An administrative assistant went viral for sharing a demeaning work experience on Reddit.
An anonymous redditor posted the three-paragraph story to the r/antiwork subreddit, explaining how they discovered how little they are worth to their company.
In the thread, the user tells a story about how wanting to move desks backfired on them. The poster works for a small office as an administrative assistant. Working in an office with no dress code or visitors, the user asked to move from the reception desk to one of the vacant offices.
“There are two vacant offices here and one of my coworkers recently swapped, from her ‘starter office’ to the largest vacant corner office, and during the process there was discussion of me moving since I have no natural lighting at my desk and no thermostat, which led to me using a space heater all winter, ” they wrote.
Their boss seemed receptive to her employee’s request, which led them to believe that they could move. In their excitement to get a window and thermostat, the redditor promptly moved into their co-worker’s vacant office.
“It was so nice to be out of the harsh overhead lighting, actually know what the weather is, be able to track the passing of time, have circulating air…” they explained.
Got chewed out at work for moving to a vacant desk with a window, because having a window is “above my position”.
by in antiwork
Unfortunately, her boss got wind of the unsanctioned move. In an email the next day she informed her worker that the office was reserved for higher salaried employees.
“She said the office I moved into is the nicer of the two vacant ones (they look exactly the same to me) and ‘slated above my position’, and that if I were to receive an office it would be the “other” one, ‘but even that would warrant further thought’,” they recalled.
Humiliated, they were forced to move back to their reception desk.
“I’ve been shown just how lowly I’m actually regarded… I came into work at peace with my job, now I f*cking hate it,” they concluded.
The top voted comment said what many people were thinking: “Free up that third desk for them to fill.”
Another commenter reflected on the lack of empathy from their boss. “Seeing people get that territorial and vicious, To the point that they humiliated another human being over it…. How hellish,” they wrote.
Mostly, users advised them to quit without giving notice: “Quit without notice. They haven’t earned the courtesy.”
“This. You are a person worthy of respect. They fail to show it to you, don’t show it to them,” another agreed.
