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From time to time problems arise in any workplace. Sometimes, it’s the colleague on your left, other times it’s the manager getting into trouble, and on some occasions, you’re the one to take the blame. And while we do really mess up and have to take responsibility for our actions here and there (no one was born a perfect employee!), some superiors do seem to really enjoy putting us down, for whatever crazy reasons.

Recently, labor activist Katie Harrington initiated a Twitter thread asking people “what’s the weirdest thing you ever got in trouble at work for?” She also shared how she was “accused of being disrespectful because the six people I CCd on an email weren’t listed in order of seniority.”

Read on for some of the most facepalm-worthy responses down below! They will make you wonder what on earth is going on in employers’ heads, and how we all deserve a medal for putting up with it and showing up with a smile 5 days a week.

#1

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

PattyDahlgren Report

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Jayne Kyra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

R@pe. The censored word is r@pe. I get blurring out cuss words, BP, but this is taking it too far!

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#3

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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alex mitchell
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A girl I worked with got me pulled up to HR because I liked to say indubitably. She said I used big words, which made her feel dumb. When asked for an example, she tried to say indubitably, but couldn't.

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While making mistakes is only human and your workplace is not an exception, depending on what kind of mistake it is, your employment status can be jeopardized by a single slip. Moreover, if you're a new employee, the company isn't convinced yet that you're indispensable. In that case, building your name all the way from that first good impression to the top is another job to do, but there are some simple things that you can do that may indeed get you into trouble.

If you tend to pat yourself and not others on the back at work, you’re communicating that you don’t care about the success or contributions of others on the team. Of course, self-gratitude and self-motivation are important, but you should also express your appreciation to your boss and fellow employees to show that you care for them.

#5

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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NsG
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was this at a McJob? I would love to know ex-boss's justification for denying the leave otherwise.

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Wearing your heart on your sleeve, aka too much honesty, should be better left at home. If you’re often vocally stressed or you openly display negative emotions, they will hurt your reputation and will probably have an impact on your team. No employer would be willing to put up with an overly negative attitude.

Those who avoid expressing their views and opinions at all costs may also get into trouble. While it may feel peaceful to you, your manager may get the impression that you’re coasting. If you’re really afraid of getting pushed back, remember that the reason why you were selected for your workplace in this extremely competitive market is because you were promising of your great work contributions, more than other competitors for the position. It’s only fair that they also want to see you in action and not just backing into your safety zone.

#7

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Marcellus II
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It has been brought to our attention you are absent from work only during work hours... very very sus.

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#8

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She should have reported the creeps to the police for child prostitution. After she phoned her father to tell him that her boss was a pimp. First to get at that place gets to call the shots.

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#9

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Rench
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I had a boss that didn't want to give me the night off on the day that my first child was born. He didn't fire me but he grumbled a lot.

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#10

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"So where are you located?" "I'm sorry, I can't reveal that information to customers because that's classified information that they could use to rob us."

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#11

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Bobby
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My CO from the Navy would have died laughing, the chief of the boat however would have killed me

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#13

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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snipergun
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Announcement for all male colleagues: if you can't wash your dishes, call your mom.

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BoredHuman
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked a security desk afternoon shift at a luxury condo . I was the only female. The men would leave their dirty coffee cups and garbage for me to clean every day. We had our own lunch room. ALL the men. The superintendent, the male security staff etc. I cleaned it cause I could not stand the mess and did not want to make waves. . One day I arrive and there is left over food and garbage everywhere. Someone had booked a family lunch in our party room and given the left overs to staff. I was told to clean it. this was Friday. I refused to clean it. I left a note for the female cleaning staff to not do it if the male guards asked and told the weekend guards not to touch it. By Monday it REEKED and could be smelled in the lobby. The female cleaner told me the security supervisor called her in to clean it up and she returned with a bottle of clean and a sponge and handed it to him. I still get pissed off thinking about the disrespect.

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Miguel justino C
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone actually said this. You’re a woman do the dishes. That’s insane.

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Toby Flenderson
Community Member
2 years ago (edited)

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Or it could be she is omitting that she happened to be the junior-most employee, to whom that task usually falls.

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cjhumphreys251 avatar
JoanieBalonie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel your pain. I worked many years for the federal government. Actually had a guy walk down the hall into my office to tell me that the stapler in the copy room was out of staples. My response was "and your point is"? Didn't get in trouble but the guy was mad.

timr avatar
Tim R
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then you should get mad at them for not tuning up and detailing your car for you...

idan avatar
Chiuki
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unless you're the actual dishwasher, tell them to kick rocks. If anyone forces you to wash dishes, do like my little brother. He purposely did it so badly - left them less than clean and with soap on them - nobody wanted him to do it again.

lyndsayn17 avatar
Winx
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I got in trouble for the same thing. The next day I replaced all the dishes, silverware, and cups with paper ones and put up a sign saying if you cant take care of real dishes you can't have them.

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SPQRBob
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well gosh! I don't see that duty in my job description, nor was it discussed during my interview, and at no time did you explicitly direct me to do it. I'm afraid that I will need to contest this write-up directly with HR unless you put down in writing EXACTLY why you believe I should have just known that this was my job. (*Inside your head: Please, please, please be stupid enough to write the real reason...!*)

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Dolly_of TheCowboy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had jobs during uni. One was at an optical dispensary shop run by a Hillsong Church member (is important). All the employees bar myself were members. First Monday I start the other girl on FoH shows me round etc and the (male) opticians rooms are bomb sites. Food and plates and stuff everywhere. I made comment. She said "oh they don't have to clean they are men. The women here clean. It's God's commandment". I raised eyebrows but a job's a job until it got to Friday and the owner handed me cash that was 10% less than the agreed amount we had both signed when I was interviewed. I queried. He said "that's your tithe to the church". I pointed out I was not a member nor agreed to it. He maintained it was God's will and I needed to obey as I was a woman and should be grateful he was saving my soul. Told him exactly where he could stick his tithing, his beliefs about women and his job and noped out of there. Worth it to see the shocked look on his face when I did not bend to his wishes

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WalksAroundMountains
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My first day at work as a female in a male profession, an older guy caught me in the break room and asked me when I'd be cleaning the fridge. I asked him to repeat his question, thinking I'd heard wrong. He said since I was female, I'd be experienced in cleaning kitchens. I asked him to clean that fridge himself, since he'd been using it for the last decades. He disliked me ever after, but everybody else thought it was hilarious. And nobody ever troubled me again.

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My O My
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Had to re-wash the dishes I washed the day befor because they had water stains. I couldn't dry them off because there was no towel. The kitchen towels I was then told were kept in the mens changing room. So I (f 15) was not only expected to clean everybodies dishes they left in the lunch room but also to go to the mens changing room to get the supplies I needed. No. That wasn't my actual job.

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Danie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't find this funny. Getting into trouble for such reason is revolting.

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Katinka Min
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We need to stop using 'lol' for crap like this! if your superiors see you as a kind of cleaner/homemaker instead of a volleague you'll be getting nowehere with your career.

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McWiggins
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This makes me so angry at that management and the coworkers. Sexist babies.

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#16

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nothing more satisfying than to be able to humiliate your boss in public. "Yes, I found the solution my bossed claimed, by not looking at the symptoms, but by looking for the cause."

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#17

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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snipergun
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even better if it confuses clients, they might take you seriously.

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#21

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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MagicalUnicorn
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

hope you learned :D to be hones at my first job i learned very fast that working efficiently for higher ups means 'more time to do other people's job'

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#22

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Marcellus II
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only severed heads can be weighed accurately. There's not just loss of fluids, but also some of the weight gets carried by the shoulders etc so measurement is incorrect. Or so I'm told.

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#23

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Pheebs
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love when people are baffled by others do math in their head. Had a teacher just stare at me once when I gave him an answer to fraction subtraction. Wasn’t even a math class, it was photography. He was showing us how to cut print mats, and asked someone what the difference was between two measurements. Not sure why he was so surprised.

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#24

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Jayne Kyra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For those as confused as I was: "They are the exact same. Clip, but apparently if you put the larger loop to the back and the smaller loop to the front it gives more support and is the correct way to do it."

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#25

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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KJ
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We had a new start that got a complaint made about him by an older co-worker. They were being trained and following one of my crib sheets, crib sheet said click "return" (easier for non computer using older guy to follow), new start pressed enter instead. Big drama and lots of explaining that they did the same thing.

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#26

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Been watching video's from US expats working in Europe who are all flabbergasted that people pack up and go home at the end of the day and there's no boss getting furious about it.

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#27

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Your highness and most esteemed employer, to my indescribable sorrow I am compelled to inform you that it is impossible for me to visit your temple of underpaid labor because of a temporary weakness in my mental health. I will do my best to overcome this barrier in my productivity as quickly as possible in order to be able to serve you optimally again as soon as possible.

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#28

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Marcellus II
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

On Monday, half the employees shuffle in like zombies, so I'm not sure why the receptionist could be surprised.

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#30

Employees-Trouble-Work-Weirdest-Reasons

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Katinka Min
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, actually, with the accent it's pretty racist. So a brief talk about this is not a bad idea.

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