Just before the UK went into lockdown over the recent health crisis, I started a new job. I was over the moon because my old job was a fixed term contract, and the new role I secured was in a specialist team doing all the things I’d loved about my old job, but with less of the boring parts.

I was politely warned about my new manager before I started, which should’ve been a red flag, but I was so desperate to stay in the field of work I loved that I ignored it. After all, it was probably just a personality clash, right?

Obviously, I wouldn’t be writing this if that were the case.

Here are just some of the things we had to put up with:
– On my second day in the office, the manager announced that she’d started working from home (before it became mandatory) because she lived far away. At least three people in the office, including myself, lived further away than she did, but we had to keep coming in.

– I didn’t even hear from my manager again until I’d already been in the job for a month. She assumed because I had experience, I’d be “self-sustaining”, and would magically just find work to do.

– She found out accidentally that someone else in the team had applied for another job, and took it out on that team member for “not asking permission” before she started job hunting.

– When lockdown happened, we were told that we had to carry on coming into the office unless we had a doctor’s note to prove we were vulnerable. This rule didn’t extend to her, even though she wasn’t vulnerable.

-She couldn’t use any of the ancient specialist software we had to use daily for our job, and just assumed any issues were down to our ignorance rather than outdated technology.

– She’d set arbitrarily short deadlines for work, complain if things weren’t on time, and then wouldn’t even look at the results for weeks.

– She wouldn’t let people leave to pick up their children from school until work was completed, even if the workers had no other childcare in place. Even if people could work from home.

– One colleague asked for support with her mental health, as having to come to work during the pandemic was making her extremely anxious. She was told she could have up to a week of sick leave before she’d have to start taking unpaid absences. (We have in-house counseling, it wasn’t even suggested.)

– She would edit my reports for style and “accuracy” without knowing anything about the subject. More than once reports were sent out with incorrect information on and I got the backlash.

– When my coworker found out she was finally pregnant, our manager refused to do a risk assessment with her, saying it was a “waste of time”. She also refused to pay her for Keep In Touch days (paid days of training etc in the office) once the colleague went on maternity leave.

– When I told her I’d found a new job, she “jokingly” referred to me as a traitor publicly in several very large meetings.

– Another colleague went to our second line manager to ask if she could be switched to another team for personal reasons. The second line manager aggressively shut her down, saying she should “be a big girl” and deal with it.

Now, of the team of eleven people who were there when I started, only two are left. Everyone else has found a new job or taken early retirement. Senior management is refusing to listen to complaints, and seem to think we’re all leaving for higher salaries elsewhere.

I can’t see the last two hanging around much longer…

I was walking my dog, as I do every day. me and him was just minding our own business, Him on his BRIGHT RED double handled leash and harness ( this is important later on). When ever I see a person, I give my dog the signal to sit down, along with telling him to. I always grab the leash with both handles and gently hold him until the person passes by. Most of the time we do not run into any problems with any body. Well, this man passes by and I do the signal and command with Buster, my dog. I usually repeat the command twice and he sits still. This time he sits on the first command, then with him drawn close to my side, he gets and stays up. I hear the man mumble ” dumb DOG” making sure that I heard the last word. I look at him like “yes, I KNOW what you said about my dog”. He seen the look on my face and he said ” Oh, I meant that you have him trained well.” During this time, even though Buster is mild mannered, he does not like men. I made sure that I had my hands on his harness and leash, just in case. People, just because a dog does not respond to commands perfectly does not mean that you have the right to call a stranger’s dog “dumb”.

I taught for a few years in an urban elementary school before burnout and relocation made me leave. My last year there, I think I accidentally pissed off my new principal, this was her second year.

Principal: What are some things we should do around the school?
Me: Can we fix, or paint or cover these cork boards in the cafeteria and the hallways? The kids pick at them, and it gives the school an air of decrepitude.
Principal: …
I was more concerned with my coworker claiming “decrepitude” was not a word than the reaction to my rudeness about the school. I then wondered for a few months why the principal wasn’t as nice this year…

I was sitting at work minding my own business ironically reading NAR when the pest control guy (who is a bit older and kind of creepy) came in to spray my office. On the side of NAR a pop up came up for a jewelry store that I had recently purchased my wedding ring from. (I am getting married this December and since my fiancé spent a considerable amount on my engagement ring I told him I would purchase our wedding bands.) Pest control guy walks behind my desk to spray and I hear him say something but it is muffled by the mask he’s wearing. I turn and say “Huh?” He repeated “Ooooh engagement rings, you’re not thinking of replacing yours are you?” as he looks at my hand. I am confused at first until I see the pop up ad. “Noooo, I just recently bought a ring from that site that’s why it’s there.” Then he just walked away and I was creeped out. Of ALLLLL the things he could’ve said. “Hi, How’s your day, Wow the weather is hot….literally anything else, How are you gonna look at my screen as you walk behind me and comment on that? So very strange.

I’m selling some old electronics online, they worked perfectly when I stopped using then . Now I’m trying to sell them, I cannot figure how to set them up again. I do recall there being a bit of a trick to it even with the instructions.

They should work, there’s no reason they shouldn’t. So I reflect this is the add.

“Was working, but no instructions and cannot test. Sold as seen, sold untested .”

I pit it up for sale at half of the price it is going for elsewhere, and see what the response is.

I get lots of interest, and one guy agrees to pay the asking. He arrives to collect where I get this response.

Him: so they work yeah?

Me: they did when i used them last, but it was a few months ago.

Him: can you not test them?

Me: if I could test them, they would be double the price. I’m confident they should work, but can’t prove it, hence the price.

(He seems to think about this.)

Him: but I can bring them back if they don’t work?

(I’m not one for confrontation, and I certainly don’t want to explain this all over again in a few days. I lift the box from his hands and explain.)

Me: i don’t think your getting it, and I’d rather not sell them to you. Only for you to come back and have a go at me later.

Him: (he looks at me suspiciously) oh, ok then.

(Thankfully he wonders off , i end up selling them a few weeks later, I never got any complaints so assume they worked fine.)