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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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#16

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WilvanderHeijden
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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
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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
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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

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

Don't know who they work for. MY boss insists that I leave at quitting time - may have something to do with the fact that he has to pay overtime for anything over eight hours.

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

That's literally the only thing I enjoyed about my last job before retiring. I was an hourly employee at the corporate office of a major candy company in the U.S. Hourly employees there were treated like the factory employees - we had to clock in & out on an old fashioned time clock with an actual paper card; if we were late, we got "tardy" marks & written up after 3 tardies, fired after 5. The best thing was that no one could contact us before or after working hours (if they did, we got paid!), & we were required to be gone from our desks at clock-out time. There were soooo many nitpicky, childish rules at that place, happy that they got sold to a major European candy company & changes were made. But I'm livin' the dream now, I'm lucky enough to be retired.

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

Especially if you’re salaried. Just try comparing your hourly rate, for instance, for 50 hours of work to your 40 hour rate plus time and a half for overtime. An example will make that clearer. Say your 40 hour salary is $800, or $20/hr. Your OT rate would be $30/hr. If you worked 10 extra hours that week’s pay period, that would be an extra $300 in your paycheck. But if you’re salaried and work an extra 10 hours in a one week pay period, you don’t make extra—-in fact you make less per hour. $800 divided by 40 is $20/hr. But $800 divided by 50 is $16/hr. See why they just love to offer you salary instead of hourly?

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

The work culture in the Netherlands is very fair, and work-life balance is important. Even the boss is out of there at 5. Any work outside of your contracted hours must be compensated somehow. Cash or time-for-time.

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

I had been working 65-70 hours a week when I was diagnosed with a heart condition. My cardiologist immediately put me on a 40 hour schedule, including commuting, and wrote a letter to HR for my personnel record. The first thing my boss said was, "well s**t, we’re really busy. How long is this going to last?" It lasted 7 months and every few weeks he’s ask me if I could work longer hours.

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

I'm a technology contractor for an American apparel company that typically works 50-60 hours but only get paid for 40. It started off as occurring one week a month, but after awhile, it became consistently every week required that amount of work. When I griped, I was told to consider myself a salary employee...just without paid time off, paid holiday, or any benefits. Since everyone else does the same, they never know their true capacity and when they actually need to hire more resources

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#27

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

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
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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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