Labourer told "just do your job" while running boss's entire manufacturing operation and doing 4 jobs after the other 3 workers quit, they oblige and quickly put the company under: ‘[In] 3 weeks the company ended up going into liquidation’

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
May 21, 2025 12:00 PM EDT

Never question a good thing. Sometimes, despite the temptation to meddle, when everything is going your way, you need to just leave better off alone. Of course, then you wouldn't be one of the untold number of managers and owners who have managed to disrupt the balance of a solid team or upset an essential worker, forcing them into quitting. 

The truth is that some people have no idea why their businesses or teams are successful, and even less still are capable of or willing to admit that one or several of their employees might be keeping the entire thing going. They'll be even less willing to admit that this one worker might be pulling the weight of 3 or 4 people. Balking at any request for a raise, even if it's still essentially saving them money, since they're doing the work of multiple people who will need to be hired and paid if they leave.

This laborer was originally hired as a general laborer, but they quickly became experienced and knowledgeable about the ins and outs of their boss's business. But as more and more of the tiny company's team left, he simply took on their work, eventually becoming the sole worker in the company, doing the work of 4 people, and keeping the entire operation running. But when their cheap boss refused to reimburse them for an expense it pulled a thread that would unravel the entire thing.

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  • 01

    "Only do my own duties? You got it boss."

    I used to work in a workshop were sheds were produced for farms and businesses. I was brought on as a general labourer whose tasks were to clean and maintain the yard and workshop, clean and spray steel and to load up the truck with any completed sheds.
    via eqsoge
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10508174080
    via Max LaRochelle

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    When I first joined the company there was 3 other workers there who had their own jobs to complete, one persons job was to make flashings for the sheds, one person would run the saws and fabricate any plates and cletes needed and then there was a welder.
    via eqsoge
  • 04
    Slowly but surely the other workers began to quit due to finding better paying jobs in different company's and eventually I was the last worker there who had to run everything by myself which I had no issue in doing as I prefer to be able to work by myself.
    via eqsoge
  • 05
    So one day I needed welding wire and normally it would of been the bosses. job to go and pick up any materials or supplies I needed but on this day the boss was away delivering a shed so I went out of my way to go and pick up the welding wire myself so I could get a job finished that was behind schedule but issues arised when I informed the boss that he needed to pay me back for the wire as I had to pay for it out of pocket but I was told that I shouldn't be doing anything that's not written in
    via eqsoge
  • 06
    So I went back to my original duties that I had when I first joined the company. After a few days of this he came into the yard screaming at me as there was no sheds being manufactured and I told him that he better get hiring as I won't be doing anything out of my jobs description like he stated for me to do.
    via eqsoge
  • 07
    After 2 weeks of this he hired a new worker who had no idea how to do anything and he tried to get me to train him but I wouldn't as that was going out of my jobs description. This went on for about 3 weeks before the company ended up going into liquidation to due to the boss failing to file accounts for the past 4 years.
    via eqsoge
  • 08
    grumblyoldman Dayyyyum. Boss has 3 weeks of runway in his business (even with only one employee?) and decides to play the f around and find out game. Gotta love it.
    via eqsoge
  • 09
    randomcanyon Hope you took whatever welding wire that was left home. It belongs to you. Not them.
    via eqsoge
  • 10
    ReactsWithWords My very first "real" job was doing data entry in the early 80s on a TRS-80 Model II (with 8" floppy disks!) The Boss kept yelling at us to go faster. We went as fast as we could, but the so slow. program was After another yelling session, I took a peek at the code. There was a loop in there that wasn't attached to anything and didn't do
    via eqsoge
  • 11
    anything other than waste time. I pointed it out and was told not to touch it - that program was the president of the company's baby and he personally coded it. OK, fine. Another week, another yelling to be faster. Fine, you want faster? You got faster. I commented out (didn't delete) the offending code. Did over 20% better that week. Boss asked if I changed the code. I said I commented it out but could easily put it back in. Was fired on the spot.
    via eqsoge
  • 12
    Six months later I ran into an ex- co-worker. Place was out of business.
    via eqsoge
  • 13
    balles_de_acier "Why aren't you welding?" "The company is out of welding wire." "There's a spool of welding wire right there!" "That belongs to me, not the company."
    via eqsoge
  • 14
    CdnPoster It NEVER ceases to amaze me how people with successful businesses seemingly destroy them by doing stupid things and not considering the natural consequences of their actions. WHAT did the boss think was going to happen when ONE person was doing the work of FOUR people??? OP....it sounds like YOU knew how to run the business better than the owner. Please tell me you bought the company and rebuilt it into a success story!!!
    via eqsoge
  • 15
    Cheezburger Image 10508174336
    via Glenn Hansen

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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