Not walking out the door when I should have. That’s a tough call to make and the conventional wisdom is that you shouldn’t quit your job before you have another one lined up, for understandable reasons. You have bills to pay.

The worst job I ever had was as a manager for a large utility. One time, we got quite a bit of snow. I didn’t have 4 wheel drive so I asked my boss if I could take a company truck home. He said that was fine.

The next day, he called me into his office and told me I was in trouble for taking a company truck home. I was very confused and responded that I had asked him about it before I left and he said it was fine. Turned out that motherfucker had been asked by someone further up the ladder if he signed off on it and instead of just saying, “Yep, I told him it was fine.” He proceeded to lie his ass off and then pretend like we never had that conversation.

He showed me what kind of person he was and what kind of company I was working for. I should have immediately handed him my badge and walked out the door but I didn’t. I stayed there for a few years after that. That was the tip of the iceberg on top of a completely toxic shit hole. The worst I have ever seen.

Never let someone try to take your dignity away from you and don’t spend any longer in a toxic workplace than you absolutely have to.