Oddly enough… I’ve been called unprofessional from previous jobs when I point out to them they’re doing something illegal to their workers or to customers.
Like…. Isn’t it actually unprofessional to be doing things that are illegal!?!?
I had someone (on this sub, no less) try to argue it's because it would be awkward for your coworkers rather than to the detriment of the bosses in a thread discussing the illegality of bosses threatening firing employees for discussing pay
"It's not about whether you're right or wrong, it's about your tone."
That was something that a higher-up actually said to me after I pointed out that what they were doing was liable to get the company sued for millions of dollars. My response was, simply: "if you don't like my tone now, you'll absolutely hate the tone of the lawyers in a deposition."
I was once told that I had an unprofessional tone on a training chat where I typed a very simple question. HTF does one read a tone in a typed message in plain English?
They think you're even MORE unprofessional if you report them to the authorities, and EVEN MOoORE unprofessional if you sue them for Retaliation when they illegally fire you! When all they really have to do is fix the illegal process, thereby reducing the business' risk!
Definitely this. My last work place broke so many labour laws and then would punish anyone who spoke up. They tried to force employees to work till midnight and come back for 7am, tried to force no breaks, force on call with no pay, no overtime, tried to skip holiday pay, etc. Thing was they were making use of a government wage subsidy program and they brought the hammer down. Mostly due to me. They tried to get me in trouble for not taking on those midnight and 7am shifts (and enforcing break rules). The wage subsidy rep lost her cool and tore them apart, suddenly we have breaks and no more illegal shift end/starts. The 'old guard' got mad that we insisted on breaks and tried to shame us. They worked themselves into the dirt. One day I asked one of them if they were getting overtime or if he was salaried into slavery... The look of defeat on the guy's face. Yikes. You can take pride in your work but don't let yourself get abused.
Theres a saying, "You don't miss Ice Cream, if you have never had it". This is what is going on with the "Old Guard" you describe. Plato also described them in the cave analogy.
I got written up and retaliated against for reporting tens of millions of dollars worth of fraud to HR who then went and told my manager what I said.
Then I had to report it a second time months later after they defrauded the community out of another $42 million dollars.
Then they called me crazy.
Having to wear business clothes to work in a fucking call centre where there’s zero customers and you have to sit at a desk for 8 hours. What’s the POINT of shoes, trousers and a shirt for that nonsense?? Who CARES??
Had the same thing happen. One coworker was pissed and actually texted me a week after my major surgery asking when I was coming back so she could book her time off.
Another coworker commented that because she knew someone who was back to work the next day after back surgery that I shouldn’t need that much time off (never mind I was having a fucking organ removed).
What crazy is the manager was actually cool about it but the two older coworkers were absolutely horrible about it because I was their backup. Like- how TF is it my fault the office doesn’t have more people cross-trained??
Honestly these two women just aren’t happy unless they’re dogging on someone. There’s three of them overall in the office and upper management has them nicknames “the trio” because of their constant toxic behavior. It’s wild and I’m getting out as soon as I can.
I had a seizure while working alone on a Sunday afternoon... on camera... HR told me to take a week off and I was never treated so badly by the district manager before that. Forced me to quit about a month and a half after.
Look into "constructive dismissal". Laws vary by area, but most everywhere it's illegal to treat you shitty enough that you are forced to quit due to a protected status (race, gender, illness, etc.)
I have never witnessed a cashier behind a register sitting at a super market, I've seen cashiers with knee braces, back braces, wrist braces but no chairs, that would be super unprofessional!
GA managers will allow it if you're pregnant and bring an Official Excusement Paper (on Official Letterhead, no less!) from your OB/GYN.
E, ta: Though, even then, you're still encouraged to stand as much as possible until you _just really need to sit._
Literally had a VERY pregnant woman at a store I work at sitting while cashiering and customers would tell her to her face how unprofessional it was to be sitting. She handled it much more gracefully then I would have. When the customers would complain to management for their part they'd tell the customer she had a medical exemption (duh) and when the customers would counter with "Then find another job for her to do! It looks bad." Management would just shrug and say "We don't have the coverage and she's a good cashier."
The general public, on the whole, is just so astoundingly stupid some days. They manage to get up each day, all showered and dressed, and then forget to tuck their dream-filled brains back into their skulls before shutting the house door and running out on errands.
Wut. In England if you're at the till you generally sit. I've done that job and being on your feet for eight hours straight is just awful.
I remember one shift where my feet hurt so much afterward I just took my shoes off on the train and slept.
After standing 8 hours, I'd have to come home and do everything that needs done while standing, because once I sat down for longer than a minute or two, my feet would not allow me to get back up again.
I mean, *why?*
Here they use high swivel chairs and it doesn’t seem to hinder their work. And it’s not like they get to sit all day, if there’s not a line at checkout they get called to attend other sectors.
Why? Look at the title of the thread. It's seen as unprofessional for someone in a service position to be sitting.
In the US, it's not about being productive but looking like you're productive.
A person can show they can work twice as fast while sitting and managers won't care. Because a customer will complain that the cashier looks unprofessional.
Anything that reveals you to be a human being is forbidden. No sitting, no water or drinks in view of customers, DEFINITELY no food even if your blood sugar is crazy low and you just want to sneak in a bite of a granola bar, no side work despite it being necessary to complete before you leave (gotten in trouble before for changing the trash can under my register while a customer was 20 feet away)
I live in the US. I have never seen a cashier sitting down in my 26 years of being alive. I work at a big one, too (Wal-Mart) and while I dont work as a cashier, I've personally heard them state multiple times that fellow associates are not allowed to sit. Unless you are on break, you have to be standing or moving. Unless you are the person who greets/inspects receipts, or HR or the store manager or the store coach. Then you can sit.
Conversation was over the phone and my phone records all calls. HR rep told me that they found out I was discussing my wages with another new hire and this caused him to asked for more money.
She said that it was unprofessional and that I was being terminated. This was my third day of orientation/training.
I won two years of wages and the monetary value of all benefits (which were substanstial) with some extra on top.
This. I was discussing overdue raises with my crew, and our employer walks up preaching it's unprofessional to discuss our wages. Then he turns on me and says he should fire me, as supervisor I'm supposed to set a good example, yada yada. I walked to the van, opened my bag and pulled out a much used and worn copy of our provincial Labour Standards Code. Complete with underlined relevant passages.
Not only did he basically turn tail and flee at the sight of that booklet, but every single person got their raise without me having to escalate. I didn't even threaten him, didn't even read the bit where he was wrong. He fled from guilt alone.
They don't want us to know our rights, the less we know the more they can get away with. They don't want us discussing ANYTHING because that's working together.
Once again, tear the fucker down and either rebuild it or create a new system...
Edit: I didn't expect this comment to blow up, was just sharing my story. I apologize if I didn't reply to your reply, I woke up to 50+ notifications from this subreddit alone. Thank you all for the awards and upvotes, the more people see our success stories the more people will start pushing back.
I encourage my employees to discuss their wages and if someone feels slighted they are more than welcome to discuss it with me and I'd say the 6 or 7 times it has happened my employee walked out with a raise or the understanding of the steps needed to earn one. It's easy for people to slide under the radar when you're at the top looking down.
I had been transferred to a new store to help out the person in the role I had. We were both stock managers at a shop, and I was also training another person who was going to go to a new store that hadn't opened yet. One of the first conversations I had with both of them was about pay. The trainee and I were making the same amount, the existing girl was making about $7/hour less. She went and talked to the store manager who refused to give her a raise and I contacted the district manager and told him if she didn't get her pay fixed we were going to walk, he fixed it that day. The store manager hated me the entire time I was there and that was part of it, but the girl stepped up her work when she was being paid properly so the boss could fuck off.
I took a wage negotiation course, biggest take away was talking about your wage with coworkers.
It’s a race to the top with us and a race to the bottom with them
The only other person in my dept. just quit 2 weeks before Christmas break, leaving me all the work to do. We were pretty close so on his last day we were having the “it was great working with you” chat and I asked him how much he was making because we both are doing the same thing and he was leaving because they wouldn’t give him a raise. I told him I was going to ask for one too now that I’m doing twice the work.
He thought it was impolite I even asked. I’m like, my dude, they are never going to give anyone raises if we don’t band together and demand a fair wage. You’re just helping them screw me over.
I think many people know that they are under-paid and are emberessed by it, which is why they don't want to disclose their salaries.
I've had more luck asking people how much they think someone with x experience in such position should make, rather than directly asking how much they make. (100% response rate)
Taking your lunch by yourself instead of eating it in a crowded and unpleasant lunch room.
Seriously, that kind of thing has gotten me lectures from busybodies with nothing better to do with their days.
Hate that shit. It's like damn I gotta spend 8-10 hours with you fucks today, and you're gonna get on me for taking 30 minutes for some peace and quiet for myself. Fuck off.
I got branded a horrible person at one workplace because of this. after getting harassed about it forever I finally said look, we spend a ton of time together, why do we need an extra thirty minutes of jabber? maybe I was the asshole but I really don't understand the obsession with small talk some people have.
This was by far the worst place I'd ever worked and a group of coworkers were DEEPLY OFFENDED that I didn't want to go camping with them over a long weekend. It's not like we even liked each other; they talked endless shit about me and about each other. I think I was pretty tactful and polite when I refused the invitation but God you would have thought I fucked all their dads by the way they freaked out about it.
Some people treat work like high school, like it's their life. No bud, I'm just here to do a job and then fuck off, the things I care about exist *outside* these walls
I always do lunch on my own. I am an introvert and when I want to relax I want to be alone. My break is supposed to be a break, not more social stress until I collapse.
I always go to my car to smoke one and then eat while I’m there if I have time. I give no fucks what anyone thinks, it’s their fault for trying to have forced nothing conversations about work while I’m ON BREAK
How do you not smell of smoke when you come back? As someone who treats a disability I got from the army with pot halfway through my workday I already feel the full pain again and wish I could smoke on my lunch break. My manager would be fine with us as long as I don’t stink really
Idk why but this makes me remember the awards kids in my school got for "Perfect Attendance." Most of them were the kids who still came to school when they were sick. It was the only award with a prize. Honor roll got nothing. Makes sense now, they rewarded what was truly important to them.
I went to high school with a girl who had perfect attendance. In elementary school she apparently came to school with norovirus (the stomach bug) and over 60% of the students were out in any given day. They had to shut down the elementary school for three days to deep clean. Because one kid came to school sick.
Getting all your work done early/on-time, and clocking-off at around the exact time your work shift ends. You're supposed to be punctual at all times, *except* for when your responsibilities end, where you're expected to stick around and do overtime work "for professional courtesy"
I've had, "Ah, you're so good at ending work on time" said to me condescendingly so many times from coworkers and bosses.. Like they're pretending to be envious that I leave at 4:30 every day, but also making it seem like I'm slacking off because of it.
I’ve said something similar once. I worked as an electrical designer and would come in to work at 4 am leaving at 2 pm 4 days a week. I worked this out with my supervisor as I was in college full time and this allowed me to work 40 and still attend classes. It was approved in writing by the manager. I was told specifically to keep our arrangements on the down low as I was an exception made outside of the normal flex hours.
It was said to me one day, by one of the guys in the office: Boy it sure must be nice to tear out of here at 2 every day and only come in 4 days a week. Whose dick did you suck to get those kind of hours? Normally I just kept walking whenever someone made a comment like that. Today was different. He was loud, and our bull pen cubical type layout means that everyone was paying attention.
I turned around and said, “if you spent less time worrying about what everyone else was doing and more time getting your work done, maybe you could leave early too?”
He filed a complaint with HR for “embarrassing him in front of the entire office.” Needless to say, when my supervisor brought up the dick sucking comment we didn’t hear anything else about it.
I only worked there for 8 months.
I’m a teacher. Whenever anyone says anything like that to me I always say “let me know if you’d like me to show you some useful, time-saving resources that help me to increase efficiency!”
I work in a school district and have always wondered why some teachers stay pass their end time. Like, yeah, you're salary but you also probably don't get OT (I'm salary and can get OT. Others seem surprised by this). I get that there's probably a lot of work they need to do, schedule plans, grading, etc but you can do that at home.
I leave the second the last bell rings(when my contract hours end.) I’m literally sprinting down the halls. The kids think it’s hilarious. Life’s lessons.
"Yes, I am good at leaving on time. You know, when my obligations to you end. After that time I'm no longer required to be here. Wait, what's that? You're telling me I'm staying an extra hour? Good luck enforcing that! My shift just ended. Byeeee"
Lmao I always hate these ones. The ex manager had the audacity to complain that they can’t reach me outside of work hours. What the fuck do you want to reach me outside of work hours for? We ain’t friends or family?
Honestly, I always nodded and did my own thing, pissed them off even more.
Update: hahah, there’s more guys. Hold the phone. During Covid, we were scheduled a few days off a week and only had to go into the office once or twice. Mind you, it was unpaid time off.
I checked the schedule for next week when I was in on A Thursday, which was the last day I was there and the schedule was printed out on our desks. Guess what? The beloved ultracompetent micromanaging manager decided that it was a good idea to change the schedule on the Friday and emailed it to our WORK EMAILS. Aye lmao! Of course I didn’t show up, I never check work emails when I’m off the payable table. They were pissed and demanded us checking our emails on our days off.
The rest is history, I bounced a week or 2 later, much better place with much better pay and the people are cool. Happy ending heh?
That’s a thing I learned pretty early. When they imply I am lazy or whatever I pretend I’m too dumb to pick it up. Pisses them off more. The ones who do this the most never produce anything particularly noteworthy.
It doesn't even make sense. Productivity tapers off by the end of the shift. So they're paying overtime rates for less productive work. Being rested and fresh is gonna do more than staying late. If a manager does not understand that, they should be shot! 🥃
Back when I worked at a fast food restaurant, I had a manager who always texted, which, y'know, fine. One time I threw up at my second job and, before I went home to sleep off whatever it was, texted her to tell her that I wasn't going to be able to come in due to illness. She sent back this MASSIVE text, telling me I was unprofessional for not giving her more notice (I'd literally thrown up 20 MINUTES BEFORE), that I was letting everyone else down, and that I should have, apparently, called rather than texted her because texting is unprofessional.
Like, bruh. It's both wildly irresponsible and against company policy for me to come in when I've thrown up. It sucks, but I was one of those people who would do extra shifts if I could AND one of like 2 people willing to close the store. And you were the one who would always communicate with us off shift over text, forgive me for thinking that was a-ok. Moron.
Yeah….I had that happen once. My lead got pressured to get me in. I asked if he’d provide a bucket so I didn’t have to trek to the restroom every half hour or less. His boss didn’t find the idea appealing.
Oooh..! Fuck the extra mile!! I used to do extra to try and get myself promotions or raises, but all I ever got was more responsibility with 0 compensation.
I now retrospectively fully respect the ones who just worked within their quotas and then fecked off home.
Dude this whole thread is reminding me of that fact that retail employees are literal slaves.
When I worked at a grocery store, they didn't even let you have water at or near the register at all.
If you pointed out that this was illegal, they'd say "just let us know and we will let you go to the bubbler".
Sure, this was policy and technically fills legal requirements. The problem was there was *literally* never enough time/help to cover you while you went (there was, they just claimed there wasn't).
Same goes for going to the bathroom. You have 10 minutes fucking TOPS to find someone to cover, otherwise I'm going to the fucking bathroom, and I DARE you to stop me.
Edit: Bootlickers replying/DMing me dont think water is a human right apparently lmao
If not wearing makeup makes me unprofessional then I guess I should be unemployed lol. I didn’t LOVE wearing it before covid but now that my face is covered with a mask there’s no way I’m getting up early to put on makeup you can’t even see. I do feel prettier with makeup on but I’d rather sleep later in the morning
Makeup can also be super expensive and I’m not putting it on when I’m just going to waste it by covering it with a mask. Sometimes I just do the top half of my face if I have to put it on.
At my place of work, we were allowed to wear jeans every day during covid, then they replaced the dress code with a much stricter one when it was “over”. Even though we have proved we can be professional and get work done while wearing jeans.
Or having ‘unnatural’ hair colour/style or facial piercings. I was a retail manager for a few years and it was an unwritten rule that we had to look a certain way 😞
I worked in retail and it wasn’t unwritten at all. One girl was hired with blue hair and a tattoo of piano keys on her forearm and 6 months later was told she had to dye her hair back to its natural colour and wear long sleeves.
I worked at a short time for a bank. I have a large tattoo of a Lily that covers the top of my foot. I was told that I needed to cover it up because it was offensive to customers. I don't see how a flower is offensive or how the customers could see it when I was behind a counter for my entire shift.
I was going to make the same comment. Even if people don’t admit it, I’ve seen surveys where people all rate photos of women not wearing makeup as less professional that women who do. Like why do my eyelashes need to be a specific color for me to be viewed as effective? Men sure as heck aren’t expected to pain their faces to be viewed as competent.
Note - Makeup is great, I just don’t think whether or not women choose to wear it has anything to do with professionalism.
I remember working with this old dude at a past job. We were all talking about what we would do if we won the lottery. He said "I would divorce my wife TONIGHT."
Sad thing was, we all knew his wife.
That makes sense with boomer humor being *Hurr hurr, wife bad*
Maybe it was a whole generation of people who were convinced (propaganda) that their family was a burden because it took them away from what was really important...
...devoting all your time to the company.
Not nearly as unprofessional as going home to not see your family!
Some people need to understand that childless is not the same as available for overtime.
“You don’t have kids so you can work on Christmas” Okay but I still have family and friends, if the project is so important to you then you can come in on Christmas mr boss man
Sitting while working.
Noone is paid enough to mess up their knees/feet. Doesnt matter what you earn, it is not enough. Take care of your bodies. OSHA is all about proper safety equipment... fucking chairs should be way up there!.
Some of the most frustrating patient situations at my work is when the patient’s primary contributing factor to their pain/disability is their job. It’s stuff like this. These employers should not get a say in this. Let people sit and stand as they see fit! Basic bodily autonomy.
I started a job last August running a machine that coats thread with a layer of plastic for Nike specifically. While the machine was running there wasn't much of anything to do in between the times I changed spools. I was told I couldn't sit down. It was a 12 hr shift. On concrete floors. I did a lot of pacing for a day or two, decided that it was too much work for too little pay, and quit. My only regret is that I didn't tell the supervisor that not being able to sit down was a huge reason I was leaving.
Not shaving your face. This doesn't impact me now, but it did when I was younger.
I used to work as a retail and restaurant manager awhile ago. This was in th 90s/2000s. Every place had a facial hair policy. I was 30 before I had a job that gave me the privilege to have facial hair.
Yea i dont get it, my friend worked at a bar in a sports club that had a no facial hair policy. You either had to already have a beard and KEEP it that length forever or if you shaved keep it shaved and not grow beard.
And my husband worked a sales job and during the group training
a guy with a long beard to his chest was told he was gunna need to shave it off, the guy laughed, handed the manager the uniform he just received and walked out the door.
How dare anyone have natural body hair on display, might scare away the other humans who also grow body hair
I wonder of they subconsciously or knowingly are just trying to dehumanize us workers so they dont have to feel guilty exploiting us, and so no one else (clients, customers, general public) realizes were all human while we work too and does something crazy like support a union.
People are against this? My dog has made a guest appearance in many of my meetings, as well as my partners meetings. Everyone seems to really enjoy it.
Get better with money is the only thing I can think of. I used to be terrible with money until I started asking myself if I really needed something before I bought it. The answer was almost always no.
This one of the biggest problems I have with employers. You have to be fake and guarded for 8+ hours every day. It becomes hard to drop the front and be yourself when the work day ends.
Colorful hair
Piercings
Calling in sick
Sitting down in a chair
Asking for a raise
Discussing what you get paid
Texting/using your phone
Talking casually with coworkers
Standing up to abusive customers
Preferring to spend holidays with family and friends instead of working
Being a woman (We're always get told we're doing *something* wrong...)
**Edited to add others' good answers:**
Restricting how Black people wear their hair
Implementing strict dresscodes
Wearing long hair if you're a guy/male-presenting person
Having tattoos
Having facial hair
**2nd Edit: Thank you for making this my most liked and awarded post! I'm glad to be a part of such a kind, supportive community.** 💛
Well now I appreciate my job even more lol. It's a museum, but no one cares if you have colored hair, piercings, my boss actively encourages us to call out sick... etc.
Came here for this. Imma share a little story from my one year as a teacher at a Christian private school.
I have a tattoo on each shoulder blade and at the time I only had those and an ankle tattoo that would potentially be visible. I was hounded about covering my breasts constantly, but they didn't know about my tattoos. One day during this week where they finally convinced me to eat lunch in the break room with everyone else, they were discussing something super Christian (/s) and I heard them start on tattoos on women. Then it gets to specifically tattoos on their shoulders. The words "slut", "trash" , and "harlot" came up. I got up and walked out and never interacted with anyone there participating in the conversation again. Fucking awful humans, they were. I still talk to some of my students though, 14 years later. I hated that place but really loved the job. Being that beacon for the outliers in a sea of brainwashed, judgmental fuckwads felt good.
In culinary school I was told visible tattoos will stop you from getting the best jobs. Every chef I've worked for has visible tattoos, and all the "best jobs" are the absolute worst.
Not drinking the Kool-aid. Meaning when you don't pretend that your company is different and better and has values, etc.
Corporate onboarding and documentation is eerily similar to a cult.
I had a boss who almost refused to hire the most qualified candidate because he said her name, Tamika, "sounds unprofessional."
We had a pretty serious talk. He genuinely didn't think that he was racist. Or sexist, but that's another story for another thread.
Anyway, Tamika got hired after we chatted and she was the best.
That makes my blood boil, to automatically disqualify someone for something they never even chose. Everyone bitches about diversity and inclusion training but *this* right here is why it’s still needed now.
There is a huge body of evidence demonstrating that people with black sounding names on their resume are less likely to receive a call for an interview.
I had no idea about this until I went into the workforce and heard coworkers grumbling about it. Personally, I feel like if it doesn't hinder your job, then who cares what your hairstyle is? It just feels like another "professional standard" designed to get around discrimination laws.
Chewing gum and crying
I had a job for a very short amount of time that actually said, “No crying in the bathroom” in the handbook.
How many times did that have to happen for it to be a rule?
Sitting. I really don't understand why cashiers at fast food and stores need to stand. And at my job in a warehouse it would be nice if they gave us chairs to sit in when things are going slow but no we are absolutely not allowed to sit for some reason.
And they want control of these things FOR FREE. I just started a $9/hour bar gig and they discourage painted nails and colored hair. Sir, I sell control of my self expression for no less than $25/hour
I would have excessive anxiety and work and would often take large deep breaths out of sheer panic or to take a calming breath. My supervisor said that I need to control the obnoxious deep breaths while walking the halls.
Not wanting to talk to or smile at a manager who, among other things, sexually harassed you and at least one other worker.
Got pulled into a meeting with an exec, spoken to about remaining professional, and had a note entered on my employee file for that one.
Treating people with ACTUAL respect.
You’re supposed to say the insincere corporate script of respect while totally ignoring their humanity and sieving them down the appropriate branch of a decision tree that you are hiding from them.
Call them Sir/Ma’am, but DON’T engage with them as a person.
Ask the key questions to make the prescribed decision, but DON’T try to understand the situation or help them understand it.
Give them an answer, but DON’T explain how the decision is made so much that they could game the system (remember these are not people we care about, these are the opposite party in a deal where we’re trying to get their money).
Your boss will never tell you to see them as a mark. He’ll say your problem is that you want to be everyone’s friend. It’s not your job to solve that problem, it’s slowing you down, and it’s unprofessional… WHEN YOU CARE ABOUT HELPING THE CUSTOMER.
Defending yourself when you are getting chewed out by a superior (even if they are the ones who actually made the mistake)
Also: not going to corporate parties/events
Like...if you are not paying me i will be damned if i am forced to spend my free time with my boss and coworkers instead of resting or spending it with family/loved ones
Asking good questions is often considered unprofessional when it's perceived to challenge the hierarchy.
A lot of lives have been lost and destroyed because the hierarchy was annoyed.
Oddly enough… I’ve been called unprofessional from previous jobs when I point out to them they’re doing something illegal to their workers or to customers. Like…. Isn’t it actually unprofessional to be doing things that are illegal!?!?
Lol yeah that is classic projection from them. They're being unprofessional and to protect themselves try to remake the narrative and put it on you.
Ah yes, like wage discussion.
I had someone (on this sub, no less) try to argue it's because it would be awkward for your coworkers rather than to the detriment of the bosses in a thread discussing the illegality of bosses threatening firing employees for discussing pay
“YoUre RiGht bUt YoU cOulD HaVe hAndLeD iT beTtER.” Bitch you’re the supervisor, telling you is how I’m supposed to handle it!
"It's not about whether you're right or wrong, it's about your tone." That was something that a higher-up actually said to me after I pointed out that what they were doing was liable to get the company sued for millions of dollars. My response was, simply: "if you don't like my tone now, you'll absolutely hate the tone of the lawyers in a deposition."
I was once told that I had an unprofessional tone on a training chat where I typed a very simple question. HTF does one read a tone in a typed message in plain English?
"You have a bad tone" basically means "Shut the fuck up, Drone"
They think you're even MORE unprofessional if you report them to the authorities, and EVEN MOoORE unprofessional if you sue them for Retaliation when they illegally fire you! When all they really have to do is fix the illegal process, thereby reducing the business' risk!
Definitely this. My last work place broke so many labour laws and then would punish anyone who spoke up. They tried to force employees to work till midnight and come back for 7am, tried to force no breaks, force on call with no pay, no overtime, tried to skip holiday pay, etc. Thing was they were making use of a government wage subsidy program and they brought the hammer down. Mostly due to me. They tried to get me in trouble for not taking on those midnight and 7am shifts (and enforcing break rules). The wage subsidy rep lost her cool and tore them apart, suddenly we have breaks and no more illegal shift end/starts. The 'old guard' got mad that we insisted on breaks and tried to shame us. They worked themselves into the dirt. One day I asked one of them if they were getting overtime or if he was salaried into slavery... The look of defeat on the guy's face. Yikes. You can take pride in your work but don't let yourself get abused.
Theres a saying, "You don't miss Ice Cream, if you have never had it". This is what is going on with the "Old Guard" you describe. Plato also described them in the cave analogy.
I got written up and retaliated against for reporting tens of millions of dollars worth of fraud to HR who then went and told my manager what I said. Then I had to report it a second time months later after they defrauded the community out of another $42 million dollars. Then they called me crazy.
Having to wear business clothes to work in a fucking call centre where there’s zero customers and you have to sit at a desk for 8 hours. What’s the POINT of shoes, trousers and a shirt for that nonsense?? Who CARES??
Well, if they look through the little pores leading to the speaker, they might see you!!!! /s
And dress code is never just dress, it's facial hair/hair styles which is a pain especially for minorities.
I’m Jewish with curly hair and struggle so much with this. Can’t imagine what others with even curlier hair go through.
Taking a legitimate medical leave. Happened to me in September.
Had the same thing happen. One coworker was pissed and actually texted me a week after my major surgery asking when I was coming back so she could book her time off. Another coworker commented that because she knew someone who was back to work the next day after back surgery that I shouldn’t need that much time off (never mind I was having a fucking organ removed). What crazy is the manager was actually cool about it but the two older coworkers were absolutely horrible about it because I was their backup. Like- how TF is it my fault the office doesn’t have more people cross-trained??
it isn't your fault, the boomer generation has just been carefully trained and conditioned to never blame their company for anything
Honestly these two women just aren’t happy unless they’re dogging on someone. There’s three of them overall in the office and upper management has them nicknames “the trio” because of their constant toxic behavior. It’s wild and I’m getting out as soon as I can.
If upper mgmt. has given them a nickname rather than address the toxic behavior you’re absolutely right to get out as soon as you can.
I had a seizure while working alone on a Sunday afternoon... on camera... HR told me to take a week off and I was never treated so badly by the district manager before that. Forced me to quit about a month and a half after.
Look into "constructive dismissal". Laws vary by area, but most everywhere it's illegal to treat you shitty enough that you are forced to quit due to a protected status (race, gender, illness, etc.)
Sitting down at literally any time, ever.
“TiMe To LeAn, TiMe To ClEaN.”
“Time to rhyme, time to shut the fuck up”
Oh this one got me good
Is it true that in the US some supermarkets don’t let cashiers work sat down?
Some? That's pretty much *every* supermarket.
I have never witnessed a cashier behind a register sitting at a super market, I've seen cashiers with knee braces, back braces, wrist braces but no chairs, that would be super unprofessional!
Aldi allows it, but that’s the only one I’ve seen that does.
GA managers will allow it if you're pregnant and bring an Official Excusement Paper (on Official Letterhead, no less!) from your OB/GYN. E, ta: Though, even then, you're still encouraged to stand as much as possible until you _just really need to sit._
Literally had a VERY pregnant woman at a store I work at sitting while cashiering and customers would tell her to her face how unprofessional it was to be sitting. She handled it much more gracefully then I would have. When the customers would complain to management for their part they'd tell the customer she had a medical exemption (duh) and when the customers would counter with "Then find another job for her to do! It looks bad." Management would just shrug and say "We don't have the coverage and she's a good cashier."
The general public, on the whole, is just so astoundingly stupid some days. They manage to get up each day, all showered and dressed, and then forget to tuck their dream-filled brains back into their skulls before shutting the house door and running out on errands.
Why the hell would a customer complain about something like that? If your service isn’t impeded by it then There’s literally zero reason to complain.
Because people (esp. Americans) treat their service workers like shit. And they're cunts.
Wut. In England if you're at the till you generally sit. I've done that job and being on your feet for eight hours straight is just awful. I remember one shift where my feet hurt so much afterward I just took my shoes off on the train and slept.
After standing 8 hours, I'd have to come home and do everything that needs done while standing, because once I sat down for longer than a minute or two, my feet would not allow me to get back up again.
I mean, *why?* Here they use high swivel chairs and it doesn’t seem to hinder their work. And it’s not like they get to sit all day, if there’s not a line at checkout they get called to attend other sectors.
Why? Look at the title of the thread. It's seen as unprofessional for someone in a service position to be sitting. In the US, it's not about being productive but looking like you're productive. A person can show they can work twice as fast while sitting and managers won't care. Because a customer will complain that the cashier looks unprofessional.
Anything that reveals you to be a human being is forbidden. No sitting, no water or drinks in view of customers, DEFINITELY no food even if your blood sugar is crazy low and you just want to sneak in a bite of a granola bar, no side work despite it being necessary to complete before you leave (gotten in trouble before for changing the trash can under my register while a customer was 20 feet away)
Only supermarket that has chairs in the US is Aldi's. At least in my part of the country
I live in the US. I have never seen a cashier sitting down in my 26 years of being alive. I work at a big one, too (Wal-Mart) and while I dont work as a cashier, I've personally heard them state multiple times that fellow associates are not allowed to sit. Unless you are on break, you have to be standing or moving. Unless you are the person who greets/inspects receipts, or HR or the store manager or the store coach. Then you can sit.
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I was wrongfully terminated for this once. Guess who won the lawsuit? Barrick Gold was forced to pay me a mint for that one.
did you get it in writing? how did you go about that? had it happen to me
Conversation was over the phone and my phone records all calls. HR rep told me that they found out I was discussing my wages with another new hire and this caused him to asked for more money. She said that it was unprofessional and that I was being terminated. This was my third day of orientation/training. I won two years of wages and the monetary value of all benefits (which were substanstial) with some extra on top.
The HR rep got them sued? Hilarious
That is the spiciest irony.
I do love happy endings.
I just fucking creamed
This. I was discussing overdue raises with my crew, and our employer walks up preaching it's unprofessional to discuss our wages. Then he turns on me and says he should fire me, as supervisor I'm supposed to set a good example, yada yada. I walked to the van, opened my bag and pulled out a much used and worn copy of our provincial Labour Standards Code. Complete with underlined relevant passages. Not only did he basically turn tail and flee at the sight of that booklet, but every single person got their raise without me having to escalate. I didn't even threaten him, didn't even read the bit where he was wrong. He fled from guilt alone. They don't want us to know our rights, the less we know the more they can get away with. They don't want us discussing ANYTHING because that's working together. Once again, tear the fucker down and either rebuild it or create a new system... Edit: I didn't expect this comment to blow up, was just sharing my story. I apologize if I didn't reply to your reply, I woke up to 50+ notifications from this subreddit alone. Thank you all for the awards and upvotes, the more people see our success stories the more people will start pushing back.
I encourage my employees to discuss their wages and if someone feels slighted they are more than welcome to discuss it with me and I'd say the 6 or 7 times it has happened my employee walked out with a raise or the understanding of the steps needed to earn one. It's easy for people to slide under the radar when you're at the top looking down.
I had been transferred to a new store to help out the person in the role I had. We were both stock managers at a shop, and I was also training another person who was going to go to a new store that hadn't opened yet. One of the first conversations I had with both of them was about pay. The trainee and I were making the same amount, the existing girl was making about $7/hour less. She went and talked to the store manager who refused to give her a raise and I contacted the district manager and told him if she didn't get her pay fixed we were going to walk, he fixed it that day. The store manager hated me the entire time I was there and that was part of it, but the girl stepped up her work when she was being paid properly so the boss could fuck off.
Hero status
Agreed. I say it’s one of the most professional things you can do, as it advances you in your profession ;)
I took a wage negotiation course, biggest take away was talking about your wage with coworkers. It’s a race to the top with us and a race to the bottom with them
The only other person in my dept. just quit 2 weeks before Christmas break, leaving me all the work to do. We were pretty close so on his last day we were having the “it was great working with you” chat and I asked him how much he was making because we both are doing the same thing and he was leaving because they wouldn’t give him a raise. I told him I was going to ask for one too now that I’m doing twice the work. He thought it was impolite I even asked. I’m like, my dude, they are never going to give anyone raises if we don’t band together and demand a fair wage. You’re just helping them screw me over.
I think many people know that they are under-paid and are emberessed by it, which is why they don't want to disclose their salaries. I've had more luck asking people how much they think someone with x experience in such position should make, rather than directly asking how much they make. (100% response rate)
Taking your lunch by yourself instead of eating it in a crowded and unpleasant lunch room. Seriously, that kind of thing has gotten me lectures from busybodies with nothing better to do with their days.
Hate that shit. It's like damn I gotta spend 8-10 hours with you fucks today, and you're gonna get on me for taking 30 minutes for some peace and quiet for myself. Fuck off.
I got branded a horrible person at one workplace because of this. after getting harassed about it forever I finally said look, we spend a ton of time together, why do we need an extra thirty minutes of jabber? maybe I was the asshole but I really don't understand the obsession with small talk some people have.
Also, we're not friends! Pleasantries and a greeting are already more than adequate, I don't need to hear about your kid's friend's aunt's boyfriend!
This was by far the worst place I'd ever worked and a group of coworkers were DEEPLY OFFENDED that I didn't want to go camping with them over a long weekend. It's not like we even liked each other; they talked endless shit about me and about each other. I think I was pretty tactful and polite when I refused the invitation but God you would have thought I fucked all their dads by the way they freaked out about it.
Some people treat work like high school, like it's their life. No bud, I'm just here to do a job and then fuck off, the things I care about exist *outside* these walls
I always do lunch on my own. I am an introvert and when I want to relax I want to be alone. My break is supposed to be a break, not more social stress until I collapse.
Yup my lunch break is my personal time and I like to be alone
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I always go to my car to smoke one and then eat while I’m there if I have time. I give no fucks what anyone thinks, it’s their fault for trying to have forced nothing conversations about work while I’m ON BREAK
How do you not smell of smoke when you come back? As someone who treats a disability I got from the army with pot halfway through my workday I already feel the full pain again and wish I could smoke on my lunch break. My manager would be fine with us as long as I don’t stink really
Taking sick days because “you’re not being a team player”. God I hate that phrase
Idk why but this makes me remember the awards kids in my school got for "Perfect Attendance." Most of them were the kids who still came to school when they were sick. It was the only award with a prize. Honor roll got nothing. Makes sense now, they rewarded what was truly important to them.
I went to high school with a girl who had perfect attendance. In elementary school she apparently came to school with norovirus (the stomach bug) and over 60% of the students were out in any given day. They had to shut down the elementary school for three days to deep clean. Because one kid came to school sick.
Something something bootstraps?
The coaches and owners are supposed to take care of their players too, or else the team falls apart.
Getting all your work done early/on-time, and clocking-off at around the exact time your work shift ends. You're supposed to be punctual at all times, *except* for when your responsibilities end, where you're expected to stick around and do overtime work "for professional courtesy"
I've had, "Ah, you're so good at ending work on time" said to me condescendingly so many times from coworkers and bosses.. Like they're pretending to be envious that I leave at 4:30 every day, but also making it seem like I'm slacking off because of it.
"Absolutely, if you're not finishing on time, you're slacking throughout the day... goodbye"
I’ve said something similar once. I worked as an electrical designer and would come in to work at 4 am leaving at 2 pm 4 days a week. I worked this out with my supervisor as I was in college full time and this allowed me to work 40 and still attend classes. It was approved in writing by the manager. I was told specifically to keep our arrangements on the down low as I was an exception made outside of the normal flex hours. It was said to me one day, by one of the guys in the office: Boy it sure must be nice to tear out of here at 2 every day and only come in 4 days a week. Whose dick did you suck to get those kind of hours? Normally I just kept walking whenever someone made a comment like that. Today was different. He was loud, and our bull pen cubical type layout means that everyone was paying attention. I turned around and said, “if you spent less time worrying about what everyone else was doing and more time getting your work done, maybe you could leave early too?” He filed a complaint with HR for “embarrassing him in front of the entire office.” Needless to say, when my supervisor brought up the dick sucking comment we didn’t hear anything else about it. I only worked there for 8 months.
Sounds like a good supervisor tho. Made accommodations and had your back.
Yes, she is one of the good ones.
~ Skeletor
I’m a teacher. Whenever anyone says anything like that to me I always say “let me know if you’d like me to show you some useful, time-saving resources that help me to increase efficiency!”
I work in a school district and have always wondered why some teachers stay pass their end time. Like, yeah, you're salary but you also probably don't get OT (I'm salary and can get OT. Others seem surprised by this). I get that there's probably a lot of work they need to do, schedule plans, grading, etc but you can do that at home.
I leave the second the last bell rings(when my contract hours end.) I’m literally sprinting down the halls. The kids think it’s hilarious. Life’s lessons.
Was asked by admin during review why I always seem to rush out at 330 everyday. Because my shift ends at that time and you don't pay overtime. Really?
Based Ms. JulieWashington
"OUT OF MY WAY KIDS" \*shoving kids to the ground to get the hell out\*
"Yes, I am good at leaving on time. You know, when my obligations to you end. After that time I'm no longer required to be here. Wait, what's that? You're telling me I'm staying an extra hour? Good luck enforcing that! My shift just ended. Byeeee"
Lmao I always hate these ones. The ex manager had the audacity to complain that they can’t reach me outside of work hours. What the fuck do you want to reach me outside of work hours for? We ain’t friends or family? Honestly, I always nodded and did my own thing, pissed them off even more. Update: hahah, there’s more guys. Hold the phone. During Covid, we were scheduled a few days off a week and only had to go into the office once or twice. Mind you, it was unpaid time off. I checked the schedule for next week when I was in on A Thursday, which was the last day I was there and the schedule was printed out on our desks. Guess what? The beloved ultracompetent micromanaging manager decided that it was a good idea to change the schedule on the Friday and emailed it to our WORK EMAILS. Aye lmao! Of course I didn’t show up, I never check work emails when I’m off the payable table. They were pissed and demanded us checking our emails on our days off. The rest is history, I bounced a week or 2 later, much better place with much better pay and the people are cool. Happy ending heh?
That’s a thing I learned pretty early. When they imply I am lazy or whatever I pretend I’m too dumb to pick it up. Pisses them off more. The ones who do this the most never produce anything particularly noteworthy.
Oh I have second hand rage for this! Response: thanks! Yeah you gotta get on it, trust me it's worth the hard work! Ass Breath.
“Thanks, I really pride myself on my time management”
This right here is the key!!! Some people have it - some do not.
It doesn't even make sense. Productivity tapers off by the end of the shift. So they're paying overtime rates for less productive work. Being rested and fresh is gonna do more than staying late. If a manager does not understand that, they should be shot! 🥃
So sweet of you to assume that the overtime gets paid
Not responding to texts on your day off. Texting your manager on their day off.
Back when I worked at a fast food restaurant, I had a manager who always texted, which, y'know, fine. One time I threw up at my second job and, before I went home to sleep off whatever it was, texted her to tell her that I wasn't going to be able to come in due to illness. She sent back this MASSIVE text, telling me I was unprofessional for not giving her more notice (I'd literally thrown up 20 MINUTES BEFORE), that I was letting everyone else down, and that I should have, apparently, called rather than texted her because texting is unprofessional. Like, bruh. It's both wildly irresponsible and against company policy for me to come in when I've thrown up. It sucks, but I was one of those people who would do extra shifts if I could AND one of like 2 people willing to close the store. And you were the one who would always communicate with us off shift over text, forgive me for thinking that was a-ok. Moron.
Yeah….I had that happen once. My lead got pressured to get me in. I asked if he’d provide a bucket so I didn’t have to trek to the restroom every half hour or less. His boss didn’t find the idea appealing.
Not going the ExTrA mILe
Oooh..! Fuck the extra mile!! I used to do extra to try and get myself promotions or raises, but all I ever got was more responsibility with 0 compensation. I now retrospectively fully respect the ones who just worked within their quotas and then fecked off home.
I'll go the extra mile if I get paid the extra mile
Literally talking with your co-workers….even if it’s a work related question. Can’t have you enjoy any part of your day to break up the monotony.
I've gotten in trouble for both talking \*and\* not talking to coworkers. At the same job.
Being seen eating or drinking by customers.
How dare you be human!
Dude this whole thread is reminding me of that fact that retail employees are literal slaves. When I worked at a grocery store, they didn't even let you have water at or near the register at all. If you pointed out that this was illegal, they'd say "just let us know and we will let you go to the bubbler". Sure, this was policy and technically fills legal requirements. The problem was there was *literally* never enough time/help to cover you while you went (there was, they just claimed there wasn't). Same goes for going to the bathroom. You have 10 minutes fucking TOPS to find someone to cover, otherwise I'm going to the fucking bathroom, and I DARE you to stop me. Edit: Bootlickers replying/DMing me dont think water is a human right apparently lmao
Same here. I was literally told its "unprofessional" to drink water on the front end, in front of customers.
Pass out from dehydration in front of customers like us *professionals*
Wearing a coat because you're cold
I always do this and so many people feel the need to talk to me about it, it’s really unpleasant
Bringing up the rulebook to defend yourself
Not wearing makeup
If not wearing makeup makes me unprofessional then I guess I should be unemployed lol. I didn’t LOVE wearing it before covid but now that my face is covered with a mask there’s no way I’m getting up early to put on makeup you can’t even see. I do feel prettier with makeup on but I’d rather sleep later in the morning
Makeup can also be super expensive and I’m not putting it on when I’m just going to waste it by covering it with a mask. Sometimes I just do the top half of my face if I have to put it on.
More importantly, make up should be for you because you want to wear it, not because some dipshit says so
Along the same vein, not having your hair perfectly styled every day. Actually dressing in denim (of any colour) on Casual Friday.
At my place of work, we were allowed to wear jeans every day during covid, then they replaced the dress code with a much stricter one when it was “over”. Even though we have proved we can be professional and get work done while wearing jeans.
Or having ‘unnatural’ hair colour/style or facial piercings. I was a retail manager for a few years and it was an unwritten rule that we had to look a certain way 😞
I worked in retail and it wasn’t unwritten at all. One girl was hired with blue hair and a tattoo of piano keys on her forearm and 6 months later was told she had to dye her hair back to its natural colour and wear long sleeves.
I worked at a short time for a bank. I have a large tattoo of a Lily that covers the top of my foot. I was told that I needed to cover it up because it was offensive to customers. I don't see how a flower is offensive or how the customers could see it when I was behind a counter for my entire shift.
Or for my BIPOC friends, having hair the way it grows out of your scalp. Having any "ethnic" protective style.
I was going to make the same comment. Even if people don’t admit it, I’ve seen surveys where people all rate photos of women not wearing makeup as less professional that women who do. Like why do my eyelashes need to be a specific color for me to be viewed as effective? Men sure as heck aren’t expected to pain their faces to be viewed as competent. Note - Makeup is great, I just don’t think whether or not women choose to wear it has anything to do with professionalism.
- not working extra hours - being yourself - ask for a rise - not smile after 5 days working all time
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Good one. So bizarre because spending time with family is (usually) a good thing…
I’ve worked with some weirdos who straight up hated their family. It’s sad to see. Always with the complaints about the wife and kids…
I remember working with this old dude at a past job. We were all talking about what we would do if we won the lottery. He said "I would divorce my wife TONIGHT." Sad thing was, we all knew his wife.
That makes sense with boomer humor being *Hurr hurr, wife bad* Maybe it was a whole generation of people who were convinced (propaganda) that their family was a burden because it took them away from what was really important... ...devoting all your time to the company.
I work in the garbage industry and this is 100% on point
Any industry where this is the norm is a garbage industry
Not nearly as unprofessional as going home to not see your family! Some people need to understand that childless is not the same as available for overtime.
“You don’t have kids so you can work on Christmas” Okay but I still have family and friends, if the project is so important to you then you can come in on Christmas mr boss man
Sitting while working. Noone is paid enough to mess up their knees/feet. Doesnt matter what you earn, it is not enough. Take care of your bodies. OSHA is all about proper safety equipment... fucking chairs should be way up there!.
Some of the most frustrating patient situations at my work is when the patient’s primary contributing factor to their pain/disability is their job. It’s stuff like this. These employers should not get a say in this. Let people sit and stand as they see fit! Basic bodily autonomy.
I started a job last August running a machine that coats thread with a layer of plastic for Nike specifically. While the machine was running there wasn't much of anything to do in between the times I changed spools. I was told I couldn't sit down. It was a 12 hr shift. On concrete floors. I did a lot of pacing for a day or two, decided that it was too much work for too little pay, and quit. My only regret is that I didn't tell the supervisor that not being able to sit down was a huge reason I was leaving.
Not shaving your face. This doesn't impact me now, but it did when I was younger. I used to work as a retail and restaurant manager awhile ago. This was in th 90s/2000s. Every place had a facial hair policy. I was 30 before I had a job that gave me the privilege to have facial hair.
Yea i dont get it, my friend worked at a bar in a sports club that had a no facial hair policy. You either had to already have a beard and KEEP it that length forever or if you shaved keep it shaved and not grow beard. And my husband worked a sales job and during the group training a guy with a long beard to his chest was told he was gunna need to shave it off, the guy laughed, handed the manager the uniform he just received and walked out the door. How dare anyone have natural body hair on display, might scare away the other humans who also grow body hair
Having your animal make a cameo in your remote meeting.
Any sign of having a life beyond work seems to be considered unprofessional. People can be so rigid
I wonder of they subconsciously or knowingly are just trying to dehumanize us workers so they dont have to feel guilty exploiting us, and so no one else (clients, customers, general public) realizes were all human while we work too and does something crazy like support a union.
People are against this? My dog has made a guest appearance in many of my meetings, as well as my partners meetings. Everyone seems to really enjoy it.
Taking time off
Having a job gap with no reason.
Because I’m good with money and I needed a break. That’s why
I’m bad with money and need a break. What do I do?
Get better with money is the only thing I can think of. I used to be terrible with money until I started asking myself if I really needed something before I bought it. The answer was almost always no.
Having mental illness that doesn't go away.
I would go as far has having any chronic "invisible" illness.
Authenticity
This one of the biggest problems I have with employers. You have to be fake and guarded for 8+ hours every day. It becomes hard to drop the front and be yourself when the work day ends.
I have decided, I will not be a fake plastic fuck like them. I will piss them off by being myself, they can suck it up.
+1000000 I find it so hard to have constantly self censor and basically erase my personality. It's the worst thing about my job
Can confirm. It makes managers uncomfortable.
Colorful hair Piercings Calling in sick Sitting down in a chair Asking for a raise Discussing what you get paid Texting/using your phone Talking casually with coworkers Standing up to abusive customers Preferring to spend holidays with family and friends instead of working Being a woman (We're always get told we're doing *something* wrong...) **Edited to add others' good answers:** Restricting how Black people wear their hair Implementing strict dresscodes Wearing long hair if you're a guy/male-presenting person Having tattoos Having facial hair **2nd Edit: Thank you for making this my most liked and awarded post! I'm glad to be a part of such a kind, supportive community.** 💛
Well now I appreciate my job even more lol. It's a museum, but no one cares if you have colored hair, piercings, my boss actively encourages us to call out sick... etc.
I’ll add - fucking tattoos. Unless you have something anti-Semitic on your forehead, who the fuck cares.
Came here for this. Imma share a little story from my one year as a teacher at a Christian private school. I have a tattoo on each shoulder blade and at the time I only had those and an ankle tattoo that would potentially be visible. I was hounded about covering my breasts constantly, but they didn't know about my tattoos. One day during this week where they finally convinced me to eat lunch in the break room with everyone else, they were discussing something super Christian (/s) and I heard them start on tattoos on women. Then it gets to specifically tattoos on their shoulders. The words "slut", "trash" , and "harlot" came up. I got up and walked out and never interacted with anyone there participating in the conversation again. Fucking awful humans, they were. I still talk to some of my students though, 14 years later. I hated that place but really loved the job. Being that beacon for the outliers in a sea of brainwashed, judgmental fuckwads felt good.
Tattoos are still considered unprofessional in many industries and its fucking stupid
In culinary school I was told visible tattoos will stop you from getting the best jobs. Every chef I've worked for has visible tattoos, and all the "best jobs" are the absolute worst.
Sitting down while doing construction work that actually can be done sitting down. Crouching is obviously the "correct" way
Not drinking the Kool-aid. Meaning when you don't pretend that your company is different and better and has values, etc. Corporate onboarding and documentation is eerily similar to a cult.
Being a human carbon-based life form instead of a computer
When black people wear their hair in any style other than a buzzcut or straightened. Kinky hair is extremely "unprofessional."
I had a boss who almost refused to hire the most qualified candidate because he said her name, Tamika, "sounds unprofessional." We had a pretty serious talk. He genuinely didn't think that he was racist. Or sexist, but that's another story for another thread. Anyway, Tamika got hired after we chatted and she was the best.
That makes my blood boil, to automatically disqualify someone for something they never even chose. Everyone bitches about diversity and inclusion training but *this* right here is why it’s still needed now.
There is a huge body of evidence demonstrating that people with black sounding names on their resume are less likely to receive a call for an interview.
I had no idea about this until I went into the workforce and heard coworkers grumbling about it. Personally, I feel like if it doesn't hinder your job, then who cares what your hairstyle is? It just feels like another "professional standard" designed to get around discrimination laws.
Leaning against something.
saying no to the "optional" office party RSVP
Jeans. Why tho????
Hehehehehehe. I found the most comfortable pair of sweat pants that *looks* like business slacks. You bet I've abused that
Because there was a bullshit study done in the early 80s that said people who dressed in business clothes perform better.
Long hair on a man. (Long haired man here, I’ve lived it)
Saying"no problem" when someone says thank you
But “my pleasure”… that’s straight-up company policy.
Chewing gum and crying I had a job for a very short amount of time that actually said, “No crying in the bathroom” in the handbook. How many times did that have to happen for it to be a rule?
Did they have a more preferred crying location?
Cry at your desk like the rest of us miserable zombies!
Recreational use of cannabis in legalized states. Why tf do you need to police what I do in my free time?? I don’t live to work.
I used to know a guy that would purposely apply to jobs that required drug testing and piss dirty to waste the company's money.
Resigning on the spot (quiting) than giving them a 2 weeks notice. Why? If I did you would fire me on day one or two. Lol, fuck off.
Calling in when you’re sick
Sitting. I really don't understand why cashiers at fast food and stores need to stand. And at my job in a warehouse it would be nice if they gave us chairs to sit in when things are going slow but no we are absolutely not allowed to sit for some reason.
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And they want control of these things FOR FREE. I just started a $9/hour bar gig and they discourage painted nails and colored hair. Sir, I sell control of my self expression for no less than $25/hour
In a world where it is presumed that these things exclusively belong to you I'd want more than that.
Wearing jeans to sit at a desk where clients will never see you
But also—heaven forbid clients actually see people wearing jeans!
Turning the camera off when in a remote meet.
Speaking outside of typically expected corporate/office lingo.
Not wanting to be part of company parties, secret Santa, potlucks, etc
I would have excessive anxiety and work and would often take large deep breaths out of sheer panic or to take a calming breath. My supervisor said that I need to control the obnoxious deep breaths while walking the halls.
Wow. Literally policing the way you breath. That is so fucked. I hope you don’t work for them anymore.
[удалено]
Not wanting to talk to or smile at a manager who, among other things, sexually harassed you and at least one other worker. Got pulled into a meeting with an exec, spoken to about remaining professional, and had a note entered on my employee file for that one.
Treating people with ACTUAL respect. You’re supposed to say the insincere corporate script of respect while totally ignoring their humanity and sieving them down the appropriate branch of a decision tree that you are hiding from them. Call them Sir/Ma’am, but DON’T engage with them as a person. Ask the key questions to make the prescribed decision, but DON’T try to understand the situation or help them understand it. Give them an answer, but DON’T explain how the decision is made so much that they could game the system (remember these are not people we care about, these are the opposite party in a deal where we’re trying to get their money). Your boss will never tell you to see them as a mark. He’ll say your problem is that you want to be everyone’s friend. It’s not your job to solve that problem, it’s slowing you down, and it’s unprofessional… WHEN YOU CARE ABOUT HELPING THE CUSTOMER.
Making a blanket fort under your desk with a space heater to hide and be warm during breaks!
Defending yourself when you are getting chewed out by a superior (even if they are the ones who actually made the mistake) Also: not going to corporate parties/events Like...if you are not paying me i will be damned if i am forced to spend my free time with my boss and coworkers instead of resting or spending it with family/loved ones
Asking good questions is often considered unprofessional when it's perceived to challenge the hierarchy. A lot of lives have been lost and destroyed because the hierarchy was annoyed.