People Are Sharing Signs Of A Toxic Workplace You Can Spot On Your First Day, And It's Useful AF
Have you ever gotten a job and on day one, you're like "Nope, this is is not a good place to work"? Well, recently I wrote a post about people sharing first-day red flags/experiences that caused them to quit immediately. Our own BuzzFeed Community came through with some responses of their own, too.
Here's what people shared:
1.No introductory info:
"Worked in a hotel for a day. No one told me where anything was. Got chewed out for it. Guests enjoying their meals told me to pay no mind/I was doing a good job and that my boss is an ass."
2.Bonkers boss:
"Had two interviews to work housekeeping at a hospital. Got a call the night of the second interview at around midnight from the guy saying, 'I was just so excited I wanted to call and tell you I'm gonna call you to offer you the job tomorrow.' Should have taken that as the first red flag, but I needed the job. I go in for my first day of training and he has printouts of my Facebook wall and my boyfriends. He started asking me how long we had been together and made it clear he knew everything, so not to lie to him. It was so uncomfortable. After my first session of training, we break for lunch, and he sits with me in the cafeteria asking how it's been going so far, etc. Then, tells me he expects to see me at his church Sunday. I haven't gone to church in like 10 years at this point."
3.Clocking out and then working more:
"It was around 10:30 p.m., and they told me it was time to clock out, despite not having finished closing. I was there 'til midnight."
4.Work doesn't match the job description:
"Young and naïve right out of college, I took a 'marketing' job. After four hours of training, my first day consisted of going door to door in a suburban town trying to sell cable to older people. We were told to dress for business, so I’m hiking around for miles in my best skirt, suit jacket, and heels. Hours were from '9-5,' but we didn’t get back to the business until well after 10 p.m. Not to mention, the person I was shadowing was able to make a sale to an older gentleman, who seemed to have memory issues. I nope'd the fuck right out of there."
5.Like, no:
"I was hired to be a waitress, which has a lower hourly wage due to tips. The entire shift, they had me wash dishes in the sink, but paid me waitress wages. A few months later, the restaurant was investigated for a number of fraud activities."
6.Working for free until you learn:
"It was a gas station, and the manager wanted me to work for free until I had learned their computer systems to what he deemed a satisfactory extent. After about an hour and a half without the manager showing up or anyone training me on anything, I decided that I wasn't going to continue to be taken advantage of and told the cashier to pass on the message to the manager that I had quit."
7.Exploiting people:
"Salesman for a vacuum company. First sale call was to a single elderly woman who was supporting her son in hospital. The supervisor training me pushed and pushed to make the sale until this old woman was in tears. Just as she was about to sign the paperwork, I asked if she actually wanted the vacuum and she said it was lovely, but she couldn’t afford it. I took the paperwork away from her and said not to worry. Outside, I told the supervisor I quit, to which he replied I would’ve been fired anyway."
8.Having to pay to use the microwave:
"When the microwave in the lunch room was coin activated."
9.Inappropriate hijinks:
"When, at the daily meeting, a manager said they were looking for who put a paper bag with human excrement in an employee's locker."
10.Bad sanitation practices:
"My very first job was at a buffet restaurant that was popular with senior citizens and known for their desserts. I was asked to get another coconut cream pie from the back and as I was getting it out of the fridge, another employee bumped into me and I dropped it on the floor, pie side down. This employee’s (someone who’d worked there for years) solution was to just scrape off all the whipped topping and replace it. I was horrified they served pie that had been on the extremely dirty floor and never went back."
11.Paying for training (!?!?!?!):
"My very first job was at a little drive-in restaurant close to my high school. I showed up to work the first day, the lady said I had to pay her $50 for training."
12.Illogical rules:
"It was a small independent insurance agency in 2006. My first day there, the owner said email and fax were strictly forbidden as he only ‘believed in’ communication in person, by phone, or through mail. Left for lunch and never went back. I couldn’t imagine the inefficiency I’d have dealt with had I stayed."
13.Tricking people:
"Electronics store. My first day, we had to attend a class where they teach people how to upsell folks. Basically, they walked you through ignoring what customers ask you for and using their ignorance of the equipment against them. I thought that was really scuzzy."
14.Banning CC'ing:
"I worked temp to perm at one place, where my boss at the building didn't want me to CC my bosses at the staffing agency, but would CC them only when we did something she didn't like."
15.Sexist policies:
Went for an interview, managed to negotiate my salary. I was very pleased with myself. Then, the owner of the company bought me a 'uniform' and demanded I wear the make up I wore on the day of my interview."
16.And lastly, before agreeing to work anywhere, keep in mind:
"If they don't give you sufficient time to read your contract before signing it, run the other direction. It's a legal document and you are entitled to know what you're signing."