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What would you like as a token of your employer’s appreciation after you’ve stayed at the same company for 25 years? A new car, a vacation or a check for $5,000? Well, your boss has thought of something even better: a handwritten note and a stale cupcake.

Employees feeling overworked and underappreciated is nothing new, but it does seem to become more and more common every single year. So if you’re curious about just how toxic some workplaces have gotten, we’ve got the perfect list for you down below. Bored Panda has scoured the internet to find images employees have shared of the most insensitive and outrageous ways they’ve been treated at work. So enjoy scrolling through these comically bad photos, and be sure to upvote the situations that would inspire you to quit on the spot!

#1 2 Billion In Gross Profit

Image credits: mastah21

#2 The Treats My Job Left Us For Our “Hard Work” Were All Expired

They were all uncomfortably warm too.

Image credits: iiiyotikaiii

#3 Why Does Corporate Think This Is Ok?

Image credits: Goodn00dl3

In 2021, we saw the Great Resignation, where millions of employees said “enough is enough” and left their jobs in search of higher salaries, better opportunities and a healthier work-life balance. But according to Universum, this trend isn’t completely over, as recent research shows that we’re entering the Great Re-Resignation.

As it turns out, 36% of highly skilled professionals in Europe are considering quitting their jobs this year. And when it comes to why employees are jumping ship, being forced to return to the office is a significant factor. Workers also aren’t happy with having stagnant wages and lack of growth opportunities in their careers.

#4 The Break Room At Work

Image credits: nouareallallleft

#5 $90,000,000 In Sales And This Target Store Rewarded The Workers With Cupcakes

Image credits: UnionDrip

#6 I Emailed HR After Noticing A Pay Error. This Was Their Response

Image credits: Sabrine_Heester_2001

Universum’s data also found that many employees are unhappy with their current company’s lack of investment in training and development. It’s difficult to find any motivation to stay in their current positions if they could be in the exact same spot five years down the road.

At the same time, many workers’ priorities have shifted in recent years. Nowadays, having flexible working hours, the option to work from home and an opportunity for a healthier work-life balance are invaluable to employees. Gone are the days when people lived to work; most of us today are simply working to live.

#7 Founder Feels Pride Having Zero Work Life Balance

Image credits: AlwaysAPM

#8 Buddy Got This At Work For “Hitting All Target Goals”

Image credits: brxxtyn

#9 The Company I Work At Replaced All Toilet Paper With This

Image credits: Yuuki2628

We’ve all heard of “quiet quitting,” but have you heard of “revenge quitting”? According to Harper’s Bazaar, this is the latest trend that employees around the world are hopping onto. This is when employees reach a point of feeling so burnt out, frustrated and dissatisfied with their positions that they simply decide one day that they can’t take it anymore. While some experts advise that workers don’t make any snap decisions and quit at the drop of a hat, the relief that comes from knowing you’re finally free from a toxic work environment can be priceless.

#10 Note I Found In The Fridge At Work

Image credits: aegri_mentis

#11 Company Enforced Monthly 2 Hour Drive Into The Office To Improve Collaborative Working. Nobody Else Showed Up

Image credits: Let_it_stew_forabit

#12 The Fun-Police

Image credits: DudeWithFearOfLoss

One of the biggest factors pushing employees away from their current jobs is the feeling of being burnt out. In fact, a recent survey from Moodle found that a whopping 66% of workers in the U.S. are experiencing burnout. This stems from a variety of reasons, including not having enough time to complete tasks, not having the resources to properly do their jobs, worrying about the economy being poor, being expected to take on too much labor due to shortages and worrying about how AI will impact careers.

#13 My Job Won’t Allow Me To Sit Down At My Desk, Even Though There’s A Chair, That I’m Also Not Allowed To Move

Image credits: bowthedragon

#14 Boss Hung These Signs Around The Office

Image credits: Oziumz

#15 My Manager Deleted The Hours I Worked From My Check

I’m allowed to clock in when I do complimentary training sessions with my clients. When I opened the app to do so today, I noticed the 9.5 hours I worked from last week were removed. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not much. But it’s the principle of it. They manipulated me into staying late every day, and then deleted the hours without even letting me know.

And yes, I do plan on quitting. Currently trying to figure out where I can train my clients in the meantime.

Image credits: Bikinisandbrushes

Because employees are demanding better working environments, companies are facing new challenges that they haven’t had to worry about before. Gallup warns that many workers’ performance might be impacted by how detached they’re becoming from their jobs. And the tragic state of the current job market is leading to more frustrated and dissatisfied employees. In fact, employee life evaluation has recently hit a record low in the United States.

#16 We Got A New District Manager

I honestly liked my work environment up until now. We got switched to a different district, so now we have a different district manager. I get that everything on here is pretty much industry standard at this point, but she really gets the point across that we are not people to her. She’s worse in person.

Image credits: Remote-Acadia4581

#17 My Dad’s 20-Year Work Anniversary Card

My dad’s been a laborer with his company for 20 years. To congratulate him they give him a card with an attached gift card. The card just said: “You’re egg-cellent.”

Image credits: princessangellll

#18 Office Heat Is Broken. They Aren’t Letting Us Work From Home

Image credits: Haunting_Bat_4787

Many workers are unhappy with how their employers have integrated AI into their workplace as well. Gallup found that only a third of workers say their companies have started using AI to improve business processes. Meanwhile, childcare is a huge issue for working mothers. When they can’t find affordable and reliable childcare, many are forced to simply leave their careers behind. And when it comes to how employees feel about their managers, many say that they’re receiving far too little recognition for accomplishments and feedback on their performance.

#19 I Won This At Work. The Right To Buy A 15-Minute Break

Image credits: turboshot49cents

#20 Being A Nurse Right Now Has Its Perks

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#21 Check Out My Christmas Bonus After Making My Company $1 Million In The Last 2 Months Alone. $25 Card

Image credits: Skeezychickencream

So if you happen to find yourself in a toxic work environment, what can you do about that? Healthline says it’s important to first recognize that it’s not your fault. You’re not causing the negativity in your workplace, so don’t feel responsible for fixing it. Now, it may be helpful to take your lunch break outside or in a private location away from the stress of work. And remember to set boundaries to keep your work-life balance as healthy as possible. Try to minimize how much you think and talk about work in your free time.

#22 Bathroom Breaks

Image credits: Acrobatic-Fortune-99

#23 McDonald’s Will Reward You For Working 30 Long Years With $300

Picked up a part time second job to pay down credit cards/save for a vacation and saw this in the break room. This is a franchise, so I’m not sure if this is normal for McDonald’s or not. But imagine putting in your 30 years, getting ready to retire, and being presented with $300 and getting told to buy yourself something “special”.

Image credits: chocolatebarguitar

#24 Surprised My Girlfriend With Baked Goods And Flowers Before She Went To Work, And Her Co-Workers Ate Them All

Unprompted, straight up just snagged them from her area and ate em, extremely rude.

Image credits: Limp_Rent2784

It’s also important to stay out of the drama that may be taking place in your office. Stay focused on yourself and your own goals, Healthline recommends. And make sure that you have some sort of ritual or relaxation plan to ensure you can decompress after a long day at work. Find a few key trusted coworkers if you can, and minimize interactions with anyone you consider toxic. And if the environment is taking a huge toll on you or your mental health, don’t be afraid to start planning your exit.

#25 Recruiter Just Copied And Pasted The Job Description And Didn’t Check It, Giving A Glimpse Into The Company’s Attitude

Image credits: OneCoolStory

#26 Ladder I Was Given At Work To Clean A Ceiling Fan

Image credits: creaturling

#27 My Job Just Gave Me A Pin Celebrating 5 Years Of Me Working Here. The Company I’m Working At Was Sold And I’m Being Laid Off In A Few Months Because They Don’t Want To Pay My Current Wages

Image credits: Therenegadegamer

We hope that the photos on this list don’t remind you of your own workplace, pandas. But if they do, we recommend you start creating an exit strategy! Keep upvoting the pics that you find most appalling. And then, if you’re interested in checking out even more photos from unhealthy workplaces, we’ve got the perfect Bored Panda list for you to read next right here!

#28 My Company Filed For Bankruptcy And Refuses To Pay Us

They forced us to do overtime, I had 94 hours in a two week period and on last Friday, April 11th, on pay day they decided to lay us all off and refuse to pay any of us. Then filed chapter 11 bankruptcy. I have like 8 coworkers and they have kids and family they can’t support now with no job and more importantly no paycheck.

The company refuses to talk to us. We have reported them to the department of labor. They weren’t helpful at all. We were government contractors providing security for a site they were building. But now we have no finacial security of our own.

The picture above is my last pay day. To prove they didn’t pay us on April 11th like they were suppose to. Apparently the company was talking about suing us for slander for speaking against them. They got money for lawyers but not to pay us.

Image credits: queef_baker123

#29 The Toilet Paper At My Job

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#30 Popular Sandwich Chain Had This Tip Sign

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#31 I Quit With 100 Hours Of PTO. They Changed My Hourly Rate To $1 A Hour

I quit my job, I put my two weeks and fulfilled it. I left on good terms, never really used my PTO, so I thought I would have a nice paycheck after I quit. Only to find out my 100 hours of PTO was not my hourly rate of $20.50 and a hourly rate of $1 per hour.

Just a friendly reminder to use your PTO. I would have used all my PTO before I quit.

Image credits: SupremeWraps

#32 Is This Normal For A Work Place?

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#33 “If No One Is In The Office, Then We Can’t Build A Company Culture” The Company Culture

Image credits: reddit.com

#34 Can My Job Cut My Pay Because I Decided Not To Quit?

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#35 My Pregnant Wife Has To Work With A Contagious Person That Won’t Go Home

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#36 The Wheels On Our Baking Racks At Work Are Literally Falling Apart And They Refuse To Get Them Fixed. They Don’t Even Roll Anymore, They Tip Over Often When Trying To Push Them

Image credits: PeeB4uGoToBed

#37 “Employee Appreciation Meal” My Company Once Provided

They pimped it as a way to show their gratitude. I believe it was some attempt at meatloaf, but seemed about 60% sawdust.

Image credits: Jack_Shaft0e

#38 This Was A Survey Sent Out Today To Address Our Work Culture

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#39 Came Down To The Break Room This Morning To Find This

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#40 Just Hire For The Same Amount. You’re A Multibillion Dollar Company

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#41 I Quit My Job At McDonald’s And They Haven’t Signed My Request To Quit (Sent In March) They Keep Calling Asking Why I Haven’t Showed Up To Any Shifts

Image credits: PsychoticMelatonin

#42 My Job Is “Thanking” Us By Reducing Our Pay

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#43 This Is From A&W Near Me

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#44 I’m Pretty Sure My Boss Started Using Spyware To Screen Capture My Laptop. So I Left This Up

I work from home because they couldn’t find anyone who can do my job in the state they are.I think my boss hates not being able to micro manage me, but consistently gets on my case about things and then says he’s not trying to micro manage me. I’m in a highly specialized tech role and the only one here that can do my job, so they literally need me not that I need them.

This morning, I had an update for my laptop. Not unusual. We have very high security and it’s always something being added. It ran quickly. Didn’t require a restart. I thought nothing of it. Hours later I realize that every maybe 20 or 30 minutes, my monitors kind of blink, like they go black for half a second, and make a tone. It took me too long admittedly to realize it’s probably a screen capture. They installed spyware on my laptop to see what I’m doing.

So I have had this on 1 of my screens for the last few captures. If I’m wrong, well, no one sees it but me (and you). But if I’m right, well I’m getting fired anyway so who cares about calling them out to their faces.

Image credits: KevinAnniPadda

#45 They Got A Face Scanning Time Clock, It Doesn’t Work For Almost Half The Employees. I Don’t Think This Memo Is Even Legal?

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#46 PTO Provided A “Nacho Bar” For Us Teachers On Cinco De Mayo, During Teacher Appreciation Week

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#47 “You Are Not Allowed To Sit, This Is Not A Office Job.” The Last Order Was 90 Minutes Ago

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#48 General Manager Put These Signs Up The Other Day. Also Sent My Coworker Home For Insubordination Tonight Because He Put His Two Weeks In

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#49 My Girlfriend Just Showed Me This. The Company She Works For Is A Small Business That Has A High Turnover Rate. I Feel Like This Is Mean Spirited And No Way To Treat Any Employee

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#50 The State Of My Workplaces Keyboards

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#51 I Was Let Go Yesterday. This Is How I Found Out. The Day Before Was When My Boss Told Me, Via Phone Call, My Traineeship Might Be Terminated. I Had No Inkling Prior To This. No Feedback

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#52 I Had To Evacuate From The Wildfires In LA And Had 30 Minutes To Leave My Home. When My Manager Called Me And Asked If I Remembered My Work Laptop

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#53 Company Just Went Under. We Were Promised Severance If We Didn’t Have Any Job Offers By Today. This Was My CEO’s Response When I Asked About It

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#54 The Only Toilet This Morning In My Office

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#55 LinkedIn Profile Post From A Recruiter That Reached Out About A Remote Role

I will not be applying.

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#56 Snack Options At My Work (Company Is Worth $9.6 Billion)

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#57 A Dress Down Weekend At My Grocery Store Job

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#58 Why Do People Do This?

We are extremely tight on money and people at my girlfriend’s job stole her food.

Image credits: Randompieceoftoast08

#59 I’m Not Dealing With This Anymore

Their response cracked me up. I’m 33 years old I’m not doing a group interview ever again. They’re embarrassing and insulting. It’s literally the company saying flat out that candidates are numbers they’re just shuffling through that day. So while they “respectfully disagree” I will no longer be lowering myself for any company that can’t be bothered to one on one interview people. Pathetic.

Image credits: Sad-Caterpillar-5258

#60 No More Water Bottles On The Floor Without A Doctors Note? Is That Legal?

Today I was told I am no longer allowed to carry my small water bottle unless I have a doctors note. I explained that I do not drink water infront or around customers. That I have to run and help customers on all 10-11 self scan machines. I could understand if I was a cashier but I didn’t think that it was fair to make this new rule after l’ve worked with the company for two years and never had an issue with my water bottle.

After having a meeting I was told that security has to audit workers and workers leave bottles around so now no one is allowed to carry water unless they have a doctors note stating they need to have water on hand. I asked why my manger was allowed to have a gallon of water on her desk and my 8oz water bottle wasn’t allowed. All I was told is the office isn’t the main floor and customers don’t see it and my water bottle was a personal item. I guess I have to schedule a doctors appointment to have them print a paper stating I need to stay hydrated at my 7-8 hour shifts.

Image credits: Hyperfroot143

#61 I Got My Yearly Review

Evidently I need to be more excited about working on my day off. It’s a commission job. It does occasionally need attention on off days. But usually it’s something that can easily be addressed by office staff. They’d rather pass the buck and call me when I’m scheduled off.

Image credits: Phreak74

#62 A McDonald’s I Worked At Posted This With Zero Heads Up

The franchise is bloated with supervisors and nepotism. I’m sure they all got their holiday bonuses and aren’t taking pay cuts.

Image credits: Cromus

#63 Less Than A Year Into My First Job, And My Company Is Two Weeks Late On Paying Me

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#64 Was Told Today We Are No Longer Allowed To Use Our Regular Back Packs And Must Instead Use These – Asda Driver

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#65 My Meal Provided By My Company During Christmas Day

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#66 Local Pizza Hut Not Allowing Employee Meals Due To Staff Occasionally Not Charging Customers 25¢ For Extra Ranch

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#67 Look At This

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#68 How I Found Out I Was Losing My Job. Former Director Accidentally Sent A Message To A Teams Group Chat That Included Me And Another Manager. It Clearly Wasn’t Meant For Me To See

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#69 I See Mold On The Vents And I Can’t Tell You How Long It’s Been Sitting There. It Seems Like There’s Not A Sense Of Urgency To Getting It Taken Care Of

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#70 My Boss Just Assigned A Bunch Of Tasks For Me To Do, & Made Them Due 2 Days Ago

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#71 This Chair At My Workplace. I Have To Sit Here For 8 Hours A Day

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#72 My Job’s “Improved Break Room” Was The Last Straw. Just Put In My Two Weeks (Improved Meaning Getting Rid Of Table And Chairs To “Increase Productivity”)

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#73 I Was Hired And Fired Within The Span Of 3 Hours

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#74 Is This The Norm Nowadays? I Recently Accepted A Position, But This Popped Up In My Feed. I Was Honestly Shocked

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#75 17-Year-Old Employee Ends Up In ER Before Scheduled Shift, Her Mother And Grandmother Both Call In On Her Behalf. Still Gets Fired For Not Personally Calling In

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#76 My Boss Put A Personal Camera In The Break Room

It doesn’t match to any of the other cameras and my manager said it’s the boss’s personal camera and on his phone. This is a corporate business. I work at Burger King.

Image credits: reddit.com

#77 My Company Pulls This Today And Says It’s Complying To The New Law

So Illinois passed a new law about vacation and people that work 40 hours must be compensated with vacation time. This goes into effect New years day. Now my company pulls this today and says it’s complying to the new law. Should I just look for a new job?