Comments on: Don’t Work for Assholes

By: sarah

sarah — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:18:41 +0000

taking a deep breath and thinking about taking your advice tomorrow.

By: dana

dana — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:37:33 +0000

I’m a beginner web designer and i’m building a website for some lawyer. yesterday I showed him the final draft for the design.
so he asked me “how many hours did you spend on it this week?”
and i said “alot”. he answered “I don’t believe you.” .
I was so mad but I held back and just said “you’re wrong”.
I spent so much time on it and just the night before i had worked far into 3:30 am. The design was a huge step foreword comparing to the initial sketch i gave him. People have such nerve…

By: Thomas Boutilier

Thomas Boutilier — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:58:42 +0000

As a Corollary, I have had to leave several jobs because I could not be the asshole that they think I needed to be.
to be an asshole or not to be an asshole…

By: Mike Fink

Mike Fink — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:28:43 +0000

Oh, man…let me just say…Client that said he knew “Exactly what he wanted”..OMG 3 weeks of hell (BTW I make furniture) Changing this detail and that detail…End result I am so glad to see the end of this job I pull an all-nighter and fuck up my thumb paring a joint to perfection.
Next Morning, Asshole calls and says “If they’re finished I’ll pick ‘em up, if not…expect to hear from my lawyer”
I stammer and gratefully tell him “Ready to go”. He actually put me on HOLD for 10 min. before saying “So,
I’ll guess you want that final payment (I work 1/3 down,
2/3 at compleation). Then to put fucking icing on a turd cupcake, HE ASKED ME TO HOLD THE CHECK FOR THREE DAYS.
man, if I only carried a gun…

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 10:43:31 +0000

I couldn’t agree more! .. I’ve yet to turn a job down but can imagine it’s quite empowering.

..the one ‘asshole’ that I took a job off last year, said, (within 5 minutes of me meeting her) “if you ask me any more f*****g questions I’m goin to be really p****d off” (I was asking her relevant questions about the job in hand).

I was gobsmacked to say the least but gave her the benefit of the doubt as I knew she had been working late into the night..

..anyway she excused her to go to the toilet and came back with a personality transplant, all smiles and very chatty, and later on apologising for what she said and saying how she needed that ‘coffee’ to wake her up..

…funny thing was I couldn’t remember her drinking her any coffee but she did seem to have a bit of a bad cold

Anyway I should have taken that as a sign..but did I?

Steve

By: Alex Bowles

Alex Bowles — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:08:10 +0000

@ BB,

You really nail it with your observation that “The bummer though is that it’s still in your head 12 years later. Assholes will always have the upper hand in that way.”

So totally, unbelievably true. These people do lasting damage, and often leave scars. You never really forget, and when you remember, you tense up, and start feeling a little grim.

It’s a serious cost to carry. So always keep that extra expense in mind when telling yourself “I just can’t afford to turn this job down.”

In the long run, you pay them. It’s awful.

By: rea

rea — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:12:59 +0000

Years ago, when I ws working for a law firm, a partner put me to work on behalf of a brand new client, whose business he was very proud to have secured.

It was an insurance company headquartered in the Caymen Islands, who was hiring us to argue that it didn’t have to pay any bills from our state, on the theory that it wasn’t subject to the jurisdiction of our courts.

One guess what position the insurance company took with respect to our bill . . .

Somehow your story about the client and the waitress reminded me of this–how a client treats others is powerful evidence of how the client will treat you.

By: Karinna

Karinna — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:52:25 +0000

I love this article in a way that I find nearly impossible to articulate. I have had frighteningly similar situations, and have found myself repeating the bad mistakes (especially not listening to my intuition) time and time again because I needed the money, only to end up either being shorted by the client or spending more time on a difficult client than I EVER thought possible.

By: Music Critic

Music Critic — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:28:07 +0000

Sigh, what happens when you have a 9-5 job and your entire company is full of assholes? Maybe time to start freelancing? Easy to say but hard to make the jump. Especially when you’ve got an entire family depending on your income.

By: Gingeroo22207

Gingeroo22207 — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:20:48 +0000

I’ve had the misfortune of working for many assholes in my career, but last year I worked briefly for the Queen Asshole. I was new in town and needed a job in the worst way. I went on the interview for this woman and my flags were flying. Then I spoke with someone who knew her by reputation. She has the reputation of being abusive and mentally ill. If I hadn’t been desperate, I wouldn’t have taken the job (lesson learned-trust your instincts). She was nasty and abusive from day one. I was always on time, willing to work late when needed and gave 150 percent, but some reason she seemed to despise me. I went looking elsewhere for work asap. In this economy, jobs are scarce so I was trying to hang on until I got another job. Unfortunately, she fired me before I could get out after just over a month and without reason. Now I find out, she’s been bad mouthing me too. She’s a psycho and I wish there was a website where one could give people looking for work a heads up on who the assholes in town are. All I can say is I’m lucky to never have to back to that and pity the next victim.