"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."
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.
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