Your Stories

Your Stories is the community byline for Australia's Worst Boss, Compono's campaign shining a light on toxic leadership. These are real, anonymous accounts of bad management shared by Australian workers, published to start an honest conversation about what good leadership looks like and why it matters.

Bad Boss Story: Lifeguard Liability

Source: Street interview "I used to work at a pool as a lifeguard. I said to my boss, “Can I go to the toilet?” She said no. I told her, “Boss, I don’t want to pee myself right here.” So I went anyway, telling her she’d have to cover me.

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Scrubbed & Shattered

Bad Boss Story: Scrubbed & Shattered

Source: Street interview "I worked for a retail company, here in the city. I managed the store and this is when I first got promoted to manager. The...

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Sales Floor Predator

Bad Boss Story: Sales Floor Predator

Source: Street interview "So he's in prison, 15 years, I told you it would get dark quickly. I started working at a hosting provider in Manchester in...

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Spy and Scream

Bad Boss Story: Spy & Scream

Source: Submitted by Justin "Our CEO, known for his “my way or the highway” style, came to Australia and told us to make 40 sales calls in 2 hours...

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CEO double life

Bad Boss Story: CEO Double Life

Source: Street interview "I worked at a company in upstate New York. And my boss was in upstate New York. But we also did business in Washington DC...

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Teen cafe takeover

Bad Boss Story: Teen Cafe Takeover

Source: Street interview "I was 16, my boss went to Egypt and left me in charge of the shop. I ran a cafe with another 16 year old girl, two of us...

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Angle grinder assualt

Bad Boss Story: Angle Grinder Assault

Source: Street interview "I had a boss that threw an angle grinder at me once. I shaped up to him, but he hit the bloody shed instead and hurt his...

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Bad Boss Story: Bikini Fundraiser

Source: Submitted by Jen "I worked for a large energy company, a pretty corporate environment in a senior role in resourcing and we used to joke that...

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Fast Food Misogynist Meltdown

Bad Boss Story: Fast-food Misogynist Meltdown

Source: REDDIT "The owner of a fast-food store I worked at was a sexist piece of @#$%, on top of other things. When he lectured the female managers...

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