Imagine having a job where you do quite a few tasks that technically aren’t part of your job description.

Would you be happy to help or annoyed that you’re doing work that should be done by a manager?

In this story, one man is in this exact situation, and he was happy to help until his new manager started criticizing him.

Let’s see how the story plays out.

Sure, I’ll do my job.

I’m a young person working in a backroom position at a retail store. Ive been working there for about a year now.

My management when I started was excellent, and as a result I am very well trained. I never got written up, am always on time, and I consistently do things well above my paygrade.

I fill in for my supervisor in the backroom and can run it by myself if need be, and I trained our newest supervisor in her position (if youre wondering, i didnt take the supervisor job because it required changing my shift time.)

I knew all the fine details and was a team trainer as well. Basically, I was a supervisor but without the pay raise.

A job can really change when there’s a new manager.

My managers moved on to greener pastures and their positions were filled by new management. The new management doesnt compare to the quality of the old management.

Our store manager – i’ll call her Karen – is the worst manager ive had the displeasure of working for. She loves workplace politics, acting snakey and micromanaging everything.

When suggested solutions to problems, Karen would rather take a less effective route just to be the one in charge.

It gets worse.

When she messes up, instead of admitting it, Karen blames anyone but herself and makes it their responsibility to avoid looking dumb.

Karen doesn’t help when shes needed, rarely does her job, takes personal phone calls all day and sits in her office on her computer.

She’s rude, inconsiderate and incompetent.

All in all, Karen is an awful boss.

She tries to avoid Karen.

I tried to make peace with Karen at first, but we quickly started bumping heads and our relationship is shaky at best.

We’re cordial with each other, but Karen wanted me to abandon 100% of my authority while still running the back, which couldnt happen because others come to me for direction a lot.

We dont speak to each other when we dont have to.

It’s pretty bad when you can’t even take a bathroom break.

Well, Karen screwed up.

One day in the back, we finished with a group activity. Simply put, I had to whiz, so once we were done I told my supervisor I needed a quick bathroom break and headed out to the bathroom.

The second I began my business, I got called on the intercom by Karen to come to the backroom.

Sigh. I finished up quickly and got back to the stockroom. I was gone about 2-5 minutes tops.

What is Karen’s problem?

When I walked in, Karen was immediately interrogating me on where I’d been and what I was doing.

I told her I’d gone to the bathroom and she continued asking, like the answer was gonna be different.

Eventually, Karen said this absolute gem to me, which she couldn’t have known would change the course of our time at this company forever.

Karen says: “You need to use company time more wisely, and do your job.”

Okay.

Karen probably didn’t realize how many things OP was doing that weren’t really his job.

Remember how I said I was basically the backup stock supervisor at this institution?

My list of self-appointed management duties was actually pretty long. Training new people, fixing damaged items, fixing packaging, training the supervisors, doing paperwork, delegating tasks, giving instructions to people, taking garbages out, cleaning the stockroom… the list goes on and on.

When Karen said this to me, something clicked… you see where this is going.

He made a wise move.

I stopped all of it.

All the managerial stuff went right out the window.

Do my job? Okay, I’ll do MY job. Not your job, not her job, only mine. That’s what you asked, right?

Direct your own team, do your own paperwork. Train your own supervisors. ’cause I’m just a lowly wagie, right?

He knew this would happen.

Yep, my stockroom fell apart quickly.

Suddenly the entire room was in disarray, new people weren’t being trained, faulty product was put out, my new supervisor had no idea what to do other than copy me so none of the paperwork got done.

Garbages stopped being taken, people in the stockroom didnt have direction, the floors were dirty, etc.

I wonder why?

Karen couldn’t complain.

It was a MESS.

And management couldnt say anything about it, because those were management’s duties and not my problem.

I know that Karen knew what I did, but all she could do was silently fume about it, suck it up and actually do her job. She got upset with me after this and tried giving me less shifts, but that didn’t last.

He was very satisfied.

Management finally got involved with the stockroom.

I’ve never been so satisfied with myself, all because Karen couldn’t accept that I had to whiz.

What are you gonna do? Fire me for doing my job? Lmao.

That company didn’t deserve him. He was doing work above his pay grade. He should’ve been paid for it.

I’m glad he stopped doing all the extra tasks so that Karen actually had to step up and take responsibility.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person wants to make a poster.

Here’s a suggestion of what he should tell management.

She really wasn’t trained very well.

Someone else who has worked in a retail stockroom weighs in.

Here’s a theory about retail managers.

His new manager just made her job harder.