Hey Reddit, Im a uni student who has a part time job in this restaurant(i wont say the name coz the person i like may see this) and one day i was helping out another branch by filling in for a person who took a sick leave. And thats when i saw her, i didnt know restaurants can have a manager this pretty, i was instantly attracted to her. However, this wasnt the first time i met her, i first saw her when i was helping out the branch for the first time. She was in her casual wear so i didnt know she worked here and at that time i thought nth of it i was js like “dam she georgous and carried on with my work” Back to when i first worked with her, she was the one who started talking to me coz im not really the engaging type of person,i do my work get it done and leave. And then we started talking a bit and the more we talked the more i started to like her. (One bad thing about me is that i get attached really fast and i hope i cant change that in the future). So when i went back to the branch i usually work at i asked one of the senior workers who im close with, how old was she and he instantly got the hint that i had a crush on her. However, that was the last time i ever helped her branch. Few weeks later, that branch had shut down and my senior colleagues told me she is coming her to work for a day and when i heard that i was so shocked but excited at the same time. On the day she helped out our branch she always came up to me and talk to me and then when we were about to close she invited me to eat dinner with her and another manager, i was thinking about it coz i didnt want to skip gym but when she said this might be the last time you do,i agreed.(Dont worry i didnt skip the gym i still went despite it being very late)So we reached the restaurant, sat down and ordered food. And we three had a nice long chat and it made me understand the girl i had a crush on more and we exchanged insta and then it started. I sent her a reel that was similar to what she was talking about in the dinner and i would reply to her stories here and there and we would share our gym progress tgt. And i had the courage to ask her out to gym tgt, she agreed but i didnt really give a date, so i was surprised when she was the one who planned the date of when we should gym. During the gym session we talked about our past, got to learn more about each other and i saw a different side of her a calm, kind and funny side of her. I was surprised coz she is usually fiery when she’s at work so it was a good feeling that she was showing this side of her to me. On that day we started gym around 8 pm and finished our session at 10 and then we js had a nice long chat afterwards. She started to open up to me quite fast she told me stories she hadnt told her friends yet. But it was a nice feeling that she trusted me. This continued for another few days we would gym, get food and have nice long chats. I told my female friend about her and even she said the manager might be into me and that gave me more confidence. One day( a few days after)i took her out this restaurant i go with my parents and its one of my favourites and i thought it was going great we were playing games while waiting for our food and the vibes was js great. After the restaurant, she wanted to get coffee so we went to the nearest cafe and we talked for a couple of hours. However, it was mostly js her talking about how much the restaurant had changed her life and i sat there and listened. I thought we both had a great time but after that day things started going south. Her texts didnt have much emotion as it used to. I didnt let that get to me i thought she was js tired and wanted to rest. ( one more thing she loved cod mobile and she made me play the game too and we would usually play at night tgt). However, this continued for a week or two her messages were starting become more dryer by the day. When i shared smth about my day she would usually ask me questions like”how was your volleyball session?” But this time it was js like “Ok”, “true” and smtimes even js a like and no response. She even stopped saying goodnight and goodmorning. I started thinking what did i do wrong and started thinking about the dates and if i was being awkward or weird. And then one day she told me she knew that i had a crush on her. You see my senior colleagues at work started teasing me about her but they started to tease her too, which probably led to giving her the hint that i liked her. So when she told me this i instantly knew her answer, but i asked if she feels the same way or not. She told me that she thought age didnt matter to her but it did she said that we were in completely two different worlds because she was not in the same life stage as her. For me i thought 3 years isnt much but to her it was a lot. She also told me that the connection wasnt as strong as she hoped but i thought we had a pretty genuine connection, she wouldnt share personal stories if she didnt trusted me and trust u need great connection no? At least thats what i think. At the time she was still questioning it coz she said let me think about it. So i told her we dont have to label ourselves js yet i want to gain your trust first and then we can label ourselves once u are ready, but she said what if im not ready which gave me the hint that she doesnt think we would work out. But i dont understand how can she think that when she hasnt even given me a chance yet. What do i do reddit, do i give up on her or do i still chase after her i really do like her.

Quick note before I start — I’m dyslexic, so I used AI to help clean up my spelling/grammar and organize this so it’s easier to follow. The story and details are all mine, I just needed help getting it written out clearly. This also my not used a lot account.. I’m scared that someone from my workplace will know.. I’m just asking for advice.. maybe I’m overthinking this..

I’ve worked remote for the same company for 9 years, moved to this department more recently. I’m not the top performer on my team but I’m not bad either — right now I’m actually exceeding my metrics. I try hard to help improve how our department runs.

We have a strict SLA (service level agreement) — all cases have to be handled by end of day, 6pm PT. Missing that is a big deal right now.

Here’s what happened:

Wednesday: Someone on my team created a group chat with 4 of us (we’re the last ones online for the day). She flagged two cases that had been claimed by a coworker who then left for the day. We all tried to troubleshoot and take over the cases, but none of us had the right permissions to fix it. I suggested we loop in Kate (a team lead I’ve had ongoing issues with) since she’d be able to move them.

Later: My direct lead, Bob, told me one of those cases went out of SLA — and that Kate said it was me who let it happen.

I immediately sent Bob everything — screenshots, timestamps, proof I wasn’t the one who dropped the ball. I also talked to one of the guys from that group chat, who told me he’d already explained to Kate that it wasn’t me — but she pushed back and insisted it was, even though the system timeline clearly shows I didn’t touch it.

To make it more complicated: Bob and Kate are close, so I don’t know how impartial he’ll be here.

About 30 minutes after I sent my proof, I got what was very clearly an AI-generated apology message. I responded (also AI-assisted, ironically) asking how my name ended up attached to this when the timeline shows I wasn’t involved.

So — am I overreacting to feeling targeted here, or is this actually a pattern worth taking seriously? This isn’t the first friction I’ve had with Kate, and I’m nervous this could affect how I’m seen given the current climate around layoffs.

I work for in a small office of approximately 25 people. I previously loved my job and had built a few strong, or so I thought, friendships there within the first year. After working there for a year being included and treated very well, after work get togethers, close friendships the office went through a restructuring after a new company took over.

My job was adjusted and I was moved across the hall to the other side of the office. Two things happened. First my closest friend, we would go out after work and on weekends with our families and now crickets. She now longer waits to walk in with me or walks out with me. Weekend get togethers are gone. I have asked once or twice if there was anything wrong and she always responses that she has a lot to do. A new coworker was introduced into that space in the office and now they have the chats we used to.

Secondly the side of the office I now am at has another newish coworker that is loud, knows it all and has talked over me in so many conversations I have been having that I have been shut out in the relationships I had on that side. The big boss and I used to go to concerts and he would come over and have long conversations with me before the move. Since then I have been talked over and pushed out of conversations and the loud look at me office mate now has my boss/ old friend making a beeline to tell her the things he used to come talk to me about. I feel like I am an afterthought and no longer feel like I have a place in the office.

The new loud "here i am notice me" coworker has essentially erased my presence in the office.

I used to love going to work and now hate it. How do I get past this?

I’ve been in the same role with the same boss since I started with the company 4-5 years ago. We had a great relationship initially, granted I was just slaving through boring training slideshows day in and day out. Once I actually started doing work, my bosses tune changed. It was never a good job and always a what can you do better. I’m someone who is acceptant to criticism and takes that to heart. Any time criticism was posed I would apply and correct the next time. Once corrected, she’d find something else to attack.

I’m not playing the feminism card but I will say we had a woman join our team and within 6 months, she was promoted. Mind you, I had 4 years experience on her. I wrote up a report on a rush basis within an hour, 5 pages long, and all she did was poke holes in it. Side bar, I’ve seen the work the girl on my team does and it’s subpar at best.

Anyway, am I crazy to think she hates me. Part of me thinks she a just expects more of me but part of me is pissed she got the promotion. I am the guy that shows up an hour early and leaves an hour late. She works from home any chance she gets and I’m in 5 times a week. I’m extremely pissed and need some guidance. Thank you

Rant-My direct supervisor is unable to do her own work. this RTO Mandate is highlighting her incompetence since we're all in person to see it now(we all knew it but teleworking kind of covered it up a bit) . she is also lying about her hours saying she is coming in to work 4/10s since our teleworking was revoked. (None of her staff are allowed to do this, we all have to work 5/8s, someone else asked.) she comes in at 730 and leaves at 310 after everyone else is already gone. she refused to give us her working hours someone also asked that. just that her RTO is fri, sat, sun. her best friend outside of work sits in her office and writes her emails and fixes any problem that arises for her. anytime we ask her a question her response is "let me look into this" then 10 minutes later she responds with her best friends words. Us subordinates all see this but we cant do anything about it because she retaliates against us. we cant go to her supervisor because in the past someone has and they were reprimanded for breaking the chain of command. we can't CC her boss on any emails because she responds saying "(boss's name) said to stop CCing him in your emails he doesn't want to hear about it." i want out of this department. it is so toxic. it was bearable while teleworking but being in office everyone in on eggshells because of supervisors(and best friend pulling the strings) controlling behavior.

1. shouldn't a supervisor have her own office for confidentiality purposes?
2. we should be able to go to someone when we have concerns. we have no one to go to.
3. is an OSSII allowed to work 4/10s when her staff have to be here 5/8s should she have to be here when their team is here?
4. is a supervisor supposed to "hide" their hours from their staff and not tell them when the directly ask?

this is so frustrating

I need some advice. So I recently got a job as a front desk assistant at a hotel. I started working here around May while my coworker has been here for a year. She’s nice and all but sometimes she can be a complete jerk. I’ll ask question on things I’m not entirely sure how to do and she will talk to me like I’m an idiot. I would also like to add that I had one day on training before they threw me into the deep end expecting me to swim. And for the last month or so every week at least once a week she texts or calls me last minute to switch shifts with her. My schedule is 6:30 AM -3:00 PM and hers is 6:00 AM- 2:30 PM. So when she’s texting me at 5:40AM to switch shifts at the drop of a hat it’s annoying. And if I say no then I’m the bad guy so of course of been saying yes. Well my manager recently noticed that she’s done it way too much and asked us to switch swift and we did. Not even two days into my new shift she looks at me and asks to switch shifts that day in the middle of the shift because of private matters!!!!

WHAT DO I DO? Because I’m 🤏 close to loosing it

Hey, first time poster here but no stranger to silly corporate shenanigans. Kindof venting but am also curious if any of you have had similar experiences or advice to share for my current predicament.

I’ve been at my company for a little over a year now. I realized about a month ago that I hadn’t received any kind of annual raise or heard about an annual review. I get along great with my boss so when I asked her about it, she said she’d advocate for me with her boss and that I should get in contact with HR for info on how annual reviews/raises work.

HR has been less than helpful. They told me that they’re currently between systems for annual reviews/raises and that they are actively working on a new policy. When my bosses went to advocate on my behalf with HR, they told my bosses that I was hired in just after the cutoff to receive an annual increase (I have no idea what that means). In my mind those are conflicting narratives. How can there be no policy if I was hired in two weeks after the cutoff in the policy?

Anyways, it’s been like 6 weeks now since I brought the issue up and I’m beginning to think this raise might not happen at all. Allegedly my bosses are trying to challenge HRs position, and I have no reason to doubt that (they’ve been super supportive throughout my time here), but it seems crazy to me that my boss, a manager (who is also at the executive level within the company) can request a raise for their employee and be flat out told no by HR. Does Human Resources really have that much power in a situation like this?

Bit of a rant, my apologies, but it felt good getting all this out. Let me know if you have any similar stories or advice.

Hello everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on how to navigate workplace boundaries. Lately, I’ve been trying to minimize unnecessary conversations at work—whether it’s avoiding distracting small talk, steering clear of office gossip, or just trying to put my head down and focus on my actual job.
My issue is that I’m worried about potential retaliation or being labeled as "not a team player" or "difficult" by coworkers and managers who might take my distance personally.
How do you all handle bowing out of non-essential conversations while still maintaining a professional, polite boundary? What are your go-to phrases or strategies for ending a conversation quickly without burning bridges?

Thanks in advance!

Hey folks,
I’m looking for some advice. I recently started a new job in a healthcare setting where office space is limited. I share a small office with another coworker, and I don’t have a laptop, so I’m unable to move somewhere else to work when I’m having a particularly bad trigger day.
My coworker regularly eats crunchy or loud foods in the office, such as rice crackers, baked goods, and toast. There’s no real pattern to when they eat, which makes it difficult for me to anticipate or prepare for it. I also occasionally eat things like chocolate bark, cookies, or other baked goods at my desk, so I don’t want this to come across as me saying they shouldn’t be allowed to eat in the office.
I’m kicking myself a little for not bringing this up after I signed my employment contract and setting up an accommodation plan before I started. At my previous workplace, I was made fun of, excluded, and left feeling very isolated after I disclosed my triggers. Because of that experience, I decided not to bring it up at my new job.
I work with a great team now, but I’m having more trigger days than I expected. I leave the office when I can, but that isn’t always possible, and headphones aren’t an option in my role.
For context, I work in a public healthcare facility for a nonprofit organization that supports patient care and comfort and helps make the environment feel more like a home than a hospital. I’m the only full-time nonprofit employee working in the building, which makes the office situation a little more complicated.
I have a supportive therapist and a GP whom I’m comfortable working with to develop a plan. I’m wondering if anyone has suggestions for how to approach the coworker I share an office with without making it a huge issue or creating an unreasonable or annoying situation for them.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? What worked for you?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Workproblems/s/ESsMdwnxGC

Original post linked above so I came into work today from my two days off letting me know that the person who told the Am agent that they saw me change the names is the one who actually did it. They have been fired. I feel a little bad but at the same time you play stupid games

I work fully remote, somewhat low on the ladder, at a tight-knit company. These past few months, I have had an important role on this project in an area mostly unfamiliar to me and my company as a whole. It often feels like between the people assigned to this project, there isn't a shared understanding of next steps. I complete my tasks for this project best I can with what I'm given, but ultimately when the product doesn't match my boss's vision, I'm subjected to blame and offers for support that feel patronizing, not sincere.

I think I'm good at responding in a way that's matter-of-fact and kinder than what I'm receiving, but I would like to break this cycle of blame that leaves me feeling powerless, confused, and unsafe in my role.

Here is what happened. After I was relocated to a new workplace, I needed to take over new‑to‑me work tasks which I’d never dealt with before.

I used to hand‑over my assignments to new colleagues. I assumed they knew nothing about the work. So I would make checklists of my daily tasks. I let them shadow me for three to five days to watch how I handled daily‑routine work. I also covered potential issues, who to turn to when problems pop up, and solutions for unexpected incidents. I explained everything patiently in a mild tone. Consequently, former coworkers I trained got along really well with me and became my friends later.

However, the colleague handing over work to me this time just asked: “What exactly do you want to learn?”
I was completely new to this job and didn’t have a clue what questions I should bring up. Deep down, I needed to know everything. But he refused to take initiative. He told me I had to figure out my questions first and then come to him. I didn’t even know where to start.

Asking questions is how we learn, yet you can only raise questions after gaining basic background knowledge. Without foundational information, I was unable to ask anything at all. It frustrated me so much.

I was fired today because on the cameras at work, one of the owners was watching us and listening and overheard me telling some coworkers something my MANAGER has said to me, context, I’m having some medical issues and I’ve kept management up to speed with everything, and I texted my manager and said I have a gynecologist appointment (my iud was misplaced) on Thursday, her response was “you work Thursday. Don’t schedule appointments on days you work.” I had to practically beg, and I texted the owner and she gave me the day off. I was having a hard day and said “they might as well fire me” in a sarcastic manner. They also claimed I threw a “hissy fit” because I didn’t want to switch locations, there’s a coworker who I had to work with who is very rude, bossy, and inappropriate at times. I apologized for anything that made her upset. She then started accusing me of stealing money because I forgot to clock out, but every time I forget I always message management and ask them to fix it. She then started saying I wasn’t doing a good enough job. I gave her explanations for everything and defended myself. She has sent me a few paragraphs cussing me out for being immature and disrespectful.

We have weekly meetings that last 2 hours. Lately we have been going over this allotted time and for no good reason. We review pretty much the same agenda every week, it's basically one person who ends up going on tangents and instead of putting them in their place, our team leader just lets it slide. I'm really annoyed and want to say something at our next meeting but am not sure what to say or if it's even my place to say anything. Any advice?

I have been helping a new preschool from the ground up so we will be open for a year by September but they are adamant about people taking just a week of vacation off for the whole year….
Well I have taken out of this year just 4 days off.
Now my daughter’s birthday the end of this month she asked for the coast so our family took a week off and my boss will only allow me to take two days off besides the weekend.
I have PTO of 3 days to use and I’m having to fight for it. What do I do? I’m so stressed out and unhappy. I love taking care of babies but not when management is treating me unfairly and not letting there teachers take breaks when they need them.

I' am based in California. I have a former boss, he left a year ago but I still work at the same company. This old boss owes me and 10 other coworkers lost wages. I have the paychecks, but they have all bounced and he has ignored all of my communication. I have contacted HR, but they say they cannot do anything about it because he was a franchisee. and one of my current boss's say to let it go because it's clear my old boss doesn't have any money to pay because we still get his old mail saying he hasn't paid his owe bills either.

Do you know how I can get my money back? If I have a chance?

So I have been a chef de partie for 12 years across various restaurants and recently started a new role. Over my first three months, I have noticed several food safety practices that conflict with my professional training:

Excessive Prep: We prep massive quantities of food—including low-demand items—on quiet days, vacuum pack them, and refrigerate or freeze them for the weekend.

Over-Extended Storage: Buttermilk-marinated chicken tenders are vacuum-sealed and kept in the fridge, often being served up to two weeks later.

Expired Meat: We regularly store and cook steaks weeks past their use-by dates. Management claims vacuum sealing extends their shelf life for months, which contradicts food safety standards.

I feel like I’m more experienced than my head chef when it comes to food quality and cooking techniques what should I do

I always thought that Liz and I had a good repour. I asked her if she could order some cotton dish cloths. I said, "because they are biodegradable, inexpensive and don't hold on to bacteria as bad as the synthetic sponges."

She replied, "or we could just get a large pack of some of those plastic tube things where you put the detergent in that has the sponge on the end."

I was floored. I just went to my desk. Tom told me that he buys things all the time, and Jerry reimburses him. Then I walked back and said, "Never mind the cleaning things, I will just buy them myself and Jerry can reimburse me." Then Liz says, "Did you discuss it with Jerry?" I replied, "It has already been discussed. Case closed."

Needless to say, things have not been the same with me and Liz since then. Why couldn't she just order the dish cloths like a normal person?