Boss fires employee after mistreating her in front of everybody and then immediately regrets it

Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 25, 2023. It has since been updated.

According to IBISWorld, there are currently over 45,000 people working in the TV and Film industry. They are responsible for releasing hundreds of movies and TV series each year. But some people in the industry can really be mean to those working under them and create a toxic work atmosphere. Reddit user u/The_Mockingbirb shared one such instance with the ‘Malicious Compliance’ community about how she dealt with her disagreeable boss. She was told to pack her bags by her superior but later was called back soon.

She wrote, "A little background. I work in the film/tv industry. At the time of this story, I was working in an entry-level position, called production assistant (PA for short) on a failing tv show." She added, "Enter Coordinator #2. I knew #2 and I wouldn’t get along immediately. She had been fired from her previous tv show for “attitude problems”. On her first day, she chewed me out for, I sh** you not, hanging the actor photos 11 inches too low on the wall. It only got worse from there. This woman sucked up to the Creepy Dept Head, found faults with everyone around her, and loved power trips. She quickly made herself a nuisance to everyone in the department. But Creepy Dept Head was too busy with Tinder to do anything."

More misery awaited the Reddit user, "Between her constant berating, treating me like I was stupid, and unprofessional rudeness, she made my life a living hell. The final straw came when she screamed at me in front of the entire department for a small mistake. She told me I’d be replaced at the end of the month, so I thought I’d hang in there and collect a paycheck while I could. From then on, I counted down the days, and made no attempt to hide my misery."

"I was leaving soon. It ended up being a hell of a week. More long hours and running behind schedule. The department would need to work another Saturday. Well, Friday came, and I gleefully counted down the hours. At the end of the day, #2 realized her mistake. She hustled over to me on my way out the door. “Can you work Saturday?” Cue malicious compliance." She further wrote, "'Nope. You said Friday is my last day.” That’s when she got huffy. 'I’m trying to get you some extra money.' Giving up one day of my measly PA paycheck was well worth the look on her face when I said, “No thanks. Friday is my last day. Bye!” and walked out to happily never see her again. I took a job on a much better tv show a few weeks later with the nicest crew."

Comments followed, and u/Some-Region-5668 wrote, "Lol. This is GOLD! Some people need to check themselves before they end up shooting themselves in the foot and/or burning bridges." Whereas, u/Bearmancartoons wrote, "As a former PA, one bad higher-up can make or break the mood on and off the set. Glad you got out." u/Ramblersghost wrote, "s someone who works tv/film and has had similar experiences, I cannot be more satisfied reading this. Bless the jobs with decent humans, fuck the rest." 

While we cannot control how other people behave, we can exit from situations where we feel berated and unsatisfied and this is what the Reddit user did!