So your boss sucks. They play favorites. They make arbitrary decisions and everyone knows they have no idea what they’re doing. They change rules on a whim. You’re right. Your boss sucks. But they’re probably not doing anything illegal. They're just bad at their job.

In most cases, your boss wasn’t evil. You just didn’t get along. Good thing you don’t have to anymore. Even if your boss did do something super illegal, you don’t always get justice. Even if you did get justice, it doesn’t undo the awful thing that happened to you. It’s better to get out of the situation. Keep the awful thing from happening in the first place. 

Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe you weren't quite ready. Maybe you had a lot going on. I know it feels awful, but I promise, no one thinks you’re a failure. Believe it or not, someone probably took great care in what happened to you. Because they know it wasn't all your fault. They wanted this to be as easy for you as possible.

You may see them as a perfectionist. Overbearing. High maintenance. A control freak. Nit picky. Difficult. It’s exhausting. You may avoid them. Or resent them. Since strivers are often high achievers, they tend to land in positions of power, putting their unrealistic expectations on you.

But why would someone take a 40+% pay cut by choice? That time must be more valuable than money. There are plenty of reasons besides laziness why this might be true. 

Your organization isn’t a spreadsheet. You can’t just delete the cells with numbers you don’t like.