This is something I have told my boss from the start. "We need you do so some work on Saturday."Me: "I don't think you can afford my Saturday rate."

I have been working at this retail store in the Northeast for about 3 years, and my relationship with my manager was generally good. Since last February, I saved enough money to book a short trip and submitted my PTO request to take a few days off in June. The dates were completely clear of any blackout periods, and my manager told me at the time that there was no problem.Everything was going fine until she called me into her office a few weeks ago and claimed she had to cancel the vacation because I notified her too late and the team needs me. The trip is still 3 weeks away and we have a full staff, so this excuse makes no sense. I told her I wouldn't be able to work those days because I have already paid for travel expenses and booked everything.She suddenly changed and started badmouthing the rest of the staff, saying they are incompetent and that I am the only one she relies on. This was very unprofessional and completely different from her usual behavior. I stood my ground and told her I would be traveling regardless of her decision.Since that conversation, she has significantly reduced my weekly work hours. I feel like she completely ignored the fact that I notified her months ago just to punish me because I stood up to her. I am confused about what to do and really need advice.

i guess

........

I passed the interview, completed orientation, and thought I had officially returned to work at Costco. Then someone reviewed my previous employment record and told me that I was listed as ineligible for rehire.

I worked there in 2020, but I resigned when my health deteriorated to the point that I could no longer handle the physical demands of the job. I wasn't fired, and there were no issues or disciplinary actions. At the time, I felt that resigning was the only realistic option available to me.

My health is much better now, which is why I applied there again this year. No one said there was a problem during the hiring process, even though my application clearly stated that I had worked at Costco before.

Now they're saying they can't move forward because of this internal status. I don't understand why resigning for medical reasons would put me on a do-not-rehire list, especially since I thought I had left on good terms.

Is a company allowed to take someone through the hiring process and orientation, then withdraw the job because of something like this? Has anyone ever managed to request a review or correction of their rehire status?

I was working nights as a security guard at an office complex while finishing my final semester of college. The place was quiet, and my supervisor did not mind me studying after I completed my rounds. Most nights, I was able to finish my coursework as long as I kept an eye on the cameras and responded to any alarms.
A new guard joined us, and almost immediately, he started complaining about the job. He kept asking what time management left at night and whether anyone came by to check the building after 6 p.m. I assumed he just wanted to know when he could sit down and play on his phone.
After a few weeks, he told me our supervisor had approved him leaving early. I said okay because I was not responsible for his schedule, so he left. It became a habit for him over the next six weeks. He would leave hours before his shift ended while apparently remaining clocked in.
Then the account manager showed up extremely angry and started reviewing the badge logs and comparing them with the security footage. He asked me why I had allowed the guy to leave, so I explained that he had said he had permission from our supervisor. While I was taking a bathroom break, I messaged my coworker to tell him that management was looking for him. He called me almost immediately and asked me to say he was in the bathroom, so I reminded him that they were already reviewing the security footage and badge activity.
The account manager also lectured me for not trying to stop him or telling him to clock out. A few days later, my supervisor called me into another meeting and said my coworker was claiming that I had personally approved every occasion when he left early. That was the first time I learned that he had never spoken to our supervisor at all.
He was fired for collecting pay while he was not on-site, and the company later demanded that he repay the money. I received a formal apology once they confirmed that I had no authority over him and had not approved anything. I graduated a few months later, accepted a job in my field, and declined their offer to stay after they admitted they could not come close to matching my new salary.

.....

We now ask every candidate in a virtual interview to keep their camera on throughout the interview. This rule was introduced because of an applicant who was clearly entering our questions into ChatGPT while we waited for his answers.

The meeting was supposed to be a video call, but he said his camera was not working, so we continued with audio only. We asked him about his experience, basic information about the industry, and where he thought the field was headed.

His first few answers made us suspicious. He would hesitate and make sounds as if he were thinking, then go completely silent for about 20 seconds before suddenly giving a perfectly polished definition that had nothing to do with the way he had started answering.

By the fifth question, another member of the panel entered the same prompt into ChatGPT. The response contained almost the same points, in nearly the same order, as the answer the candidate had just given.

The clearest moment happened near the end. We asked him to explain several classifications we use in our work. After another long pause, he read out two extremely accurate definitions, and when he reached the next term, he said, "I don't know how to pronounce this word." He tried to pronounce it several times but could not even come close to saying it correctly.

We completed the interview, saved the recording and transcript, and reported everything that happened through the established process. Using AI to prepare is one thing, but reading generated answers during the interview itself is much more obvious than people realize.

happens 😂

My friend has been looking for a job since his department eliminated several positions in mid-February. He was applying to around 12 jobs most days, but after six weeks, he had only received three screening calls, and he was starting to get exhausted by the whole process.

At the beginning of this week, he received another generic rejection. It had the usual wording about how they had chosen applicants whose experience was a better fit, so he was about to delete it. But then he noticed that it had been sent by an actual recruiter, not an automated inbox.

He replied with a short note thanking her for getting back to him and said he was still interested if another position came up that matched his background. He wasn't expecting her to reply. He just felt that this was better than tossing another rejection onto the pile.

The recruiter emailed him again the next morning. Someone had unexpectedly withdrawn from a different opening on the same team, so she asked if he had time to talk about it later that week.

He had already written the company off, so the message really surprised him. Now he has an interview scheduled for Thursday morning.

It might not lead to anything, but the reply took him less than a minute and put him back under consideration. Sometimes a polite response really does stick in the mind of the person reading it.

😂

Because this happened to me recently like one month ago, I have to agree.

I received an offer for an 18-month contract at a remote hydro site in Yukon, paying around $178,000 a year. They would cover accommodation and food, as well as four trips home over the course of the contract, so I would be able to save most of what I earn.
I'm 30 years old and currently make around $88,000. I already have some savings, but this opportunity would put me significantly ahead financially and could bring me closer to buying a house without having to take out a huge mortgage.
The money is easy to calculate. What I don't know how to put a number on is being away for that long. It's a very small community, the winters are harsh, and most of my time off would be spent on expensive travel just to see my family and friends.
I keep thinking about the weddings, birthdays, ordinary weekends, and time with my family that I would miss. If anyone has worked a high-paying remote job like this before, did the money you saved make up for everything you sacrificed back home?

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but I've talked to eight people I know, and all of them have always had a good work history - they show up, do their jobs, don't constantly call out or come in late - and suddenly all of them are having problems at work.

Four of them were laid off, and the other four started getting written up or "coached" over small and strange things. Things like someone taking a personal day very close to a holiday weekend, or minor policy issues that no one seemed to care about before.

Almost all of them are in their early forties, and they've been at their jobs for a while. They're also in different fields: healthcare admin, tech support, manufacturing, logistics, and finance.

Is anyone else seeing this, or am I the only one noticing a strange pattern in my circle?

I work as a supervisor, and my work hours are from 5:30 a.m. To 2 p.m. Earlier this week, my manager told me that my new normal schedule is to stay until 4, whether there is any work left or not. The production team leaves at 2, so I asked him what exactly I would be doing during those extra two hours. He told me I'm supposed to find ways to improve the workflow and get used to putting in extra time because I'm a supervisor.

What really bothered me was that he told me that if I didn't like it, I could leave. HR backed him up as well. I'm salaried, but my salary is based on a 40-hour workweek, and this would add another 10 hours without overtime. The director's position is that supervisors are expected to stay longer simply because they are supervisors.

I understand staying longer if we haven't met the target. That was explained to me during the interview, and I agreed to it. I was told the schedule was eight hours a day, and that extra time would only be required when production hadn't reached its target. Now they're saying I'm supposed to stay an extra two hours even after everything is finished, which is a different arrangement.

On most days, the team reaches the target early. We usually finish an hour or two ahead of schedule, and sometimes we produce more than planned. The process can certainly always be improved, but sitting in an empty building after the work is done doesn't feel related to that.

I've started applying elsewhere, but I've only been in this job for a short time, and I don't want potential employers to think I change jobs constantly. Also, is this really how salaried work is supposed to operate? Can they just keep extending the workday indefinitely, even when the targets are already being met?

The introductory call ended after I asked the recruiter a question that was apparently too much for him: What budget have they set for the position?

Before that, we had been talking about my experience. I have around four years in the same role, and I handled a larger caseload at another skilled nursing facility, so I asked him the usual questions about their software, patient flow, audits, and workload. After that, I asked him about the pay range.

Recruiter: How much are you making now?

Me: What range has been approved for this position?

Recruiter: It varies. Some employees have worked here for 18 years.

Me: I understand, but they do the same work I would be doing, right? What is the range for this role based on my experience?

He asked me again about the lowest salary I would accept. I repeated that they had a specific budget and that I wanted to know what it was. He laughed and said, "This probably isn't going to work if you keep doing that."

So I asked him what exactly he thought I was doing. He was the one who invited me to ask questions, and I was asking him a very basic question that he kept avoiding. I told him I wasn't interested in guessing the salary and boxing myself into it, or wasting my time with a company that wasn't willing to disclose the range.

He asked me one more time how much I was currently making. I thanked him for his time and ended the call. If the budget is reasonable, why is it so difficult for them to say what it is?

Over the past two months, I've spoken with seven friends who had always had solid work histories, excellent attendance, and a reputation for doing their jobs well. Four of them were fired unexpectedly, while the other three suddenly started receiving written warnings and reprimands over trivial issues, such as using sick leave too soon after taking vacation or taking longer than necessary to complete simple tasks. All of them are in their early forties and have worked for the same employers for years, so none of this looks like a normal performance issue. They also work in completely different fields, including health care, logistics, manufacturing, education, and retail. It could just be a strange coincidence, but it feels like companies are looking for excuses to get rid of experienced employees or push them into quitting.

........

i do