Manager 'set up' newbie to fail, then fired them on the spot. One key piece of evidence made it blow up in their face

Employees usually look to their managers as mediums of inspiration and linchpins that hold the team together. However, sometimes, managers can get enveloped by what psychologists call “leadership amnesia.” They forget what it means to be a manager and end up being dishonest, secretive, or unfaithful to the team. The result is erosion of trust and a bad reputation among their subordinates, not to mention that the entire team crumbles and disintegrates under their flawed leadership. In a post by Reddit user u/merk35802, they described how their senior manager set them up for termination and how they turned over the leaf with a “sweetly satisfying revenge.”

The employee was hired as an Assistant Manager in the company. During the job, they mostly reported to the General Manager (GM) since the company owner remained out of sight on most days. However, since the GM worked in the second shift and the employee in the first, they had little contact. For training purposes, the employee was made to work under a senior manager whose name was Eva. Though friendly, they were not close. After a few weeks of training, they seldom saw each other, and the employee was on their own. Eventually, their performance began to shine, along with the new procedures they implemented to enhance sales.

At this point, Eva began to act resentful. She would nitpick their work for little things while constantly reminding them that she was the one who trained them in the first place. By this logic, all their wins were hers too. Since they reported directly to the GM, Eva’s behavior didn’t matter to them at all, until one day when the tables turned.

The GM and Eva had worked together in another company for 10 years and were quite close. Their ganging up proved devastating for the employee, as they sandbagged them directly into termination. The GM simply called them and said, “It’s not working out. [...] It was clear that I was set up,” the employee described.

In corporate psychology, there is actually a term for this, the “set up to fail syndrome.” According to research by Harvard Business Review, the syndrome is a constructive discharge where work conditions are intentionally made intolerable to force a resignation. The manager withholds critical information while constantly ignoring and criticizing the input of the employee, which leaves them anxious. A feedback loop is generated where, eventually, the employee’s confidence is eroded by the manager’s expectations, leading to termination.

With nothing to lose, this employee approached the company owner for help, but was clearly dismissed because the GM was an important person. “I vowed to get revenge,” they proclaimed and went ahead to do some research. After scouring through some online services, they discovered a bulwark that could give them back their lost job. Three months earlier, Eva had been arrested for DWI in a neighboring state.

Taking this delicious opportunity life had presented, the employee blabbered the whole story to the company head. In response, the owner apologized, fired Eva, and offered her the position and salary she was made to walk away from. After that, the employee "walked right by her (Eva), staring her down with a shitty grin, and went outside."

“Good luck on the 23rd,” the employee said to Eva, wishing her luck on her court appearance date. Viewers defended the employee, saying they did the right thing. Meanwhile, others are cautioning them to perform hard work and stay clear of GM, as she would now be waiting for an opportunity to lash back after what they did to their friend.

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