I should’ve known that this was a toxic work environment when, in my interview, the hiring manager asked, "How is your relationship with your father?"
I told him my relationship with him was bad, and then he went on to say that he views the whole office as his children.
He also said that he’d pay for his employees to go to a company therapist and for “mental health” breaks.
I thought it was strange, but I needed a job, badly, so I decided to grin and bear it.
The Therapist
It didn’t take long to learn that therapist wasn't there to help us at all. She was just collecting emotional intel, like traumas and anxieties, for our manipulative boss.
🥇A big pleaser? The boss would make you work weekends every other week.
👨👦👦 Daddy issues? The boss would say how proud he was and then ask for more work.
🕷️Scared of spiders? He’d put up spider wallpaper to keep you focused on your screen.
The Disney+ Incident
One day, the boss had discovered that an employee had a Disney+ account with a couple of free slots to share on it. Seeing himself as a father figure and desperate for inclusion, he demanded, "If you had to name one father figure in your life, who would it be?"
But when the employee named his actual dad as a father figure, he snapped.
The boss was expecting the employee to say “I see you as a father figure” and then offer up his Disney+ account.
As an adult human being, what was the best course of action? Accept the employee’s answer with grace?
No, no, he picked up a burrito and launched it across the office, splattering it against the wall near the two employees, and then started screaming. When he realized he was wrong, he turned bright red and stormed off.
When the incident was reported to HR, nothing happened.
Crying Time
The scheduled “mental health” breaks turned out to be a designated period to have a small cry, splash water on your face, and to tell yourself, "I can do this", in the mirror.