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39 Wild Coworkers That Brought Infamy To People’s Workplaces
Being in the office can be a bit like attending a masquerade ball. People are dressed up and many are wearing a mask. Most people try to be on their best behavior at work. You're probably not going to see the crazy, unhinged side of them that they might display in peak-hour traffic, in a nightclub, or even in the comfort of their own home. But sometimes, the mask slips, revealing a person you could have sworn you've never met before.
Someone asked, "What's something that a co-worker once did that lives rent-free in your head?" and the comments read like they deserve their own Netflix work drama series. Some were funny, like the guy who brought a goat to work once, while others were more disturbing, like the dude who robbed a bank during his lunch break and casually came back to work after committing the crime.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the best, and many might have you wondering if you really know Nancy or Paul from the corner cubicle as well as you think you do.
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#1
I worked as a bartender at a night club and my coworker lived on a farm. His parents were away and he had to look after this goat that was sick or something, anyways we were short staffed and he got called in and he brought the goat to work because he couldn’t leave it by itself. The goat was just galavanting all night around the club making friends.
We spend so much of our time at work that it's only natural that some of our colleagues start to become like family. That's despite many people not always showing their true colors at the office.
Decades of research have found that workplace friendships benefit us more than we might realize. Not only do they help improve productivity and morale, but our work friends can also provide practical support by sharing their knowledge and data.
Then, of course, there's the emotional and moral support that we give and receive to our office besties. We're going through similar or the same struggles and therefore, have a deep understanding of each other's challenges and hurdles.
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#2
Had me fired when i was pregnant. It’s all good though cause i won the law suit on my son’s first birthday. Poetic.
#3
He told me to clean the bar [because] that was not a man job. I smiled [and] did it. Next day he was fired since I was the bar manager.
Research has found that people are feeling more disconnected from their colleagues than they once did before. Only 38% of Americans polled by Gallup in 2024 said they felt like someone at work cared about them. That figure is nearly 10 percentage points from January 2020. A separate American Psychological Association survey found that a third of respondents actually feel lonely when they're working.
This could have something to do with the Covid pandemic, which saw people shifting to remote or hybrid work. It goes without saying that not seeing your co-workers face-to-face can make it challenging to forge friendships with them.
#4
My desk buddie quit and on her last day she left early and flipped the entire office off through the glass windows walking to the exit. 20 minutes later she walks back into the office bright red with her head down… she forgot her phone.
#5
My fav coworker at the bank got fired over something silly due to another coworker reporting her. I caught the silly reporter allowing a wife to take money out of her husbands acct that she wasn’t a signer on and I’ve never reported someone so fast in my life. Lady got fired that same week. I got revenge for my girl.
#6
An old guy,the last day before his retiring said to the big head in front of all the team „if the cleaning stuff didn’t come for 1 week everyone would notice,if you don’t come for a week,no one will.“
As mentioned earlier, having friends at work can be beneficial to your productivity, happiness and mental health. It also tends to give you a sense of belonging, so it helps to at least try to cultivate a few co-worker friendships.
If you're struggling to forge meaningful connections, experts say it's more effective to bond with one or two co-workers rather than all of them at once.
"Those initial friendships can bridge later ones, easing the social burden of introductions over time," explains the WorkTango team. "These relationships can start small, with virtual or in-person coffee chats or striking up a conversation over a shared interest."
#7
My coworker went on his lunch, robbed the bank across the street, and CLOCKED BACK IN from lunch. He tried hiding the money in the store and the SWAT team came.
#8
This new girl worked for like an hour, she asked if she could run out to her car to grab something and I see her on the cameras zooming out of the parking lot.
#9
A girl quit and sent an email to the entire project (400 people plus) (pre-covid so we were in office) blasting upper management for having adult relations with each other and putting basically everybody’s business out.
You don't even need much knowledge of a colleague's outside life to strike up a friendship with them, although based on some of the stories on this list, you may want to be cautious who you associate yourself with.
If there's a colleague who seems like they might make a loyal, fun and great friend, you can get the ball rolling by maybe giving them a compliment on their work or offering to collaborate on a project with them. It's better to do this in person, via a call, or video chat, rather than sending a text or email.
#10
She called out of work because she said a tree fell on her car, it was the 3rd time she called out in less than 3 weeks of working there so our manager asked for proof, hours later she sent back two pictures of a tree on a HOUSE, but the two pictures were not of the same house, and we immediately found them on google. Our manager confronted her and then she said her grandpa [passed away].
#12
Hit someone with his car…the SAFETY guy, of all people. But yeah he drove off…so it was a hit and run. Safety guy was thankfully okay. They got it on camera. Dude got fired.
Of course, there are some downsides to making friends at work, especially when or if the boundaries between work relationships and personal friendships become a bit too blurred.
"Challenging situations can arise that can affect not only the individuals involved, but entire teams and even organizational culture. These entanglements create tension points where professional responsibilities and personal loyalties collide," warns the Best Corporate Events & Team Building site. For example, if a manager promotes one of their friends and overlooks other candidates.
The experts caution that even if decisions are made with "legitimate professional justification," there can still be a perception of favoritism.
Another risk is when two friends who work together have a disagreement outside of the office. This can easily spill over and affect productivity, team collaborations, mood and morale in the workplace.
#13
A girl my sister worked with stole her credit card out of her purse, went shopping, came back and put her credit card back in her purse and then proceeded to show my sister what she bought. She was arrested a while later for frauds, theft and was jailed. She was even featured in a magazine or newspaper story.
#16
Years ago, a guy I worked with in a bank stole 10 thousand dollars and tried blaming me. An investigator came in and questioned all of us and he ended up getting fired. Not long after, he was charged with selling illegal substances.
#17
He no-showed his shift and later that day, he showed up to order a burger. Another day, he showed up at his shift only to make himself a burger and leave.
#18
When I was still a nursing assistant, one of the patients passed away. The nurse had a few patients with similar last names and called the wrong family to tell them their father had passed. Didn’t verify name, just said where she was from and that she had some bad news about their father. The family was extremely upset as their father was only there for a colonoscopy. They were relieved to find out he was still alive. But that nurse never lived it down.
#19
Faked her pregnancy for months by stuffing balled up clothing under her shirt. Planned a whole baby shower and went around asking opinions about decor and food. Then she quit shortly before her “due date”. My assistant manager saw her at a bar taking shots, with no fake belly.
#20
Sprayed my pepper spray that was attached to my keychain in a board room cuz she didn’t know what it was. The dealership had to be evacuated, and a woman was coughing so hard she burst a blood vessel in her eye.
#22
Coworker tried to put a whole insulated METAL soup container in the microwave and I called them out. Flash forward to later in the day they told me “embarrassed them & made them feel “small”. You literally could have burnt down the building. Hello??
#23
Literally was about to quit this was at McDonald’s and a customer was being annoying . Handed his resignation in and beat tf out a customer in the parking lot.
#26
A girl I used to work with was presumably doing an experiment to see how much mould would grow in her coffee mug on her desk she would cover it every day with a paper towel. We all knew and watched her tend to it for weeks it was so weird she would come in and check on it, replace the paper towel etc.
#28
She got “injured” at work and had to call out for a couple of weeks. Camera showed her staging the fall 😂 the whole set up was crazy.
#29
RN here. Had a new hire nurse fresh out of orientation who was supposed to inject 10mg of Loxapine to an agitated patient. Instead she injected 100mg.
#30
I worked at this restaurant and there was this guy that worked in the kitchen that would always eat the leftovers that people would leave on their plates.
#32
One of my managers came into work with a new truck, took his girlfriend out to concerts within a week. Turns out he was stealing 10k from work and now will do time.
#35
Gave a confused patient a lap dance with their tele sitter watching. She did not get fired.
#38
I called in sick one weekend but really I was at concerts and meet and greets… they called me I faked sick on the phone, monday came and I got called into the office, my co-worker sent the pictures of me at the concert to our manager and PRINTED THEM OFF.
#39
Someone took a sick day so they could go to a family event. A photo of them with their family was posted on socials. Co-worker took the photo and reported them to HR.
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