Every year at UT, around 12,000 students matriculate and are released into the wilds of the job market. If graduating in the worst job market since the Great Depression is an alarming thought, consider this: for every student who is fresh off the college assembly line, there’s a company waiting to exploit her work for less than it’s worth, simply because it can. Add in a little mental abuse and you have a cocktail for disaster: a disillusioned workforce whose first experience in “the real world” is tainted by an opportunistic abuse structure that forever impairs its ability to trust employers, coworkers, or corporations. Call it dropping the baby on its head one too many times.

Many fresh-faced alumni will be excited to accept any job that comes their way. They’ll look into “average” salaries for the field, but balk when it comes to negotiations. This is even worse for the ladies: according to a study released by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation in 2007, women are four times less likely than men to negotiate starting salaries.

It’s important to have a job, right? Those student loans can’t be deferred forever, and a newfound “adult” status comes with self-reliance and independence. While it’s exciting to enter the world of work, it’s important to learn the lesson no college course can teach: how to avoid becoming a tool of corporate gain.

Texas is an at-will state, meaning all work is “at-will” and an employee may quit or strike said job at any time with no liability, and likewise an employer may fire any employee “for good cause, or bad cause, or no cause at all.” Because of this, there are no protections for an employee that feels he or she is being treated or compensated unfairly. Here are some things that can help identify emotionally an abusive workplace situation:

Those hiring seem to disregard your education and experience. Employers who disregard education and experience are more concerned about cheap labor than the best labor for a fair price.

There is a strong emphasis on corporate culture. While corporate culture can be important and good for morale, an overwhelming emphasis on the “family” or the “team” can create an unhealthy feeling of obligation, one that will be manipulated any time there are “fires” to put out.

Employees are often let go, or quit under strange circumstances. All it takes is one fly-off-the-handle personality to create a hostile work environment. Bonus points if that person is the head honcho. Employee retention should be important to companies who value their employees’ perception of company stability, personal safety and financial safety. A laissez-faire attitude about company employee retention may be a sign that things aren’t so good. Consider the conditions under which recently let-go employees were fired. Was it sensational? The source of hushed gossip? Was it surprising?

Employees are routinely told they would have no other options if they didn’t work at the company. This makes employees feel powerless to change their situation, keeping them in a position out of fear, rather than from free choice.

Promotions are dangled in front of employees, but never given, or given without pay increase. It’s nice to feel important, but any promotion that does not come with a pay increase is technically just extra hours without pay.

Something is always going wrong. Keeping employees in a constant state of panic is a way to elevate the collective emotion to high, making deadlines and long-term goals impossible to achieve, and therefore making employees feel obligated to work longer hours, and give up more of their personal lives.

Public ridicule is common; public outing of missteps or personal issues is not addressed by HR. Any boss or supervisor who would air an employee’s dirty laundry in a public forum does not respect that employee. End of story.

There’s a corporate myth of that “one day things will be better,” but milestone after milestone doesn’t bring that day any closer. One thing companies like to tell employees is that things will “get better when” something happens. In a healthy situation, these promises will come to fruition and everything will be fine. In an unhealthy situation, these things happen, but things don’t get better, and a new meme takes its place.

Employees are expected to work more than 40 hours a week to stay in the company. A 40 hour workweek in this modern age should be adequate for most industries. There are exceptions, obviously, but in general, most people should be able to complete their weekly duties in about 40 hours. Any hour beyond this 40-hour threshold is a degradation of the salary. Example: a worker makes $26K/year, roughly $500/week. That’s $100/day. If the workday is 8 hours (accounting for a one-hour lunch break), that’s $12.50/hour. So, if on average, a worker is working 10-hour days, he or she is only making $10/hour. Each hour of extra work decreases worker compensation, and that employee has worked an extra ten hours a week for, essentially, what a barista is paid after tips. Good thing you got that college degree!

The day is chopped up into unmanageable pieces. It’s one thing to have meetings, but when employees are kept in a constant state of unfocused work, it’s impossible to accomplish anything. This means the employee has to stay longer, meaning he has less leisure time, which degrades the employee’s life, making him exhausted and unable to question the whims and motives of the company.

The CEO or boss makes decisions without forethought or without taking the details into consideration. Add to that: any employee who voices concerns over logistics or the final outcome is ridiculed, and then proven correct, again and again. Some people are “details” people. Some people are “big picture” people. They’re supposed to work together to make things run smoothly and efficiently. If the “big picture” people are constantly ignoring the “details” people, the company is not going to do well, and company morale is going to diminish overall.

Employees are not encouraged to spend time together outside of work. Office romances aside, Friday happy hour exists for a reason: employees like to cut loose and let off some steam after a long week of work. Is the management actively hostile to this idea? It may be time to consider what they’re so afraid of. The Human Resources Department is not an advocate.

Ideally, the HR department is there to help employees settle any problems that arise. If employees are being fired after seeking help from the HR department, this is a clear sign that the HR department is acting as an arm of the management, rather than a resource for employees.

Employees are depressed, dread going to work every day, have feelings of desperation or suicide. There’s nothing worse than driving to work and wishing a semi truck would hit your car. If this is you or someone you know, start applying for new jobs and seek counseling.

These are just some of the signs that an employer or company is emotionally abusing its workers. Emotional abuse can manifest in many other ways as well. If you or someone you know is experiencing this type of work environment, it may be time to talk to a counselor, or it may be time to start looking for another job. Abuse of this sort, especially situations in which employees are physically exhausted, can be detrimental to health, happiness, and overall sanity.

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So you need an internship

Even if you’re working for free, you still have rights.

To get a foot in the door in any industry, it seems that two or more internships are required. It makes sense; an employee needs experience, and a prospective employer needs assurance that the employee is capable of performing his or her duties properly. Got a paid internship? Congratulations, you’ve essentially spotted Bigfoot while holding a leprechaun’s pot of gold. Got an unpaid internship? We’ll get through this together.

The unpaid internship, or apprenticeship, is a symbiotic relationship that facilitates the move from academia to “the real world.” But with rising budget cuts and layoffs, it’s important to know where a good thing ends and a nightmare situation begins. Following are the guidelines that have been set up by the U.S. Labor Department as a test for what can legally be considered an “unpaid” internship for a for-profit company, and some tips on how to recognize when an employer is operating beyond their rights. (Keep in mind that internships for a non-profit organization do not fall under the same guidelines, as any work done for these organizations could be considered volunteer work.)

1. The internship must be similar to the training that would be given in an educational environment. Basically, you need to be learning what you set out to learn. If all you’re learning is what sort of coffee the boss likes from Starbucks, you’re probably not getting the full benefits of your internship and the company is not in compliance with the law. The occasional coffee run is normal, things get busy and sometimes having an intern playing the “20 questions” game is that last thing you need, but cleaning bathrooms? Re-stocking the kitchen? Unless you’re interning with a janitorial company, these types of requests are not okay.

2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern. If you’re not benefiting at all from your internship, it’s time to talk to your internship advisor at the university, who can facilitate either a change in internship appointment, or a change in how your internship is being conducted. It’s probably best to be earning college credit of some sort, as well.

3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff. If Joe the Copy Guy was laid off so you could take his place, that’s a red flag that something isn’t right. Existing staff should be aware of your internship status, and should be helpful in your education, not glaring at your from behind their desks because you replaced their friend.

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded. This is a hard one, because it’s human nature to want to please, and as an intern, you’ll want to make a good impression. That’s all good and fine, but as an intern, your job is to learn, and that may sometimes mean “impeding operations,” unfortunately. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship. This is the real “suck” one. You work all semester, you learn everything there is to know about the office, and you get to know everyone really well. Too bad there’s not a position for you. It’s a common misconception that internships automatically lead to employment, so expecting it will really put you at a disadvantage. As the internship comes to a close, have an honest discussion with your internship supervisor about the prospect of being hired on with the company. No room for you? Ask him or her to start asking around. The number one awesome thing about internships is the contacts you’ll make. Don’t squander them because your feelings are hurt over not getting hired.

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship. This needs to be explicit up front, and if any wages are discussed during the interview, be sure to iron that situation out before your first day.