
We all hope to work for decent people, but that's not always the case, as we learned when Redditor WapitiTal asked: "What's the most unethical thing you've seen an employer do in the name of profits?"

"I work at a clinic..."
I work at a clinic owned by a doctor that is notoriously cheap and shady. I hate even being in that building. I try to avoid it. One of my coworkers who has more of a stomach to deal with him told me a story about a time he was there. Our equipment needs chill water to cool it. The chill water system is installed by a different company so my coworker was relaying this to the doctor to get the right maintenance guy there.
The guy shows up and immediately identifies the problem. One of the electronic valve solenoids is out no big deal it will take an hour to replace. The guy draws up a quote and hands it to the doctor to sign so he can get started on the work.
For those of you that don't know how this system works. When you have gear that needs regular maintenance like this equipment you usually have contracts but in this case its a pretty robust equipment so instead they just do time and materials. That means if I go in to fix something I have to show you the cost of the materials and the labor. You then have to sign the quote showing you agree to the charges.
So the doctor looks at the quote and tells the guy it shouldn't have broke. The maintenance guy who is really just fixer-upper guy and shouldn't be brokering deals says he can't work unless there is a signature on that paper. The doctor yells at the guy for half an hour to get started but he holds his ground waiting for the signature. Red in the face and still fuming the doctor signs the quote. The guy gets started. He has to work in a back room kind of cramped. He finishes the job and started to get ready to leave. He looks at his clipboard and there is no signed quote. No one saw the doctor take it but it was obvious he did. The guy asked him about it and the doctor chased him off the property with his lawyer on the phone telling him how he was getting sued.
I applied and got a job when I was a teenager for a siding company for a few weeks for some quick cash. I went to the job site for 2 weeks, finished the siding job then the guy just ghosted me for a month. I told everyone I knew the guy was a sleazeball who is trying to take advantage of kids. Sure enough, he hired another guy I know and stiffed him. I lost track of him after that cuz he was dead to me essentially. I hope he gets his in the end.
"My husband..."
My husband worked for a company for 13 years. They had a big job and the boss told him if he got it done under budget and ahead of time there was said big bonus for him. He busted his @ss every day no days off for 9 months and the boss bought his wife a new car and himself a new boat . My husband got laid off a week before Xmas.
"I quit last year..."
So, I used to work for Nordstrom. There was a guy that was surpassing everyone in their daily goals to get as many people to join the Nordstrom credit card program. I didn't understand how this guy was racking in so many credit cards with the customers. It wasn't until I worked with him that I saw what he was doing. He was signing up customers under the thought that they were going to be "saving" money that day.
It totally sketched me out because the customer was not aware of any credit cards opening up with their name. I confronted him about his shady ways of doing this. He just walked away from me. I went to my manager and told her about the way he is going about opening these credit cards. Yup, that did nothing. He ended up getting a promotion on such a job-well-done with all the credit cards he was able to pull in.
I quit last year and never looked back. Places like Nordstrom scare me, because it is not only being shady to its people, but the ways these employees are finding ways to "bend" the rules is nuts. It is all fake.
"Pretty sure..."
Pretty sure my 1990's employer never applied the full raises I got. It was my first "real" job and a mom and pop operation. The tabulation of wages was just an adding machine receipt stapled to our check that made no sense to someone who was in the top math level in school. I didn't seem to ever make more money based on actual hours, though the amount fluctuated randomly. I am fully convinced that they stole hundreds or even thousands from someone making barely over minimum wage. I would not have been the only one either. I...am not inclined to forgive them.
"Telling families..."
Telling families of autistic kids they could "recover" their kids 85% and they can live full, "normal" lives. They would get families to move to my state, get funding and then fudge the results to show "improvements." Families would move with no family support, split families where one parent moved and the other would have to stay because or work or own a home. So much money out of pockets for extra services. Once I learned they were super shady, I quit.
"My brother..."
My brother had a coffee shop/restaurant. He bought a big container with pump of Ghirardelli chocolate syrup for the mochas and when that ran out he poured the cheaper Hershey's chocolate but still told customers it was the Ghirardelli one. He also claimed his canned chili was homemade and got mad at one of the employees when she told a customer she cut herself opening the chili can. When he made fish and chips he told people it was cod when he was using pollock...
Yeah, he's a piece of work, and that's the least of the sh*t he's done.
"Taking money out of my paycheck..."
Taking money out of my paycheck to cover the cost of a drive-off. The gas station I worked at was pretty old-school and had a rolodex of "trusted" families and businesses that were authorized to pay inside. This guy must have been aware of that, as he hit the "pay inside" button and then stared angrily at me, like "What gives? Don't you know who I am?" I was brand new and didn't want any complaints, so I authorized the pump request. $50 later, he drove off. If I wasn't desperately broke and living shift to shift, I'd have hired a lawyer. Being in an at-will state, I'm sure they'd eventually find some other reason to fire me. So I ended up just biting the $50 bullet and cutting back my food budget. Never authorized another "pay inside" request after that unless I could personally identify them.
"I worked..."
I worked at Mr. Goodcents. The original store. I cut my finger while using the slicer. Got blood all over the turkey. My boss washed it off and put it back with the rest of the meat.
"I used to work..."
I used to work at a staffing company in the automotive manufacturing industry.
All of their salespeople were women. I noticed and asked my boss why that was. She thought I was being sarcastic, I suppose, but it didn't dawn on me right away:
They refused to hire salesmen because the women would attract the business. Several of our saleswomen reported sexual harassment and the company swept it under the rug.
They are probably still in court over a few of their cases.
"Buddy of mine..."
Buddy of mine worked for a guy doing landscaping for about half a year. His boss withheld income tax on every paycheque, but pocketed it rather than paying the government. Friend got audited and was fortunate enough to have saved his paystubs showing his deductions, but he would've been SOL without them.
I've also seen business owners telling their employees how to vote in elections, saying that if X party gets into power, they won't be able to afford to keep their staff.
"Then take government bailouts..."
Sell sub-prime mortgages they knew would fail and have the parent company buying derivatives betting that those mortgages were going to fail. Then take government bailouts and not help the people we ducked over.
(Sold Mortgages for a subsidiary of AIG).
"I once worked..."
I once worked in a restaurant. The veal parmigiana was made with pork butt. The crab cakes were made with imitation crabmeat.
We were frequently asked for the recipe for these items which was always denied. I didn't learn the truth until I had been working there for about a year.
"I worked..."
I worked at a local Italian restaurant briefly. My boss insisted that if we served a customer a fountain drink, we had to pour it back in if they didn't finish. So if a customer ordered a coke, and only drank half, we'd have to pour the coke back into the fountain machine. Apparently he thought it was saving money.
"Went and literally fussed..."
Went and literally fussed at the business that sought to hire one of his employees, thus causing the new and far better job to say "ehhhh, no, we don't want drama from their employer..."
"I drive coach..."
i drive coach, my boss started giving the coaches really cheap to our major client, in exchange for which the tour guide went round the coach and collected a £2 per head tip for the driver per day of the tour (our coaches had 57 seats) this money was placed in a sack, given back to the tour company by the tour guide (all this was done in mandarin, thinking the drivers wouldn't know) , who once a year passed the whole amount in cash to my boss, who placed the whole lot in an offshore tax haven....we are talking very high 6 figures, this client had between 5-10 coaches a week on 4-9 day tours, at the rates he was charging they barely broke even on the hires. I quit when a passenger who spoke good English accidentally told me what was going on, and sweated out the rest from the tour guide. We need our tips to survive (minimum wage job), every owner knows this, but i guess getting all that tax free and screwing us over is worth more than ethics.
"When people would bring in parts..."
I used to work at Auto Zone. When people would bring in parts to test, our machine/testing equipment was always down. Which forced people to either leave or buy the part. They could also go to another store which I would recommend. The management also got mad that I informed the employees about the updated sick leave policy. the store I worked at also did commercial sales to auto shops. The shops get a big discount ..bigger if they spend a lot of money. They turn around and charge the customer double for a part they could walk in and get themselves. They would focus more on the shops than the actual customers who were inside the store.
"University..."
University I went to hired me as a notetaker (special-ed accommodation), let me go halfway through the term when the student dropped the course, and then tried not to pay me for the work I'd done because the contract wasn't completed. I had to threaten small claims court (over $30!) to get them to pay.
Wish I'd taken it to the department of labor. Guarantee I wasn't the only person they tried that on, and most of the others probably needed the money more.
"The former..."
The former Assistant Manager that I used to work with would close my tickets (I'm a Computer Tech), refund the customer's money, Reopen another ticket under his name, add a few services and retap the customer's credit card. He did this repeatedly to all the other techs I worked with.
Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Can't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
Let the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Under a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.