Nobody likes a micromanager! Rules, standards, and discipline are definitely crucial in a working environment, that’s true. However, what’s equally essential is the trust that managers place in their employees. If you have little of that, you’ll only breed resentment in the workplace and have to deal with huge turnover rates.
Some of the employees of Reddit shared their most bizarre work stories on r/meirl. They spilled the tea about the most ridiculous reasons that they ever got in trouble for at work. We’ve collected the most interesting and frustrating posts for you to enjoy on your coffee break. But God forbid anyone’s 12 seconds late to get back to their desk!
#1
Got in trouble for eating in my car during my break because I might be needed to come back early. I explained that’s why I eat in my car.
Image source: RightWingWorstWing, RDNE Stock project
#2
I was reprimanded for working too much, and for not working enough, within an hour of each other. I was the only person remaining in a team of four people, so I was sneaking into the office early to get some extra stuff done off the clock. I was caught and written up for that. About an hour after I had walked out of my boss’s office she asked me to come back again to threaten to put me on my “final warning” for failing to deal with the backlog that was accumulating while we were understaffed.
Image source: Twuntz, Yan Krukau
#3
I was 12 seconds late coming back from break once
Was talked to about time management
Image source: Airspirit26, Ono Kosuki
#4
I got told I’m too sensitive and need to accept people have their own personalities or leave… After reporting a guy for repeatedly calling team members racial slurs and then assaulting me and threatening to kill me multiple times when I called out his bad behavior. All of which was in front of our supervisor…
F**k Home Depot.
Image source: TheImp4411
#5
I got written up for taking 4.5 sick days in a calendar year when we had 12 allotted. The company average was 4, so they wrote up everyone who had more.
Image source: j03yw00t, Andrea Piacquadio
#6
Suspended from my waitressing job for a week for having overly bushy eyebrows. Not poorly groomed, just very full. Like Brooke Shield’s eyebrows. Manager said they were “distracting” to the customers. He wanted me to pluck them into the thin style that was more popular in the 90’s. I enjoyed my week off and, when I came back he asked me if I’d thought about what I was going to do about my eyebrows. Told him I was going to keep their natural shape and, if he didn’t like it I’d be happy to talk to a lawyer about racial discrimination at work. He dropped the issue and I quit soon after.
Image source: LastDitchTryForAName, Morteza Khobzi
#7
Leaving town and going to the lake because I wasn’t scheduled for four days straight. My manager told me that just because I’m not on the schedule doesn’t mean I’m guaranteed a day off. I needed to put in for vacation if I’m actually leaving town. Otherwise, I need to stay at home in case I’m called in. I lasted two months there.
Image source: dirtythirty1864
#8
I politely told multiple C level executives to put steel toe shoes on while on my production floor because it set a bad example that all the production workers had to wear them per the rules but the suits were in dress shoes and heels. So basically I was in trouble for following and enforcing the company safety policy.
Image source: Baldersmash, Los Muertos Crew
#9
I was told I was insubordinate because when my boss asked me a question, I said “Let me dig a little deeper before making a decision.”
Image source: wryno14, Amy Hirschi
#10
I got fired from McDonald’s for looking at the prices when I had a customer ask how much a new menu item was. It was my second day on the job.
Image source: -enterfandomhere-fan, Visual Karsa
#11
I got a stern talking to because I took credit for my idea in my annual review. The head of the department had said it was her idea and been touting this as something great she did that year. Our reviews did pass over her boss’s desk, and he saw it. So I got in trouble for accidentally outing her lie and taking credit for my work.
Image source: RandomNameOfMine815, Christina @ wocintechchat.com
#12
The lines of my excel charts were not thick enough, I was following the company design guide
Image source: CulturalAd2344, kroshka__nastya
#13
I was told I wasn’t a team player because I didn’t want to go to the waterslides on my day off.
Image source: Nillabeans, Edgar Rodrigo Edgar Rodrigo
#14
Not smiling enough. Written up and coached every morning on smiling, how to smile, when to smile, how long to hold a smile, etc.
Image source: Commercial_Place9807, Moose Photos
#15
I once got a written warning for my attendance record. Their policy was to take the number of days of work you missed divided by the number of work days in the fiscal year so far. If it was below a certain percentage, they would write you up. Mine dipped below the “acceptable” percentage because I took two weeks off at the beginning of the fiscal year for the birth of my son.
Image source: mikevanatta
#16
I was a top producer at this company and went “out of policy” to correct a mistake someone else made on one of our largest accounts. A new director wrote me up, and I refused to sign the corrective action arguing I did what was necessary to retain their business. I was placed on a PIP until I would sign the write up. I was number one in sales and was on a PIP. I received another job offer and left a couple weeks later.
That account dropped that company when they learned I was leaving.
Image source: Rare-Impact-1791
#17
Not me, but my student (a woman) who was on a year in industry and I was helping supervise got yelled at by my boss (also a woman) for wearing a pink dress to the office once
A pink dress wasn’t appropriate for a woman in engineering, apparently
Image source: Deviator_Stress, Tamara Bellis
#18
I once got in trouble for making too much money. I worked a straight commission job.
Image source: Overdrv76, Karolina Grabowska
#19
I once got fired because when we came back from our mandatory Christmas break they asked if I was glad to be back at work and I said no, said I had a bad attitude.
Image source: Joe_Linton_125, Anna Shvets
#20
Drinking free water at our beverage station, that’s free to everyone… even us..
Image source: Electric_Whip, Lisa Fotios
#21
Was told not to copy the VP. Should go through the “chain of command.”
My boss didn’t know the VP had asked me to find that info and send it to him. I was copying my boss so she wasn’t out of the loop.
Image source: Niaso
#22
Got in trouble because the finance director bought on of those fake titles from online, the ones where you buy a tiny bit of land in Scotland, and get to call yourself a ‘Lord’ (even though it’s b******t). The finance director sent out an email to all the staff stating that we had to address him as ‘Lord….name) and all emails had to have the honorific. It thought he was being funny, that it was a joke, and that he was being ironic, I replied ‘ this is funny, made me laugh’. He wasn’t joking.
Image source: ManyHabit8785
#23
I worked as part of an account management team for a “corporate, inner city” type company.
I was raised to be polite to everyone I guess, so when I’d find myself at a door at the same time as someone else, I’d hold the door open for them and allow them to pass through first. No need to converse further, it’s just what you do, right?
I did this for everyone.
I got called into a full investigative committee of owners and management when one of the women I worked with reported me for sexual harassment. Apparently, holding a door open whilst indicating they should go through first a handful of times over the course of months constitutes sexual predation to this person.
Thank the gods my immediate supervisor ( also a woman) was a very down to earth person. After the “charges” had been laid out to me, she spent about 5 minutes explaining that I did this as a general rule and all was quickly forgotten.
That lady rocked! I left soon after that incident but I have fond memories of her, I hope she’s well.
I’m glad I live in the hinterlands now and don’t have to worry about things like this.
Image source: Sauvagebreizh
#24
Invited a new co worker to have lunch with us.
Proceeds to be called into a meeting by one of the directors and was lectured about peer pressure and how its the “first cousin” of bullying.
Image source: bensanna19, fauxels
#25
Got written up for insubordination because of the expressions I had during a Zoom interview. I didn’t say one word, all I did was nod or shake my head at the wrong times apparently.
Image source: the_real_maddison, Anna Shvets
#26
Written up for falling below the calculated percentage of available time off. I had 24 hours of PTO available and took 8 hours off, still had 16 hours available but got in trouble. Why even say I have time available if you aren’t going to let me use it?
Image source: Thasman
#27
Two senior leaders at a previous company didn’t like that I answered all of their questions with “no ma’am” or “yes ma’am”.
I was raised in the south. *Everyone* is ma’am or sir, and it’s not even an age related thing!
It’s not my fault that both of them were successful, recently divorced single mothers in their mid 40’s with tons of recent plastic surgery. They said me calling them “ma’am” hurt their feelings, and made them feel old. I thought they had accomplished a lot that they should feel great about, and it’s a little weird that one lowly employee saying “ma’am” bothers them so much. I’m also not their damn therapist, and won’t tap dance around their insecurities. I told that to HR when they called me in to give me an actual talking-to about it.
Image source: TeddyRooseveltsHead
#28
Not “managing” my chair. Aka not tucking it in far enough when I walked away from my desk. This guy just lost it on me.
Image source: Glennmorangie, Lisa Fotios
#29
Working as a cook in a restaurant, I got yelled at by the owner for telling him one of the waitresses was throwing away the (metal) silverware instead of washing it.
Image source: BadTitleGuy
#30
I got a stern talking to in my first office job for starting an email saying “Hey ____” instead of “Hi ____”. I was told it was unprofessional for using “hey”…
Image source: TheHighCountry, Taryn Elliott
Follow Us
