Hi friends,

I’m seeing a lot of posts here of texts and emails from management in your organizations. I want to throw out a tool that I learned for dealing with people who are behaving in a manner wildly out of line. Just say:

“I’m sorry, I’m confused. Are you under the impression (XYZ behavior) is appropriate?”

It puts the ball back in their court and makes the conversation about the behavior. Boss, do you think it is ok to treat people this way?

When your boss is being a dick - don’t quit immediately, don’t react, just ask if they think what they are doing is acceptable. If they avoid the question, ask it again: “I’m sorry, I’m just confused and trying to understand.”

This is a great tool for Karens at the grocery store, asshole relatives at Thanksgiving, power tripping coworkers, etc.

Edit: also great for the salary bait and switch, list one pay level and tell people at the interview the pay is lower. It’s better than “excuse me, motherfucker?”