13 Work Situations That Quietly Broke People’s Trust

We’re taught that loyalty at work will be rewarded—but real life often tells a harsher story. Behind smiles and polite emails are moments when dedication is ignored, sacrifices are forgotten, and trust is quietly broken. Here are those stories.

• I was blindsided by people I genuinely thought I was on good terms with. One moment we were chatting about trips around the country and I was being invited to a wedding. The next, my manager called me into a meeting and handed me written statements from those same people, describing me as a terrible worker.
  The irony was that they didn’t even understand my role, so they were in no position to judge. Looking back, my work was perfectly fine. The real issue was simple—they didn’t like me. I was new and still on probation, and they knew exactly what they were doing. They were trying to get me fired.
  What made it worse was that I have a physical disability they were aware of, yet they still wrote things like, “We know [name] is disabled, but so what—it’s disruptive for the team.” I had to involve the union to stop them from sacking me. © Unknown Author / Reddit

• I stayed late for years, trained every new hire, and fixed problems no one else wanted to touch. If something broke after hours, I stayed. If a deadline was impossible, I made it work. I told myself it mattered.
  When a promotion opened up, I didn’t push for it. I assumed my work spoke for itself. Instead, I was told I was “too essential where I was.” The role went to someone younger with less experience. I smiled and congratulated them.
  Then I stopped going above and beyond. I said no to unpaid overtime. I started to stick to my job description. When the newly promoted coworker asked for help, I answered questions but I didn’t save them.
  Things unraveled quickly. Deadlines slipped. Mistakes piled up. Management suddenly wanted meetings and admitted they hadn’t realized how much I’d been doing.
  By then, I already had another offer. When I resigned, my manager said, “We didn’t realize how much you contributed.”

• I worked at the same company for six years. I never missed a deadline and was often the one asked to stay late when things went wrong. When new employees joined, I trained them. When clients complained, I handled it.
  When my annual review came up, my manager told me I was “reliable” and thanked me for my commitment. I asked about a raise. He said the budget was tight but promised to revisit it soon.
  Two months later, a new hire joined our team. I was asked to show her the systems and walk her through our processes. During a casual conversation, she mentioned her salary. It was higher than mine.
  I brought it up to my manager. He told me she had negotiated better and suggested I do the same next year. That was when I realized loyalty wasn’t part of the equation.

• My coworker and I were friends at work long before the promotion came up. We helped each other prepare presentations, covered when one of us was out, and talked openly about wanting to move up.
  When a senior role opened up, we both applied. We agreed to keep things professional and fair. No bad-mouthing, no behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
  During the interview process, my coworker asked if I’d be willing to share notes from a project review I’d had with management earlier in the year. I hesitated, but she said it would help her understand expectations. I shared them.
  A week later, I was asked in my interview why I hadn’t disclosed “ongoing concerns” from that same project. I was confused, there were no ongoing concerns. The notes had included minor issues I’d already resolved.
  She had presented those notes as unresolved risks when she spoke to leadership. She got the promotion. Afterward, she told me she hadn’t lied—she’d just “framed things differently.” She said we were both trying to move up and hoped I wouldn’t take it personally.

• I looked upon one of my ex-bosses like a motherly figure. She was late 40s when I was mid 20s. So when my family was having issues (my mom was very sick) and I had to take leave, I was honest with her. She also asked about my mom etc like very caring.
  Subsequently she told the big boss that my team never hit the target because my mind was all on my personal issues and not focusing on work. And badmouthed me to whoever would listen. © sunnymuffin123 / Reddit

• I used to work for a large bank in the UK. The division I worked in was a relatively small part of the bank, so everyone knew everyone and were friends on Facebook and socialised outside work.
  One day a position opened up for a new team leader and 3 people (2 guys, 1 woman) in our department applied. After the interview process was over we strangely never saw the 2 guys for a while. The woman got the post.
  After a couple of weeks the two guys came back and proceeded to tell us how the woman had handed over a file with screenshots of them saying they were after party and called in sick and badmouthing the bank. They were suspended pending an investigation into their conduct and were subsequently demoted.
  The department was never the same after that, people unfriended people on FB and no one after that went on nights out with work colleagues in case it happened to them. © jc1401 / Reddit

• I covered my coworker’s shifts for months while she dealt “personal issues.” I stayed late, picked up weekends, and rearranged my own schedule so she wouldn’t get in trouble. I never complained or asked for anything in return. I just did what needed to be done.
  When I finally needed one afternoon off for a medical appointment, I told her first and gave plenty of notice. I assumed it wouldn’t be an issue, considering everything I’d covered for her.
  Instead, she went to our supervisor and said I was unreliable. That I was suddenly “not flexible” and hard to schedule. None of the extra shifts I’d worked were mentioned. None of the months I’d helped her out mattered.
  Then my supervisor called me and to my surprise I was written up for attendance. She was praised for being open about her situation and for “communicating well with management.”

• I worked at a fast-food place for almost two years. One of my coworkers and I started around the same time and became friends fast. We closed together, covered shifts for each other, and joked about how one of us would probably be the next shift lead when a spot opened.
  When the assistant manager position was announced, we both applied. We talked about it openly and agreed to keep it fair. No trash-talking, no stepping on each other. Whoever got it, got it.
  Part of the process was a trial week where one of us would run the shift while the manager watched. When it was my turn, my friend offered to help with the rush. I let him handle the register while I worked the line.
  Later that week, the manager pulled me aside and said I struggled with cash handling and needed support during busy hours. I was confused since I hadn’t touched the register. I realized he’d said that I’d asked him to take over because I couldn’t keep up.
  The next week, he ran his trial shift alone and got the position.

Office politics can take a toll on you but sometimes, life has a funny way of playing tricks. One of our readers shared a story about how his boss humiliated him for asking for a raise and how karma got him back.