Some bosses love giving advice — right up until someone actually follows it.

So when a longtime factory worker pursued a new department after his team leader insisted he had “leadership potential,” that supportive tone quickly shifted into panic and denial.

And the promotion would soon become the employee’s one-way ticket out of that toxic department!

Keep reading for the full story.

That’s not what you meant? That kinda sucks.

My team leader at work, let’s call her Farah, told me that she thought I would be a great team lead in any department in our factory since about my 1 year of working there.

But up until that point, this employee had weathered quite a lot in this workplace.

I’ve been there for 3 years at the time this takes place, and after dealing with a slew of harassment from other coworkers that resulted in them getting told off by management, but Farah telling me I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing (going to the bathroom), I decided it was time for a change.

A few months go by, I’m walking on eggshells waiting for things to settle down.

They were already working on getting HR’s help when they started exploring the idea of transferring departments.

I had already talked to HR about the harassment, and said I was actively seeking employment elsewhere and needed to use my PTO.

I was asked if I would be OK with a lateral movement between departments to start in a brand new one. Our company acquired another one, and it was similar work but more processes before and after.

Farah also seemed to like another coworker named Alex.

I agreed, and was sent with, unknown to Farah until the morning of, to help package stuff and get it ready to move between factories.

Now, Farah had told me a month prior when the acquisition happened that someone she personally disliked [Alex], who used to work in our department (2 years prior), would be the lead.

Farah had mentioned the idea of this employee being a team lead, so the employee mentioned it to HR.

She said I would have made a better lead and should lodge a complaint about not even being asked, since everyone in our department had more qualifications than this person.

So when this lateral movement was offered, I mentioned all what Farah had said.

Nothing was available at the time, but there was something coming down the pipeline.

No team lead positions were in the new department due to an overall lack of experience, so no one knew more than another, and everyone would report to a floor manager.

However, a team lead position is going to come up in the future once the department has better overall footing, and only people who have been in the department for a long time would be considered.

So when Farah realized this employee would be moving departments, she was very upset.

The day after the day trip, Farah more or less cornered me to tell me I have to tell them no next time they ask me to go with, since they can’t just take “her” people without telling her. Someone else dropped the ball to tell her, not me.

Up until now, I had also told HR to not tell Farah anything about my moving departments, so I got to drop the news on her.

So he happily let her know.

Me: “Well. That would be fair if I wasn’t moving to [other dept] to have a shot for team lead.”

Farah: “What, you’re doing what? [Other dept] isn’t going to have a team lead, I was told wrong, they told me last week the corrected stuff.”

He reminds her of her past words.

Me: “I was just told this week that there isn’t a team lead yet, but that they will be taking one in the future. Since you had suggested to me that I would be a good lead, I decided I would go for it.”

Farah: “That’s not what I meant!”

But he really takes the opportunity to rub it in.

Me: “Sorry, what did you mean by that, then? That’s the whole reason I’m taking this lateral movement, was on your recommendation.”

Farah: fumbling for words “I meant… but Alex… but… That’s not what I meant!”

What did Reddit think?

The fact that this employee managed to get anything done in a workplace like this is a testament to his determination.

Farah really can’t seem to make up her mind.

A good HR department would have caught on to the dysfunction a long time ago.

In the career game, you have to play any card you get — even if it’s accidentally dealt to you!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.