I was 36, and in the middle of a divorce. I loved my job, but needed 9-5 hours, so I took a job at a marketing/inspirational products company. I was to answer phones, ship all incoming orders, take care of office supplies, and I had a $200 per week budget to purchase snacks for the office. In addition, I was to keep the kitchens (there were two) stocked with supplies.

My first clue that something wasn’t right should have been when three people that I met the first day described the boss as “intense.” My first week there he called me in to his office to tell me that he went to the kitchen and there were no spoons in the drawer. He said that he knew they were right in the cabinet, but that would have taken him 2-3 seconds out if his work day. Then he told me that if all 20 people that worked at the company had to get a spoon out of the cabinet, that was potentially a full minute out of the work day that they would not be productive. Intense indeed.

Working hours were 8-5, but most everyone was there by 7 a.m. and worked until at least 7 p.m. at night, because that was expected. Leaving on time was cause for an “uncomfortable conversation” about your attitude. I had a review after six months, and my boss told me several things to work on, but said that overall, she was happy with my performance. Two days later, she noticed that I had placed the label on a shipment a little crooked, and she told me to start looking for another job. I worked there for another month, and then they fired half of the company, including me, ten days before Christmas. The kicker was that they asked me to work the whole day, because we were so busy, and then completely screamed at me for leaving at 5 p.m.