I've been at my company for nearly a decade now. However, I'm emotionally at my wit's end with toxic management that plays clear favoritism and is subjective when it comes to how people work, perform, etc.

Throughout the years, I have had good/great reviews. Last year I had an outstanding year from a performance perspective and received rave reviews from senior leadership. But starting from a few years ago things started to change and I noticed that my manager started being cold to me (nothing I did) and it's ramped up rapidly ever since.

Whenever there is team meetings or meetings where everyone is involved, my boss would be extremely cold/rude to me and would nitpick everything I would say to the whole group, but would be pleasant and encouraging to all of the other team members.

This has taken a mental toll on me and I just cannot function anymore. My blood pressure shoots up and I get dizzy whenever I am in meetings with them because I know they will pick apart and question everything I say or do.

Things seems to have have gotten worse ever since a new manager was placed in between us this year, as this new manager doesn't support me at all.

Is this even a thing or is it possible to ask my manager or HR for a mutually agreed separation?

Quick question: Recently left my role due to a RIF will be receiving a subsidy for COBRA through the end of the year and we will be switching to my wife's insurance effective 1/1 through her open enrollment. If I were to find and start a new role prior to 1/1 would that qualify to terminate the coverage recently elected through OE? We did call her employer but the help center believes it should not be an issue but seemed a bit uncertain.

Thank you all for your insight and assistance!

State isn't really relevant here, I suppose.

Just curious what happens when the CEO or whoever insists on illegal workplace policies, with the implication you'll be fired if you don't follow along. I imagine the likely answer is "quit, or go along with it until new employment is secured," but I wouldn't be surprised if there were more creative answers out there.

(This happened to me, a non-HR person, once, many many years ago - our HR rep eventually sat me down and explained that if I didn't retract my sexual harassment allegations they would likely fire me for not being a team player, and for "unrelated reasons" wink-wink nudge-nudge her last day at the company was in two weeks.)

If you are a Rippling employee just move on. This post isn't for you.

Is anyone that uses Rippling for HR also using their IT Help Desk?

Is it worth it and does it replace your current IT services provider like they advertise?

We are considering moving away from our IT service provider since they are expensive and we really don't use them.

Hey everyone, I'm going through a nightmare right now with my work injury
Back on September 17, I had a severe accident on a job site with MasTec/Wanzek. I ended up suffering an amputation/laceration of the tip of my ring finger on my right hand
I got into the wind farms with 20, never had experience in construction, and I got the job thanks to my relatives, but I was never trained properly, my foreman failed to show me the basic orientation and hazards
My treating doctor placed me on light duty for the first 2 weeks (no use of right hand) then no lifting over 15 lbs and no heavy use of my right hand at all till the 20th of November (my safety manager was leaving the site the October 30th, he didn’t even know how they wanted to keep me till the 20th when there is no one on the field anymore) it was a rough month on the field because everyone was scared that they would get fired because of me, the project ended, they wanted to keep me there with civil, first they didn’t offered me a light duty they just told me “hey you’re going to civil” so I asked for one, and I tried to be the “smart guy” here, the site was 20 miles far from a very small town in Texas (15k people) where Uber or basic bus transportation is not available/common, me without a car and living with my relative (he was leaving because his work ended) so I was far from home being left stranded, getting a motel on the town was 130 a day, my per diem was 125 per day, and still I didn’t had any idea of how I would be getting to the site, my safety manager asked me if I wanted to get a lay off, I said yes thinking I would be getting paid at home so I signed rejecting the light duty offer.
Then I asked for my lay off notice, my boss texted me saying I was being put on a regular end-of-project layoff and told me I didn't need to sign any other paper work.
A week and a half later insurance carrier (ESIS) has decided to not give me my full benefits due to rejecting the offer, a offer that also asked me to offload trucks, wash equipment and that contradicted itself saying that I couldn’t flex my wrist at all, but then asking me to carry no more than 15 pounds, they didn’t wanted to help me with a transportation or giving me a little more of per diem, when I brought up how unreasonable this was, I was basically told my lack of transportation/housing was "my personal problem” but what I’ve read in DWC Rule 129.5, an offer isn't valid if it ignores your doctor's restrictions OR if the location isn't geographically accessible (taking distance and available transportation into account).
Im I right or wrong into rejecting it?
Should I look for a job? I have debts coming up that I tough i could pay with my TIBS but the amount they gave me is not enough
Has anyone had to deal with something like this?

My boss has been telling me that I need to get on my laptop and check my Teams at least two times a night, typically around 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. Only issue with that is that I am an hourly employee. My hours are 8-5. I have a meeting with HR today because I have only worked at this company for 45 days and they want to do a check in, should I let HR know my boss wants me to work off the clock?

Her manager is always being rude and making her cry. As well as always being on her back.

Does she do this because she wants her to quit so she doesn’t have to deal with paying her out or any legal issues?

And/or, do you actually feel that the addition of the broad HR skillset to the hiring team significantly improves the process?

To be candid, I've heard the argument for why HR needs to be involved in recruiting--namely, the belief that employment discrimination may arise without HR involved. It's always rung a little hollow to me. For one thing, having a large number of candidates filtered out by HR before the hiring manager while the hiring manager is still involved in the process doesn't seem to so much prevent discrimination as it does delay the discrimination (and perhaps even obscure it, given that a larger sample size of resumes sent to a problematic hiring manager would make it more likely that those patterns are noticed). For another (and I'm totally willing to admit that I might have some confirmation bias going on, here) HR folks recruiting for positions outside of HR often seem to emphasize odd heuristics (e.g., resume formatting, particularities with written communication) that may themselves end up being discriminatory on the basis of ability or national origin. There's also the fact that a large number of HR professionals are just 23-year-olds with psych undergrads who have essentially the exact same training and knowledge of what employment discrimination is and how to prevent it as most hiring managers do, which I don't think is necessarily the norm but I do think is common enough to be worth mentioning.

I have other gripes as well--the increasing usage of AI and overtuned ATS tools, job descriptions with qualifications that are ultimately nowhere near what you actually expect to hire, and a couple of personal incidents where an HR professional was not adequately equipped to gauge my credentials and it made the entire process more difficult than it needed to be--but, honestly, I just really struggle to see what HR brings to the table. Is there some benefit that I'm just not clued in on?

Make this make sense… How do you get reassigned to a new supervisor without being told? I saw leave slips were approved by some random person weeks after I entered them. I asked my supervisor why he didn’t approve them. And the response, “a while back management was talking about you being reassigned, I guess it happened”. What?! So I was reassigned over a month ago to lord knows who without any notification? We even had a team meeting in this time period where this was not discussed. The person my old supervisor said I was being reassigned to was not who approved my leave. Even after bringing this up to him, no other management has discussed this with me.

First off sorry if some of my wording or anything like that seems off, I don’t actually fully know how HR works, and am writing this quickly for advice before I call corporate today. I’ve never worked somewhere with a dedicated HR, and come from military where it was suck up your feelings and deal with whatever was thrown at you. So with that I have no clue what to do.
I started a new job about three months ago being a delivery driver and since then my manager has not let up. He constantly is creating conflict with me over things that are required in the job (other people do it as the “norm”) and publicly shouts and swears at me for doing them. Additionally other people have come to him admitting their mistakes yet he repeatedly has said “I don’t believe they could have done it, however __ (me) probably did it.” He even asked other employees to “spy on ___ (me) to make sure he’s not slacking off.” Which I could understand if I had a track record of slacking off. However I do not, I used to start at 7am and would complete my morning tasks around 930am-10am with him as my backup. But after repeated times of him disappearing for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours I was changed to starting at 5am. Now I am finished with those tasks before he comes in at 7am. However If 7:01am hits it’s right back to “why the f*ck is __ still here.” Other co workers have noticed how he treats me as well, And when brought up to him he brushes it off or gets defensive.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated and if you want more in depth details feel free to reach out.

Hi everyone! Just to give you a bit of context, I recently attended a career fair organized by an NGO specifically for recent graduates. I got to speak with recruiters from several companies and asked for their LinkedIn profiles so I could connect with them afterward.

During the event, there were also recruiters giving us career advice, so I asked them when they would recommend sending follow-up messages to companies where the conversation went well. I got two different answers: one told me to reach out the following week, while another said I should send a message the very next day.

For context, I’m planning to send a short LinkedIn message thanking them for their time, mentioning something we discussed, and expressing my interest in staying in touch.

So, I wanted to ask the recruiters and HR professionals here: When do you think it’s best to follow up after a career fair? Should I message them the next day while they still remember the conversation or wait until the following week? Does following up actually make a difference when considering candidates for future openings?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and what you would recommend!

I worked at a consulting/recruitment company for over 4 years and recently left. I never had a proper exit interview, but HR has now reached out to speak with me, more than two months after my last day.

I know this is not just a standard exit interview. Through former colleagues, I've learned that HR has already approached people and asked them to help build a case against my former manager. I understand they're trying to get her removed, although I don't know exactly what has been said or what stage the process is at.

For context, my experience at the company started out relatively positively, but over time, the negatives increasingly outweighed the positives. I had a difficult experience with this manager, particularly around communication, conflicting instructions, dismissive comments, and a perceived lack of recognition. I also felt there was a disconnect between management's recruiting expectations and the reality of the market, especially regarding salaries and candidates declining offers.

My concerns weren't limited to my own experience:

• I witnessed a colleague crying at work on several occasions.
• Another colleague would call me to review her emails because she was extremely anxious about writing something incorrectly or misunderstanding instructions.
• Other team members had tensions with management, and people regularly discussed leaving because of the work environment or compensation.
• One former colleague told me she felt undermined and constantly compared with others.
• I also witnessed management dominating client calls, sometimes leaving others barely any opportunity to introduce themselves.

There was also an incident where I called my manager a liar during a disagreement about information she had given a consultant. I acknowledged that my wording was inappropriate and apologized. I'm not pretending I handled every situation perfectly.

Now that I know HR is actively trying to build a case against her, I'm unsure how to approach the conversation. I do have genuine concerns about her management style and the impact it had on the team, but I don't want to feel like I'm being recruited to help get someone fired, either.

My questions are:

1. Would you participate and share your honest experiences, knowing HR is trying to build a case against your former manager?
2. Is there any real benefit to speaking up, or should I simply move on now that I've left?
3. Would you be concerned about your testimony being attributed to you or getting back to your former manager?
4. How would you approach the conversation so you can be honest and factual without appearing vindictive or as though you're trying to get her fired?

Part of me thinks HR should know what I experienced, especially given the broader issues within the team. Another part of me wonders whether there's any benefit to getting involved in a process that could become contentious, particularly when I've already moved on.

I'd appreciate honest advice, especially from people who've participated in HR investigations or given evidence about a former manager.

Context: I just started a new job (I’m on my third week) and I’m a junior staff member. The company I work for isn’t big. I’m a Muslim Arab Hijabi.

During my call with my manager (white woman, 20s/30s), we were talking about work and she changed the conversation and asked me if I was Asian and I told her yes. She asked a couple of more times if I’m considered Asian (I’m middle eastern) and if people in the ME would consider themselves Asian. I reiterated that yes, since we’re in Asia. I was already starting to feel uncomfortable with this convo since she kept asking the same question after I answered but the convo continues to her telling me that she told her dad that she started managing me and let him know my family is from the a middle eastern country (not specifying which country).

Her dad asks her that there is a civil war happening there and she then asks me if im Sufi/shia and if my family identifies with any of the political parties that are involved in the war and how my family “ended up in America”. I tried moving past this by telling her that my family has been in America for 20+ years and not acknowledging the rest of her question. She does the same thing by asking me again why my family came to America MULTIPLE times, literally over and over again. I kept giving her the similar response of “my family has always been in America” and she kept asking if there was a specific reason or if I can pin point a moment where we decided to move (I told her we moved when I was a baby). Continues to ask me if I go back to my country often and if I’ll ever go back and I told her no since I don’t have any family there (which I already told her at the beginning, that my immediate and extended family has always been in America)

I’m still on good terms with my prev manager at my prev job (we both left) and she let me know that if I’m comfortable, I should report this to HR and request a new manager. She also said that the most important thing a manager can do is advocate for you when you’re not in the room and it seems like she won’t do that for me (consciously or subconsciously).

I’m not sure if I should report this to HR. My hesitation is that I just started this new job. I’m worried about any awkwardness if I get a new manager since she sits right across from me and also potentially risking my job security.

Hi everyone,

this is my first time posting here to please forgive any mistakes.

I got an email from asking to meet with me to discuss “workplace concerns” that were brought forward by a specific staff member. They said they want to meet with me because the staff member spoke with me about the concerns they brought forward to HR. I believe I am being viewed as a witness in this situation? HR did not explicitly state this, but they sent me a witness confidentiality form to sign. 

For context, I work in corporate support for a specific department and am primarily responsible for on-boarding staff working at properties under my department. I am NOT anyone’s supervisor, no one reports to me and I have no authority to hire or fire people. I train and provide support from there. 

I know exactly what they want to talk about. Without giving too many details the situation is a conflict a staff member has with their direct supervisor. The staff member asked to meet with me yesterday and spent about 45 minutes ranting to me about a situation with their supervisor that upset them that occurred over the weekend. I validated their feelings as they were crying and expressed they were confused, but I also let them know that the manager wasn’t totally in the wrong and that it sounded like a miscommunication to me. The staff member told me they had a conversation scheduled with the manager for the following day (today) and contacted HR. I told them those were the right steps to take to resolve a conflict in the workplace and told them to refer to and follow company policies and they should be okay. 

I’ve never had a meeting with HR before so I’m really anxious about this. 

Anyone who works in HR - what is the role of a witness in this type of situation? Could I end up being reprimanded for something even though the conflict appears to be between two staff members and not myself?? The employee did tell me they didn’t feel much better after talking to me because in some way, I did side with the supervisor so I fell a little uncertain. 

Honestly any advice ahead of my meeting or insight would be so helpful. 

Thank you! 

Hi All - This might be a very naive question: am I supposed to formally let HR know that I have diagnosed anxiety and depression? I checked the ADA box on my work application, but am I supposed to do anything else?

Hi!

I sent my PFL notification and paperwork in to my HR department 3 weeks ago. They confirmed receipt of my paperwork and said they submitted it “to NY State”

They never sent me back all the completed forms even though I’ve requested them.

They say they have “no response” from the state.

I have just requested they send me the completed paperwork again AND the name of the company’s insurance carrier to hopefully move things forward myself because I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to notify insurance and not the state of NY.

The company is based in Wisconsin and has hundreds of employees across the country. The employee handbook specifically singles out NY for allowing more PFL than what the organization offers to other states.

In your opinions, is this probably incompetence or something more nefarious?

My sedgwick short term disability leave started October 1st and it is still in clinical review has anyone had this happen and how did your situation go? Thanks

I've been employed at a publicly traded tech company in Ontario for approximately 13 months in a non-technical role. I'm in my late 20s, earning a six-figure base salary. Location: Ontario, Canada

This week, HR presented me with two options: enter a 30-day Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) or accept a mutual separation package.

Separation offer:

• 7 weeks of base salary
• No bonus (annual bonus scheduled for early next year)
• No unvested equity (next vesting date is approaching)
• No benefits continuation
• No additional vacation payout mentioned

HR has also stated that they will not provide a written separation agreement until I explicitly choose the separation option over the PIP. If I don't choose separation, the PIP begins automatically.

Additional context:

• My role has changed significantly since I was hired, including the introduction of sales targets that were not originally part of my responsibilities.
• I have documentation of shifting performance expectations during my coaching plan, unequal portfolio distribution compared to peers, and positive performance reviews throughout my employment.
• The company conducted layoffs earlier this year, and I've heard that affected employees received more generous packages, although this is unverified.

Employment agreement:

My contract contains a termination clause limiting my entitlements to the minimum requirements under Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA), including a waiver of common-law reasonable notice.

My questions:

1. Is 7 weeks a reasonable separation package for someone with 13 months of service, or is there a basis to negotiate more?
2. How enforceable are ESA-only termination clauses in Ontario, particularly those explicitly waiving common-law reasonable notice?
3. Does HR's characterization of this as a "mutual separation" affect my legal rights or potential EI eligibility?
4. Is it standard practice for HR to require me to choose separation before providing the written agreement?
5. Would the documented changes to my role and performance expectations have any relevance to negotiating a better package?

I plan to consult an Ontario employment lawyer before signing anything, but would appreciate any perspectives from this community.

I was fired from a job that I had no previous performance issues and only excellent reviews. I had found out a subordinate was in violation of a HR policy and reported it to my executive leadership. I have now come to understand company policy required me to go directly to HR. Because I followed the wrong reporting sequence, I was terminated for procedural policy violation. I’m terrified to apply to new jobs as I have no idea how to handle. My previous bosses and some coworkers have agreed to give me good references as they understood I tried to do the right thing and all my other positive impact I had. Any advice would be helpful!

I am a state employee for Massachusetts, and started this position back in June. I’ve been doing very well in my position according to my boss and her boss.

I just received an email from HR asking to schedule a confidential meeting at my earliest convenience. Currently, it is set for 3pm tomorrow but I am quite nervous.

I’m still fairly new, and am the newest employee in my department. I’m probably overthinking, but I’m just stressed about this coming up. Any thoughts?

UPDATE:

I think someone reported my office as a hostile work environment, and I know who it would be. They simply just don’t know how to do their job lmao. But I was just asked what I think of our work environment!!

I was given the option to 1. Be laid off October 30 or 2. Go on paid time off starting Nov 1.
My coworker (in the same boat)- not HR or the company, asked if an option 3 could be made available where we continue working past Oct 30 for minimal hours- like 4 per week.

HR said they’ll get back to us. Never did.

This morning my boss had my coworker tell me that they wanted to give us the option but since I am “now acting out of character” by sharing my files and saying if I am 100% on PTO I will not be working or available- that my company is going to take away my option of PTO and lay me off instead.

Is this retaliation? And why did they bring my “character” into this when they could have laid me off all along?

This includes your resume, the reason you were rejected, etc.