Employee gets suspended for not standing up to greet the CEO when he visited the office, he quits after returning to work: 'This is insane'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 8, 2025 8:00 AM EST

Every workplace environment has its unique rules that do not necessarily make sense. 

For some folks, these rules are dependent on the industry or the person in charge. In this case, this employee was reprimanded for upsetting the CEO by violating the so-called "important" rule of needing to stand up and greet him upon his entrance.

That's right. He wasn't being scolded for not completing his work on time or shirking his responsibilities, unless you count treating the CEO like a King as one of the key elements of his job. Well, according to the CEO, it was…

This author was initially hired to do data entry. Not only was he informed that he was getting written up for not greeting the CEO during his first week, but he later found out that he had offended this man so much that he was now getting suspended. At that point, the employee knew that this man was impossible to please and that he had already become the object of his wrath, no matter what he did to try to rectify the situation.

Keep scrolling below to find out what the confrontation looked like when the author returned to the office following his suspension.

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  • An employee hands in their resignation letter across a table.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "Quit my data entry job because my boss wanted me to stand every time he entered the room. I forgot once and was almost fired. I’m not in the wrong, right?"

    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
    via idontwannabepicked
  • REALLY 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 call
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  • 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
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  • me into 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 said ok,
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  • 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 like her reaction she have been the first
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  • 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
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  • spot. I'm 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
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  • this and i'm on the phone with her, he walks 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
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  • smile at him but that wasn't nearly 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 the first call from my supervisor, I get
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  • reprimanded. My coworker, who is his personal assistant, says that Mr. F told her if I don't greet him again, I'm gone. So he comes through the lobby again and I greet him. He leaves. I'm reprimanded again when my supervisor comes back in. Flash
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  • 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 done. Unpaid, of course. I was livid, but it doesn't
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  • end there. Friday morning I come in after my unpaid day off, and I'm called into my supervisors office. I get reprimanded again and then am told Im getting written up for this "incident" and that it's a surprise Im not getting
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  • 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 himself.
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  • 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.
    via idontwannabepicked
  • Side view of a young businessman carrying his office belongings in a plastic box.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • RexBosworth69420. "We're going to have to send you home today, as you failed to spread rose petals on the floor when the owner walked in."
    via idontwannabepicked

  • The funniest part about the CEO's strange behavior is that, of course, he never had the audacity to confront the author himself. He needed to have multiple employees relay that he was offended by the author's “actions” on his behalf, as if he didn't have the chutzpah to stand by his own convictions. If you're going to demand unnecessary levels of worship from your employees, at least be honest about it. 

    Regardless, hats off to the author for sticking to his own convictions, at the very least. He knew he couldn't last long in a toxic work environment like this one. 

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work Horrible Bosses company toxic-work-environment
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