I refuse to work for an asshole.

Many will say that I’m snotty for this mentality or I’m a millennial so I’m clearly entitled. And guess what? People are allowed their opinions.

I refuse to work for an asshole. And by asshole, I mean the rude, arrogant, domineering type of personality who doesn’t care about anyone but themselves.

If I get an extra job for some extra cash, which was intended to be for fun (in the entertainment industry), I expect to be treated like a human being.

If all you care about is money and how good you look to the people who you went to high school with 30 years ago (really, dude?), I don’t want to work for you.

If you treat your employees like they are incapable or incompetent and less than you because they are working for you, I don’t want to work for you.

If you ostracize me to work harder, but I’m one of the few people who aren’t sneaking booze and illegal drugs in or busy texting away or on their phone the entire shift, but you don’t reprimand them, I don’t want to work for you.

If I feel like my safety and wellbeing is on the line because you don’t take your employee’s (or customer’s) complaints seriously, then guess what? I don’t want to work for you.

I will happily find another job where I’m treated with respect.

Do you know how many people are unhappy every day because of their job? It has been recorded that only 13% of people worldwide actually like going to work. Then why do we do it? I understand that everyone needs to have a career to make a living to support themselves and their families. There are many reasons people are unhappy at work, but when the only unhappiness at your job stems from a boss who you are helping drive business to, you should really rethink your place.

Many will say that business owners have a right to be assholes because they made it to “the top” and “worked hard their whole life”. On the contrary, many of them stumbled upon some big bucks (or had it passed down to them) and started a business to make even more. Good for them, right? Wrong. If you have a business and you don’t care about your employees or your customers, you are only hurting yourself and your business. Employees and customers can tell which boss is passionate and which one isn’t.

Have you ever wondered how successful people have owned the same business for 50+ years? It’s not because they have dedication. A lot of asshole bosses have dedication too. It’s because they have dedication and the correct mindset. As a boss, if you want to keep your employees, grow your business and bring in even more money, you need to treat people right. I’m not saying as a boss you need to kiss your employees’ asses. But if you have a positive attitude, show your team how to do things, trust them to do said things, briefly correct them when they’re wrong and praise them when they excel, your business will bring in a hell of a lot more cash and you will have a loyal group of employees who stay with you for the long run.

And you know what? Maybe I’m the psychotic one to think that if you treat your employees fairly, they will stick with you and fight for you and your business. Maybe I’ve learned too much in how to successfully manage a business by doing so myself. And maybe I’m the wrong one to expect others to treat me the way I treat them (with respect), even if they are of an authority.

Being an empath is a blessing and a curse, and as soon as I get a bad taste in my mouth, it’s very hard to reverse. I will happily find another job where I’m treated with respect. I don’t need this job on my resume to make me look special. This isn’t the only thing I have going for me – I have quite a few things in that area. But I knew when it was time to throw in the white flag and walk away knowing that I deserve to be treated better.

It’s about time the passionate and positive-minded business owners step out of the wood work and further develop and promote their businesses, because the cheap but rich, greedy and rude business owners are going to be going out of business real soon.