We're tackling something we all have to deal with at some time or other: work drama. Each week, I'll be bringing the juiciest stories from across the web right to our little virtual water cooler. From toxic bosses to nightmare workplaces, I'm here to speak a little justice on behalf of the average worker.

While you're here, please note that this weekly series is meant solely for entertainment purposes. Please do not have your HR team call me tomorrow saying you heard it from Joel at Digg.

Commuting To Work Has Made Me A Zombie. How Do People Make Time For Anything?

I work from 8 am to 5 pm. I have to wake up at 5:30 am to leave the house before 6:40 am because otherwise the traffic will be so bad I'll probably be late. If I had to take the bus to commute I'd have to wake up way earlier, probably like 4:30 am.

Now, traffic is so terrible from five to seven pm. If I go by car it'll take me like 1 hour to get to my house, if I take the bus maybe even two hours.

That means I am at home by seven to eight pm, which means I only have like one hour of "free time" before I have to go to sleep because if I don't get eight hours of sleep my brain won't function well at work.

Now I don't really have it that bad but how do people with children do anything? You barely see your child throughout the day? How do people have time to meet their so? To make new friends? Learn new hobbies?

You should join a gym that's close to your work, so you can have something to look forward to that isn't bumper-to-bumper traffic. Back when I lived in Los Angeles, I would do this, and trust me, it's a lot easier to make it to the gym when you're still all worked up from the office drama. Otherwise, you get home, get into your comfy workout clothes, turn the A/C on, cool all the way down and it's dinner time already. If you want to make new friends, try approaching someone with a t-shirt you can relate to at the gym. Even if it doesn't lead to anything, I feel it's good mental stimulation, and will help make real-life networking later on feel a lot more natural too. Read the rest of the thread here.

My Wife's Job Couldn't Care Less That She's Pregnant

My wife works at a Christian based thrift store, and I'm tired of the mental strain it is putting on her as she is pregnant. So first, the manager is constantly lazy and refuses to help while just sitting in the office on her phone, but then berates and belittles the employees when they start falling behind due to heavy workload and not enough employees, she laughed at my wife's mental health problems when she bringing her concerns to her, in that same moment she put her hands on my wife in an attempt to get her to stay in the room after feeling insulted that she was laughed at, all this was caught on camera and nothing was done about it.

Administration is switching all but a small number of employees to part time due to needing to 'save money,' effectively eliminating the employee benefits, but then they are actively raising money in store so that managers and admin can go to Disneyland, but basic employees aren't included in this and are expected to be okay with this. The administration doesn't care about the health and wellbeing of its employees and it shows, when the manager there was recorded being verbally abusive to the employees, HR just said that it's illegal to record and berated the employee for doing so instead of doing anything about the manager.

I want to mention that this is the second time she's been manager there, the first time she almost caused the store to be closed down, and they still hired her back. She was recently put on administrative leave due to some things she did in another incident where she was still being mentally abusive to her employees, and instead of taking away her roll as manager, and hiring a good manager, they may bring her back, as she is still on the schedule, and she is still getting paid after over two months of being gone.

As far as the incident, my pregnant wife was getting berated and made fun of about her being pregnant by the assistant manager at the time, who was also laughing that he may cause her a miscarriage, and the manager basically blamed it on my. Now the assistant manager was let go as he was still in his ninety days, but the manager seems to maybe be able to come back, and has been paid the entire time they were gone, when the company will only pay a pregnant employee, my wife, for one week of maternity leave. Another situation is about how sanitary they are, my significant other told me they get covered in mouse poop regularly while digging through their donations that have sat for a couple of days, and in the office they have mouse traps set that when a mouse gets caught, they won't deal with it right away so the dead mouse will just sit there and rot.

Honestly, what other advice can any of you give to them other than run for the hills now? My goodness, this sounds like the next "Saw" film and not a real workplace. I'm sorry this is happening to your wife, I'm sure if she's roughed it out for this long here already, she could probably handle any other job. Now, feel free to ignore this last piece of advice, but I think you should report this store to the local news station. As a former small-town reporter, I promise you they would pick this up in a heartbeat. But please leave as soon as you can, there's no paycheck worth the damage this stress this shift is putting on her body and the child she's carrying. Read the rest of the thread here.

I've Become The Office Loser, And I Don't Know What To Do

For the past two months, I have been dealing with a click of four to six women (out of eight people in the department) who intentionally ignore me and treat me like shit because I stood up for myself. Their queen bee kept telling me how everybody finds me annoying and after asking her to stop three different times with no avail I told her to shut up and walked away. Ever since then nobody will speak to me. I'm not sorry for what I did because I stood up for myself but they intentionally make plans to go out in front of me or not include me.

The queen bee has told everybody that she doesn't need the job and she's only working to get out of the house/ social purposes. I have been silent at work when it takes 45 minutes for her to finally get to her tasks because she can't keep her mouth shut about work gossip etc.

Mind you, I am one of the youngest in my department… I’m 24 and the queen bee is 38… The others are 32, 37, 62 and 54. I just don't understand how somebody as old as her with as many kids as she has still partakes in junior high school activities. Other than ignoring it what are some ways that I can cope with it? I've expressed how I felt to one of my supervisors and they told me it might just be best for me to keep quiet if that's the situation. It doesn't help with the Supervisor and a queen bee following each other on social media.

I agree with the comments saying you just need to leave, there is no point in sticking around. Yes, I know this is easier said than done, but you're too young to be in such a toxic environment. You have your whole life ahead of you, so don't waste any more time here. Rather than wrestle with human resources, I think you need to work on your resume and start viewing your remaining PTO and sick days as a chance to get an interview elsewhere. Until then, keep your head down and don't engage with this woman, she's just going to get you in trouble. Finally, you don't have to tell anyone anything, leave that building on your last day and don't look back. Read the rest of the thread here.

My New Co-Worker Just Asked Me For $80, Should I Feel Bad For Saying No?

Started a job Monday and by Friday, my coworker had the audacity to ask to borrow $80 for car repairs. As soon as I left work I get this super long text with this sob story about how she was so nervous to ask but her car keeps breaking down and how she was thinking she was being paid Friday, but she didn't.

We work at the same site but were hired through different companies, I'm hired through the "big" employer and have a higher position and perks, she's also made it known she wants my job. She also called me three times Friday. I said best I could do was $10 and she still asked if I could do $20!

All I see is problems down the line with this person but I don't want to deal with the awkwardness of reporting her and having to deal with her at work. It may sound rude to some but if I could get her fired on the spot I would. I'm keeping track of the texts and calls in case I need to escalate in the future, but what should I do for now?

This sounds like harassment and I think it would be wise to be proactive with HR on this, rather than sit and let things escalate further. I'm with the comments saying it's not your job to handle a misbehaving employee, and she does not have the right to create a hostile work environment for you. Obviously, keep office politics in mind, but I think you should approach HR, with your receipts ready. I'm sorry if this makes you feel like a jerk, but you'll feel like an even bigger one if you let her get to you, and she ends up replacing you. It wouldn't be a stretch if this is actually her plan considering, she did say she wanted your spot. Read the rest of the thread here.

Check out last week's edition here.

[Image credit: Pet foto]