You don't have to be a genius to figure out that if your boss schedules an unprompted 1:1 with you during layoffs, it does not bode well for you. 

When a company is not doing great financially, you become hyper-aware of every single meeting your boss schedules with the team. And if someone leaves the boss's office looking somber, you know it can only mean one thing. All you have left to do is hope you are not the next employee who gets called into that office.

A homeowner found themself the target of mysterious repeated building code complaints over a shed that they had built on the edge of their property, adjacent to neighbors who they thought they had a good relationship with

Should they have notified the neighbor that they were building the shed? Maybe, but the neighbor's approach was far from conducive to a harmonious relationship.

These tenants might have gone a step too far, but the upstairs neighbors needed a wake-up call!

Imagine finding out that a seemingly unstoppable ceiling leak in your building had everything to do with your upstairs neighbors' inability to get it fixed. No one wants to assume that the people above you are to blame. It could have been the age of the building or an issue with the pipes. 

However, it turns out that in this instance, there was not much that building management could do to rectify the situation because the renters occupying that apartment refused to participate in solving the problem.

That's when this author, along with the support of other tenants and homeowners in the residence, decided to take a stand and show them what water inconveniences are really like.

Have you been working hard this year? Maybe non-stop since after the new year? You're a hard worker! We get it. But don't forget to laugh and touch grass. Do that at the same time with these memes! 

Always, always, always CYA in the workplace…

If you're not privy to what "CYA" means, in other words: Cover for yourself, and for nobody else. The only person who truly has your back is you.

If you witness workplace hypocrisy, it's best to address it intelligently.

By "intelligently", we mean sneakily…

Scroll below to read about the perfect revenge plot featuring a bartender, their micromanager, and a whole lot of lying to get the job done. Have you experienced this before in the workplace?

If you have to make something mandatory, then there is a very high chance that the something you are trying to make happen is not actually fun. Take, for example, when your job requires you to attend an after-work party. Making it required doesn't make it any less agonizing. Especially if you make that "party" on a Friday, right before your employees are free to go enjoy their weekends and live their lives. 

After saving up for months to buy the perfect stroller, this woman's husband just gave it away!

This Mom-to-be is having her baby in 2 or 3 months, and now, thanks to her husband's actions, she's stroller-less. She should probably consider how it'll feel to have this husband of hers around once the baby actually arrives… and then consider becoming husband-less, too.

Oh, you find that to be dramatic? Well just read the story, then we'll talk. Because the way this husband acted is both suspicious and unkind, leading a lot of people to ask that this woman strongly consider who she's actually married to. 

It takes a really big mistake to get fired on Day 1. 

Orientation day is probably the easiest day of any job, so I know you're thinking, "How could someone possibly get fired from that?"

Well, some people show up wildly unprepared, or make it clear that they're simply not a good fit for employment at that line of work. Like, if you show up on your first day wearing shorts when you can see all the employees have to wear pants, you'll get fired. Yep, that actually did happen to one person! 

It's no secret that the cold, harsh months of winter can affect one's mood, but these entitled folks took that negativity to the next level.

From shoveling drama after a snowstorm to neighborhood complaints over basketball hoops and photography, these Karens did not fail to make mountains out of molehills. Sometimes, the behavior was intentional, while other times, people were acting like Karens without even knowing they were acting like Karens. Yes, apparently, morphing into a Karen can be just like Bruce Banner "hulking" out.

Keep scrolling below for this collection of the top five most amusing Karen stories we came across this winter, along with commentary from yours truly.

Don't mess with your local blue-collar staff! This office worker learned that the hard way, and now her workday is made way more complicated. 

Karenish behavior rarely comes from a good place, but when this woman became a watchdog against predatory solicitors, her elderly neighbors were grateful for her tenacity.

Parents are expected to work full-time jobs, but as every Mom and Dad knows, raising the kids is a full-time job in itself. 

Quite the impossible choice, isn't it? 

Bosses always expect their workers to deliver pristine results. Nevermind if they're having an off day, not feeling 100%, or have a child who needs their attention. Kids need constant attention, and that doesn't just stop when Mom and Dad head into the office. Just think about all the times you called your parents while they were at work to ask them important questions like, "Can I watch TV?" or "Can I eat some chicken nuggets from the freezer?" And that's not even accounting for the times your child actually needs you — every parent groans aloud when they see that the school's nurse has left them a voicemail. 

Should you really be grateful for a job that doesn't allow you to take ONE day off?

There are many things we should be grateful for in life. We are grateful for our friends, our family, being healthy, and having a roof over our heads.

Obviously, we are also immensely grateful for having a job, which is not a given for anyone these days. That being said, just because we are grateful doesn't mean we shouldn't fight for our rights or stand up for ourselves when we feel like we're being wronged.

You can be grateful and still feel like you deserve better.

When the manager in the story below told their employee they should be grateful they even have a job, after this employee asked for one day off to attend their sister's wedding, we knew it was time for this employee to stand up for themselves. Not only is it just one day, which the employee is asking for weeks in advance, after following HR protocol precisely, but it is one day after weeks of being overworked with no retribution.

This led the employee not only to not feel grateful, but also feel like they deserve so much better, especially from a workplace they have given so much to.

Whether or not this employee will get their day off approved remains to be seen, but it doesn't seem like that matters as much, since the employee is not planning on sticking around in a job that doesn't appreciate hard work. And when this employee turns in their letter of resignation, we hope they tell their manager they should have been grateful for having such a great employee, and they should have shown it.

Despite allocating three paid storm days, corporate management refuses to use one during a major snowfall, instead telling employees to "assess your own situation" while risking pay or safety

There are policies that sound good on paper but will never materialize when they are needed.

Employees are supposed to watch what they say in front of their employers, but the same goes for said employers.

Like everything in an at-will workplace environment, it's a two-way street. If workers are meant to maintain a certain level of decorum and professionalism while on the clock, their bosses should be expected to do the same. You would think that this expectation would not need to be reiterated, and yet, far too many authority figures in the workplace take their power for granted when speaking to their employees.

In this instance, an employee at a startup was sick and tired of receiving compensation later than he was supposed to, so he chose to talk to his CEO directly. That conversation did not exactly go as planned. 

Living next to someone who thinks the street belongs to them is like being stuck in a low‑budget reality show, I would call it Freeze Factor, and the first rule is everyone gets frostbite, because this is one of those stories that shows snow can be a problem, but a frosty neighbor whose hobby is walking on thin ice is worse. 

Maybe our guy should invest in a pricey snow blower like the woman in this story and blow the neighbor away.

Socialization in the workplace beyond the scope of your duties is a nice-to-have, not a necessity.

I don't know what it is, but some people hit a certain age and transform into tiny tyrants who roam around town centres like they were elected mayor of someone else's life. We unfortunately all know the type, the ones who treat every sidewalk and doorway as a personal inspection zone and every stranger as a suspect until proven otherwise

The audacity of an incompetent employer to continue to secretly use your work, that you have saved in your personal (and that you pay for) Dropbox account for years after you quit, is bonkers. And yet, that is exactly what happened to this guy…