It's the end of the year (finally!) and the office work is winding down for the year. It's the season for out of office email auto-replies. Who doesn't love to hear the phrase, “Let's work on this in the new year"?

These workers had a fun “moment of brilliance” while still following their boss's directions.

Email etiquette changes everywhere you go. Politeness is key, of course. But at some workplaces, emails have to be answered in a highly specific way, even if the employees think it's ridiculous. Up next, these goofy goobers are some real dummies according to their friends, like one person whose coworker wouldn't drink water, ever, because “ water makes you rust .”

It takes a thick skin to be your own boss, especially when you're working with the craziest clients imaginable. U/boobook-boobook knows that all too well after their run-in with a client who knew exactly what she wanted, no changes allowed. While we're on the subject of hilarious misspellings and misunderstandings, check out these very funny ones, like one person who tried to sound out “grand scheme” and instead wrote, “It is a very small issue in the gran stephen things.”

IT support teams usually thrive on order. This employee recalled an annoying story about workers who refused to open a ticket. Forget phone calls, emails, or surprise visits. He wanted a ticket, or it didn't happen. Enter chaos. A frantic email landed in his group inbox: 'Can't save files! See screenshot!' Attached was a picture of an 'access denied' error message. No details about the file's location, just a list of user IDs needing access. Well, great. Granting access wasn't exactly his and h…

Have you ever worked for a company that allowed you to donate your PTO to other coworkers? This new hire received an email from HR on his very first day asking him to donate PTO to two employees he didn't even know. The worst part is that he already doesn't like his new job and is taking a major pay cut after being laid off from his old job. It's understandable to donate hours to a coworker with whom you've developed a relationship, who may be in desperate need of PTO time due to family issue...

To work in IT, you need an elephant's skin. This person recounted their struggles as an IT admin at a tiny MSP… and it wasn't pretty. A former colleague of theirs, known for poor judgment, left behind a ticking time bomb: a client's infrastructure in shambles. The server ran an obsolete operating system, backups were faulty, and crucial data was stored on the same drive as the vulnerable OS. The client, averse to upgrades, exemplified the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality, even when p…

Teachers have to put up with more in one class than what most folks have to put up with in their entire careers. As the child of a teacher, I can attest that it's far more than lesson planning, class time, and grading. It's also dealing with bureaucratic nonsense, entitled parents, difficult kids, and strange administrative policies that make absolutely no sense. In the case of this story, we are primarily dealing with the lattermost scenario. Here, we have an eighth-grade math teacher who was…

This person is completely blind to the consequences of their impatience. Luckily for the rest of us, their story is an unintentionally funny tale of workplace ignorance. There's always that one coworker that just doesn't pick up on the job. They could have all the training in the world, but they still don't understand basic tasks. They're the person who needs your help ten times per day when you're not even their supervisor. Other times, “that one coworker” will do their job so badly that every…

One employee found themself without a car, and it was only because their workplace refused to give it up. It was a weird situation to be in! The employee, u/FMLitsSML, shared their story of the petty revenge route they had to take just to get their own car back. Layers of bureaucracy don't help any employee to be independent in their work. This person was responsible for showing clients around and entertaining them. It's pretty common practice in certain industries: it's a way to reassure payin…

One shopper is confused and suspicious after an odd encounter with the person who sold them a gift. It seems like ordering online has become such a gamble. Even if you're ordering from a site that is known to be reputable and sell handmade items, you might find you're actually ordering from some random person overseas. Some people will order a blanket or some clothing from another country , only to find that it get stuck at a border somewhere for months. This is especially irritating if you're…

It's not often that an opportunity like this comes around. One consultant got to have the email conversation of a lifetime, and gleefully shared the results to their Twitter followers. It's hard to overstate just how advanced artificiaI inteIIigence has become in such a short period of time. There was a time just a couple of years ago where people didn't understand what AI even was, and it was hard to explain the concept. Now, AI has infiltrated every industry in some way. If you use photo edit…

Why does IT always get blamed? Employees always expect them to read minds, to predict the future… But they're humans with a lot on their plate, and they don't bow to snobby managers from various departments who are trying to cover for their incompetent employees. One such employee approached OP (who was working in IT) after she failed to receive emails. OP immediately began troubleshooting and found the problem relatively quickly. The issue was a rule that she had set up, and OP pointed her to…

Out of the many reasons an employee could get fired, this is one of the most preventable (and silly) reasons. It's never been more important to have strong passwords to protect yourself on the internet. Maybe 20 years ago it was okay to choose “password1234” as your entry code, but that'll never fly with today's advanced technology. As tech evolves, it requires more creativity to get into someone's email or computer. Even people who have had their passwords stolen before don't always take the p…

The bane of your existence when working as a desk jockey is going through your emails. As if the toppling towers of Mount Complaint came tumbling down into your inbox, the avalanche of emails never truly ends. The moment you finally reach the mysteriously elusive '0 Unread Messages' banner, a fresh onslaught of notifications pop up to replace it.

Be careful what you wish for… I'm sure this IT company's client was really regretful about the can of worms he opened. It helps to have a good sense of humor in the workplace, and it's especially useful while dealing with clients. Clients can be unpredictable. Some want to be completely hands-off, and let the firm they hired handle everything. They'll just be yes-men about any project as long as things are going well. Others want to be more involved and will ask for frequent updates. Then there…