Kindness Backfires Hard

I immediately called my assistant, Emily Carter, in and instructed her to draft a brand-new set of company rules. Then, I told her to notify everyone that a meeting would be held.The moment I stepped out of my office, I heard several hushed voices whispering nearby."So you really think he’d be generous enough to give us 85% of the profits? Is that even possible?""No way. You don’t even need your brain to know that. What kind of boss is that generous? He just exaggerated it for publicity in a bid to make himself look good. And we’re the suckers being used as pawns, don’t you get it?""Exactly. All bosses are the same. I don’t believe for a second that he’s that kind-hearted. He says we can come in late or leave early, but don’t we always have to make up the hours anyway?""And letting us advance our salaries whenever we want? That’s just to make us dependent on him so we can’t leave."…Each sentence, wrapped in so-called analysis, made my heart sink.I never imagined that, i

I promoted Daniel to Business Manager, replacing Ryan.The moment Ryan found out, he stormed straight into my office."Mr. Hale, what gives you the right to give my position to Daniel? Just because I said a few extra things? Weren’t you the one who said we are encouraged to have open table discussions?"I looked at him coldly. "That was before. If you want to stay, then stay. If you don’t, get out."There was no need for mercy with people like him."What right do you have to fire me?" he roared."Because I’m the boss."As soon as the words fell, he slammed his fist down on the desk and ran out. That very day, he submitted his resignation.Early the next morning, I was exposed online.Emily rushed over and sent me the post. I opened it and saw the title staring back at me:"All About What It’s Like to Meet a Freak Boss—Misery!"In the video, Ryan not only attacked everything I had done, but he deliberately smeared my reputation, exaggerating and distorting the truth."Who un

"So he says he made a million and planned to give us $850,000. I think he was just stringing us along. Who knows how much he really made behind the scenes?""Exactly. And all that so-called flexible system, saying we didn’t need to clock in on time. It sounded great, but we still had to make up the hours before leaving. What kind of fake charity act is that? He’s just a wolf in sheep’s clothing.""Let’s report him properly this time. I refuse to believe the company only made that little and was still willing to give us so much."…The surveillance audio was crystal clear.The crowd fell silent.I looked at those ungrateful backstabbers."Before I received the report, I truly did plan to distribute the $850,000. What I never expected was that some people would think it still wasn’t enough, and even suspect that I made much more."Several faces went pale at once.Only Ryan, who had already resigned, looked indignant. "So what? Is it wrong for employees to question their boss?"

A year passed.Halecrest Solutions' account had grown to tens of millions of followers, becoming a wildly admired influencer-style company.People were scrambling to get in. The company was no longer operating at a near-loss like before. We partnered with major corporations, and almost everything listed on our video account regularly sold out.That day, after finishing an interview, I walked out and ran into a familiar face. It was Mia Clarke, a former employee.A year had changed her. She looked much thinner, and her cheekbones were sharply defined. Dark circles hung heavily beneath her eyes.She rubbed her hands together nervously. "Mr. Hale, I have something I want to talk to you about.""Three minutes," I said, glancing at my watch.She hesitated before speaking, "I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have listened to Ryan and gone against you. I even submitted my resignation. I regret it now. Can I come back?""Sure."Before she could show her delight, I continued, "The janitor