‘The place looked barren’: Beloved coworker quits and coworkers encourage her to take back everything she ever bought for the workplace, boss threatens to sue and she laughs in their face

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Dec 12, 2023 6:00 PM EST

We're humans—we're going to try and make the best of any situation. That includes having to work in horrible conditions because we need the money to pay our rent and bills. The truth is, however, is that you can spruce up your work area as much as you like—put up artwork, throw a rug down here and there, and keep the fridge stocked—but if you aren't being treated well as an employee, you should quit. And that is exactly what this Redditor did after trying her best to make her work situation a cozy one for herself and her coworkers. 

Apparently, she was working for an assisted living facility that was owned by a wealthy family that oozed with entitlement. They cut corners and only provided the bare minimum for their staff and clients, when they were living in mansions and driving luxury cars. Still, they didn't seem to micromanage, so even though OP and her coworkers didn't have very good working conditions, they were left alone, trusted do their job. Which is, unfortunately, more than many workplaces will provide. OP bought appliances, decorations, and more to spruce up the place. But eventually, after a horrible several months of a bed bugs infestation, she had enough. She was furious and quit. Her coworkers 100% understood and encouraged her to take everything she bought for the place with her. It took her car and a coworker's car, because she bought so much stuff, and when she left the place looked like a prison. 

You can imagine how the entitled owners reacted, scroll on to see! At least she didn't have to fax anything like this shady employee required of their employees.

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  • 01
    $10 EL "After I left it was like it went from being kind of homey to feeling like a prison..."
    via (R) ILO via Flickr

    (L) Bibliothek Wissenschaftspark via Wikimedia Commons

  • 02
    Posted by u/Macintosh0211 17 hours ago I was reminded of what happened when I left my old position today Hello! Today I ran into an old coworker from years back and it reminded me of the funny story of when I quit so I'm here to share it.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 03
    So, I was about 20. I worked in a very small, privately owned assisted living facility. benefits, minimum wage, crazy high hours bc of the purposeful understaffing, and the woman and son who owned the home were real pieces of garbage (they were
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 04
    proven to be stealing gov money from senile residents, left bedbugs to go untreated and left the AC broken in the summer for months- both instances the gov had to step in to get them to fix the problem). It was the kind of
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 05
    place where you had to be vigilant with your hours every week or they'd short you on your pay. I had been working there about 1.5yrs at that point and the bedbugs were my last straw. I was terrified of
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 06
    bringing them home and they hadn't so much as called an exterminator for three months. All 5 of us workers were being worked to the bone while getting bitten up like crazy, and that's not even mentioning the residents.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 07
    I finally quit. Now, the mom and son owners were extraordinarly cheap. They owned a mansion in their home country, huge houses on both ends of the US, drove luxury cars, but they were the most miserly people I'd ever seen. When I started there the
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 08
    break room was a cheap plastic table with 3 chairs and a water cooler that was never refilled so it was empty all the time. They bought the cheapest, most low quality food possible for the residents and didn't furnish the house beyond the bare minimum.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 09
    I brought in my old toaster oven when I got a new one, I brought a coffee pot and things to make coffee (mugs, coffee, powdered creamer and sugar). I brought in a little radio for the kitchen and one for the residents living room
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 10
    as well- the one I put in the kitchen the son actually tried taking and locking in his office for himself, unsurprisingly. I brought bread, jelly and PB. I brought chips. I shopped in bulk at Costco but it was only me and my bf at home so I would always bring the extra stuff into work for everyone
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 11
    because aside from the owners, my coworkers were a great, hardworking group of women. I got cheap decorations for all the major holidays from the dollar store for the common areas bc the owners would never decorate.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 12
    I even put a rug and little tables in the break room and curtains on the window for sake bc it was just a bare window open to the sidewalk and I hated it.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 13
    I brought so many things because I was there 70-80+ hrs a week, more than I was at home so I wanted to be comfortable.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 14
    When I left I was so furious at them that I took not only the big stuff, but I took everything I had brought. It was a lot more than even I realized. The place looked barren. My coworkers understood and
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 15
    one of them even loaded her car too so that I wouldn't have to make two trips bc it was too much for just my car. Thats how much I brought during my time there.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 16
    So, the following day I get a call from the mom owner. "You have 24hrs to return what you stole before I call the police." "Excuse me?" I asked. I was in shock.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 17
    She was like "you heard me. You're a thief. But I'll let it go if you bring it back." I laughed at her tbh. I said, "all of that stuff was mine. You didn't buy it, so where did you think it came from?" And I hung up.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 18
    I continued to get threatening messages from her and her son for a couple of weeks. They were going to sue me, have me arrested, etc. Nothing ever came of it, of course, because it was all things I owned.
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 19
    When I ran into my coworker she said that after I left it was like "it went from being kind of homey to like feeling a prison it was depressing". The residents apparently complained about the lack of decorations. My coworkers
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 20
    complained about having nowhere to heat their food, no coffee maker, no little snacks provided. The owners did not bother to replace anything either, apparently they were hoping to just bully me into providing decor and appliances for their business?
    via u/Macintosh0211
  • 21
    Most of my coworkers ended up leaving shortly after me. I just thought that was hilarious and wanted to share. TLDR cheap boss threatened to have me arrested/sue me for taking home my own when I quit!
    via u/Macintosh0211

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boss how to quit work drama employee manager work story workplace environment i quit quit on the spot satisfying quitting story quitting work workplace quitting story quitting workplace story
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