What would you do if you were promised more money from your workplace, but they only gave you an extra 3 cents per hour? 

That's right — if you're earning an extra 3 cents an hour, you're only making an extra $1.20 per week, which will buy you exactly one item from the dollar store. That wouldn't buy you a beverage… not a sandwich… you could maybe buy a single roll from the grocery store. 

However, a 10% raise on a $26.35/hour job? Now that'll buy you a lot more rolls or dollar store items! 

This person got an honestly ridiculous email from their HR department and let's just hope they ironed out this silly situation

When you start your first job ever, you must question everything that happens if you want to determine whether you've found a goldmine or should leave the moment you find something better.

In any job, you must keep your eyes open for any red flags every single day. But the problem is, when it is your first job, you might not know if an action is common workplace behavior, or if it's a red flag waving straight at your face.

The question is, is the behavior of the manager in the story below a red flag or normal conduct in the workplace? It seems like the newest hire needs help with the answer to that question.

It's normal for an intern to make some mistakes, but it's not every day that they make such a colossal mistake that it shuts down the entire company for hours. This poor intern, however, truly takes the cake. He truly reenacted the nightmare everyone has before their first day on the job. That dream where you make one small move, and it's the biggest mistake you could've made. 

This intern wasn't used for anything too seriously. As an IT intern, there was a lot of room for error. So he was given easier tasks like making sure the client's computer is plugged in, password resets, etc. Things that would be hard to mess up, and he did great with that. Everyone seemed to like him enough, he wasn't malicious in any way. However, he did seem to be kind of a slow learner, which can be frustrating in the field of tech.

He must have known he wasn't progressing fast enough and decided he needed to make a big splash and do something that sets him up to be seen as a go-getter employee worthy of more responsibilities. However, he chose the wrong splash… Instead of doing something positive for the company, he ended up unplugging its main life source… 

A homeowner installs a fully approved EV charger, only to have the parking space taken and charger blocked by a neighbor who is convinced it's environmentally dangerous

Everyone has opinions, but it doesn't mean they're right. Even when they're wrong there's a sliding scale of the ones that are more plausible, like you can kind of follow their logic and see how they got to their conclusion, but then there's the ones where you literally want to put your hands to your head and declare, "What?!" as the confusion crosses your face.

No matter how you feel about electric vehicles and your reasoning for it, it's just a fact that taking someone else's parking space because of your own personal feelings about something and actively impeding their ability to go out about their day is just a pitifully sad thing to do. If you're going to get that worked up about the fact that a car gets plugged in there's clearly some other severe emotional issue going on. 

Despite being friends for 20 years, this man realized that his 2 friends were overcharging him for vacation Uber fees. 

Friendships change over time, but oftentimes, we know how our friends are with money. 

Some friends will be super responsible, spending responsibly and paying people back ASAP. 

Others do things like losing their wallet 3 times a year, "forgetting" to Venmo the people who bought dinner, and whining about being broke all the time.

It's not that you don't love your friends, but you know deep in your heart, which of your friends are financially responsible and which friends you need to keep a sharp eye on. 

Being an older sibling means standing up for your younger ones, even if they're making mistakes. Everybody has to make their own mistakes in order to learn from them. It's a sibling's job to just be there when they need you. 

When this little sister decided to do a surprise wedding for her third marriage, her older sister advised her against it. She has children and as only recently started seeing this man that she wants to marry. She claims it just "feels different" this time, so she's marrying him no matter what. So, the older sister had a decision to make. Alienate her little sister and shame her for her mistake, or tell her how you feel, but still be supportive. Of course, she let her know this was a bad idea, but if she is going to do it no matter what, she will support her. So now she is roped in to not only being the only family member who knows about this wedding, but she is also now the officiant. It doesn't help that the little sister is surprising everyone at a family dinner for her 30th birthday, where she will be switching up partying plans and turning them into wedding plans. 

So, her family will be going to, what they think, is a birthday party, only to be then sideswiped with the fact that they are at this woman's wedding for her third marriage… 

He was trying to do something nice for the office, but nobody respected his espresso machine. 

Coffee lovers gag at the thought of the cardboard-flavored swill they serve up in the company break room. Ancient drip coffee machines that have never been cleaned leave a strangely haunting aftertaste in their mouths, like the taste of overworked fatigue and workplace desperation. In a pinch, some cafe aficionados may pour themselves a cup of Joe, but even the over-poured coffee creamer and sugar won't cover up the flavor of disappointment. 

That explains why this guy offered to bring his own coffee maker into the workplace. 

He had spent years at his desk dreaming of the creamy espresso, the frothy milk, and the perfect cup of coffee he could make from the comfort of his own kitchen, and a lightbulb went off in his head one day when lamenting with his colleagues: Why not bring my machine into work? There's no reason this man couldn't enjoy a good cup of coffee from his office chair, yet when he raved and cooed about the joys of his machine, his coworkers insisted he share the good word with them, too. 

At first, things were hunky-dory, but soon the office entitlement took over, and this refreshing amenity was being treated more negligently than the 15-year-old Mr. Coffee in the break room. 

It was never refilled, it was never wiped down, and most importantly, the office never brought their own coffee pods. At $1 a piece and in this economy, 12 coffees a day made this man's wallet ache more than his heart. A true coffee lover would never stand to watch their machine be treated with such distaste, and just because he had made a kind gesture to the workplace, it didn't mean he had to uphold it beyond its expiration. 

Nothing would stand in the way of a coffee lover and his good cup of the day, but he certainly wouldn't be extending the benefit to his ambivalent coworkers any longer. They proved where they stood when they raided his desk's private stash of coffee pods…

What kind of person asks for someone to do them a solid, only to throw them under the bus the first chance they get?

This employee was kind enough to take a risk by helping her coworker out. The coworker said she was running just a few minutes behind due to a family emergency and asked if the employee would clock her in early. This way, the coworker wouldn't get in trouble with their manager, which would inevitably add another conflict to an already overwhelming week full of obstacles for her.

In theory, showing up five minutes late would not have caused an issue. The coworker likely would have been able to sneak inside and start work before their manager even had his morning coffee. However, she was more than just a few minutes behind. She was over 30 minutes late.

Naturally, the manager, who certainly had his morning coffee by then, had some questions about where the coworker was and why she was already clocked in. Guess who was ultimately blamed? 

Blending six-day-old spaghetti into fresh sauce to "thicken it" is definitely… a choice

What starts as a questionable kitchen shortcut quickly turns into a much bigger conversation about trust, timing, and why "you didn't notice" is not always the comforting argument people think it is. 

Paying for the birthday party of the adult man who runs your company feels a little backwards. Yet, like a reverse bonus that comes every year, the boss's birthday is always played like some spectacle that HR can never afford, forcing that cost on the backs of every lowly employee on salary. 

Here's an idea: What if the boss paid for his own birthday party? 

Weirdly, CEOs making 6-figure salaries, who make an appearance in the office once a week, are rarely held liable for any financial struggles in the company. When quarterly goals aren't met, and revenue is plummeting, it's never the C-Level bosses who are expected to take on the jobs of laid-off employees, get their promotions furloughed, or who have the looming axe of unemployment dangling over their heads. Despite the workforce being expected to carry the brunt of the workload, they're still the most underpaid and underappreciated portion of the company. 

Until, of course, it's the Big Man's big day.

This is a great life lesson for everyone: don't work harder just because your company chose to fire all your talented coworkers

Ain't no such thing as company loyalty anymore. 

It doesn't matter if you've worked somewhere for 5 minutes or 15 years, because in your boss's eyes, you're expendable. A number on a spreadsheet. And if the right numbers aren't going up, employees will be taking the fall. 

Higher-ups would rather fire workers every day of the week rather than ever take a pay cut. I mean, a lot of C-suite workers make millions of dollars each year, while the workers who make their company rich are making like, $75k. It's all quite unfair, and this person is urging workers not to break their spirits by overworking just to correct an error that a rich CEO could've prevented. 

What time is it? What day is it? What year is it? Seriously, who even am I? All I do is eat, dream, meme, and repeat. Actually… When I put it that way, it kind of sounds like I'm living the dream. Is memeing the dream? Tune back in at 10 pm! Do you know where your kids are? I think my brain is glitching from adding too many memes to my daily cup of scrolling… Join me in my adventures! 

Seriously, though, memes are fantastic. Here we are getting bombarded with dark headlines one after another. You'd think we'd all be in the pit of despair by now. But nope! Memes always come to the rescue to help bring you back to realizing that life isn't that serious. Nothing is that serious. Nothing is even real. How old am I? Somewhere between 33 and 1,000. How many lives have we all lived? Is that even a thing? I do not have answers to these questions, but I do have memes. We shall survive with memes! 

What was supposed to be a simple wedding invitation quickly turns into an unexpected job offer with no paycheck attached. After being asked to take on full MC duties, this guest finds herself responsible for running the entire event rather than enjoying it. With little connection to the bride and no clear appreciation for the workload involved, the situation starts to feel less like a celebration and more like an obligation. Now she is left wondering if setting boundaries makes her the problem or if she is just asking for basic fairness.

The boss's insistence that staff work from the office all the time without flexible arrangements created issues in the workplace when she refused to follow her own policy.

I'll never understand why some bosses and employers are so adamant that work of the sort that can easily be done on a computer from anywhere must instead be done in an office.

There's always this discussion about some conductive energy, this cultural surge that will happen, that staff will somehow link up like the Power Rangers or something, and with their powers combined, all of that collective energy will be greater than the sum of its parts, leading to new ideas and greater productivity. 

If this really happens in real life, I have yet to see it. Working in an office, especially all the time with no flexibility, is draining and, over time, pushes workers into "going through the motions," and any short promise of greater communication and smoother transduction evaporates back into a figment of an ethereal dream. 

While it might appear that workers are busier in the office, there is a lot of "performative" work giving that impression amongst all the added sudden distractions and long awkward silences punctuated by someone who probably should have taken a sick day and stayed home coughing a few tables away. 

This woman was stunned that her BF was asking her to contribute $425 toward a family dinner of steak and lobster, then blamed her for not wanting to pay! 

Meeting your partner's family is a big deal. If you have a future in mind, those family members will become your family too. 

You want to get to know their parents and siblings, and spending time with their extended family can be really fun, too. 

Not to mention that joining in on treasured family traditions is really great. Even just going out for a family meal at a nice restaurant can be a lovely way to spend a night! 

But it was certainly not a lovely night for this person. 

Here's hoping your next home doesn't come haunted; living ghosts and heirloom storage were never part of the agreement.

Buying a home is an exciting, slightly terrifying endeavor. You never know for sure what you're getting into, and regardless of how many inspections you have and however many property value assessments you scour, homes and properties are like Pandora's box; once you've opened it up to see what's inside, there's no telling what other little surprises come along with the good news. 

Alas, that doesn't stop people from buying weird, old houses. 

Often more affordable than new builds and seeping with that old-world charm that doesn't exist on the market anymore, old houses can be really cool. However, they may come with more ghosts in the cellar than you'd care to imagine, and if you're like the homeowner in this next story, your new/old house might just be haunted by the ghosts of property owner's past, present, and future. 

Balancing work and family is already a challenge, but it becomes even harder when expectations suddenly shift. This working mom took a job with the understanding that flexibility would support her childcare needs, only to have that agreement pulled out from under her. After being upfront and communicative the entire time, she was met with frustration instead of support. Rather than compromise what mattered most, she chose to walk away. Now she's left wondering if standing her ground was the right call, or if she should have handled things differently.

If you saw your neighbor performing what seemed like a mysterious ritual on their front porch every night, would you say something?

Most suburban residents who encounter something like this might initially shrug off any concerns they might have, especially if it's a one-time occurrence. After all, it's dark out, and they might not fully see or understand what's happening. Besides, aren't neighbors meant to mind their own business anyway?

Of course, the idea behind this notion is a fabrication. The reality is that the vast majority of neighbors enjoy gossiping about one another out of curiosity alone. However, these residents weren't exactly making something out of nothing. 

From their perspective, they were bearing witness to a neighbor's strange nightly routine, and each subsequent morning, there would be a whole flock of crows sitting on his front lawn. 

Was he just a strange and lonely guy, or was this actually the premise of a real-life horror film?

Potluck dinners are fun for people who want to show off their cooking, not for professional chefs. If you already show off your cooking as a full-time paid gig, then potluck parties tend to lose their pizzazz. You don't invite your mechanic friend to your house and then expect them to service everyone's car? Or expect your dentist friend to check everyone's teeth while they're yapping at the party. Why would you want your friend to have to do their job (unpaid!) at your party?

This chef had finally had it with her friends' potluck-style parties. She enjoyed them because she appreciates gathering around food with the people she cares about and enjoys each other's company. However, it quickly turned into her having to cook the most extravagant meals for all her friends to eat and then judge everyone else's dishes. It was no longer a fun social event with her friends, it was her clocking in for an unpaid shift. 

So, she did what she could to turn it back into a friendly social event for herself by not cooking. She showed up with a store-bought hummus and some sliced-up veggies, and that was that. She was excited not to have to "perform" for her friends anymore. Unfortunately, they were all disappointed that they weren't getting their free gourmet meal/cooking class. She tried to explain that she just wanted to hang out and not have to do her job, but many, including the host, didn't seem to get the picture…

Do you think this is the right parenting tactic — giving away all of your kid's gifts if the name is incorrect? 

If there's one thing grandparents find adorable, it's creating monogrammed stuff for their grandkids. This is especially cute when the child is very little: wrapping up little Isabelle in a tiny bathrobe with her name on it is just adorable, and handing little Braxton his monogrammed backpack for his first day of pre-K will leave the grandparents with huge smiles on their faces. 

But look, grandparents can also be a tad bit pushy when it comes to the grandkids. They think they know best, no matter what! But do they really?