Employee asks manager to repeat himself during virtual meeting, manager screams "NO!" at him: 'Now I'm completely checked out'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jun 25, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

This might be a hot take, but nobody does a better job because a superior is constantly screaming at them. If you're continually being criticized, no matter how well or poorly you perform a task, you'll likely feel like trying hard is a fruitless endeavor. 

There's a difference between talking loudly, as people from different cultures often do, and yelling in a way that berates or belittles somebody. Getting yelled at by a family member or coach is bad enough, but having to put up with your boss screaming at you is a whole different level of demoralizing. In that scenario, your literal ability to survive relies on your willingness to tolerate disrespect. Of course, you don't have to put up with it. You can always leave a bad job and find a new one, but that requires a level of self-respect and willingness to get the respect you deserve. 

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  • 01

    My manager yelled at me and now I'm completely checked out

    I had a team meeting this morning where we were reviewing the content of some documentation I was working on. The whole team was on the call and I asked a question to clarify if the content was aligned with what he was looking for. He
    via u/foreverSHINee

  • The employee in this story has been screamed at by his boss before, but this incident stood out among the rest. He merely asked him to repeat himself when he couldn't hear him. His boss's response was to scream “No!” and go about as if it had never happened.

  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10521559808
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • 03
    doesn't use headphones or earphones, he just uses the laptops microphone and if he talks too quietly it cuts out. So I didn't hear the answer and I asked him to repeat and then he screamed NO at me. The call got silent afterwards from all members and then he just kept going like nothing happened.
    via u/foreverSHINee
  • 04
    Cheezburger Image 10521566464
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

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

  • 05
    Obviously i was shocked at the volume of him screaming because I wear headphones but I felt the last little bit of care for the job leave as soon as he yelled.
    via u/foreverSHINee
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10521563392
    via Brock Wegner (Unsplash+)

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

  • 07
    garbles0808 100% don't blame you. When I don't feel respected in my position, I do not feel the desire to fill the duties.
    via u/garbles0808
  • 08
    doubleOnein Disrespect was the only reason I left my previous organisation. Sat for a cross functional meeting and one of the management execs said your team does not deliver any work. Put down my papers that week.
    via u/double0nein
  • 09
    DowntownStash Recently left a job because I had a couple of days off sick (was interviewing for other positions), and on my return to work meeting, my bosses boss just fully lost his sh like it was the 90s and we worked at wallstreet or something. Bye Barry, your hair doesn't cover how weird your ears are, btw.
    via u/DowntownStash
  • 10
    franco 1673 That's straight up unprofessional. No one deserves to be screamed at, especially in front of the whole team. I'd start updating my resume. Life's too short to work for people who can't control their temper.
    via u/franco1673
  • 11
    dyintrovert2 People quit their boss way more often than quitting their job...
    via u/dyintrovert2
  • 12
    cat_attack_2000 There's an adage: people don't leave bad jobs; they leave bad managers.
    via u/cat_attack_2000
  • 13
    nicholashey That's straight up unprofessional. Start documenting everything and keep your resume updated
    via u/nicholashey
  • 14
    StoutAtTheDevil and start looking elsewhere life's too short for toxic managers.
    via u/StoutAtTheDevil
  • 15
    specks_of_dust "I see you're getting very emotional. Should we pause the meeting until you can regain your composure?" Men LOVE when you call them "emotional” when they're angry.
    via u/specks_of_dust
  • 16
    cat_attack_2000 This is genius.
    via u/cat_attack_2000
  • 17
    Radiomaster138 Wanna hear something funny? Boss asked me if I had any questions. I had questions and he has ab ive remarks about my job. Next week he asked me what I had for lunch and said I can be open and honest with him. Dude makes up my job position every other week. Best to clock in, shut up and try to look invisible.
    via u/Radiomaster138
  • 18
    Nerds_and_Lairs Sound pretty familiar to me. Questions in my current workplace lead to poor performance reviews yet when someone quits or leaves then Management wants to hear from us without actually acknowledging what we have to say.
    via u/Nerds_and_Lairs
  • 19
    tactiphile he talks too quietly it cuts out. Also, single-syllable responses like yes/no are often clipped by nose filtering software, either in the mic driver or meeting software. It takes probably ¼ second to detect that you're talking, so if your "message" is less than 1/2 second, it won't get picked up. I always try to pad it a little: "Yes, I do," "No, it doesn't," etc. Regardless, your boss is a
    via u/tactiphile
  • 20
    Reasonable-Sir-6405 Very of him. Was this an isolated incident or has there been some history of this? Because if it's the latter, document everything to bring to HR, and start looking for a different job.
    via u/Reasonable-Sir-6405
  • 21
    foreverSHINee OP It's the first time he's yelled, but not the first time I've felt put down.
    via u/foreverSHINee
  • 22
    Narrow_Employ3418 The only valid answer here is to shout back, put him down, or do whatever else you have to do in order to regain yourself. Remember: he's not your "master", your parent, your king, or your military superior. He's just someone tasked with organisational and decision
    via u/Narrow_Employ3418
  • 23
    powers very limited in scope, namely strictly what pertains to your job. Think of him as something like your parking valet if it helps: he can decide within his specific field (e.g. which parking spot you'll use), but this doesn't give him any right to behave as if he's king anynore than you. You're 100% free to treat him exactly like he does.
    via u/Narrow_Employ3418
  • 24
    ProfessionalStudy660 The temptation to not say 'He's an angry elf!' to the rest of the meeting would be almost irresistable.
    via u/ProfessionalStudy660
  • 25
    WrongEntertainment42 I have zero respect for managers/supervisors that resort to yelling. We are grown adults. If you can't carry a basic conversation or talk things through if something went wrong, without resorting to yelling, you shouldn't be in charge of anyone.
    via u/WrongEntertainment42

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management terrible coworkers zoom call boss business meeting meetings manager meeting terrible-bosses bosses coworkers toxic manager managers bad bosses
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