Voice Recorder
One colleague secretly recorded us on their phone badmouthing our bosses, then blackmailed us to take over their work or they’d show it to the boss. We covered their tasks for two weeks, then secretly set up a hidden camera in the bathroom they always used and caught some footage. We showed it to them and told them the game was over. They freaked out and threatened to report us. We said fine, but then we’d share the bathroom video around. That was the end of it.
HR
I thought I was on good terms with the HR lady and asked if I’d be affected by the year-end layoffs. She swore I wouldn’t be—but then I got fired at the end of the year. As a parting shot, I sent her a screenshot of her husband’s Tinder profile and then blocked her. I know revenge isn’t pretty, but it felt so good.
The Baby
My three closest female colleagues were best friends, but they never let me into their inner circle. Then two of them (Anna and Dia) had a childish fight and forced the third (Orsi) to choose sides. Orsi hesitated, so Anna showed her a chat where Dia compared Orsi’s child to a zombie. Dia then showed Orsi a chat where Anna called Orsi a total cow. Now all three hate each other and try to buddy up with me—but I just brush them off.
The Chat
Panni was the one I took under my wing at the company. Nobody liked her because she was the boss’s acquaintance, but I taught her everything and we worked great together. For four years, we spent every lunch break together, sharing every joy and sorrow. When my husband left me, she kept my spirits up. I was grateful and one evening told her how much I appreciated her support. The next day, she sent a screenshot of my message to someone else with the caption: “This poor thing is going to bore us all day with her personal drama again...” When I realized she’d said that about me, it felt like a gut punch. She couldn’t even look me in the eye the next day, and we haven’t spoken since. That backstab hurt even more than my husband leaving.
The Snack
My favorite colleague said there were chocolate donuts left after the meeting. I rushed into the conference room—and there wasn’t a single donut left, only pretzels. That was a harsh backstab.
The Bonus
My boss promised me a bonus for helping with a project. I worked on it for six months—outside of work hours—and when it was done, I got nothing. I know it was my fault for not asking in writing, but I never dreamed they’d cheat me like that. At the next meeting—in front of all the other bosses—I quit and explained why. No one said a word; the culprit turned as red as a lobster. I don’t know if they faced any consequences, but honestly, this company doesn’t exist for me anymore.
The Method
I developed a method that calculated the maximum price increase a client would accept. It was 90% accurate and brought in about $290,000 extra revenue for the company in one year. Still, my annual review said “improvement needed.” I quit that day and joined a competitor for nearly double the salary. Luckily, I never shared my method, so the next year their results were terrible.
The Request
My workload kept growing, but I got no raise—only promises. Eventually, I was fired and my position was posted with even less pay than I had. At that time, I met my new partner, who’s in HR. They found out my old company didn’t have proper HR, so they filed an unfair dismissal claim with me, which we easily won—and I got a nice compensation.
The Help
My colleague suddenly got an assistant, surprising everyone. They said it was to lighten the load because they worked so hard. They were asked to train the assistant, but a few months later, they were fired and the assistant took their place. They basically trained their own replacement for free.
Unnecessary
My hardest-working colleague was fired—officially because the position was no longer needed—and replaced by the boss’s niece. Surprise, surprise, that department fell apart the same year the relative became the mini-boss.
Cover photo: yourstockbank/istockphoto.com
