40 Unbelievable Work-Related Horror Stories

It would be hard to believe until you remember we live in a capitalist hellscape

Kylin

• Published in Interesting
• August 28, 2022

The average full-time worker spends over 2,000 hours per year at their workplace. That’s just based on the basic 40-hour work week and doesn’t take into account overtime, salaried positions that inevitably end up being over 40 hours a week.

If you’re not one of the lucky ones who have managed to transition to fully working at home due to the pandemic, then there’s also the time you have to take to get to and from your job. Over a third of our day, for five days a week, we spend at work.

All that time spent at work opens up the opportunities to build relationships with people we may not have otherwise met, as well as provide an environment to learn and grow our skillsets through hands-on experience. Though, it’s not always a good thing.

Some people just have clashing personalities, and there are those in leadership positions who let their title completely go to their head and over-inflate their egos, which can cause disastrous fall out when they feel slighted.

Not to mention positions that are customer-facing. Those jobs are a special kind of torture.

Knowing that even the most perfect job has its downsides, a Redditor posed the question: “What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever had to deal with at work?” And the answers flooded in, with over 3,800 comments and counting.

Keep scrolling to read some of the most mind-boggling and outrageous stories that were shared.

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever had to deal with at work?

1. Boss who sacrificed their social life for their job ends up inviting coworkers to her bachelorette party

2. They got fired for not participating in workplace games

3. Cartoon character was "too cartoony"

4. The after church crowd on Sunday afternoons while working at McDonalds

5. Telephone line installer/repairman was sent on a repair and ended up working with an elderly woman in mental distress

6. IKEA customer demanded a return after they accidentally tore the instruction manual in half

7. Boss was toxic AF

8. Contractor working on a new home build got stuck upstairs after another set of workers demolished the staircase

9. Damned if they do, damned if they don't sort of situation

10. Employee tried to balance what was best for his family and coworkers and their boss decides to be an insensitive a-hole

11. A group of grown-ass men with 1 brain cell shared among them

12. Maybe she was confusing "gluten free" with "vegan"?

13. Okay, but, Prince had some great shoes

14. The film industry has their fair share of Karen's, too

15. Co-worker went to extreme measures to get paid

16. An atheist working in a very religious country

17. Customer brought their dog into a grocery store and didn't clean up after it

18. Pubic hair debacle at a call center

19. Customers wanting impressions on top of food service

20. Central America Tour Guide had a LOT of stories

21. Woman had an odd request when dropping her dog off to be groomed

22. Teacher had an incredible student with terrible parents

23. A shitshow, in other words

24. Hired an influencer who ended up eating paint

25. Gym goer thought the employees were the ones to handle wild geese outside

26. Rich woman who had no idea how to function in the world

27. Private assistant to a billionaire worked and lived next door alone for a year during the start of COVID

28. Got a write-up for leaving work to be with wife during medical emergency

29. Another wild goose story

30. A grown-ass man who didn't know how to properly use a urinal

31. Nanny experienced several forms of sexual harassment and assault

32. Co-worker challenged Murphy's Law

33. A party got out of control at a bowling alley

34. Coworker chewed out new employee on their first day for leaving rotting food in fridge

35. Intern tried faxing his belt

36. Cashier was robbed at gunpoint, and managment tried to make them finish their shift

37. Boss had a bunch of weird porn on their company issued laptop

38. HR at non-profit that hired legally blind people had to figure out details about a fight between two employees, with 4 blind witnesses

39. Another grown-ass man not knowing how to function in society

40. A teacher's aide with an obscene amount of ableism

Oof, some of those stories were definitely a lot. If anything, they can give us an appreciation for our own less-than-perfect jobs.

What about you, what is the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever had to deal with at work? Let us know all about it in the comments section below, and be sure to share this with your friends!

Kylin