To be honest, every workplace has a few questionable policies that ruin all the fun. But some companies truly take the cake with the most absurd rules you could ever think of. From strange food bans to bizarre dress codes, employees from all over the world have taken to the internet to share their ridiculous work rules. Some are positively hilarious, while others are absolutely outrageous, but they’re all bound to leave you scratching your head. We’ve gathered 43 stories proving that sometimes the most annoying part about work isn’t the job itself, but enduring the crazy rules that go with it.
#1
I used to work in an office with three women and fifteen men. One day the three of us girls went to lunch together and when we came back, we were berated and told the girls were no longer allowed to go on lunch breaks together because “nobody was here to answer the phones.” Apparently only women know how to answer a phone…? My misogynistic boss was the one who ruined it for us. Very glad I don’t work there anymore.
Image source: chelbren, Photo By: Kaboompics.com
#2
At a restaurant I worked at needed a manager override to make any price adjustments, remove items, or process certain cash transactions. This was done because another service found a away to discount their own meals or something. Anyways, this was a huge problem for everyone because there were only two managers in the whole restaurant, and often only one was on shift at a time. So when it would get really busy, which happened almost every night, it was next impossible to get a manager to help you out. Often times they’d scream at you for asking for help, meanwhile your tables are getting pissy because they’ve been sitting there for 15 minutes waiting for me to cash them out, and I can’t do anything about it. So between my managers yelling at me and getting stiffed, the job because insanely stressful. I quickly put in my two weeks and got out.
Image source: 14thCluelessbird
#3
When I worked at McDonald’s, one of the janitors at our store was terminated because he allegedly planned to meet a person in the dumpster area (which had no cameras nearby), and he was caught making love with her by one of the managers. Every since that happened, we couldn’t go out to the dumpster area to take the trash out without a supervisor.
Image source: MTVChallengeFan, Eddie Ortiz
#4
The optional meeting became mandatory after one person complained that he always went but others didn’t.
Image source: shavemejesus, cottonbro studio
#5
Someone posted a picture on a random forum website during work hours. The employee was not disciplined. But instead now no cell phones are allowed on any one of our 3500 employees at work/must be left in your car, except for members of management.
Image source: challenger76589, Hugo Magalhaes
#6
A place I worked just randomly decided to ban headphones one day. For some crazy reason, our boss thinks it decreases productivity. If it was a physical labor job, I would understand. But this was a sit at your desk, graphic design job. It was absolute torment to make it through the day with nothing to listen to. Even worse, the entire place seemed like it was designed to be the mossy boring-est, least creative and uninspired place as possible. Not a place to be creative which is what we were supposed to be doing.
Image source: RAmbler-2224, Yan Krukau
#7
Many years ago I worked for a company that had beer in the fridge. The rule was that after 5:00 you could have a beer at your desk or in the lunch room. It was an honor system. We bought a company out of Des Moines, IA and implemented the same system. The good old boys up there came in and raided the beer stash over the weekends. Within a few weeks of them joining the company, the perk was ended.
Image source: toad__warrior, Nicola Barts
#8
I think it was me…. My office used to keep first aid kits stocked with basics – aspirin, ibuprofen, band-aids, etc. It started with me getting headaches every Monday and then it was just my standard 3 PM headache so I just kept popping the ibuprofen whenever I needed it. One day they stopped restocking everything because employees were “stealing” them…. I still don’t understand how it was provided for our use and then it was a problem that we used them.
Image source: reddit.com, Roger Brown
#9
You’re not allowed to take sick leave on a Monday or a Friday, without a doctors note, otherwise it would be taken as if you’re taking a long weekend. Turns out the person who made that rule was just a huge control freak, and we are in fact allowed to do that.
Image source: reddit.com, Andrea Piacquadio
#10
Former boss here. My total pet peeve was company wide memos about “behavioral” problems that were really about a single employee. Not on my watch! Supervisor has a problem with “Bob”? Talk to Bob. That draft memo is not going out. I feel your pain y’all.
Image source: reddit.com, August de Richelieu
#11
The Sick Room and Quiet Room are now locked because a certain slacker keeps hiding in it. They’ve been “hiding” in the glass meeting pods since.
Image source: LofiLorraine, Felicity Tai
#12
I worked at a little on campus coffee cart we had a tip jar which usually gave us enough back in tips to cover taxes with maybe a few bucks leftover. I was working with a girl who usually worked at the other location and she reached into the tip jar saying she had to feed her meter, and grabbed a fist full of coins. I called the manager to report her because that’s some next level bullshit. The next day we all got an email that tips were no longer allowed. The girl didn’t get fired (well she did but for something completely unrelated).
Image source: TheBrontosaurus, Raphael Loquellano
#13
No toast allowed. Why? Because the junior doctors kept coming in and toasting their cheese sandwiches (they lay the toaster on it’s side so the cheese wouldn’t leak out, but it still did) and the obviously-going-to-happen smoke set off the smoke alarms, which automatically send the fire service out. First time it happened were all pretty stunned at the stupidity. Second time we were livid because it was one of the few perks we had at work; being able to make toast instead of taking breaks. Fire service actually took the toaster away like we were naughty school kids.
Image source: Filhopastry79
#14
My supervisor used to allow breaks even if you were only working 4 hours. One day this person was only coming in for four hours and it was in between our 15 mins break and our 30 mins lunch break. So she took both breaks and my co-workers and I pointed it out to her that she couldn’t take both breaks she got upset. So the next week my sup gave me the 15 mins break cause I was only working 4 hours, she noticed and went and complained to management. So now you have to work 5 hours to get a break. Another time she told me I should do all her work cause she has to do all the work at home. I just laughed at her… Anyways she shortly got fired.
Image source: wishinghearts40, MART PRODUCTION
#15
No couch in our breakroom cause people that didn’t work in our department were napping in it during work hours.
Image source: catsugh, Jep Gambardella
#16
No office chairs with wheels. One kid decided to hang a sign over his desk and instead of using a ladder, he put his rolling chair on top of his desk, climbed up, and the chair rolled off. He hit the floor, was injured and out of work for two weeks.
Image source: Nobody_Wins_13, Lisa from Pexels
#17
Can’t keep personal items at our desks. People lost a lot of personal items over the Covid work from home period. Only when we returned to the office, it was at that time did things start going missing. There’s either one or a few thieves among us. So to cut it down, they say only keep the stuff at your desk that you’re willing to lose.
Image source: reddit.com, Yan Krukau
#18
Place i used to work gave out turkeys for thanksgiving, an employee accidently dropped his on his foot and tried to file a suit against them for some crazy amount of money. No more turkeys
Image source: Voshan008, Monstera Production
#19
They are trying to ban earbuds at work. Well they are, but no one is every around to enforce it. Workers drive around with eye-catching white airpods, small black or red ones, even a few wired sets. In their latest effort to stop people, they had banned hats that cover the ears in any way. It is so cold.
Image source: reddit.com, Cliff Booth
#20
Everyone has to speak English, because one lady thought people were talking bad about her in Spanish (they were).
Image source: reddit.com, fauxels
#21
“You are welcome to wear comfortable clothing during the overnight shift. However you must wear pants at all time. No pajamas or underwear”. It predates all of us. The guess is someone did an overnight, took off their pants to relax and someone went in crisis.
Image source: reddit.com, RDNE Stock project
#22
No cursing.
Image source: peppermintsquids, Andrea Piacquadio
#23
Had one person download a free student version of software that they used instead of the one the company paid for. Almost cost the company a decent amount of money. Now everything is locked down on everyone’s computer to the point that I can’t delete desktop icons without having an admin. The software was a free version from a different company, so basically downloaded a competitor’s free software to use for our companies profit. A few of you have raised great points on security from viruses which is valid. I just wish some things weren’t locked down, which makes it annoying to contact IT frequently.
Image source: HNY_BVDGER, Lukas
#24
That only full timers could take out the trash for food handling departments. One worker in the bakery had taken a cart of expired pies to the compactor to toss and simply popped open the plastic container to dig in while at the trash area. Needless to say they put up a camera in that blind spot and fired him. His reasoning was that he had another three days till payday and couldn’t buy lunch. Saddest thing though, if his excuse was true, if he’d only just asked, anyone would have spotted him the money. He was a very good and friendly employee.
Image source: Fubar-is-my-life, Hugo Sykes
#25
Worked as a cashier and supposedly a superior or whatever came to look at the store one day and said us cashiers/floor employees having water bottles up front is not good. So we weren’t allowed to have water bottles out on the floor anymore; so if we wanted water, we’d have to go the back…. Us cashiers talk to many customers a day and we’re going to get thirsty of course, we all thought it was a stupid rule.
Image source: cnvs28, Ketut Subiyanto
#26
There were aloud fans in the building but after one guy every day he would fart in them so the owner took them out but now every day it’s like 90 degrees with like 30 people in there working.
Image source: No-Park-3856, Galvao Menacho
#27
Before cell phones…. I worked in a restaurant and we were allowed to use the phone in the food pantry if needed. Then the bill came and someone was calling those 1800 phone love places! The phone was taken out. Everyone knew it was the weird night cook.
Image source: Dlodancer, Ron Lach
#28
When I was in nursing school, the first year students had skills lab sessions, with supplies included in our required equipment each term. However, we quickly noticed that although our supplies included syringes, it didn’t include any sharps (this was especially relevant the term we were learning how to give various types of injections). When we asked about it, we were told that a student in a previous year had, using those supplies, drained an abscess in her boyfriend’s knee, and had posted about it on social media. She was expelled, and no future students got to practice injections with actual needles.
Image source: Gwywnnydd, Hannah Barata
#29
Wife is a flight attendant and we were able to buy cheap tickets for us, family and friends. Someone sold the cheap tickets to strangers at eBay. No more tickets for family and friends since then…
Image source: Any-Owl8070, Vinh Lam
#30
No dogs. only because some guy thought it would be funny to put his dog on a weak shelf. The shelf broke.
Image source: reddit.com, Nataliya Vaitkevich
#31
No more taxi vouchers after the Christmas party. One guy used it to visit his parents 400km away…
Image source: decredd, Rodolfo Clix
#32
One person couldn’t keep his desk clean so a new rule was established that nobody could have more than 10 items on their desk, including phone, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. And to prevent excess stacking to get around that rule, no items stacked more than three inches.
Image source: persistent_polymath, Joao Jesus
#33
I was hoping for employee’s discount at a Japanese grocery store. However, someone from the past has overused the employee discount in order to give low prices to their friends. Management found out, and they effectively just took the employment discount away. Thanks a lot. You effectively deprived me the one thing I was hoping for in that stressful and boring job.
Image source: KeybladeWielder97, Tianwang Xiao
#34
Netflix is blocked at work. One secretary used to watch Netflix at her desk and nap when there were no calls. I don’t need to watch Netflix at work, but I usually use fast.com to check internet speeds. Every time I check the internet speed, which isn’t that often, I forget and then curse that secretary. She was fired pretty much immediately but her memory lives on.
Image source: SuperstitiousPigeon5, cottonbro studio
#35
All social media and streaming sites are now blocked on work computers, because someone spent all day on social media and watching movies while at work.
Image source: LofiLorraine, Ketut Subiyanto
#36
No sneakers. One manger was obsessed with this girl who was 30 years younger than him (50-20) and her commute was two hours long. She sometimes forgot to change them out and he must have got sick of her turning him down than he mandated a no sneaker clause.
Image source: The68Guns, Ray Piedra
#37
One person complained that he wasn’t ‘trained properly.’ We all now have to do this massively long training workbook during our shift, along with morning weekly quizzes we have to do with training questions. Everyone. I’m pretty sure no other company does this. It’s been weeks and i’m still not finished with it.
Image source: Blundering_Dragon, Christina Morillo
#38
Well, they made the rule that employees have to give their jobs their best hours, days and years of their lives while earning poverty wages and unable to save for the future or self-care just so the one billionaire owner could increase their own profit shares… That person continues to ruin it for everyone.
Image source: HoraceSense, Photo By: Kaboompics.com
#39
We are no longer allowed to say things like “You look nice today”. It’s because unknown to everyone they hired a crazy feminist. One day we heard what sounded like a banshee start to scream and things being thrown. Then hear her screaming how dare they harass her, objectify her and so on. Funny part was it was a woman that said that to her and only said she liked the way her hair was styled.
Image source: johnc5813
#40
I work for a video game company. We’re no longer allowed to have ourselves in the game in any form, because someone couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.
Image source: Forbidder, Deeana Arts
#41
Not allowed to fly paper planes in the office. I work in finance and yes it was my fault. My aim is terrible and my plane “crashed” into a manager from another department who had no sense of humor.
Image source: Expensive-Back-2092, Ron Lach
#42
Big warehouse where we had to drive pallet jacks to get anywhere. For lunch and breaks our department was allowed to head out through the exit close by which saved us a lot of time. I had a boss who had been stealing cigarettes from the cage for months for her 26 year old boyfriend (she was 50+). The higher ups started getting suspicious because the count didn’t match the orders, but it took them a while since she would alter the count because she had access to that. Anyway the other bosses tried to set a trap for her and someone tipped her off that the cops were coming. She hurried and got a box of cigarettes, drove her jack to the end of the aisle near the exit. Her boyfriend was waiting outside; she got in the car and that is when the other leads came out and surrounded the car. Her boyfriend nearly drove over them, and he broke right through the barrier at the entrance. Anyway after that we couldn’t use the exit door anymore.
Image source: reddit.com, Mandiri Abadi
#43
We weren’t allowed to sing karaoke when the bar was empty for a long time because the guy who’s been fired and rehired at least 7 times complained about it.
Image source: MeeseekssBox, Alec Adriano
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