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Some coworkers are just God sent. You make best friends, you fall in love, you meet your idols, you find your team players to climb up that long career ladder with. They make your lunch breaks less lonely, meetings funnier and deadlines… well, the deadlines are the same no matter what.
But sometimes your coworkers are just the opposite. They make doing your job harder than it already is, and everything in between way less enjoyable. If you are dealing with a coworker like that, let me tell you, you are not the only one. There are millions of people out there handling the most annoying, irrational, or even plain evil colleagues because… well, because it's what you’re supposed to do, right?
So if you're too tired to deal with this on your own, this post compiled by Bored Panda is a safe place to vent and talk about hard things. Pull your seat closer and scroll through the stories about coworkers from hell by sharing your own experiences in the comments below!
And when you're done, more stories about difficult coworkers await in our previous features here and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
All Of My Coworkers Agreed To Dress Up As Smurfs For Halloween. I'm The Only One To Go Through With It
RELATED:
#2
My Coworker Told Me That Everyone Dressed Up At My Office. Now I’m The Only Person Dressed Like Captain Kirk Amongst Khakis And Polo Shirts
#3
Yesterday This Guy Put Ghost Pepper Popcorn In Our Industrial Microwave At Work For Over 5 Minutes. The Office Was Filled With Black Smoke Burning People's Eyes
No one could breathe. He basically maced the building. We were moved to the other end so we could keep working.
Bored Panda spoke with Christine Mitterbauer, a licensed and ICF-approved career coach and serial entrepreneur who shared some great insights on dealing with difficult coworkers. So pull your seat closer.
Mitterbauer said that “it’s important that you stand your ground and don’t let yourself be intimidated by difficult coworkers, whether they’re negative, talking down to you, or making your work difficult in any other way.”
“Of course, you can try to interact as little as possible with the coworker, but that isn’t always possible,” the career coach added. Moreover, a great skill to practice is becoming better at having difficult conversations, she said.
#4
As A Practical Joke, Some Co-Workers Wrapped My Office In Foil. In The Process, My 30" LCD Monitor Was Accidentally Turned On, And It Boiled Itself
Here's what it looked like when I unwrapped it
#5
My Coworkers Have A Sick Sense Of Humor
#6
My Coworker Lied To My Boss That I Could Cover His Shift
When dealing with difficult coworkers, always focus on the behavior you would like to address and which is bothering you, and never go down the road of stating negative traits or characteristics about that person, Mitterbauer argues.
“Stick to negative behavior as that’s more objective and can more easily be verified by everyone involved. Practice exactly what you want to say beforehand, and consider getting other allies on board as well. Sometimes it is necessary to involve management, but it’s often better to only do this once you can demonstrate to the manager what you yourself have attempted to tackle the issue,” she explained.
#7
I Work At A Place Where At The End Of Shifts We Split The Tips Evenly Between The 2-3 People That Work
We had more than 50$ of tips today and my coworker had to leave about 10 minutes early. She ended up taking all but ~2.50$ and management won't do anything about it.
#8
Someone Brought This To The Office Potluck
#9
It's Always A Pleasure To Realize That Your Coworkers Don't Know How To Close A Box Properly... Right When You're Ready To Go Home
Most people have had coworkers they don’t get along with, Mitterbauer continues, but she says there’s a difference between not being great friends and them making your working life miserable. “When their behavior starts affecting your work and/or you are thinking about this issue in your free time, possibly dreading going to work the next day, that’s when it becomes an issue.”
#10
Coworker Announced That She And Her SO Are Finally Pregnant, I Got Her A Box Of Pastries To Celebrate And When I The Party Was About To Start I Open The Fridge At Work And See This
#11
My Coworker Put Straight Printer Ink In One Of My Gloves At Work. This Will Take A Week Or Two Minimum To Come Off
#12
Apparently Someone Has Been Munching My Donuts And It Was Supposed To Be For My Kids After Work
#13
Came Back To Work So See This Prominently Displayed In A Coworker’s Cube
#14
Coworkers Not Cleaning Their Hands Before Using The Oven Mitts
#15
This Is How My Coworker Avoids Taking Out His Garbage
#16
I Won A $5 Bet Against My Coworker. I Came Into The Work This Morning To Find This On My Desk. Thanks, Brad
#17
My Colleague Drove With Me In My Company Vehicle. She Left This Piece Of Gum On The Door
Scout Finch 3 years ago
Tell her she left something in the car or return it by smashing it in the middle of her forehead, but then you'd have to find a way to extract it.
#18
Coworker Didn't Know How To Take A Screenshot And Decided To Photocopy The Phone
#19
My Colleague's Desktop
Eva Bryson 3 years ago
And then they complain to the IT staff about how slow their computer is.
#20
My Coworker Never Shuts Sharpies All The Way And Wonders Why They Dry Out
#21
My Coworker Hasn’t Washed Their Coffee Mug In Years
#22
So Remember My Coworker's Coffee Mug From A Few Weeks Back. Here's The Keyboard
#23
My Coworker Decided To Put Two Kinds Of Candies Together
#24
Coworkers Keep Stealing My Stapler At Work. I've Made It Clear It's Not To Leave My Desk
#25
Coworker Hit My Car And Acted As If She Didn't Know Who Hit It
#26
I Think My Coworker Doesn't Like Sharing Anymore
Sleazy Weaver 3 years ago
maybe YOU'RE the a*****e coworker if you think you can just go through your coworker's snacks to the point where they have to write notes to keep you out.
#27
My Colleagues, Everyone
#28
While Looking For A File In My Coworker's Drawer, I Found This. Thing
Chicken Tacos R Better 3 years ago
LMAO YOUR PROFILE PICTURE MAKES THIS COMMENT 100 TIMES BETTER
Load More Replies...
Ellen Larkin 3 years ago
It looks like they literally keep every piece of gum they chew and I see in the corner they've got three stacks of other kinds of gum that's just so disgusting
Skylar Jaxx 3 years ago
Yup that's what I just wrote thought Play-Doh first then balloons then my eyes seen the floss n then I seen the gum pks I was like three of them.
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Alicia Kessinger Bader 3 years ago
If you pick it up, preferably with gloves, remove the paper on the bottom, you'll probably find an alcoholic beverage inside.
Natalie Doran 3 years ago
Why in the holiest of ****s would you make a ****ing dildo out of gum, much less bring it to work? It would probably cost less to get a real one!
Deborah Smith-Evans 3 years ago
EWWWW! That's Just Nasty. And if it is what I think it is a call to H. R. Is appropriate!
Brandi VanSteenwyk 3 years ago
Not an adult toy that I would want to play with! More germs than the real thing no doubt.
Janet Graham 3 years ago
This is not a file drawer. It is her junk drawer. Did you ask for the file?
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
A dildo made of chewing gum is not something I'd thought I'd see, or say, in my entire life.
Lillian Swaim 3 years ago
It's not chewing gum, the colors aren't right, maybe some kind of tacky erasure?
Isle_of_stressed_pilots 3 years ago
Why are y'all saying its a dildo? It's literally just a pile of chewing gum. Its very impressive tho
Gillian Pioske 3 years ago
I absolutely HATE gum, Ive never had it before, but it grosses me out to the point where if someone is chewing gum with their mouth open I will almost throw up, not in a joking way, a literal way
Davo gifman 3 years ago (edited)
Getting paid minimum wage forces one to become...creative when seeking out sex toys.
Leroy Gonzalez 3 years ago
Gumby!? You have really let yourself go but I love how multicultural you have become.
#29
My New Coworker's Company Rental Car
#30
Coworkers Replacing The Paper Towel Roll
#31
Found At The Communal Coffee Pot At My Corporate Office
#32
This Is At My Work. She Does This Every Single Day
#33
Coworker Walks Around The Office Barefoot
#34
Coworker Forgot Something In His Work Truck
#35
My Coworker Eats His Pickles Like A Psychopath
#36
A Coffee Pot That I Discovered In A Coworker's Office. Wonder What The Inside Is Like At This Point
Laura Mende (Human) 3 years ago
AURGH!!!!! Please tell me this was a lockdown-related accident...
#37
My Coworker Has Been Complaining About Lack Of Available Space On Her Work Computer
#38
The Side Of My Coworkers Desk Where They Leave Dead Skin And Nail Clippings
#39
The Way My Coworkers Cut This Cake
#40
My Coworker Stocks The Coolers At My Work, And His Dandruff Is On Every Single Can
#41
Someone Cut The Tops Off The Cinnamon Crunch Bagels At The Office
#42
When You Are Off For Christmas But Your Colleagues Have To “Work”
#43
My Colleagues Marked My Lost Safety Goggles With Permanent Marker
Dave Smith 3 years ago
Just go over the writing with a dry wipe marker and then wipe with a paper towel. Comes straight off
#44
When Your Coworker Tries To Take Two Pallets Down At A Time With A Forklift
Alex Boomhower 3 years ago
Someone broke one box of beer. It smelled awful. I can't even begin to imagine how terrible it must smell here
#45
A Coworker Tried To Sharpen My Good Kitchen Knifes With An Angle Grinder
#46
My Coworker Made Sour Cream And Onion Pringles Cake. Oh God Why
#47
The Interior Of A Coworker's Truck. Just The Tip Of The Iceberg With This Gentleman
#48
Office Mates Chair
#49
My Coworker Needs Her Office Grocery Privileges Taken Away
#50
The Way My Coworker Eats Sushi
#51
My Coworker Likes To Wander Into My Office For Private Calls Because It's Quieter In Here. Lucky Me
#52
Today Is My Birthday. My Coworker Did This To My Cake
#53
Coworker Got Stabbed (She's Fine)
#54
So I Asked My Coworker To Fill The Sink With Water
#55
Found In The Break Room At Work. How Can You Be This Lazy?
#56
My Passive Aggressive Coworker Saw Me Shut A Slightly Open Drawer On My Way To The Bathroom. Came Back Out To This
#57
This Knife Blade Was 15 Days Old. Still Factory Sharp, When I Handed It To A Coworker Who Wanted To Borrow My Pliers. He Had It For 15 Mins
#58
People Who Leave The Sink Like This At Work
Official_Blink 3 years ago
I dont understand how some people manage to do the dishes without complaining 🗿 When I do it , One piece of food touches me and Blahrg! I'll puke ...
#59
A Coworker Forgot To Put The Waste Bin Back. I Found This 6 Hours Later
#60
My Coworker Let's His Dishes Soak In The Bathroom Sink
#61
Someone At Work Always Flips The Toilet-Role This Way. I Flip It Back Several Times A Day, But He Doesn't Give Up
#62
Seriously?
Francisco Manuel Teruel Gutiérrez 3 years ago
I can't find a better place in the image, actually.
#63
When My Coworkers Do This
#64
When Your Coworkers May Have Actually Been Born In A Barn
#65
Hope My Meme Helps My Coworkers See How Lazy They Are
#66
When Coworker Forgets To Deal With Pizza Dough He Made
#67
Some Of My Coworkers Will Just Take Stuff From The Middle Of A Pallet While Stocking
#68
I Worked 14 And A Half Hours Yesterday This Is What I Walked Into Today At 8:30. Any Other Dish Washer Would Be Pissed
#69
Every Morning This Is Sitting In The Sink At Work
#70
My Coworkers Have Left Three Sharp Knives Blade Up In The Cutlery Basket Under The Sink
Mad McQueen 3 years ago
My husband will do that at home when he does the dishes. I get poked a lot. I have told him not to. Recently I'll put all the cutlery away but leave the stabbies there for him to get poked. It's slowly working.
#71
I Saw Steve Wozniak Speak And Asked A Coworker To Take My Picture In Front Of Him. The Dude Couldn't Even Focus
#72
Coworkers Always Leave A Few Seconds On The Microwave Timer When They Take Their Food Out
Yettichild 3 years ago
This is a pet peeve of mine. I have no idea why it makes me so angry, but it does.
#73
My Coworker Brought Ingredients For Raw Meat Sandwiches
#74
I'm Glad My Coworkers Wear Masks With Zero Complaints, But C'mon, At Least Dispose Of Them Properly
#75
How A Coworker Left His Place While In Home Office
#76
How My Coworker Named The July Folder
#77
After Telling My Coworker How Much I Enjoy The Oddlysatisfying Subreddit. She Started Doing This. Every. Day
#78
This Is My Coworker's Phone
#79
My Colleague Hasn’t Removed The Plastic From The Keyboard For Years
#80
My 40-Year-Old Coworker Gave A Presentation. This Was His Set Up
Pepper Sergent 3 years ago
I'm 40 years old and this is a certified monstrosity. Age has nothing to do with it.
#81
M&M's On Counter At Work. My Diabetic Coworker, Who Cannot Have Any, Thinks I'm The Devil
#82
Asked A Coworker To Call The Cops While I Deescalated A Situation And To Have Them Not Run When They See Me Talking On The Phone. His Response
#83
May I Present: My Coworkers
#84
The Cable Of My Colleague's Phone At Work
#85
My Coworker Dropped A Pallet Of Eggs, And I Got Assigned To Go Trough Every Single Egg Box And Inspect Every Single Egg To Ensure They're Not Broken
#86
Coworkers Not Collapsing Their Cardboard Before Putting It In The Bin
Stephanie A Mutti 3 years ago
The point of breaking down boxes is to punch the s&&& out of them and get your aggression out. Its truly liberating. Folks who just toss boxes into the trash whole are missing out.
#87
My Coworker Always Leaves The Last Bit In The Bottle And Puts Them In A Corner
Candy_Sneke! 3 years ago
You should pour them all into a couple bottles until they're full, then give them to your coworker
#88
I've Had This Rubber Band Ball For 6 Years, Carefully Preserving Its Shape By Removing One Band At A Time. I Let A Colleague Borrow It For One Day, And She Destroyed It
#89
My Coworker Just Zip-Tied My Pliers While I Was Gone For A Minute. Ugh
#90
I Think My Coworkers Are Trying To Murder Me Looney Tunes Style
#91
How A Coworker Decided To Take Some Of My Gum
Izzy Curer 3 years ago (edited)
This is an old photo that often gets put on photo lists about things that are supposed to bother ocd people. I mean you could use this photo and say anything you wanted about it. Claim your coworker/sibling/roomate/dog did it. I don't think this one is true.
#93
Coworkers Lost One Of My Buckyballs
#94
How A Coworker Took Half Of The Last Doughnut At My Friend's Office
#95
Coworker Got Mad Working In The Soup Aisle So They Just Left Their Stuff And Clocked Out
#96
I Know My Coworkers Were Thirsty But Isn’t This A Bit Too Much?
#97
I Left My Coffee Unattended At The Work Bench For A Half Hour And When I Came Back A Coworker Had Taken My Free Coffee Sticker
#98
My Coworker's Idea Of Stacking Dishes Almost Gave Me An Aneurysm
#99
My Coworker Parks In The Same Spot Like This Everyday
over it already 3 years ago
This is arguably irritating, but at least they found a place to do this without taking up 2 spaces. 🤷
#100
My Coworker Never Winds The Cord
#101
We Give Stickers At My Job For Your ID, If You Passed The Temperature Check. My Coworker Had To Cut The Stickers And Did This. Guess Who Has To Cut New Stickers?
#102
Seems Like My Coworkers Think Everyone Needs His Own Roll
#103
While I Was Away From My Desk, One Of My Coworkers Scrambled My Cubes And Left Me A Nice Little Drawing
#104
My Coworker's Lunch Plate
#105
When My Idiot Coworkers Can't Punch A 50+ Page Document Correctly And I Have To Put It Into A Folder
#106
I Told My Coworker We Could Be Stacking Packages More Efficiently. She Keeps Doing This Because My Way Is Too Hard For Her
#107
The Way My Coworker Organised This
jimmy koerner 3 years ago
Remember ROY G BIV doofus red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
#108
Coworker's Cutting Reusable Zip Ties
#109
The Email That Led My Coworker To Tell My Manager That I Was Rude And Disrespectful To Her
Indosidius 3 years ago
Everyone knows that "kind regards" means "go screw yourself" in office language.
#110
So My Work Colleagues Are Angry Because I Did This
ChimeraBubbles 3 years ago
Monster. I bet they squeeze the toothpaste from the middle as well.
#111
Coworker Cut The Cake By Layer
#112
How My Coworker Uses Up Micropipette Tips
#113
How My Coworker Puts His Laptop While He Washes His Hands
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
The straight up theft irritates me. If you didn't pay for it then you can't have it unless someone says you can have it. You're actually making it harder for people to pay their bills.
phil blanque 3 years ago
So many of these hurtful "pranks" indicate an extremely unhealthy work environment, with people taking out their despair and hatefulness on their colleagues. Management should take this very seriously and remove these people from the workplace. The human capacity for revenge and retribution is unlimited...these behaviors will spread.
CA3 3 years ago
Then again, it may be one of the ways these people choose to lighten up the atmosphere in their stressful work environments. I've found it helpful to avoid assuming the worst of a situation.
Load More Replies...
Lynn Stultz 3 years ago
Yup. This list made me mad. That many people sucking is kinda depressing.. considering it's just a drop in the bucket.
Izabela Wilson 3 years ago
The only good thing that came with pandemics was the privilege to work from home. People sucks. Passive-agressive children and pigs like these ones, specially.
Thecoolbonnie 3 years ago
The gross cars and personal hygiene issues almost made me puke.... I'm not super a**l about cleanliness, but COME ON
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
There should be a special place in Hell for some of these people!
Load More Replies...
ʕ º ᴥ ºʔ 3 years ago
thank you so much! I didn't realise there were usernames and so now I will reread this post and others from now on! again, thanks!!
Load More Replies...
Glasia van Duivels 3 years ago
there was once at work someone in the UK didnt want a B day party due to panic attacks when surprise, they did anyways the worker sued them for almost half a million and won.
Bryan GC 3 years ago
There was this time I was working in an office and they did a practical joke, covering all my stuff in plastic wrap and tape. When I arrived I just sat there, doing nothing. They were laughing their asses off, but I was just there sitting on my plastic-wrapped chair. Then the manager comes in, laughs for a while, looks at me and says "aren't you gonna take the plastic off?" And I said "are you gonna pay me for the extra task not described in my contract?" Everyone got quiet, then he ordered my coworkers to clean the mess and apologize. I left the job the next day.
David Butler 3 years ago
Just wait until Generation Z and Alpha take over....total stupid chaos
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
Or all the kids who were homeschooled by day drinkers--
Load More Replies...
Ryza Tigno 3 years ago
The first one reminds me of n incident that happened to a friend of mine. It's near Halloween and she was told to come in to work in costume. She was the only one who came in costume, a popular and cute anime character, she was given an exemplary award while in costume, also got a best in costume award because the boss was actually serious about how everyone should have came in costume.
Memere 3 years ago
Some of it is stupid, etc., but when you have a co-worker who does something like some of these CONSTANTLY, every damned day, even after being told not to - yeah, people have a right to be "affronted".
Load More Replies... Stephanie Paich 3 years ago
The straight up theft irritates me. If you didn't pay for it then you can't have it unless someone says you can have it. You're actually making it harder for people to pay their bills.
phil blanque 3 years ago
So many of these hurtful "pranks" indicate an extremely unhealthy work environment, with people taking out their despair and hatefulness on their colleagues. Management should take this very seriously and remove these people from the workplace. The human capacity for revenge and retribution is unlimited...these behaviors will spread.
CA3 3 years ago
Then again, it may be one of the ways these people choose to lighten up the atmosphere in their stressful work environments. I've found it helpful to avoid assuming the worst of a situation.
Load More Replies... Lynn Stultz 3 years ago
Yup. This list made me mad. That many people sucking is kinda depressing.. considering it's just a drop in the bucket.
Izabela Wilson 3 years ago
The only good thing that came with pandemics was the privilege to work from home. People sucks. Passive-agressive children and pigs like these ones, specially.
Thecoolbonnie 3 years ago
The gross cars and personal hygiene issues almost made me puke.... I'm not super a**l about cleanliness, but COME ON
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
There should be a special place in Hell for some of these people!
Load More Replies... ʕ º ᴥ ºʔ 3 years ago
thank you so much! I didn't realise there were usernames and so now I will reread this post and others from now on! again, thanks!!
Load More Replies... Glasia van Duivels 3 years ago
there was once at work someone in the UK didnt want a B day party due to panic attacks when surprise, they did anyways the worker sued them for almost half a million and won.
Bryan GC 3 years ago
There was this time I was working in an office and they did a practical joke, covering all my stuff in plastic wrap and tape. When I arrived I just sat there, doing nothing. They were laughing their asses off, but I was just there sitting on my plastic-wrapped chair. Then the manager comes in, laughs for a while, looks at me and says "aren't you gonna take the plastic off?" And I said "are you gonna pay me for the extra task not described in my contract?" Everyone got quiet, then he ordered my coworkers to clean the mess and apologize. I left the job the next day.
David Butler 3 years ago
Just wait until Generation Z and Alpha take over....total stupid chaos
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
Or all the kids who were homeschooled by day drinkers--
Load More Replies... Ryza Tigno 3 years ago
The first one reminds me of n incident that happened to a friend of mine. It's near Halloween and she was told to come in to work in costume. She was the only one who came in costume, a popular and cute anime character, she was given an exemplary award while in costume, also got a best in costume award because the boss was actually serious about how everyone should have came in costume.
Memere 3 years ago
Some of it is stupid, etc., but when you have a co-worker who does something like some of these CONSTANTLY, every damned day, even after being told not to - yeah, people have a right to be "affronted".
Load More Replies...
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