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.

When I came back, there was a kid drowning. This isn’t good, boss.

She told me, “That’s your responsibility now.” I said, “What do you mean? A kid is drowning!” So I pulled the kid out. He was gasping for air — it was serious.

We got him to the side and thankfully he recovered. We went to the legal team afterwards, saying, “This isn’t good.”

My boss blamed me: “You were on deck.” I said, “No, I was in the toilet — you knew that.” She told me I was going to be liable: “So are you going to quit, or do I have to fire you?”

I quit.

Be careful who your boss is. When you go for a job interview, make sure you interview them as well."

👀 Our Take:

Blaming a worker for your own negligence is cowardice. Leaders are supposed to protect their people, not set them up as scapegoats when things go wrong.

🧠 Could this have been avoided?

Definitely. Covering shifts properly, owning responsibility, and building trust would have prevented this.

That’s why we built the Work Personality snapshot — a 60-second quiz to help leaders see how their style shows up under pressure.

→ Find out what kind of boss you’d be

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