I can't stand people who tread on you in the workplace. I've had it happen to me, the powermongers who think they can speak to you roughly, treat you like shit and make you feel guilty or incompetent for the smallest misdemeanour. No, I'm not talking about my employers.

We've had an event today that is both uncomfortable, upsetting and can't be spoken about on the blog. An employer (not mine) who is unscrupulous, unprincipled and makes the innocent feel guilty. Adam had it last year working for a landscaping company with promises made that never eventuated. Taken advantage of by being promised the world and paid peanuts - he left and his employer who then refused to pay him the week's pay owing because he'd used his machinery to practice his skills - after Adam left, he charged him for use of said machinery out of spite and pursuing it through the courts would have been exorbitant. Yes we did go through the Ombudsman and the District Small Claims Tribunal to try to exact the $600 wage but refusal on the other side meant a possible long court battle that we weren't prepared to take on. He received a cheque for $80 less the fee for working with the bob cat. Bastard.

ClareBear too was promised bonuses, high tech computers, skill sets, advancement but it was all smoke and mirrors and tonight, my sweet is feeling guilty and angry and upset because a very unscrupulous employer has pointed the bone just one week after she resigned. And yes, she made a mistake by posting the work she'd done for that particular company on her website as folio pieces. She broke the rules of intellectual property and has learned a harsh lesson. I understand that ignorance is no defense but there was little harm in it given that the proprietor of the business is being far less scrupulous, actually acting illegally in relation to intellectual property. She was asked to leave, pack her brown box and never come back. For daring to do little more than establish a business of her own in the last week of her notice.

We'll get over it because we're made of strong mettle and this particular employer is knee-deep in scandal and deceit. But I can't believe how many greedy, self aggrandizing corrupt shitbags there are out there that are capable of making you feel miserable because you won't do their bidding. Ripping off their clients under false pretenses. Making themselves to be something completely opposite to what they really are. Operating illegally or just within an inch of the law . .treating their staff like lackeys . .swearing at them in the workplace or worse, ignoring them completely, having tantrums over personal issues, not honouring their employment promises . . Where has professionalism gone?

Small business needs to wake up and start running like a business. If you're unhappy with an employee, you have a review and state your case not scream like a banshee and have a hissy fit. You need to negotiate and discuss calmly any grievances, not stamp your foot and behave like a petulant toddler. If you make agreements upon employment, you should honour them not change the rules half way through. If you're pleased with an employee, yes, bring them into the office and tell them that you value their work and their contribution not put further demands outside their area of expertise in order for them to earn a wage increase. I am at my wit's end at the lack of honesty, communication, clarity and loyalty in the workplace.

Apologies for being so cryptic but there are issues here I can't discuss in a public forum but need to get off my chest. My father's mantra was "Be Nice" . . this seems increasingly difficult in the workplace where many of us spend 30% of our lives. It's not all about you . .or 'mine'. Your employees are your greatest investment and if chosen carefully will bring you profitability, success and fortune. Look after your workers peeps or die trying.