Have you ever been going about your life, doing your job when someone looks at you and tells you to smile? If you haven’t consider yourself lucky. Not everyone has their face plastered in a smile all the time, and especially if you don’t work in a customer service situation, that should be okay.

In this story, one woman is really annoyed at her supervisor telling her to smile and claiming that she always complains about something. She’s also annoyed that she got passed up for a promotion.

Honestly, this job doesn’t seem to be going well for her, not that she can’t do the job and do it well. It’s more about how she feels about her supervisor.

Let’s read the whole story.

AITA for being bothered over one of my female supervisors to tell me to smile (for doing mundane work) and I just don’t react?

This is my first “adult” job. 8-4 type a job and the basis of the job for the most part is sorting pharmaceuticals and organizing them. Sometimes if I get lucky, I get pulled to a different area to help.

Some background.

I am (30F), for the most part of my work history has been working in service industry. Server/bartender. I’m over people. Especially rudeness, after COVID.

My goal was to leave that life and finally get my life together.

She feels like she knows why she didn’t get promoted.

Anywho, at this new job I was promised that I would move up if a position got opened if I got a trainee license. Which I did.

I was passed a job because everything in the company was first come, first serve situation. I always understood, but recently found out a new hire got moved up and all.

I got annoyed. My problem is that I just don’t pretend I’m happy-go-lucky. I do adjust to be professional. I just don’t feel she is doing the same thing.

I do my job. I do it so well that I get stuck at my starting position because I helped my immediate supervisor so well. Now I’m just getting more and more annoyed by it.

This sounds frustrating.

I get more and more duties.

Honestly, if someone would just tell me what was going on I would be complacent.

Of course I feel they won’t have that conversation because they know I will ask for more money. Go figures.

Back to my original point.

I’d be annoyed too.

At times when I’m organizing and doing my job. Keep in mind, they let us listen to music and such because it’s such a mundane job that I’m just focusing.

The supervisor comes up to me and says, “don’t be sad, come on smile”. Or anything in the realm.

It ticks me off. As a woman, I’m already annoyed. Ladies you know why.

To be honest, my reactions are so tamed to what I usually say when I’m out and all.

She feels really frustrated.

Recently what frustrated me was that she made a comment over if I liked the job I was doing. This was a random time I got moved up momentarily (I try to help where I can).

I just try to be honest when people ask me stuff but I go blank when people ask me stuff and this time I got surprised and my answer was not the greatest. So I said “ it’s good, my neck just hurts”.

Her reply was “ there’s always something wrong”.

I know my answer wasn’t the greatest but AITA for being bothered and being a little straightforward. Honestly I feel I want to have a conversation with her about my feelings towards her asking me to smile. Am I wrong?

Nobody should tell someone to smile. The only exception might be when they’re taking a picture. The supervisor, especially since she’s a woman, should know better.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman who got promoted, then realized they set her replacement up to fail.

Let’s see if Reddit agrees.

This person thinks the supervisor is the problem.

I like this idea.

This person offers a suggestion on how to handle the boss’s comments.

I know the comments are telling her to ignore her boss’s comments or make a joke out of it, but I’d almost want to report her to her boss or HR or whatever. Her boss shouldn’t be commenting on her emotions or expression, especially if it’s simply neutral and just not happy and smily enough for her liking.

If she’s just sorting pharmaceuticals, why does she need to have a smile plastered on her face? I’m sure I’m not smiling as I’m typing this right now. I’m focused and concentrating on what I’m doing, much like I’m sure she is when she’s at work. A focused expression often doesn’t look like a big fake smile.