20 Bosses Who Posted Deranged Notes At Their Workplaces

Ashley Hunte
The top of a small jar of "chill pills."
reddit | aint_no_flapjack

There are very few people who love working. Even if you enjoy the kind of work you do, getting up to spend eight or more hours a day, five days a week to do it, still isn't fun.

And it's even worse when your workplace is full of toxic employers. The kinds who would leave absolutely out of pocket signs like the ones in this list.

"At work - where water isn’t free yo."

A sign on a water cooler that reads, "Hello water drinker, if you would like to enjoy this delicious POLAND SPRING WATER please see Sandra [blank] or Michelle [blank] to get signed up to the very cool WATER CLUB. This water ain't free yo. Members are currently enjoying unlimited refills for $5 [originally $4] per month."
reddit | RemyBrady

Yeah, there's absolutely no way I'd be paying for water at work, when they should be providing you with water for free. This seems like such a scam. A grift. A swindle.

"Came into work this morning to find this taped to the wall. Boss went on tirade against me and co-worker yesterday for taking to each other with no customers in the store."

A sign with a Minion image on it that reads, "Attention employees of [blank], Work is not meant to be fun. This is your job. Do not dedicate work time to discussion of non-work topics. Do not facilitate friendships during work hours. Exchange phone numbers and/or hang out after work is complete. Reach me at [blank] if a co-worker is having non-work discussions on company time. Work is not your daycare. Truth."
reddit | MrHatesThisWebsite

Any job that tries to keep you from having... conversations... while on the job, is just plain terrible.

Ageism works both ways, actually.

A sign along a glass door that reads, "4/20 I apologize for closing AGAIN. My 2 new cashiers quit because I said their boyfriends couldn't stand here for their entire shift. Don't hire gen Z's. They don't know what work actually means. Now Hiring! Baby boomers only, thanks!"
reddit | mysterioussoup

Was the boss right for firing those cashiers whose boyfriends were trying to hang around? Yeah, although there were probably other steps to try first. But the problem is that they then went and singled out an entire generation like that. Totally inappropriate.

Also last I checked, there were two whole generations between Boomers and Gen Z? What a weird sign.

"Stay classy, Dollar Tree."

A sign that reads, "Associates, EVERYONE is working Christmas Eve (This is retail after all) & if you call in I will personally drive to your house and blast opera music outside your bedroom window while you sleep! - Bethy."
reddit | Dbl_Vision

This feels like a bluff, because the manager probably doesn't know where all these people live. More importantly, this is just plain mean. Writing it off as "just retail" just makes it all the more aggravating.

"Eat and get laid off. Snitches get $20."

A sign reading, "Warning! All employees must NOT eat during work hours! Receive a $20 reward if you catch an employee eating during work hours! Employees with 3 warnings will be LAID OFF with no exceptions!"
reddit | BrittaOso

Again, I have no idea where this is, but I'm pretty sure this is illegal. Unless they mean people can't eat unless they're on their break, but the wording makes it seem like that's not the case (and would still be pretty terrible).

Don't you love it when they're upfront about their red flags?

A Now Hiring sign that reads, "Full time & part time employment. Apply "in person only." Please, no phone calls. In search of responsible self-motivated people. Un-Americans Commies need not apply. Have fun work had, and Earn good wages. Join our family!"
reddit | upstatestruggler

I would rather not know what they consider an "Un-American Commie" to be, to be honest. Just seems like the kind of place you'd want to avoid in general.

"Spotted this in a gas station in NY. Disregarding the obvious moral issues for the moment, this doesn't seem.....Legal?"

A sign above a shelf full of snacks that reads, "Would you like to buy something off our selling point? We need to sell 53 by 12am or we get a write up! We thank you for your help."
reddit | mojawallatalha

According to the comment section under the original post, it isn't illegal, but it's still pretty shady. Don't you just love when employers exploit workers?

"This is posted by the time-clock."

A "hurt feeling report" that has places for people to fill out whether they're "girly men" or "real men."
reddit | HuntPsychological673

Whether this is serious or it's someone's idea of a joke, it's pretty inappropriate. Being sexist and homophobic isn't a good look, even if the majority of your workers are straight men.

"Started a new job today. Just more of the same."

A sign on a door that reads, "Bathroom breaks exceeding five minutes long will be deducted from your shift total."
reddit | AtomicSpazz

The first thing I thought about when reading this sign was all the poor people who work there who might suffer from colitis, IBS, or some other gastrointestinal condition.

Or people who end up getting sick at work. This sign is just flipping the bird at all of them.

"The store I work at has started shorting people’s pay when they forget to clock in or out. As in not paying for ANY of that shift. I’m pretty sure this is illegal, right?"

A laminated sign that reads, "If you do not punch in or out of your shift, you will not get paid. If there is any issue with your punches, please, see [blank] or MOD."
reddit | Quiet_Form6246

Sounds illegal. Yes, it's pretty annoying when the payroll person has to figure out missed punches. But, like, you still have to pay people for the work they do.

"In case you would like to know what it’s like working at Starbucks."

A sign stating that hours for the store have been reduced because customers didn't feel the employees were "taking the time to get to know them."
reddit | Financial_Bar8757

As someone who's been to Starbucks plenty of times, I can tell you that customers don't care nearly as much about that kind of stuff as employers think we do. Just sayin'.

"ReedSmith a corporate law firm for Activision posted this as a note which they keep around the offices."

A sign that disparages the people who work for unions by calling them "Lazy, whiners, activists," etc.
reddit | hopelessneedshelp

"A local Game Union printed it on mousepads and now gives them out as a reminder of how they see union employees."

Wait a minute... isn't this union busting? How classy.

"Amazon employees who worked over 10 hours on Easter Sunday were 'lucky enough' to potentially win a $2 snack pack."

An electronic sign that reads, "Thank you all for coming in on Easter Sunday! We are going to run a contest for P2. Anyone picking over a 310 rate will be entered in a raffle for a snack pack (water/soda and a candy or bag of chips of your choice). Good Luck everyone and THANK YOU!!!"
reddit | thepkmncenter

This made me genuinely upset. Like, as if we needed more proof that we're living in a corporate dystopia, right?

"My old boss took 10 days off and put this on her chair… in order to access her computer (aka cover her work while she was gone) we had to stand or bring in another chair…"

A sign on an office chair that reads, "Brenda's chair only! If anyone sits on this chair you will be fired!!! Ps. Just try me!"
reddit | Inside_Assumption_87

"She would re-watch the cameras at 6x speed to see if anyone would touch it."

It's... just a chair. Jeez.

"Just saw this in a McDonald’s…"

A binder with a piece of paper on the front that reads, "If you get caught talking about or discussing your 'pay' with anyone here, you will automatically be suspended for a week!!!"
reddit | CorpseToes

Maybe it's different where this picture was taken, but I'm pretty sure employers can't actually stop employees from talking about their pay. If they even discourage it, it's a sign that there are huge pay discrepancies. Just sayin'.

"One of a seemingly endless series of unreasonable notes left by my boss. It’s great here."

A sign that reads, "Nobody is entitled to 'charge up' any mobile phones or other electrical devices on these premises. It is theft of electricity and you may find a deduction has been made from your pay. Phones should be switched off."
reddit | Rich-P

As horrifying as this sign is in general, the term "theft of electricity" made me laugh out loud. Like, talk about a manager on a power trip (pun intended).

"My wife’s teacher appreciation gift from the administrators who have let everyone know all year they do not appreciate them at all."

A small jar labeled "chill pills. Take 3-4 by mouth as needed to relieve stress, anxiety, or frustration."
reddit | aint_no_flapjack

Sure, this technically isn't a sign, this is still passive-aggressive enough to make me physically exhausted.

"Spotted at my local Burger King."

A sign that reads, "FYI there will be no coming in on your days off and hanging out behind my counter. Also we are not here to become friends with everyone so be professional and do your job and go home. If I hear anything different then it will be an automatic write up. If you don't like it you know what you need to do."
reddit | David_Freeze

The funniest thing about this sign is the fact that they had a point with the first bit. Like, why would you come in on your day off to hang out behind the counter in the first place?

Execution is way off, though.

"Labor Day."

A sign that reads, "Everyone is scheduled on Monday September 6th for Labor Day this is a holiday if you call in there will be disaplicary [sic] actions taken this is your warning."
reddit | acidpopulist

Oh no. Not disciplicary actions! Anything but disciplicary actions!

The terrible grammar of this sign aside, this is a pretty bad and ironic thing to do on a holiday that's literally called Labor Day. Like, come on!

"Little old but this note was put up last summer during record breaking heat here in Utah. It was like 112F if I remember correctly. Rip those of us working outside."

A sign that reads, "Attention associates. It's HOT outside!!! Want to wear dress code approved shorts? $2 a day on Fridays, Saturday, Sunday or $5 for the whole weekend. Please give your money to Front end Christina, Tracie, or People lead Christine in personel. All proceeds go to CMN."
reddit | Shivwiggits

"Want to wear something that's part of the dress code? Better pay up!" This sign is just ridiculous.