Whatever you do, do not decorate your office for Halloween using “ghosts” of people who used to work there. Like, specific employees with names and everything. You’re gonna have a bad time. Just figured this should be included in the list.
Oh, what list, I hear you saying, dear Panda? Why, the list you can find below, of course. A list of red flags Redditors were pointing out that are sure to make anyone regret ever applying to work at a certain company. But like, red flags as in ones that scream “don’t work here”.
And Bored Panda has collected some of the most spot-on observations and turned them into a list. So, scroll down, upvote, comment, and share your thoughts and red flags in the comment section below!
More Info: Reddit
#1
At the interview they offer you water. Suddenly you start feeling groggy. Next thing you know you are waking up in a bathtub full of ice with your kidneys missing.
Fool me once Hobby Lobby. Fool me once.
Image source: TimeTravelMishap, abdallahh
#2
Everyone you meet has been working there less than 2 years and it isn’t a startup.
Image source: LeeroyTC, Chad Miller
#3
When your initial interview doesn’t start on time, and you’re waiting. They don’t respect your time. Which essentially means they don’t respect their workers.
Image source: Street_Vacation_2730, Caetano Candal Sato
#4
The owners children are in high management / executive positions
Image source: secretbaldspot, Scott Schiller
#5
“Were like a family”
“Be willing to work in a fast-paced environment”
This is just code for “we will guilt you into doing things beyond your job, and we are poorly managed”
Image source: Slawth_x, Zach Tirrell
#6
If all of the other employees look sullen and depressed. If you walk into the office area and feel like you’ve walked into a funeral service. Nobody’s smiling, nobody’s laughing. Nobody looks remotely happy or content.
Just turn around and walk back to your car. That is not a good place to be working at.
Image source: Jasons_Brain, Cristian Ungureanu
#7
If you ever hear a higher up say anything along the lines of “I don’t have to do that because I’m a X”
As a manager/owner/lead/etc… Your job is to support your team, if that means as a store owner you’re cleaning puke off the bathroom floor guess what, you’re cleaning puke off the bathroom floor.
If you ever see a boss refusing to help when it’s busy or delegating a task poorly (eg the blind guy has to go pick stock while ur boss hangs out in the back room taking calls) quit.
Image source: GardenSpecialist5619, Juhan Sonin
#8
Information overload. They expect you to understand everything and will somewhat train you Day 1. But after that day, they expect you to do everything to a tee.
Training takes a while.
Image source: simajae, Chris Betcher
#9
Team activities that happen every week. Casual fridays, team meetings, group presentations. Just let me do my job we don’t need to dress up for halloween at the office
Image source: BarryPalmedTheDip, Split the Kipper
#10
I had a job interview a long time ago where I asked if there was any office dress code. The response I got was, “Just try not to wear your gang colors all the time.”
Image source: BobVilasBeard, ptxdview
#11
If a larger company buys your company out but says “Nothing is changing but the name and address that your paycheck is coming from” But then everything changes.
Image source: Gbrusse, Bradley Gordon
#12
If you get asked in interviews about how you deal with workplace conflict and how you get along with difficult personalities. If they’re asking about how you deal with difficult customers, that’s one thing. If they basically ask how you handle a toxic work environment, it’s going to be a toxic work environment. I very naively learned this the hard way.
Image source: nosuchthingasa_, Chris Lott
#13
Morning screaming and chants. Ringing a bell when you hit your quota.
Image source: mdotca, Christian Odendaal
#14
Oh man i feel like my work place is filled with red flags. Like tonight for example, we had a 16 yr old get fired for being drunk while on the job and unable to function. They fired the kid about a month ago, I show up today and that same kid who they fired got his job back and was at work tonight.
It’s sad when a place of business is so hard up on finding workers that they will rehire a 16yr old drunk
Image source: plebsfrost, abbilder
#15
High turnover. A team with 10% turnover in three years had a few bad employees. A team with 110% turnover in three years is a bad employer.
Image source: zugabdu, autorevo
#16
The hiring manager who brought you in quit.
Image source: Sarged117, Amtec Photos
#17
They’re looking for “rockstars”.
Image source: Marquetan, Yohanes Sanjaya
#18
One thing I look for when interviewing onsite is checking out peoples desks as I walk through the halls. If there are no personal effects or decor in workers cubicles, then that makes me think people just hate being there. I think if there are decorations, people are more comfortable and enjoy their job and workspaces and it’s likely a more friendly place to work.
Image source: nice_touch, Toms Baugis
#19
Trainers sleeping with the trainees.
Poor retention of staff.
Wine bottles in the toilet bins.
People constantly phoning in sick.
Companies that outsource majority of staff from agencies, 0 hour contracts are the norm.
Constantly having to speak with HR because of incorrect pay or not paid at all, bonus missing and all that s**t.
Companies not being able to supply all the kit needed for the job, you having to spend own money on kit.
Has a team specifically for beefing up its own reviews online.
An absolute huge team that deals with complaints and all things f****d.
I could go on but that’s kind of the flavour.
Image source: Whatsallthefussabou1, Mark Hillary
#20
Extremely high pay for what is a very simple, low effort job.
Bonus points if they have a sign that says ‘Now hiring’ outside, year round.
This indicates that even with a high pay rate, they cant keep people on.
Image source: lowexpectationsguy, Tyler
#21
“Work hard, play hard” = “You won’t have a life outside the office, but we’ll pump you full of booze!”
Image source: DefinitelyABot475632, home thods
#22
Employers acting like they are doing a you a favor and they own you.
Image source: SuvenPan, Mark Turnauckas
#23
If they’re plastering “It’s so much FUN to work here!”, all over the place, RUN. I believe in good workplace morale, but if they have to advertise it, it’s not.
Image source: notthesedays, Russell Yarwood
#24
If they have a black out period for PTO from November to January 2nd.
Image source: sisterfister69hitler, tiredcynic
#25
Machinists , if the shop is dirty and disorganized, if the coolant is disgusting and stinky, if everyone working there looks pissed off or dead in the eyes, if the person walking you around talks about how smart and important they are. Do not work there
Image source: Ecstatic_Conflict621, Official U.S. Navy Page
#26
If there is a staff parking lot and all the cars are older / beater cars besides the management/owners cars.
Image source: javajunky46, Phil Wiffen
#27
When your supervisor and/or coworkers act like they think you hung the moon and stars by the end of the first month.
In my experience, this behavior just means that 1) they are two-faced backstabbers who talk s**t and spread rumors about you, and/or 2) they have very black-and-white thinking, and you’re handling a time bomb. Meaning if they think you’re an “amazing” person, and you do one little thing they don’t like such as make a mistake or ask them to correct something, they do a hard 180 and decide you deserve their eternal hatred.
Image source: Choice_Bid_7941, AUIC Oficial
#28
Being hired on the spot
Image source: Icy-Maintenance7738, Flazingo Photos
#29
This might be controversial, and its probably not universally applicable… but for the sake of something original: Nobody on staff really seem like they are “friends” with one another.
This comes from personal experience with a large portion of my life where I used to job hop a lot. I feel like I could always tell whether the job would be good or not within a few days of starting just by seeing how the staff interact with each other. If your co workers talk a fair amount about non-work related stuff, or have inside jokes or hang out OUTSIDE of work hours, those are all generally super good indicators of a really solid and happy workplace culture.
Every job I have ever had where the workers only discussed work and didn’t seem to have any interest in a more casual work relationship all ended up being miserable jobs by the end of my time there.
There truly is a “vibe” to a workplace… It doesn’t take long to pick up on. I have had really tough jobs (for example, being a dockhand) that were incredibly fun and fulfilling, as well as jobs that should have been incredibly fun (like a rock climbing instructor) become the complete opposite purely off the vibes of the team.
Image source: NiceGuyWillis, ender_stdcall
#30
There are some very very new workers and a group that has been there from the start,youre going to be treated like s**t by the latter.
Image source: CaptainQuoth, Debs (ò‿ó)♪
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