A cleaner has received an outpouring of praise and support after leaving a brutally honest note calling out her boss on her final day.
As reported by the Metro, the cleaner, Julie, left the note at the bank where she worked on her last shift before retirement.
According to the former employee, her "aggressive and cruel" boss had given her a "dressing down", which spurred her on to leave the letter.
The note was shared to Twitter by the cleaner's son, Joe Cousins, who wrote alongside it: "And this is why I love my mom.
"She’s been cleaning banks for 35 years and today walked out with this lovely note left for that awful manager. Happy retirement Mom - always have the last laugh eh!"
In the note, the former cleaner writes: "Hi ladies tomorrow will be my last clean for HSBC."
After stating that she had left an inventory for her replacement, the cleaner then turns her attention to her boss, who appears to also be named Julie.
"I've left the job Julie after the way you dressed me down in the office," she writes. "It was nothing more than aggressive and cruel but that's a reflection on your character not mine".
She adds: "So going forward please all of you remember IN A WORLD WHEN YOU CAN BE ANYTHING BE KIND".
Ending the letter, she writes an important and humbling reminder: "Because you are all no better than the cleaner".
After her son shared the note to Twitter on April 30, it went on to amass over 144,000 'likes' and more than 10,000 retweets.
Twitter users were also quick to shower the hardworking cleaner with praise for standing up for herself.
One person wrote: "A manager dressing someone down in public. Always remember that a clown always needs an audience".
A second added: "Never understood why people think what they do for a living reflects their importance. I was raised to believe that a job is a job and anyone getting up and going to work deserves the same respect, whether they pick up trash or run the company. Good for your mom! Respect!"
A third wrote: "We are all no better than the cleaner. Absolutely true.
"Yet how many people don’t acknowledge or say hello to the cleaners in their workplace? Sadly, probably the majority. Only takes a moment and is always appreciated."
An important message I'm sure many of us can learn from. Enjoy your retirement, Julie!
If you've dreamed about quitting your job on the spot - without bothering with a notice period or a formal resignation letter - then join the club!
Unfortunately, absolutely hating your job is something that we all go through. You may hate everything about the job or just certain aspects - but eventually, you get to the point where enough is enough.
But while many of us would love to quit abruptly, give our boss a piece of our mind and then not turn up for work ever again - unfortunately, it's not really feasible for the average Joe.
But one woman was brave enough to share a briefly-written note with her boss, telling him she wouldn't be turning up for work ever again, citing the boss' supposed "rudeness" as the reason.
The woman, who quit her job at a Target store in the US, shared the note to Reddit, with the caption: "the note I left on my TL desk after my shift" alongside a relieved emoji.
It read: "Hey Jordan! Just wanted to let you know that I will not be returning to work tomorrow or next week! Thx hun! – M."
The note continued: "P.S. I will never understand why you were so rude to me!"
And she ended the note with a drawing of an (ironic) smiley face.
Credit: PA Images
The response the woman got was divisive, with some praising her and others telling her it was the wrong thing to do.
One person told her: "Good job! I walked out of my job at Target too. I was the only one working in the food corner (before they all turned into a starbucks) and they would just f**king leave me there, even when I would be paging for help. I hated that job.
"And I always smelled like popcorn."
However, others felt the action was only "burnt bridges" for the former Target employee.
One wrote: "Y’all may laugh and cheer on how to leave a job- but trust me, once you step foot out of retail and into a more professional career, you’ll see what we’re saying about burning bridges and about how to leave a job."
Credit - Reddit @keon[/caption]
We've probably all had that job we wish we'd flounced out of in true style. The one we begrudgingly showed up for every day and did our time, secretly building up our private list of resentments against the boss from hell. Hopefully, for most of us, that doomsday scenario of a job is in the past, but I imagine most of us eventually left it by meekly saying it was time for pastures new and wishing that hated boss the best for the future. Sometimes it's just not worth burning those bridges.
But these 30 people weighed up all the evidence and decided not to keep their head down and play it safe but to go for the adrenaline rush of going out in a blaze of glory where they say the thing they always wanted to say in the most memorable way possible.
[post_page_title]#1 This Actually Quite Lovely Cake[/post_page_title]
To be fair, not ALL of these entries involve someone burning their bridges with all their pent-up vengeful rage. This one's actually rather lovely.
[caption id="attachment_4460" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Twitter @flackhackjack[/caption]
It's honest, kind, compassionate and expresses something sincerely without resentment, and showcases their fine baking skills into the bargain. A superb way to quit!
[post_page_title]#2 This Very Public Dressing-Down[/post_page_title]
Jamie sounds like a pretty nasty piece of work, and like he thoroughly deserved any embarrassment that came his way from having his flaws displayed publicly on his storefront for all to see.
[caption id="attachment_4463" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit[/caption]
My favorite thing about this one is that, despite all the obvious anger in the message, the employees writing it were restrained enough to use different colored pens to make it look more striking.
[post_page_title]#3 This Masterful Error Message[/post_page_title]
This one is possibly my favorite. I wouldn't even know where to begin when it comes to tinkering with the inner workings of a computer to make this error message come up, so hats off to whoever did it.
[caption id="attachment_4464" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @assumetehposition[/caption]
I like to imagine this popped up in the middle of an already stressful admin day in order to have the maximum disruptive impact.
[post_page_title]#4 This Lovely Bottle Of Whiskey[/post_page_title]
Another kind one, this - not only will it have taken a bit of time and showcases their design skills, it's nice to be gifted with a bottle of whiskey when an employee resigns - you'd think it should be the other way round!
[caption id="attachment_4465" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - imgur[/caption]
Let's just hope the boss thought to read the label before drinking it and did actually notice that it was someone's resignation letter, and not just an anonymous gift.
[post_page_title]#5 This Very Frank Letter[/post_page_title]
For all that it's fun to bake a special cake or make a secret error message inside your boss's computer, sometimes the best way to make someone face up to their failings is just to tell it like it is.
[caption id="attachment_4466" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @gahdzuks[/caption]
Sounds like this employer deserved every bit of scathing honesty that letter delivered.
[post_page_title]#6 This Illuminated Sign[/post_page_title]
Fair play to this guy for not giving in to the temptation to swear. After all, a sign this big could easily be seen by little kids or easily offended types.
[caption id="attachment_4467" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
did
Credit - Reddit @peaceman582[/caption]
Whether the boss did go on to change the sign himself, or just hire another disgruntled employee, is something we'll never know I guess.
[post_page_title]#7 This Very Subtle Price-Tag[/post_page_title]
At first glance, it'd be easy to miss the rather angry message hidden in this price tag, but for anyone who really wants to read every single feature, there's something there to be discovered.
[caption id="attachment_4468" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @mastranios[/caption]
I wonder how long it took their boss to stumble across it and figure out why their employee has been so absent recently?
[post_page_title]#8 This Guy Left Stickers Of Himself Everywhere When He Quit[/post_page_title]
This particular one was found on the back of a clock two years after this employee left.
[caption id="attachment_4469" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
really
Credit - Reddit @captaincatchem[/caption]
A fun legacy to leave behind for yourself, but the real question is - why the lightbulbs?
[post_page_title]#9 This Shelf-Stacker Who Just Snapped[/post_page_title]
If you really want to make sure the people you work with remember you with absolute hatred, leave them with an aisle of hundreds of cereal boxes that all need to be individually turned back the right way round.
[caption id="attachment_4470" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @SpikeBoyBebop[/caption]
Or they could just leave it as is and let their customers feel dizzy.
[post_page_title]#10 This Road Sign[/post_page_title]
For my money, this one's a little mean. Ten out of ten for publicly venting your frustration in a stylish way, but hey, no need to take it out on innocent motorists, y'know?
[caption id="attachment_4471" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @slappyjay[/caption]
I wonder if he was fired because he'd pulled this sort of stunt before? Might explain it.
[post_page_title]#11 This Passive-Aggressive Letter[/post_page_title]
This letter does a really good job of maintaining a classy, detached, sarcastic passive-aggressive tone right up until the final sentence.
[caption id="attachment_4472" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @leviathin[/caption]
But do you know what? I think that last sentence really makes it.
[post_page_title]#12 This Message In A Variety Of Marker Colours[/post_page_title]
Another message where the writer contains their anger enough to be able to use multiple different colored markers, though this time they even have the presence of mind to mention it.
[caption id="attachment_4473" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @downvotes___really[/caption]
I assume the request for a reference was granted, seems totally fair enough, really.
[post_page_title]#13 This Drawing Of A Dinosaur[/post_page_title]
Full marks for creativity. Full marks for cuteness. Full marks for brevity and clarity of message.
[caption id="attachment_4474" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @An_Arrogant_Ass[/caption]
Zero marks for finding a proper piece of paper to draw it on as opposed to a receipt.
[post_page_title]#14 This Neat Bit Of Revenge[/post_page_title]
The best of these are the ones that leave their employers with serious questions they'll have to fend off from the public afterward. This one will certainly require them to explain their behavior.
[caption id="attachment_4475" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @JordanAsshole[/caption]
And good on them for keeping the tone so reasonable at the same time!
[post_page_title]#15 These Twin Cakes[/post_page_title]
This one might not have the embarrassing, passive-aggressive detail of some of the best of these, but you can't argue with the level of time and effort put into making these rather lovely-looking cakes.
[caption id="attachment_4476" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @dudeperson33[/caption]
I think the "Me Too" one looks slightly better, overall. It's those purple icing flowers that tips it, I reckon.
[post_page_title]#16 This Boss Wouldn't Give Their Employee Their Last Paycheck Without Them Submitting A Resignation Letter[/post_page_title]
It's fair to say this fulfills those requirements with the minimum of effort and the maximum of style.
[caption id="attachment_4477" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @Swinging_Phallus[/caption]
Waste of good paper, though.
[post_page_title]#17 This Roll Of Toilet Paper[/post_page_title]
What this one loses in legibility, it makes up for in imagination and inventive use of metaphor.
[caption id="attachment_4478" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @Girlofgodsbadday[/caption]
The guy's a decent artist, too. Hope he went on to draw many more toilets.
[post_page_title]#18 This Sympathy Card[/post_page_title]
It's always hard to know what to say when someone experiences a bereavement. A "sorry for your loss" card never really feels like quite enough. So it's nice to finally see one be given a proper purpose.
[caption id="attachment_4479" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @springmint5[/caption]
I dunno what the relationship between employer and employee was here, but if someone left this for me, I'd genuinely find it very funny.
[post_page_title]#19 This Bit Of Rival Advertising[/post_page_title]
Publicly quitting and letting the customers know how bad the bosses are is one thing, but recommending they go to a rival store is really rubbing salt into the wound.
[caption id="attachment_4480" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @JeremyChrist[/caption]
I hope all the loyal customers followed the staff over to whatever their new venture was!
[post_page_title]#20 This Poem[/post_page_title]
Honestly, from a poetic standpoint, this isn't great. The rhymes are a bit basic and unimaginative, I think. But it's the principle of the thing, I guess.
[caption id="attachment_4481" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @Nickemmanuel[/caption]
And in principle, it's pretty great.
[post_page_title]#21 This Use Of Homer Simpson's Catchphrase[/post_page_title]
Sometimes when the perfect words have already been used by somebody else, the best thing to do is just to use them again.
[caption id="attachment_4482" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @I_Drink_Pee[/caption]
After all, talent copies but genius steals.
[post_page_title]#22 This Lesson On Time Management[/post_page_title]
We've probably all been lectured by our boss on our time management once or twice. The opportunity to turn the tables is pretty irresistible.
[caption id="attachment_4483" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @jeseely[/caption]
The inclusion of the "Help Wanted Apply Within" sign immediately after quitting is a nice touch, too.
[post_page_title]#23 This Sympathy Card[/post_page_title]
We already saw a sympathy card used to excellent effect earlier on. This one is even more delightful.
[caption id="attachment_4484" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @ThatsAGreatPost[/caption]
Let's hope the boss hadn't had any real losses around the same time or this would end up being very insensitive!
[post_page_title]#24 This Email Printout[/post_page_title]
I think Angelina's quit in fine style here, with her head held high. What I'd like to know is - did she quit by sending this email? Or by printing it out and putting it into her boss's hand?
[caption id="attachment_4485" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @heathbickerstaff[/caption]
I assume it's the first one, but it'd be funny if it was the second.
[post_page_title]#25 This Out-of-Office Reply[/post_page_title]
A lot of people set up auto-replies when they leave their jobs to make sure any emails end up with the right person.
[caption id="attachment_4486" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Reddit @keon[/caption]
Probably not many of those auto-replies are quite as to-the-point and brilliant as this one.
[post_page_title]#26 This Very Silly Letter[/post_page_title]
This letter starts with an admirable professionalism and formality, then quickly descends into something delightfully silly.
[caption id="attachment_4487" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - imgur @iamchris4life[/caption]
Spencer seems like a lot of fun. I hope he found a more fulfilling job after this.
[post_page_title]#27 Another Illuminated Sign[/post_page_title]
The use of the Douglas Adams quote is nice, though whether or not it has any relevance to the job in question isn't quite clear.
[caption id="attachment_4488" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @JTsnidely[/caption]
Maybe this was a cinema that paid its employees in fish for some reason? In which case, the perfect note on which to quit, really.
[post_page_title]#28 This Lovely Greeting Card Design[/post_page_title]
Ah, the old "It's not you, it's me" get-out. Always the easiest way to break something off. But sometimes it's nicer to just be honest.
[caption id="attachment_4489" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Instagram @stumpedforwordsdesigns[/caption]
The smiley face is cute, too. A lovely way to quit, overall.
[post_page_title]#29 This Bill[/post_page_title]
Whoa, Sally, whoa! Some very strong language on this one, and she seems to be taking out her frustrations on her customers and not her boss! Not cool, Sally!
[caption id="attachment_4490" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - Instagram @yugatron[/caption]
Sally must have had a real nightmare boss to quit with so much anger. Let's hope she found somewhere nicer to work!
[post_page_title]#30 This Fire Exit Cake[/post_page_title]
Sometimes a picture says a thousand words, and the sight of this guy making his escape in cake form is better than any number of angry letters.
[caption id="attachment_4492" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Credit - imgur[/caption]
The icing looks tasty, as well.
A Starbucks barista has been left in tears after receiving a heartwarming note and a wonderful gesture from a random customer.
Taking to TikTok to share her story, Courtney (who goes by the handle @dopaqueen715) revealed that she starts most shifts at 4:00AM each morning, and is proud to be a "loud and peppy" morning person.
On a recent shift, she revealed that a customer came into the store at around 5:00AM and was noticeably "struggling". Therefore, Courtney did her best to "get her smiling".
After revealing that she was successful, the woman left the coffee shop and Courtney continued with her shift as normal. That is, until the customer returned and handed a note to Courtney's manager.
When Courtney was handed the note, she couldn't believe just how significant her kindness had been.
The note read: “I travel a lot for work. That usually means late nights and very early mornings. I’ve been here for two days and so far you have been the only person I have encountered that has been genuinely kind. You were the first face I saw this morning and you really brightened my day.”
Reading the note from her car, Courtney continued: “I’m sure you are exhausted because... life, right? That’s all of us.
"But you deserve to know you made a difference in someone’s day today just by being kind. I’m also willing to bet you have a great sense of humor. Who doesn’t appreciate that? I hope you have the very best day. I know I will thanks to you.
“Treat yourself to something nice. I can tell you deserve it. Maybe just not coffee."
Credit: Jeremy Moeller / Getty
The note was signed from the “Groggy woman at 5:00AM,” before adding: “Do good in this world and it will always come back to you.”
As well as the note, Courtney also received a generous $200! Although this may not be much to some people, she explained exactly what this money meant to her.
Courtney had lost her mom back in June, and she had been dreading her first Mother's Day without her.
Admitting she has bills and debts to pay, Courtney had been hoping to somehow buy an urn she had been looking at in order to bring her mom home in time for Mother's Day.
Thanks to the $200, she now can.
"Thank you for the impact that you made on my life, and I hope that you see this and know that you did something that I will never forget," Courtney said.
After the now-viral video racked up 3.3 million views, TikTokers were also left in floods of tears.
One person commented: "I’m sobbing!! What a wonderful person! You both didn’t realize you needed each other."
Credit: TikTok
Even the official Starbucks TikTok page responded to the video, writing: "You. Are. INCREDIBLE! Thank you Courtney for being a shining example of the power of kindness. We’re so proud to call you a partner."
Another simply reminded everyone: "You never know what others are going through. Be kind."
In a follow-up video, Courtney revealed that she has still been unable to track down the kind stranger, but she did receive a message from a kind woman named Dawn, who has agreed to match the $200!
However, Courtney admits she's not interested in receiving money from others - she now just wants people to "pay it forward".
A boss has been slammed online after they demanded money from an employee for a co-worker's leaving gift.
A boss forced all employees to chip in for a co-worker's leaving gift. Credit: Miniseries/Getty
The wild interaction between the two was shared by Ben Askins, a workplace commentator from the United Kingdom - and let's just say, this anonymous reading managed to spark a pretty intense reaction online.
It all started when the boss texted the employee writing: "Hey! I noticed you haven’t put in the leaving present for Josh yet. Can you send £50 today? I want to put the purchase in by the end of the day."
Bear in mind that this amount is equivalent to approximately $62, which is a lot of money per person for a leaving gift.
Employees were asked for approximately $62 each for the gift. Credit: Milan Markovic/Getty
“Can I ask why it is so expensive?” the employee responded. "Money is a little tight right now and to be asked to put in so much feels like a lot."
The boss seemingly didn't take too well to the comment, doubling down on his point.
"Josh has left the company for 3 years now and I think it is a nice gesture to show our appreciation," they said, to which the employee pointed out that it was a pretty large amount to give to someone especially when they earned more money than them and they didn't really know each other in the business.
Suddenly, the demand was branded "compulsory" by the boss who also added: "...It's not fair for me to ask some people and not others. Besides it isn't that much all things considered."
At this point, Askins, who was already pretty appalled by the boss' lack of empathy and understanding about people's financial situations, said: "That's a really callous comment because it might not be much for him but it's clearly a lot for this person."
"It's just not fair what [the boss] is doing," he added.
And others also agreed with hundreds of TikTok users taking to the comments to write leave their opinions on the matter.
"I mean £5 I get, but £50!! What the hell are they buying?" questioned one person while another added: "Employees should never be asked to gift up the food chain! They make way more money than the people lower on the totem pole."
A third chimed in stating: "COMPULSORY HE SAYS. Shouldn’t be a manager if he thinks that’s a legitimate contractual term."
And this user was also shocked, adding: "Some people can’t even afford to spend £50 on their own family let alone a colleague they don’t even really work with."
According to Employment Hero’s head of people and culture, Liam D’Ortenzio, this kind of entitled act from a boss can be detrimental to the team morale.
“Managers play a vital role in building team morale, and recognition is a big part of that. However, asking employees to contribute a significant, mandatory amount for a gift is not the way to go,” he said, as per News.com.au.
“It’s more likely to breed resentment than foster appreciation, which is the opposite of what you want," he added.
A woman has sparked a debate on social media after revealing the three-word note her husband left next to a sink full of dirty dishes.
Susan Lehman, who goes by the handle @susandoingsusanthings on TikTok, was fuming when she woke up in the morning and saw a sink full of unclean dishes.
The mother-of-two from Washington explained that the stack of dirty tableware is because the night before, her husband Matt invited friends over to watch a sports game.
Her initial reaction was anger (I mean, who wouldn't be?), but that subsided when she saw a note placed neatly on the counter.
Watch Susan's TikTok below:
The note, with an arrow pointing at the dirty dishes, simply read: "I got it!"
The 43-year-old's voice softened as she said: "What a good guy. I just love that he acknowledges that he left a mess in the sink, and don’t worry, he’ll take responsibility for it. We’ve come so far."
Susan's clip amassed a staggering 3.5 million views and 509K likes on the social media platform, with many viewers sharing their mixed opinions on the husband's gesture.
Some people agreed that this small shift made a world of difference, as one user wrote: "The note changes everything! Amazing communication," while another echoed a similar sentiment: "It's not about the fact he's going to do it eventually. It's about him letting her know through healthy communication in order to make her feel relieved."
A third shared: "Idc (I don't care) what the other comments say this is so healthy. Accountability & acknowledgment mean so much more [than] ppl give it credit for!"
A fourth added: "The simplest acts of kindness, communication can mean everything. Love that he did that and love that you acknowledged his act of love. Kudos to you both!"
Many users were not impressed with Susan's husband's note. Credit: LOUISE BEAUMONT / Getty Images
Despite the hefty dose of positive feedback, many disgruntled users were left frustrated and argued that expectations were still far too low if this simple act was being applauded.
"The bar is on the floor," one disappointed viewer wrote, while a second remarked: "Bare minimum." Someone else commented: "I’m with 'the bar is in hell' ladies haha."
Someone else said: "Bar is on the floor. Wow man child cleaned up his own mess. Everyone clap," to which Susan clapped back: "This video was about communication. Newfound negativity. Speaks volumes for your future relationships."
The TikToker, who is a hairstylist, and her husband, who works as a commercial loan officer, have been together for more than 25 years and share two teenage sons.
She revealed to Today that her partner wasn't always a "note-leaving" guy, sharing: "After we got married, we definitely fell into these very cliche roles, where I did the cleaning and he did the man things, and for a long time that arrangement worked. And then one day I was like, 'You know what? Other people can help me in this house.'"
Susan said that the couple needed to "change" which led to several "difficult" conversations. Afterward, Matt began making dinner for the family and even does laundry without being asked.
In case you're wondering, yes, Matt also cleaned the dirty dishes!
"Matt and I are high school sweethearts but it feels like a new relationship," she said. "The old me would have freaked out over the dishes and I would have probably woken him up - but the old Matt wouldn’t have left a note, either."
The dishes were all done the following day. Credit: Jonathan Gelber/Getty Images
The mom spoke about the negative comments under her viral video and expressed that some users "missed the point entirely," adding: "That bare minimum note was the max for me.
"Our communication is better than it’s ever been and I’m proud of how far we’ve come. Everybody - our sons included - pitches in now. I can't tell you how much our lives have changed," she concluded.