'My boss wanted me to stand every time he entered the room': Employee almost gets fired for "disrespecting" his boss, quits on principle

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 7, 2024 8:00 AM EST

Imagine getting in trouble during your first week at a new job because you didn't stand up when your boss entered the room. Who does this employer think he is, a king? You would think in this day and age, given all the cultural conversations we have been having regarding employees' rights and backward workplace behavior, that this would not be allowed. And yet, the other employees in this office, from the bottom of the "food chain" to the top, seem to feel that this is the appropriate standard. Well, if they don't actually think that, they are certainly not doing anything to stop this ridiculous treatment.

Thankfully, this employee did not blindly accept these rules and regulations and knew that if he was having these issues during his very first week, things were not going to get better for him. So, he did what any sensible, empowered employee would do: he quit. Keep scrolling below to find out how he delivered the news. For more stories like this, check out this post about a micromanager who reprimanded his employee for having the audacity to wear headphones in the office.

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    LIKE ·A· BOSS
    via Brooke Lark

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    Quit my data entry job because my boss wanted me to stand every time he entered the room. I
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    forgot once and was almost fired. I'm not in the wrong, right?
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    I started working at a small business doing data entry a few weeks ago. I've talked on here about how the pay was good and how good the benefits were, i REALLY
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    enjoyed the job and the environment. Around week 1, I met the owner. It was always stressed to me how important it is to cater to the owner, let's
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    call him Mr. F. Mr. F, and I met while I was in a meeting with my supervisor. I greeted him, he greeted me back and that was that. Later my supervisor called me into
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    her office and said that Mr. F would like me to stand when he entered the room, as a sign of respect and knowing his place in the business. I
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    said ok, sure. Sounds easy enough. I tell my coworker this and she gets a scared look on her face and tells me she didn't realize this was the new rule so she would start standing also. I feel
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    like her reaction she have been the first red flag. Week 3 for me started Monday this week. the week was going good until Tuesday. I'm working the front lobby and I see someone pull into Mr. F's parking spot. I'm
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    completely alone in the building and nobody told me he was coming in today. I call my supervisor who says he shouldn't be coming in but as she's saying this and i'm on the phone with her, he walks.
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    in and walks past my desk. As I'm on the phone, I don't say anything to him, my first mistake. I also don't stand, my second and biggest mistake. I smile at him but that wasn't nearly
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    enough. This happened at 11am. One of my coworkers gets back and I tell her what happened. She freaks out and says while I might not lose my job, this is a big deal. I get.
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    the first call from my supervisor, I get reprimanded. My coworker, who is his personal assistant, says that Mr. F told her if I don't greet him again, I'm
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    gone. So he comes through the lobby again and I greet him. He leaves. I'm reprimanded again when my supervisor
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    comes back in. Flash forward to 7pm (I get off work at 4) I get a call at home stating that what I did was so detrimental to the business that I need to not come in the next day to think about what I
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    done. Unpaid, of course. I was livid, but it doesn't end there. Friday morning I come in after my unpaid day off, and I'm called into my supervisors office. I get reprimanded
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    again and then am told Im getting written up for this "incident" and that it's a surprise Im not getting let go for this. Mr. F's wife was also due to come in later that day to reprimand me also, as Mr. F does not do any of this
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    himself. So, I tell my supervisor that Im thankful for the opportunity but that this is insane, and I leave. I have never in my life heard of this before and I am still reeling from this terrible experience.
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    edit: for those asking, this happened in the USA, a southern state.
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