'Burned-Out' Worker Asks How To Get Fired After One Too Many Altercations With Her 'Micromanager Perfectionist' Boss
"It's perfectionist people like her that puts people into burnouts."
fizkes / Shutterstock The kind of management you work under can truly impact how you feel about your job. In fact, a survey of 3,000 American workers found that 82% of employees would quit their jobs because of a bad manager.
One worker on Reddit was content and satisfied with her job and workload until her company hired a new marketing manager whose micromanaging and perfectionist tendencies have her burnt out and searching for a new job.
Rather than quitting, the employee took to Reddit asking for advice on how to get fired so she could receive unemployment benefits.
The employee explained that upon arrival, her new manager enacted significant changes and expressed dissatisfaction with various employees’ work ethics.
“Within her first month, she fired both the graphic designer and the social media girl. TWO PEOPLE IN ONE MONTH,” the employee wrote. “She puts extreme pressure, and she is [a] perfectionist. I CAN’T WIN.”
The employee explained that she is a copywriter responsible for writing the newsletters for her company, and she has always done so on a specific software she was knowledgeable of. However, since her new manager’s entry into the company, she has been required to use a new software she is not familiar with, as well as take on extra tasks outside her role concerning the graphic design of the newsletter.
On a late Friday afternoon, her boss emailed her a last-minute assignment: Send the newsletter out on Monday, integrating the new software.
“I spent the entire day PANICKING and MAKING MISTAKES because I was in a rush and spent my day making trials and errors," the anonymous worker wrote. "Finally, at 3 p.m. I was done.”
The worker declined a video chat with her boss because she was ‘crying’ and ‘enraged.’
She emailed her boss honestly expressing the challenges she experienced attempting to execute this last-minute project without a thorough understanding of the new software.
Her boss’s response was… less than understanding.
“She replied to me that it’s been MULTIPLE TIMES that I waste time BECAUSE I’M NOT ASKING MYSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS,” she wrote. “I’m not a graphic designer. I wrote the text. I did my job. “
Her manager then requested a video chat to discuss additional critiques, but due to her overwhelming emotional distress, the employee declined, explaining she needed time to process and choose her words wisely. They begrudgingly scheduled the chat for the next day.
“It’s perfectionist people like her THAT PUT PEOPLE INTO BURNOUTS,” the woman concluded. “I want to quit so bad, but I have bills to pay, and before her, I LOVED THIS JOB.”
In a follow-up post, the worker explained what she and her manager discussed during their call.
"I finally had the dreaded meeting with my boss about yesterday's events," the worker wrote in her updated Reddit post.
During the call, she was reprimanded for asking questions, called “extremely unprofessional,” and told to "roll up her sleeves" when given last-minute assignments.
While constructive criticism is a natural element of any job and allows workers to strengthen their abilities, too much of it without empathy or understanding only weakens employees’ productivity and motivation to succeed.
"When I asked if they were considering firing me, she said NOT FOR NOW, but I could do much more," the worker wrote.
It’s true that taking initiative and seeking answers independently are strong qualities to have at work. However, questions are bound to come up, and it is a manager’s responsibility to welcome their employees' questions with patience. Suffice it to say, the employee has had enough, but she didn't want to simply quit.
"I'm starting job searching now, but also [does] anyone [have] any ideas how to get fired so I could get the unemployment benefits?" she asked. "I'm afraid soon I'm going to blow up and quit on a burst of anger and that would be very bad for me."
The worker’s desire to find a new job is not unfounded, and many Redditors agreed.
A manager should never get upset at an employee for asking questions, which is a significant part of their job. In fact, most teams encourage questions to ensure optimal delivery.
While changes in the workplace are inevitable, they can still be challenging to navigate. Managers should be aware of this and prepare themselves for whatever questions might arise from their team members during times of transition.
Furthermore, a manager’s job entails more than just delegating tasks to their employees — they must empower them, be patient, and serve as approachable role models. Lacking empathetic qualities leads to employees experiencing burnout, heightened stress, and pressure at work, which inhibits their ability to be productive — and often pushes them to quit.
Based on what she wrote of her micromanaging boss, it seems that the worker may be fired in no time for simply not meeting the excessive standards.
Still, some commenters provided alternative options to getting fired. "Be low-key disrespectful," one user wrote. "If she asks you to do things outside of your job description, ask for training."
"If you want to be a petty [expletive], sign her work email up for every spam bot you can find," they added.
Whether this worker gets fired of her own volition or not, hopefully, she finds a healthier position that values her worth and role on the team.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.