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workplace-stories

'He went through the automatic car wash in an office chair': 30+ Workplace mishaps

'He went through the automatic car wash in an office chair': 30+ Workplace mishaps that were unforgettably hilarious

Every workplace has a day or two that goes down in infamy. Someone at the office will do something so outrageous or unexpected that it catches everyone off guard. Whatever the hilarious incident may be, it becomes the inside joke that people bring up at the holiday party for years afterward. These people wrote in to share the funniest moments they ever experienced while on the job, and there are some incredible anecdotes. One of the most shocking stories involved a higher-up being so incredibly…
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'She is a textbook narcissist': Top Coworker Stories of the Year

'She is a textbook narcissist': Top Nightmare Coworker Stories of the Year

A terrible coworker can completely ruin your year. So if you feel neither here nor there about the people in your office, let's just say that you have quite a lot to be thankful for, and if that's not apparent, look no further than this collection of nightmare anecdotes compiled from Reddit's r/coworkerstories subreddit. Some of these stories range from coworkers with no boundaries to coworkers who keep shirking their responsibilities to the ones who you discovered get paid more for doing the s…
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'Don't fire me so you can hire your nephew': IT guy forced to train unqualified nepo baby to replace him, nephew tanks the company, boss gets fired

'Don't fire me so you can hire your nephew': IT guy forced to train unqualified nepo baby to replace him, nephew tanks the company, boss gets fired

If you feel taken for granted more than anyone else you know, you're probably the parent of a teenager or you work in IT. Even worse, you might be both. Now, I have never worked at a company big enough to have an official IT person, but I know how grateful my coworkers and I would be if we did. One has to wonder where this lack of proper gratitude comes from considering how lost we would be without the technologically competent folks in our lives and especially in our workplace environments. No…
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'I'll make you watch me work': Auto shop employee demonstrates how slow their computer is to their bosses

'I'll make you watch me work': Auto shop employee demonstrates how slow their computer is to their bosses

There are some things in life that are perpetually irritating, like getting stuck in traffic. When you have somewhere you need to be, and the cars in front of you are inching forward at a snail's pace, it's pretty annoying. Plus, there's nothing you can do about it. It's a small thing, but when you deal with traffic every day, it might start to take a toll. This person, u/Rhelyk, had a different sort of waiting issue . They had to deal with a slow computer . Oh man. In today's day and age, when…
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'We don't need you, why don't you just quit': Karen and Kevin diner owners challenge overworked server to quit, server maliciously complies

'We don't need you, why don't you just quit': Karen and Kevin diner owners challenge overworked server to quit, server maliciously complies

Who doesn't love a classic “you don't know what you've got till it's gone” story? Here, we have a server fresh out of school who was constantly manipulated and treated poorly by her Karen and Kevin bosses. While I have never shared the particulars of a story, I do empathize with the situation as someone who has worked for ungrateful clients. In this case, I was working in a client-facing role and was already swamped that I did not need this particular person's business. When he started making u…
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'You want me to intentionally break a client's new computer?': Employee insists coworker give 'bad customer service,' coworker breaks customer's computer with new software

This sales associate was perfectly fine with breaking a customer's computer just to make his own life easier. While buying new technology, things can get confusing pretty quickly if you aren't the most tech-savvy person . If you're buying a computer in person, for example, you might go into the store knowing exactly what you're looking for. But then a sales associate starts talking to you, and suddenly they're telling you that computer won't work for you. Instead, they say, you should get one t…
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'CEO [told] me to help them with my old accounts or he'll sue me': CEO ignores former employee's warnings about outdated system, leads to decade-spanning malicious compliance

'CEO [told] me to help them with my old accounts or he'll sue me': CEO ignores former employee's warnings about outdated system, leads to decade-spanning malicious compliance

Some employers refuse to hear the truth, and if you're lucky, they will have to experience the consequences of ignoring your constant warnings. We all know what it's like to be a disregarded employee. Sure, most bosses say that constructive feedback is welcome no matter what your position in the company is, but in reality, you are likely to be ignored if you are at the bottom of the food chain. When this happens repeatedly, it soon becomes exponentially clear that the problems you are noticing…
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'Think about whether you want to keep working here': Employee makes small mistake, boss loses it, give ultimatum, employee maliciously complies

'Think about whether you want to keep working here': Temperamental boss loses it and gives ultimatum, employee maliciously complies

It's not that employees should be careful around bosses with tempers; it should be that bosses with tempers should be careful around their employees. Those who throw tantrums and who have a habit of unfairly threatening employees should not only be fearful that they themselves might get in trouble for their tirades, but also they just might lose those employees forever and not of their own volition. I once had a friend who willingly took a job with a temperamental boss who had a known reputatio…
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'This instructor got such a bee in her bonnet about my boots': Nursing instructor tries to flunk student over their choice of shoes

Here's a red flag in any workplace : if they love to say, “that's how we've always done things.” It immediately signals to you as an employee that your contributions won't be valued. Instead, the company is going to keep doing things the way they've always been done, like using outdated tech or working harder, not smarter. Places like this don't want innovation, they want you to shut your brain off all day and do things by the books. While in nursing school , u/krichcomix found out that some ol…
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'I thought we were on good terms': Job candidate asks former boss for reference, she sabotages candidate's chances with the recruiter

'I thought we were on good terms': Job candidate asks former boss for reference, she sabotages candidate's chances with the recruiter

They say to never trust your employer, but we always need a former employer for references so do we have much of a choice in the matter? The truth is that we do not. Even after you leave a company, you're still beholden to your former employer in some way. If you have minimal work experience, you might not have another employer to use as a reference. It's the cyclical nature of the working world. Even when you leave one place, you're never really free now, are you? Sure, it's possible to frame…
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'The next morning I had many missed calls': Overburdened restaurant closer refuses to work late, surprises bosses with messy restaurant and their two week notice

This restaurant closer was ready to “prove a point.”
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'[She says] it's my fault': Boss blames worker when shady business practices earn her an investigation from the IRS

An important lesson you learn early on in this world is to own your own mistakes, and whether or not someone makes mistakes is a good indicator of that person's character. As is often the case, there are plenty of people who never managed to learn this simple concept, with these people finding themselves in positions of authority all too often. It's not surprising then that there are a lot of toxic bosses out there who consistently find someone else to blame and someone else to shame for their…
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'The audacity to complain about a $500 gift':Choosing beggar throws tantrum at coworker over a $500 holiday gift card

'The audacity to complain about a $500 gift': Choosing beggar throws tantrum at coworker over a $500 holiday gift card

As much as it is the season of giving, apparently, it is also the season of complaining. Now, I have never been one of those lucky employees to receive a sizable bonus for the Holidays. One has to assume it is the price for not going full corporate. That being said, if I were to receive such a gift, I would try not to take it for granted and remember the days when I would never have gotten this kind of special treatment (meaning, these days). So if this choosing beggar has no interest in using…
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'My screen was idle for 28 minutes': New manager accuses highest performer of being unproductive because of failed "screen audit"

There's nothing like hustling to go above and beyond in your role only to have your new boss turn around and throw some random metric that is vaguely associated with productivity back in your face for no reason. Your KPIs and contributions that are tied to actual revenue for the company are topping the charts, and yet your insecure micromanaging manager is concerned about the fact that your screen was “idle” for a few minutes. This is the problem with modern “productivity” tracking software tha…
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'Have fun running the place without me': Coffee shop owner tells manager working 100 hours per week to take time off, manager blocks all work numbers and lets the business fall apart while they're gone

'Have fun running the place without me': Coffee shop owner tells manager working 100 hours per week to take time off, manager blocks all work numbers and lets the business fall apart while they're gone

The relief of taking two whole weeks off, after working 100 hour weeks , must be incredible. Humans aren't designed to work that much. Yet there are numerous career fields that require 16-hour days and working straight through the weekends. Doctors, nurses, and lawyers are among the groups of employees who tirelessly devote themselves to their jobs. But running on caffeine and energy bars isn't enough to keep a person going in the long run. This person shared their own story of when they worked…
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'[I] pretended to be the manager at my summer job': 25 Workers whose big mistakes at work could've gotten them fired

'[I] pretended to be the manager at my summer job': 25 Workers whose big mistakes at work could've gotten them fired

Maybe you aren't brave enough to share what happened on your worst day of work , but these anonymous workers are. At any company, the big bosses have to allow some room for mistakes. There will always be human errors as long as humans are employed. For many people, when they mess something up, their immediate reaction is to try and hide it from their boss. It seems like that worked out in some cases for these employees! What your manager doesn't know won't hurt them (as long as they don't find…
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