When I moved to Canada, about 8 years ago, I was given a work permit to work at this IT company. They knew that for the next two years I didn’t had a choice but to work for them, or I would have to leave Canada.
When I tell people what kind of work environment I had there, they can’t believe me. Btw the company is alive and kicking until this day.
- We were told to bring toilet paper from home. They wouldn’t buy it.
- Same thing for water. Tap or home. Not to mention tea or coffee.
- No AC in the summer – saving electricity (and there were some hot days there).
- There was a parking in the building. 50$ a month. They refused to pay it and preferred me running outside every 2 hours to move my car.
- They would make me come work weekends at least twice a month. No extra pay.
- They sent me on a business trip to another country, to close a deal that brought them a lot of money. I spent there a week, and when I asked to be reimbursed for my meal expenses (200$) they refused saying that the other party was supposed to cover it. Obviously I didn’t get anything extra except my regular salary.
- They would refuse to buy tools/soft needed for work, and I would end up bringing my own from home.
- At one point we were renting this office with a joint wall to a movie school. It was a thin wall. I would hear people yelling/screaming/moaning the entire day sometimes. Not a great work environment.
- One time they told me “oh, two months ago we accidentally overpaid you 150$. We will deduct it from the next paycheque “
- When I told them I quit after 2 years, they were shocked. Stoped talking to me. Years later when I started my own business, one of the owners sent me messages saying how ungrateful and disrespectful I am to dare and compete with them, after everything they done for me.
- I recently heard their sales people walking around and trashing our company, telling people they taught me everything I know (I came there with 8 years of experience, they didn’t teach me anything)
Sounds fun, right?