet, scrolling memes to get some (paid) alone time to yourself, here's a relatable collection of work memes that won't cost you a dime.

'We weren't even talking loud': Passenger confronts loud-talking Karen on a flight, becomes target of her wrath

It has been said that "Hell is other people"—take a trip to any public place where your own enjoyment hinges on a stranger's ability to follow simple social etiquette, and you'll confirm this to be true… Go to the movies, and there will be someone talking through the entire thing, interjecting their own totally unnecessary commentary; sit in traffic and watch people drive up a side lane to cut the queue; go to a comedy show, and listen to drunken audience members shout and heckle from the back of the auditorium—spoiling the show for the rest of us. For some reason, we as a collective people are just completely unable to have nice things due to the entitled behavior of the few.

Another example is people who refuse to follow in-flight etiquette with other passengers sprawling their limbs into other's space, resting their feet on the seat in front, or, as in this instance, loudly talking through the entire flight, loud enough that someone multiple rows away can hear through earplugs. 

What do we do in these situations? Do we stay quiet and silently suffer the audacity of these people?..  That's what most of us would do—polite to a fault. But there are those among us who choose to take the situation head-on and confront the behavior. Worth noting that if you decide to go the latter route here, there is a chance that you may end up being the entitled jerk if you lash out and make a stand while not fully understanding the situation. After all—we're all the heroes of our own stories, and any entitled person making an audacious demand is likely relatively certain that they're on the right side of things.

This guy shared his frustration dealing with a Karen passenger loudly having a conversation with her companion for the entire duration of their flight. After attempting to drown out the droning conversation with earplugs, he finally turned around and asked if they could keep it down. The pair immediately launched into accusations, playing the victim and saying that the guy was the one who was being rude. 

The guy then took to this popular internet community to see whether or not he was in the wrong for the chain of events. 

Read on to see his account of events and their responses below. Next, see this passenger who was made to apologize to a Karen passenger who was playing music out of the speaker of her phone during a flight.

'The CEO was immediately fuming': COO shows up to work in a prom dress after CEO mocks her fashion choices

Petty doesn't even begin to describe this CEO. She seems like the kind of boss who sucks the air out of a room when she walks in; everyone walks on eggshells around her, and she refuses to give credit where it's due. That kind of boss is hard to work for — even if you're also in the c-suite. 

Some bosses really dislike giving any kind of positive feedback or encouragement. Instead, they can only point out the negative. In the story that u/aikdxz shared to r/MaliciousCompliance, they write that this "insane CEO" of a health nonprofit was a gossip who was constantly wielding her power over employees. The OP shared the call that started this three-part malicious compliance saga. It all started on a group call, where the CEO thought it was appropriate to go on a tirade about the way the COO, Louise, decided to dress for work. Instead of letting the boss's harsh words get to her, Louise thought of a clever and hilarious outfit to wear the next day.

Maybe some higher-ups think they will only be respected if they're feared, but in reality, that's almost never the case. Instead, it just results in employees who aren't loyal, and who can't wait to find a job they like more. 

Up next, check out another workplace malicious compliance story. 

'[They] gave him a gift card for 30+ years of loyalty': Fast food employee celebrates retirement; gets 'rewarded' by corporate with a pathetic gift card

Back in the day, when mythical pensions existed and companies took care of their employees, workers would typically stay at their job and work for their company for decades, oftentimes riding out their first entry-level position all the way to retirement. Nowadays, celebrating a 2 year anniversary with a company is a huge accomplishment and most employees just don't have the same kind of loyalty anymore. In this case, however, one part-time employee for a fast food restaurant had just celebrated over 30 years with the same company before deciding to retire, becoming one of the few diligently faithful workers left on this Earth. However, his devotion was rewarded with insult.

OP is the longtime neighbor and good friend of this hardworking employee and recently went to his retirement party to celebrate this accomplishment. Knowing that his neighbor rarely missed a shift and had loyally served his company for decades, he asked a relative if the company had done anything special to congratulate and thank the retiree, but he was shocked when he heard their reply.

Scroll for the full story on how OP was baffled at the pathetic 'gift' that the corporation bestowed on their loyal subject and the Internet backlash that ensued when he shared this unfair reality online. For more tales about employees that are under-appreciated and underpaid, check out this article about a man who was fired for catching a cold then begged to return to his post after two years of the company being unable to fill his position. 

‘My coworker already sees me as his girlfriend’: Woman deals with a colleague who’s moving too fast

Getting into a relationship requires a two-person conversation. If one person is already assuming the two of you are together before you've even had a say in the matter, the relationship simply isn't legit. One woman took to Reddit to explain her situation with a coworker who's already starting to act like they're a couple – even though they've never had a conversation to define their relationship. Although she admits that she's attracted to him, she's been told by other coworkers that she's too good-looking for him! 

After only knowing her for a couple of weeks, he started divulging tons of personal details about his life to her. He also started posting negative subtweets about her for the world to see. In the tweets, he referred to her supposed disloyalty. One of his tweets even said, "Playing with people's feelings is bad." Now, she's wondering what will happen if she chooses to pursue a relationship with this guy. Redditors have a lot to say about the whole mess. 

'They had to close the part [of the company] I was working in': Worker quits when boss tries to coerce them into coming back early from sick leave

Getting injured at work—while terribly unfortunate—is basically a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, which ensures your workplace isn't going to cross you or try any funny business any time soon… or at least it should be. Any employer in their right mind knows that if an employee gets injured in the workplace, they should stay well clear and follow the advice of medical professionals and let the L&I claim play out. Even after the employee returns, they know they'll likely be safe from anything action that could be taken as retaliation. Doing otherwise opens the employer up to a hefty lawsuit they would do better to avoid. 

For this reason, it's rare for any decent employer to demand an injured employee return to work—though not unheard of.

This worker shared their unfortunate story of being injured in the workplace, explaining the circumstances that led to the incident and telling how events played out afterward. Essentially the work group was not able to function properly in the worker's absence owing to the incompetence of their remaining coworkers on their under-resourced team. Rather than addressing the other obvious issues contributing to the situation, the boss decided to, instead, demand the worker's early return implying their constructive dismissal should they choose not. The employee, instead, made the decision to quit on the spot, forcing the company to cease manufacturing the part they were responsible for after they were unable to replace them.

Read on for the worker's account of events below. Next, see this worker who considered ghosting their employer after the employer "temporarily" related their job—with it seemingly becoming permanent.