A boss’s belligerent message on their employee’s final check had the internet baffled this week.
The worker shared an image of the check on Reddit‘s “Antiwork” forum Thursday, racking up over 18,000 votes in under a day. “My boss actually wrote this on my last check,” wrote the anonymous employee.
The check dated June 3 was made out for $1,200. In the memo section addressing it to a recipient, the boss had crammed a bizarrely nasty description of their employee.
“Didn’t give 2 weeks notice, very inconsiderate, quit for no reason,” said the scribbled note. It added that the worker was a “vegan who likes cancer, not meat” and a “coward.”
The employee explained in a comment that they were a smoker who did not eat meat, a combination that clearly nettled their manager.
A final line on the check exclaimed, “Got free rides to work for 5 months self-centered never amount to anything!”
The impassioned message had the internet stumped, as readers on Reddit attempted to disentangle what the angry boss hoped to achieve.
“‘Vegan who likes cancer, not meat?'” repeated one comment with nearly 6,000 votes. “Damn, he showed you!”
Another wondered, “What does he think is gonna happen? The bank’s gonna read it and go, ‘Oh my goodness. I’m so disappointed in [the original poster].’ Get real.”
BARBARA GINDL / Contributor/AFP
Several other readers said the boss’s final note only highlighted that quitting was the right decision.
“This looks like evidence of a hostile work environment to me,” said a sympathetic commenter.
Another user congratulated the worker on leaving their job, adding, “That is one of the meanest things I have ever seen. I am sorry.”
A sense of disrespect at work is a major factor driving Americans to leave their jobs. Last year, over 47 million people quit their jobs in a mass exodus termed the Great Resignation. Quitting rates have remained high this year despite warnings of a recession, with 4.3 million workers quitting in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A Pew Research Center survey found that “feeling disrespected at work” was among the leading motivations pushing people to leave their jobs, along with low pay and a lack of opportunities for advancement. About 57 percent of workers who quit in 2021 cited disrespect at work, according to the survey.
Micromanagement is the most-hated trait in bosses, according to a study from career site Zippia, with 23 percent of respondents saying it was their manager’s worst trait. That was followed by unavailability, incompetence and rudeness, with 16 percent, 13.5 percent and 11.5 percent of people surveyed calling those qualities their boss’s worst trait, respectively.
Newsweek reached out to u/TopShelf_Bim for comment.
