“Boss From Hell Gets What She Deserves”

Probably all of us have had that one boss or manager who seemed to go out of their way to make life a living hell. Micromanagement, abuse, or just plain confusing demands and poor communication are all hallmarks of a leader who does not care at all about their employees. A few people out there are unlucky enough to experience the so-called “boss from hell.”

So when one netizen realized their terrible boss was going to attempt to scapegoat them, they decided to get a hearty dose of revenge first. We got in touch with Present_Platypus_578 who wrote the story and they were kind enough to answer some of our questions.

There are some bosses who are so malicious and incompetent that it’s unclear how they got the job in the first place

Image credits: Antoni Shkraba (not the actual photo)

But one netizen saw an opportunity to get back at a so-called “boss from hell”

Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Present_Platypus_578

Some companies do not do a great job of deciding who is in charge

Image credits: Edmond Dantès (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda got in touch with OP and they were kind enough to answer some of our questions. Firstly, we were curious to hear their opinion on how someone like “Pamela” even got the job. “It’s a combination of factors. First, people like “Pamela” know how to hide their lack of skills in a resume and pump up their minimal accomplishments (or outright lie about them like “Pamela”.) I avoid interviewing applicants whose resumes only consist of industry buzzwords, and generic job duties and provide metrics for improvement or success (such as an 87% sales growth) without giving an idea of how it was done. Great resumes provide some finer details of what was done and how said thing was accomplished.”

“Combine that with companies that don’t know how to critique a resume and ask good clarifying questions on a resume (what 3 ideas or processes did you implement that can be credited to an 87% sales growth?), or a company that is desperate for anyone to get into a particular job position, and people like Pamela get hired. What’s surprising is how often this happens.”

“Pamela” may have been slightly delusional

Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)

We also wanted OP’s insights on whether “Pamela” actually thought her actions would go unnoticed. “I absolutely think “Pamela,” thought she could get away with it. She hoped to either blame me for the mismanagement (even if I was forced to obey her direction) or have such a great sales period that it masked her borderline (if not) fraudulent budgeting,” they shared with Bored Panda.

“The business would have caught on eventually. At that point, this business had terrible processes for accountability, setting and maintaining budgets, and barely scraped by in regards to having all proper accounting processes in place. After “Pamela” left and more of the wool was taken off my eyes, I realized how messy the business had been running. Even after “Pamela”, there was no real urgency to enact change, which is when I left.”

Unfortunately, there are many other “Pamelas” out there

Image credits: Yan Krukau (not the actual photo)

Since we were talking about “bosses from hell,” we wanted to hear if OP had any other, similar stories. “I’m sad to say, but I have a few. A consistent theme I see is managers who hire a team of professionals for idea creation or a series of projects, however, they will only prioritize their ideas and projects without justification.”

“Another theme I see is upper management’s complete blindness to resource management. I’ve had managers who constantly change goals and reprioritize work. For example, there’s one priority to be done by the end of the week, and by Wednesday afternoon you have to drop everything to complete a different task by the end of the week (that will require overtime hours, but only for salaried employees). Then, the next Monday you’re asked why the original priority wasn’t completed on time. We can’t work 24/7, and we already have a skeleton crew.”

“Beware of places that look to hire a “nimble team player” who can “take direction” in a “fast-paced environment”. Please read that as “We are looking for a doormat who can juggle multiple tasks outside of their job description and do the work of multiple people. This person will be constantly pulled in multiple directions and will consistently have conflicting deadlines. If you complain, we will guilt trip you for “not being a team player” and will make it seem you are turning your back on ‘family.’”