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Antiwork

Abusive Boss Yells at Me Over Tape Dispenser, Art Gallery Edition

Back in October, I landed a part-time job at a high-end art gallery in my city as an assistant. I was excited about the opportunity until reality hit on the second day when my boss lost her temper and screamed at me because I didn't immediately understand her weird tape dispenser. You can go read my post in career guidance for a clearer picture of my naivety. Everyone told me it was enough of a red flag to make an exit strategy. However, I thought I could handle it — that maybe putting up with a crazy boss might open doors down the road. So I worked hard and put up with her bullshit for months – which resulted in a promotion to full-time employment in February (not a promotion in title or pay – just hours) but turns out the only reason she gave me that “promotion” is because…


Back in October, I landed a part-time job at a high-end art gallery in my city as an assistant. I was excited about the opportunity until reality hit on the second day when my boss lost her temper and screamed at me because I didn't immediately understand her weird tape dispenser. You can go read my post in career guidance for a clearer picture of my naivety.

Everyone told me it was enough of a red flag to make an exit strategy. However, I thought I could handle it — that maybe putting up with a crazy boss might open doors down the road. So I worked hard and put up with her bullshit for months – which resulted in a promotion to full-time employment in February (not a promotion in title or pay – just hours) but turns out the only reason she gave me that “promotion” is because she FIRED the rest of the staff (three people.)

Let me tell you a few things about my boss:

  1. she needs 24/7 access to everyone (especially me) — Just yesterday she chastised me for taking 7 minutes to call her back. God forbid I take a shit!
  2. she puts other people down to make herself feel better. This week she screamed at me in the middle of a meeting because I asked a question to the people building our website. BTW I am the one who handles the website. She has never touched the backend of a website in her life.
  3. she is a pathological micromanager. She needs to double-check every email I send, regardless of how important. She changes her mind constantly. It is impossible to keep up with her whims.
  4. her temper. I just can't anymore. I grew up with mentally ill people – so I thought I could handle it. But I am just so fucking over it. I am over being a punching bag. My tiny salary is not worth it.
  5. all she sees are my mistakes. I am confused why she fired everyone but me — while constantly trying to me feel like a terrible employee?? If I am so bad just fire me lady.
  6. she does not know how to run a business. See all the points above! Before me, she had 6 assistants quit on her!

Working with her all day, every day has started to mess with my brain. I hate that this job has made me more of a negative person. I hate work! I feel scammed. I worked so hard to get into this industry — because that is what I thought I wanted when I was 16. Silly me.

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