Employee told to stand by for reassignment, does for 19 months until they run into their boss who asks them where they're working now: 'You should have seen her face'

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Jun 10, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

People think that their managers don't do any work, merely attending an ever-increasing number of meetings every day, ad infinitum, pretending that they have enough on their plate that they couldn't possibly help you with anything else. But, one of the most challenging parts of a manager's job is ensuring that their team members have enough work to do themselves and not—you know—faffing around all day and enjoying a peaceable existence… All the while not doing a whole lot of actual work themselves.

When this worker's seasonal research job approached an end, they found themselves with not all that much to do and knew a layoff was imminent. They notified their boss to inform them that their workload had trailed off but were surprised when their boss told them to "stand by" for reassignment. They diligently "stood by" for 19 months before a chance encounter ended the charade.

Honestly, it's the sheer number of detailed stories of similar occurrences that readers shared in the comments that make this post even more impressive. Many of these stories could be posts of their own. See them along with the original story below.