People Share What They Hate Most About Their Company's Corporate Culture
How toxic can work culture get? In America, we work harder for less, and we are damn proud of it... sometimes.
yocallmewill asked Redditors of America: What do you hate the most about your work culture?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
Too many hours, too little work.
The fact that if I can get all of my work done in 6 hours or less, but if I leave early, I'm considered lazy. Someone else can spend 9-10 hours milking the clock doing the same work, but they get recognition for "being such a hard worker," because of all their overtime. We were paid hourly btw, so I was actually saving the company money by working harder and faster.
I already called this out. They say people perform better within the first 4 hours of work, 8 hours is too long. I have ADHD, stretching time out will make me work slower or I'll lose what I'm doing. I don't have high levels of dopamine in my brain and thus I have to do stuff in a rush to get it done. It's more than just procrastination, it's how my brain actually works. Telling me to stop what I'm doing and work to stretch the day out will make me perform worse and why would you want that? I work better with deadlines. Always have and always will. Deal with it. Companies need to understand this.
Worker benefits are my kink.
The taboo cultivated by management, and often perpetuated by employees themselves to their own detriment, against discussing compensation and other issues related to working conditions.
Only one entity benefits when workers can't or don't share information about pay, benefits, or workplace issues -- and it's not the workers.
Many companies have policies against discussing wages but they can't legally forbid it or punish you for it according to the 1935 Labor Relations Act.
Oh, I'm very much aware that it's illegal to sanction employees for failing to adhere to this norm they have manufactured... that's why corporate management has to work so tirelessly at convincing employees that the taboo is of the employees' own making and to their own benefit.
And I'll add that although this type of practice is extremely common in corporate environments, it tends to be transmitted via office culture and other informal mechanisms. If you, or anyone else, has encountered companies that have written or formal policies preventing their employees from sharing this type of information, that's something the NLRB would really like to know about, because it's not only illegal to punish employees for this conduct, it's also illegal to even have policies prohibiting it.
Sick people around food - great idea.
When I worked at a restaurant I hated that you were a slacker for calling in sick and you got "points" for it. Even though you are legally obligated to call-out sick if you work in the food industry. Basically you're penalized for following proper food safety laws.
This has been the case in every restaurant I worked in.
Always always always have diarrhea. Regardless of what's going on, you have diarrhea.
Quitting jobs is a necessary step toward success.
The only way to advance your professional career anymore is to quit and go elsewhere. It really f*cking sucks. Most big companies do regular wage freezes when their profits aren't big enough, have "flattened" their hierarchy so it's rare to find positions to move into, and would rather bring in external candidates who already have tons of experience than to train and promote people who have been with the company and want to move up. And if you do get promoted? Your bump in salary is going to be waaaaay less than if you were hired from externally for that same position.
As an engineer, the way to maximize your salary is to change jobs every 3-5 years. Loyalty is a determent to your profession. Sh*t, I hired an external person just to try to raise the wages of the rest of my employees because it demonstrated the complete disconnect in pay from external hires.
Stop giving away your time.
They count how many hours I take off for vacation and sick time, to the minute, but never bother to track the time I spend coming in early, staying late or working over the weekend.
never bother to track the time I spend coming in early, staying late or working over the weekend
You should stop doing those things.
I did.
Never truly being "off."
Availability creep.
Technology means you can call, text, email, bbm, slack, etc. regardless of where I am or what I'm doing. There is no turning off / being disconnected.
I literally ignore all the texts and calls that come in. I'm not on-call. If you wanted me to work, schedule me more. If you're short on hours because god forbid somebody call in sick, then its the company's fault for not giving you more payroll and hours to work with.
Decades ago, people thought that technology would increase our leisure time. But no, f*ck no.
We work too much.
Life imbalance. Give me Monday-Thursday 7-6. Or hell drop it down to a 32 hour workweek.
Let me live a little before I die. Don't make it so impossible to take a week off and go hiking.
My dream is a standard work-week of three 10's, and we go to a six day "business" week.
That way we all get to keep more than half the week to ourselves, and we all have three days a week to do our shopping and errands--no more going to the bank on your lunch-break.
Time off means time off.
A general expectation in salary is that you'll keep working after you leave the office. For f*cks sake, we have people here who took a week off for vacation due to the holidays and they're still working from wherever they are. They're actively using PTO days and working anyway.
I just make it known that when I'm out for a PTO day or vacation, you will be 100% unable to reach me. Don't even try. Nearly 7 years and it hasn't been an issue yet.
I took a 2.5 week vacation a couple months ago. I got one email that I had to answer.
I CC'd my boss on it and ended the email with
Regards from [city, country 9000 miles away]
I also sent it as Urgent and at 3:15 am home time (3:15 pm local)
My boss and colleagues got the hint.
Lack of trust.
How superficial we all are because it's a professional setting. Its hard to open up to people out of fear they will use personal info against me. It's been done before. Its unfortunate. I hate the office paradigm we are in.
You're 100% right. There's something about an office setting that brings out the most back-stabby, petty parts of people.
Work to live; don't live to work.
That we're expected to put work above everydamnthing thing else or we "don't care about our job." I care about my job.
But I also care about my relationship, my hobbies, getting healthcare that I need, my friendships, having a reasonably clean home with food in it, my pets.....
If I so much as hint at wanting more time for any of those things (and granted some are higher priority than others) I'm NOT DEDICATED.
I work what's supposed to be 9-6. It's usually 7 or 8 to 730 or 8. I walked around for over a month with a tooth cracked clean in two that hurt like hell and then got infected because "we're too short to let anyone off" and if I'd called in it would have been an attendance write up because I "obviously didn't care about the team".
I do care about the "team" but I also care about not dying of infection.
When work owns you.
Lack of vacation time. The fact that we can't work at home when most of our job is done on a computer. The fact that we have to use our limited vacation time for weather events like snow or hurricanes. The fact that someone has to be at the office on holidays for "what ifs" that never occur.
> The fact that we can't work at home when most of our job is done on a computer.
I'm a purchasing agent. I use ZERO paper, I need zero face to face time, all my communication is done via email or phone. Why THE F*CK do I need to dress up and sit in cubicle for that?
Not just lack of vacation time, but the implicit pressure not to use it because it anyway, especially if you're at the point where you have 3+ weeks accrued.
Picking up other people's slack.
When your coworkers laziness becomes your problem.
I'm a detailer at a car dealership. Just yesterday I was told I'd have to also do a quick wash of an interior only detail because the porters forget sometimes. But I wouldn't be paid for that extra time it takes me. (I work flat rate).
Had that conversation once when I was a grocery clerk.
"Rinnaul, can you go around and make sure the bathrooms are clean?"
"That was J's assignment this morning."
"Well, sometimes he doesn't get it done, so you need to go behind him and make sure it's done."
...what's he getting paid for, then?
My response is always "great, can I have their salary too?"
This is by far the worst part about it. I work Parts at a Dealership and I'm constantly having to keep the place together when others decide to slack off. That joke of "If you're good at your job you get to do other's jobs too" is far too real.
The whole 9-5 but not really 9-5 thing.
The 9-5 work day as a rule. My work deals largely with a time zone 2 hours ahead of mine. I could feasibly work from 7-3 and be even more productive than I am now but my company won't allow it because "everyone works 9-5." As a result my commute is long as hell meaning I have to leave the house around 7:45 and don't get back until 6-6:30. If I could move my schedule up two hours that commute is cut in half and I have way more time off.
I'd settle for "9-5" actually meaning 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Not being allowed to get sick. WTF?
Lots of companies combine paid time off for vacation & time of for illness. Don't you dare get sick. If you do, it's coming out of your vacation time. So everyone comes to work sick to hold onto their precious 15 days accrued annually which makes everybody else in the office sick. You end up with an office filled with people who feel like crap but have to keep working or they can't take longer vacations.
And yet they continuously say that if you're sick it's just better to stay home. I'd love to, but they've made it so that's not feasible.
Basically, all of the following.
Tough question, there are so many to choose from. I'd say how little f*cks companies are able to give about employee work life balance and personal happiness. I hate that we never get any time off even when we're lucky enough to have jobs where you technically get it. I hate that nobody balks when companies start demanding your personal time outside of work for free. I hate that they demand we pretend to have a deep abiding passion for our company's mission when we all know deep down what our company does is trivial bullshit that really doesn't add anything to human civilization, or in some cases is actively negative and predatory but just not illegal because it's so profitable. I hate that we're supposed to give two weeks notice to leave on good terms but it's perfectly acceptable to just lay us off without a minute's notice. I hate the obsession Americans have with being busy, like having a lot of stuff to do somehow gives their lives meaning. I hate that our corporate laws allow owners of companies to be divorced from moral responsibility for the acts of the companies they own and profit from.
The busy thing is too true. We call it being a busyholic. Someone who is always so "busy" with things to do but never seems to actually accomplish anything. I've grown to hate the term busy because it's almost become in style to be busy all the time and no one is actually as busy as they tell you they are (and they LOVE telling you about how busy they are).
History is made on a daily basis.
Indeed, there is little more exciting than having witnessed the accomplishments of people like Barack Obama, Stacey Abrams, and Greta Thunberg knowing that they have firmly reserved a space for themselves in history books.
Of course, most of the people who paved the way to make the world what it is today have long since passed away.
Not all of them, though!
It may surprise you to learn that there are people who made an indelible impression on history who are still much alive today.
Some of whom even continue to make a difference to this very day
Redditor enginearz was eager to hear about historical figures people were surprised to learn were still alive, leading them to ask:
"What famous person from history is still alive?"
Forever Leaving His Name In Science
"Yuri Oganessian."
"He's the only currently living man with an element on the periodic table named after him."- snowflake247
Quite The Story To Tell
"Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha."
"Last human to hold the title of Tsar, as leader of the Kingdom of Bulgaria."
"He was exiled along with his family when the Soviets invaded Bulgaria in 1944."
"In 1990, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Simeon returned from exile to Bulgaria and July 2001, was democratically elected prime minister."
"The private citizen is now 85."- DirectionNew5328
Making Nature Cool For Decades
"Jane Goodall."
"David Attenborough."- random_username_96
The Fought For Freedom And Justice
"John Hemingway."
"The last surviving airman of the battle of Britain."
"He is 103 years old."
"Ivan Martynushkin."
"He helped with the liberation of Auschwitz."
"He is 99 years old."
"Benjamin Ferencz."
"He was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials."
"He is 102 years old."- Ashtar-the-Squid
"Traute Lafrenz."
"The last living member of the german anti-nazi resistance group 'White Rose".
"Most well-known members were the sibling Sophie and Hans Scholl, who were executed by the Nazis when they were identified."- ChrisTinnef
The One Who Made One Giant Leap For Mankind
"Buzz Aldrin, and I’m not even American."- mukaltin
Opening Doors For So Many Others
"Ruby Bridges."
"She was one of the first black kids to go to an all-white school."
"There is a famous picture of that first day."- mumwifealcoholic
He Continues To Surprise Us
"Ozzy Osbourne."- CaptinDerpI
Admirably Defying So Many Odds
"Jimmy Carter."
"98 years old."- Back2Bach
We've Still Got Two Out Of Four
"Paul and Ringo"- HMKingHenryIX
Inching Close To The Big One Double Oh...
"Kissinger."- LucyVialli
Who Could Forget About Dick Van Dyke ?!?!?!?!
"Everyone just forgetting about Dick Van Dyke, he's like 97 and still going."
"If you've never heard of him, he played in Marry Poppins, along with a bunch more movies"- Longjumping_Drag2752
And Still Stunning
"Sophia Loren is still kicking."- The_REAL_McWeasel
Continuing To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before
"William Shatner doesn't look it but that dude is in his 90s wtf."- flubberF*ck
Perhaps what's most admirable, is that even when these astonishing people do eventually pass, they will continue to live on and change the world with the remarkable work they did.
We all indulge in fast food from time to time.
Even if we know what we're eating isn't exactly healthy, sometimes the salty, fatty mass-produced food is the only thing we want.
Resulting in our making weekly, if not daily, visits to a nearby chain.
Then, of course, there are the chains that we make every effort to avoid.
We've likely tried places at least once simply because everyone is always talking about them.
But after having one bite, we have trouble seeing exactly what all the fuss was about and vow to never return.
Even if it might be the only option at a rest stop or even the only available food for miles, we instead opt to wait and be hungry.
Redditor BungOnMimosas was curious to hear what people considered to be the most overhyped fast food chains around, leading them to ask:
"What do you think are the most overrated fast-food chains? Why?"
"Food As It Should Be"... Or Not...
"I know it's not technically 'fast food', but Panera Bread pisses me off."
"Insanely expensive for extremely average food." - Reddit
"Panera."
"Their quality has decreased so much in the past few years and they’ve added weird sh*t to their menu like pizza and chicken sandwiches."
"Massive identity crisis and crap food."- asm233
Things Ain't What They Used To Be...
"All of them, now that they charge real restaurant prices."- P00pf4rt5
Golden Arches
"As much as I hate to say it, McDonald's is the only place that I can think of that the quality hasn't changed much."
"I mean, that's a pretty low bar, but it is what it is."- gnatman66
"The majority of them, especially the really big ones (McDonald's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, etc)."
"The prices are no longer fast food prices and the quality is not there like it used to be."
"Far better local options that cost roughly the same at the end of the day."- senorita_diablo
Consistency Is Key...
"Dunkin."
"You can go to the same location three separate times, have the food made by the same staff, and receive 3 wildly different results."- AndrewLampart
Not So Popular Anywhere, It seems...
"KFC in France became so bad."- SterBout
Likely Won't Go National...
"Idk how wide spread they are, but in the Buffalo NY area there is a chain called Mighty Taco."
"They were even voted best tacos a few years ago."
"It is absolutely terrible food."
"I’ve tried to like it and given them 3 chances."
"Each time I couldn’t eat more than a couple bites."
"Absolutely terrible and I’m disgusted even thinking about their sour vomit in a tortilla."- aa-2020
"Eat Fresh"...
"I think I’ve answered this question before but definitely for me, it’s Subway."
"Nothing but a giant hunk of bread."
"I’m editing this to add that part of my anger about Subway is how good it used to be."
"I can remember the days of nearly a whole can of tuna salad delicious sub."
"And a Veggie sub with Swiss cheese and piles of yummy veggies and the sweet Vidalia onion sauce."
"It’s all gone to sh*t."
"I would’ve been perfectly OK with increasing price but the big drop in quality pissed me off."
"Oh woe is me with my first world problems."- Mysterious-Region640
Quantity Doesn't Guarantee Quality...
"Starbucks is a scam."- cmkeller62
Tasty, But Not Worth It...
"I’m going to say Five Guys."
"Not because the food isn’t good, but because I’m not paying $20 for a burger meal."- 2PacTookMyLunchMoney
"Dairy queen grill and Chill for sure."
"I worked at one for a lil' while and 1 burger combo is $14.56 CAD."- lolidk13
And Not In A Good Way...
Big Kahuna Burger, it kills you."-Darklock2022
No two people have the same taste in food.
Some people know to avoid crappy food, while others eat literally nothing else.
People Break Down Which Movies They Wish They Could Watch Again For The First Time
There are several movies I've watched so many times I think the viewings outnumber the days I've lived.
And much like a favorite tv series or movie, who wouldn't love to start again anew?
Experiencing that first time but with that feeling of... "I'm gonna love this forever."
We never appreciate the first time enough.
But that's life.
Warning: there are spoilers below.
Redditor Jacale1 wanted to discuss all the movies we wish we could experience new all over again, so they asked:
"What is one movie that you wish you could watch again for the first time?"
There are a lot of mystery movies I'd love to redo, just to figure out the killer sooner.
Gasps!
"The Shawshank Redemption."
MisOlga26
"A great nominee. Will never forget gasping when that rock went through the poster, and again when the warden pushed his arm through and ripped it down.... wow."
GalavantingRhino
Over and Over
"Edge of Tomorrow."
jeanrbel
"Is it bad that I got enjoyment knowing Tom Cruise died a lot in that movie. Never on screen, but it happened. Over and over. I hate that guy. How the hell was he the same height as Nichole Kidman in the movies they acted in together. Rhetorical question."
monrovista
"Honestly the whole reason I watched the movie to begin with is that he kept dying over and over."
AutomaticMethod2437
Swooned Away
“'Stardust'- if you don’t know you’ll never know."
jthekoker
"I’m surprised that a fantasy romcom can be so enjoyable, for a straight guy. It’s just the right balance between fantasy, comedy, drama, and romance. Most of the female cast are very easy on the eyes too."
"I swooned when Yvaine glows while dancing on the ship, and when she talks emphatically to the mouse in the caravan. This movie has a lot of A listers, and they deliver. I’m not gonna lie, I have probably watched it half a dozen times."
Redcarborundum
"The book has so much more in it, even having seen the movie you'll feel like a child again."
Beowulf33232
Hail Sigourney
"Alien."
NearDeafExperience
"I watched this with my wife, who has never seen it, and that's about as close as you can get to watching it for the first time. It really displayed just how good the movie is. Also I love Aliens just as much for different reasons."
QueafyGreens
"Came here looking for this! I watched it for the first time with my dad when I was 11, and it’s one of my favorite childhood memories. Amazing movie."
_shes_a_jar
Hey Arnold
"Terminator 2."
lobotomek
"I first watched this as a kid when I knew Arnold was the good guy in movies, and I had not seen T1. I wish I watched T2 for the first time after having watched T1. The mall scene would have been even more mind blowing."
Volvulus
T2 was definitely bada**!! I'd redo that.
Brilliant
"The Departed."
Lineworker2448
"Bro, I'll go further. If I could watch the Nicholson covered in blood scene or the final scene between Damon and Wahlberg, I would be so freaking happy. The sheer acting clout on display for the first is near a masterclass while the last scene was just so business like, I'd love to relive that scene with fresh eyes. I love this freaking movie."
DaBearsMan_72
Originality
"The original Star Wars. Man, that blew our minds! It totally changed movies from then on. We'd never seen such incredible special effects. The story was so fun and the experience was amazing."
Raggmommy
"Even though I’m not a franchise fan, I can get behind this answer. Because when I saw it first run, I was fourteen, and nothing like it had ever been done. I think it was the first movie where the special effects were the movie? Now that’s standard. It’s a reason people see many films now."
"So, for sheer originality, I’d watch it again, but only for the first time. I barely recall the second movie."
Alexbmac
SURPRISE!!
"The 6th Sense. I audibly gasped in the theater. All the clues are obvious on rewatch but that first time, before anyone knew M. Knight Shyamalan was a twist guy... wow."
GalavantingRhino
"I never got to see it the first time. My girlfriend at the time (now wife) inadvertently let slip the ending thinking I had already seen it. I have never seen the point in watching it knowing the ending. But I did enjoy The Village."
failurebeatssuccess
"I watched it again and it was more of a sad film than a thriller."
anotherbarry
Just Beautiful!
"Spirited Away. I was blown away by how beautiful and bonkers it is."
Lizziebunnypie
"Saaaaame! Every single Studio Ghibli film, but Spirited Away especially! I’ve still watched it a million times though, and it’s always special. If I’m in a bad mood that film always cheers me up!"
"Also, Avatar-the last air bender. I know it’s not a movie, but I felt like it deserved a mention. I’ve watched the whole thing several times, and it’s always great, but I do wish I could forget it and rewatch it. I’m 35 btw... lol."
Mimi_315
Great Scott!
"Back to the Future."
dwkindig
"I'd love to watch that in the cinemas... Now from the future."
billieboop
Now I want to go to the movies.
There is no one way to anybody's heart or libido.
Sexy doesn't always have to equal raunchy.
I've known people turned on by music, books, nature, and even funerals (don't ask).
What starts someone's engine is a mystery.
Redditor asexyjohn18 wanted to hear about all the things that get people in the mood, so they asked:
"What is a non sexual trait that turns you on?"
I love a walk. A little strut. Nothing like getting the heart racing.
Tingles
"Getting my head scratched or having someone run their fingers through my hair."
SensitiveDolphin55
"Same. It’s so pleasant when the tingles run down your spine... ;-) "
PumpkinSpiceMaster
LOLOL
"When a girl genuinely laughs at jokes I make."
Realistic_Practice16
"I remember being on a first date with a beautiful woman and I made a bit of corny joke/comment and she laughed at it. I remember thinking, damn, wait till I get to my good stuff. I did get to my good material apparently as we were married. She gives me as many laughs as I give her."
CarlJustCarl
Do Right
"Kindness. When I see someone going out of their way to help others for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do… that is some truly attractive vibes."
Electrical-Bid-9577
"Apparently it's vanishing from this world really fast. People who show kindness often end up in losses (of course not everytime but most of the time yes). It really breaks my heart."
Walker1798
"Probably the sexiest thing out there. Someone can be smoking hot, funny, talented, etc. But if they're not kind, they're unattractive."
sravll
Oh Yes...
"Smiling right at me, and men stretching. LAWD HAVE MERCY!!"
Skwiddling
"I have trouble smiling at women. Is this a turnoff for them? And ones I like are really hard to smile at. Because I know it's always going to be some really weird big smile if I am crushing which makes me feel like a super duper creep."
Maximum_Knee_4622
Simplicity
"Sorry if this is too kinky but i like it when they care about me."
SirReal10000
"Too far man. You need to rethink your choices."
Funkeysismychildhood
Sometimes it's all about the heart.
Eye 2 Eye
"When a guy explains something to you in a calm and understanding voice. Bonus points for gentle eye contact."
Belphiespillow666
GENIUS!!
"Being crazily intelligent. Screw dirty talk, I want you to explain some unexplainable s**t in my ear."
-F**KINGUSERNAME
"Heck yes. My best connections have been with a philosophy/history professor turned chancellor, an environmental engineer, and a neurosurgeon, all 3 Summa cum laude grads and conference speakers in their fields. The downside to genius though is complete absorption in their fields leaving little time for in person connection."
__trezora__
Yummies
"Everyone should know how to cook. Hunger knows no gender. I like to eat good food so I learned how to cook. I asked my mom one day and she reacted surprised. She was more than grateful to have an opportunity to teach me the ‘finer’ aspects of cooking, as she called it. Lol. I love food."
"My girlfriend, now wife, likes to jokingly say I got her into bed with a well seasoned steak and homemade fries. I mean we did sleep together almost immediately after we finished dinner so maybe she’s right. That old saying comes to mind. 'The quickest way to the heart is though the stomach.'"
SaiyanGodKing
Getting Green
"When I ask my husband for help when I repot my plants and he delicately cleans and moves the leaves. He is a mechanical engineer and he works with huge pieces of industrial equipment, seeing him so tenderly caring for my plants just makes me melt."
BoysenberryNo3877
Limbs A Lot
"Men doing intricate work with their hands."
GooglePixel69
"I second this, also someone who can play guitar/bass real real well... just watching their hands, whoa mama."
squeaky-mcgee
Well, it seems that just about anything can get someone in the mood, especially if you're kind, courteous, and especially a good cook.
Anything to add? Let us know in the comments below!