There’s no such thing as a ‘perfect’ workplace. However, that’s no excuse for maintaining a toxic environment and letting your employees feel like they’re undervalued and don’t belong there. Every manager should, ideally, strive to motivate and support everyone. And while some bosses manage to genuinely inspire their crew, others focus more on creating the illusion of change than actually committing to changing anything.

Mandatory team-building events without any soul behind them, mental health seminars with no real follow-ups, calling your business a ‘family,’ and expecting women to organize and run all social events—this is just the tip of the iceberg of toxic workplace behaviors, according to the redditors on r/AskWomen.

We’ve collected their very best insights to show that, once you take a closer look, even an ‘ideal’ company might still do a lot of things incredibly wrong. While you’re reading everyone’s posts, think about the very worst practices that you’ve seen at work, Pandas. Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments. Got any specific solutions to people’s work problems? Let them know how you’d approach things.

Meanwhile, read on for Bored Panda’s interview about the early warning signs of burnout and mandatory team-building events with workplace expert Lynn Taylor, the author of ‘Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.’ Taylor is also the CEO of Behind the Buckle and a blogger at Psychology Today.

We also got in touch with the founders of the Work Wives podcast, Johanna Kate and Sarah May Alexander, for their thoughts about a phenomenon that affects female employees, known as ‘office housework,’ and how to change the situation. You’ll find the insightful duo’s thoughts as you scroll down.

#1

Keep having mental health related seminars.

Give us a day off.

Image credits: 0_0moon0_0

#2

Expecting women to organize and run the mandatory fun/ team bonding events. Does not matter if men at the same level or job would never be expected to “waste” their time putting together these events, women are expected to do it, often on their own time, and we are supposed to like it too….

Image credits: myalias1919

#3

Coming to work sick

Image credits: SoCalledPerson

Workplace expert Taylor told Bored Panda about the early warning signs of burnout. Here are a few of the main ones:

• “You dread going to work. You might be hitting the snooze button multiple times each morning.
• Your productivity level is decreasing even though you’re working hard. Stress and frustration are impacting your work product.
• You keep daydreaming and wondering about what it would be like to work somewhere else.
• You’re feeling the physical effects of burnout, such as fatigue, low energy, or muscle pain.”

Taylor noted that employees should stay mindful of their mental and physical well-being at work.

“It’s easy to get into a rut or downward spiral otherwise. Work should not be involuntary servitude… it should be meaningful and challenging. Employees are at their best when they feel they’re making a contribution—in an atmosphere that is welcoming and supportive.”

#4

“This is a family”

No it’s not..its a business..

Image credits: mrspicytits

#5

Forced team bonding events.

Image credits: myciccio

#6

Not paying men and women equally.

Image credits: cyarin_60025

Meanwhile, the workplace expert shared her thoughts about mandatory team-building events that are more about appearances than real change. “In their zeal to build camaraderie, there is a contingent of managers who go through the motions of team-building events without a solid strategy,” the author of ‘Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant’ said.

“Sometimes, senior leadership feels that it’s the ‘right thing to do’ and may bring in a cookie cutter program, for example—that doesn’t reflect the culture or people in the organization. It’s always best to get input from those you’re trying to motivate before launching a program. When people have a vested interest in the outcome and are part of the solution, you always get a better result,” she explained to Bored Panda.

“Sometimes, motivational programs can seem patronizing if there is a disconnect between the nature of the event, and how management treats its employees. Think about a program that is launched at one of these so-called pep talks and is called, ‘We love our people,’ but a) management has been slow to respond to major employee concerns; b) raises have been nonexistent; or c) there is very little training or support at the company. If not handled correctly, these programs can appear hypocritical, and certainly more detrimental than helpful.”

#7

Actually attending an “office” for completely remote-capable work.

We don’t need to be friends with coworkers.

Image credits: em-ay-tee

#8

Commenting on other people’s food choices.

Image credits: Flowerino

#9

Forcing people to stay until a certain time even if their workload is complete because you HAVE to be there.

We only get so much time in this world, I hate having to be somewhere only for the reason of having to be there.

That and giving more work if you complete your work early.

Image credits: splashattack

A potential solution can be to establish volunteer committees “where employees formulate programs that boost morale.” Taylor pointed out that “human resources can be of great value here.”

Being aware of what your team needs is essential. There is no cookie-cutter approach to motivation. “Employers should also be sensitive to the needs of employees. A team-building happy hour may not fly for those who don’t drink or have to pick up their kids from day care. Motivational programs should take into consideration sensitivities to cultural, physical, religious, and dietary differences, too,” the workplace expert said.

“The activities should embrace inclusion. Scheduling a team softball game may seem like a great idea, but could inadvertently ostracize those with physical challenges, for instance.”

Taylor told Bored Panda that mandatory team-building events can have positive effects if they’re “highly targeted to employee needs.”

“If workers can learn from the experience, gain a better appreciation of the company’s mission, and get to know their colleagues on a more humanized basis; then it can be a win-win.”

#10

Gatekeeping knowledge or information in order to make others look incompetent

Image credits: matzah_ball

#11

Telling employees to keep their salary confidential. LOL I am a HR and I am all for compensation transparency because I know corporate only tell us to hide s**t when when they know it’s too fishy to disclose.

Image credits: xeekayla

#12

Mandatory social events outside of work.

Image credits: pinkflower200

Meanwhile, Johanna and Sarah, the founders of the Work Wives podcast, told Bored Panda that mandatory team-building can “absolutely have a positive effect on workplace culture.”

“In fact, a team that is unenthusiastic about building their relationships might be in the most need of strengthening them. Effective and successful team building opportunities come down to the leadership that charges them and the effectiveness with which they are run,” they said. “Effective teamwork is overwhelmingly influential in workplace productivity and overall job satisfaction, so management teams would do well to do everything in their power to authentically build the dynamics of their teams and strengthen the interprofessional relationships of their employees.” The keyword here is ‘authentically.’

#13

Gossiping and drama. I have no idea why some adults still have this problem.

Image credits: V-RONIN

#14

The pressure to work when sick just because you WFH (“because that’s what everyone else does” – and everyone thinks like this).

Image credits: Anxiety_Cookie

#15

I once had to put in $75 toward a sick person’s gift So high gifting that’s mandated

Image credits: s55555s

Johanna explained to Bored Panda why in this day and age, many women are still expected to organize and run events at work. “This is a phenomenon called ‘office housework.’ Women are often lopped with these tasks because they’re assumed to ‘just be better at them’ than their male counterparts or their refusal to do them is seen as obstructive and argumentative when women should be pleasant and agreeable (another delightful leftover of our society’s archaic views on strong women in the workplace).”

The way to change the situation is for an employee to exercise their leadership skills. “Do the task once and then suggest setting up a rotation system that passes the task equally throughout the workplace, or be prepared with a line that points out the inequality, such as ‘I’m feeling a little event-organization-saturated. Perhaps William, the new intern, might like the experience?”

She said: “If we want to shift the dynamic of expectation, we have to be willing to assert ourselves as effectively as men do and happily be called ‘difficult’ for it if need be.”

#16

This is different but a very outgoing likeable employee not having to follow the rules because she is popular with everyone in the office.

Image credits: pinkflower200

#17

Not being allowed to sit.

Image credits: sky_winters

#18

Secret Santa

Image credits: Dazzling-Toe-4955

#19

The mentality that people who choose to have children are more entitled to taking time off on holidays or in the summer.

I don’t have a child, but I am someone’s child. I don’t have to have children of my own for holidays to be important to me.

#20

Mandatory potlucks

Image credits: pilots_are_horny

#21

Toxic positivity. In a previous job I had, it felt like saying things with the proper positivity accoutrements was more important than getting information across or speaking directly. So if we needed to bring up an issue, it had to be sandwiched in between compliments, exclamation points, smiley faces, “no worries if not!”s, etc. to the point where the actual message itself was watered down if not lost entirely. Management gave so much lip service to direct communication (we had a whole seminar on it – despite needing that time to get our real work done) but any time I tried to speak directly I’d get a DM saying I need to reword my message, or asking if I’m okay.

Image credits: brittughny

#22

Micromanaging. This is one of the worst toxic behaviours, as it destroys motivation and morale quickly. There’s no trust within the team, you lose the opportunity to develop yourself and it burns everyone out.

I’ve just switched roles from working for a micromanager to a more hands off manager, I’ve contributed more in my new role than I did with my previous work.

Image credits: Difficult_Humor1170

#23

Icebreakers and spirit questions. Don’t force people to reveal personal info about themselves. Just simply say your name and role if you need to do introductions.

Image credits: Jolly-Proof

#24

When things go wrong, focusing on blame rather than solutions. In my experience, most people, even lazy ones, want to do a good job and when they fail it’s due to poor systems or unclear expectations.

Of course there can be a “bad fit” but truly malicious bad actors are extremely rare.

Image credits: turingtested

#25

not announcing someone is leaving until the last minute.

#26

Not being given the tools to train new people properly. It’s crazy that you’re expected to continue with your regular, heavy workload while trying to train. I always feeling like I’m failing the person I’m training.

#27

Staying after your working hours when it’s not an emergency. It makes it seem normal and makes people that leave on time look bad.

And on that note: staying until later because your team decided to have an extra long lunch hour or decided to take a 30 to 45 mins break to sing happy birthday, eat cake and chat (what happens frequently when you have a lot of people working there).
Then either you look bad because you just spent 10 mins chatting or you look bad because you didn’t stay late to compensate. F annoying.

Image credits: DontOverthink_Learn

#28

Colleagues who are suppose to train you, don’t train you. So you are forced to learn the job yourself. Then that colleague criticizes how you are doing everything wrong. So you ask them for more training so they can show you how to do it right – but they say they are too busy. That colleague treats you like you’ve been working there for 25 years and assumes you know all this stuff, ignores the fact you are new. They overwhelm you with information, make you feel like a total idiot because you don’t know this stuff, and the colleague expects you to know all their 25 plus years of knowledge in a week!

Image credits: Deshang222

#29

Making jokes asking if they are going to a date or an interview or wtv.

Image credits: DontOverthink_Learn

#30

Asking people to donate their PTO instead of giving someone the time off they need.

Image credits: PettyCrocker_

#31

This is education-specific, but admin giving praise and compliments to teachers who come in early and stay late, and work on the weekends. They call it “dedication” but honestly it’s working way beyond contract hours for no pay. I used to do this every week and my life improved so much when I finally stopped. I love my students but I shouldn’t be considered less dedicated because I won’t work for free.

Image credits: Nikki-Black

#32

Employees being pressured to donate to charity. I work for a big grocery chain in Florida where we are encouraged to donate out of every paycheck, but our store manager really pushes for 100% participation. If you tell him no he does a 1 time donation in your name so on paper it shows that his whole store donates. I’m all for helping people sir, but I can barely pay my own bills on this wage.

Image credits: biomechtronic

#33

Non-confrontation that leads to drama.

If you got a problem with how I do things, tell me straightaway. Don’t bother tattling with another coworker cause it’s not going to fix things, if anything I’ll think you’re intending on ruining my reputation instead

#34

Moms getting priority with vacation. At my job I have been there over 20 years so I get 5 weeks vacation. At the first of every quarter we are supposed to request any vacation we want for the upcoming quarter. I always request on the first day.

Inevitably my boss will come to me and tell me I need to change my days because Becky wants to take her kids somewhere on those days. Usually a week or so before I was supposed to take off. Last year I lost 4 vacation days.

#35

Bosses not listening to the ones below them out of ego

#36

Work wives and Work husbands. it’s fine to have friends at work, but “coupling” of people who work together seems inappropriate on a lot of levels.

#37

The whole department getting yelled at for one persons wrong doing. Address the person. Fix the problem. Don’t yell at all of us!

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