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.
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All Of My Coworkers Agreed To Dress Up As Smurfs For Halloween. I'm The Only One To Go Through With It
My Coworker Told Me That Everyone Dressed Up At My Office. Now Iām The Only Person Dressed Like Captain Kirk Amongst Khakis And Polo Shirts
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.
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
I really hate such blatant waste of resources. The monitor, the tin foil
My Coworkers Have A Sick Sense Of Humor
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.
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.
Someone Brought This To The Office Potluck
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.”
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
My Coworker Put Straight Printer Ink In One Of My Gloves At Work. This Will Take A Week Or Two Minimum To Come Off
Apparently Someone Has Been Munching My Donuts And It Was Supposed To Be For My Kids After Work
Came Back To Work So See This Prominently Displayed In A Coworkerās Cube
Coworkers Not Cleaning Their Hands Before Using The Oven Mitts
This Is How My Coworker Avoids Taking Out His Garbage
I Won A $5 Bet Against My Coworker. I Came Into The Work This Morning To Find This On My Desk. Thanks, Brad
My Colleague Drove With Me In My Company Vehicle. She Left This Piece Of Gum On The Door
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.
Coworker Didn't Know How To Take A Screenshot And Decided To Photocopy The Phone
My Colleague's Desktop
And then they complain to the IT staff about how slow their computer is.
My Coworker Never Shuts Sharpies All The Way And Wonders Why They Dry Out
My Coworker Hasnāt Washed Their Coffee Mug In Years
So Remember My Coworker's Coffee Mug From A Few Weeks Back. Here's The Keyboard
My Coworker Decided To Put Two Kinds Of Candies Together
Coworkers Keep Stealing My Stapler At Work. I've Made It Clear It's Not To Leave My Desk
Coworker Hit My Car And Acted As If She Didn't Know Who Hit It
I Think My Coworker Doesn't Like Sharing Anymore
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.
My Colleagues, Everyone
While Looking For A File In My Coworker's Drawer, I Found This. Thing
My New Coworker's Company Rental Car
Coworkers Replacing The Paper Towel Roll
Found At The Communal Coffee Pot At My Corporate Office
This Is At My Work. She Does This Every Single Day
The solution to these people is parking a small car in the gap so they can't get in, you just climb out your window haha. Definitely won't do it again.
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I would literally spend my entire morning (if necessary) to park in the spot to the left. Freaking inches away from her vehicle. I am this level of petty and I speak from experience.
Park close to he4 driverās side door and get someone else to park close on the other side, then wait for her to complain she canāt get in her car so you can point out why.
I did this to someone who parked like this every day, a friend asked if I wasn't worried about her dinging my car as she squeezed in her door, I said no as she wore a cream camel coat and my car hadn't been washed in months.
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I would say something. Or leave her a coloring book page on her windshield so she can practice coloring in the lines.
I would def park on their driver's side they have to crawl through the passenger side. Clearly that's the side they want to useš
Get a coworker to come park on the other side and see if she can climb in from hood > roof > window. Hopefully those new challengers have the keyfob combo that drops all the windows at once!
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Coworker used to park like this all the time. I folded in my mirrors on my vehicle and squeezed in with a few inches on each side. Then climbed out of my sun roof and waited to hear the screaming. Years later we still joke about this incident
Someone with a small car should park next to her, smack up next to her driver's door so she can't get in that way. They would be totally in their space, she would not. I think I would take a photo of the two cars parked side by side in case she destroyed mine. Then set up a camera to record it all. maybe even get out to your car late to help the scream factor. It could be fun.
I'm almost 100% certain I could park a car close to the left of hers. VERY close. And I'm 110% certain I could find someone to park to the right of her just a li-i-i-ittle bit farther across the line than she did. And I am 1000% certain I would be nearby to take a video of her returning to her car.
My ex did that once in a grocery store parking lot to an a*s who did this. He called the cops on us. Cops came and said my ex was legally parked and he wasn't. The guy then proceeded to yell "I pay your wages" etc., To which I calming pointed out that all of us there, including the officer paid his wages. Got called a rich b***h for that. Not sure why, but I've always found that funny. Im a rich b***h for having paid attention in middle school civics..
If it's every day, it's on purpose. People do this to keep other cars from parking next to them and potentially hitting the car with their door
I would coordinate with a coworker to park right up against her doors.
Iād get another employee to park as close as possible on one side and Iād back in as close as possible on the other so she canāt go anywhere until one of you leaves.
Driving lessons. Confront and require parking training. A lot of people can't figure this out on their own but could with proper instruction.
I drive a compact and I would park on the drives side of that car - very close ......
All you do is pull your vehicle up 1 inch from hers so she canāt get in the driver side door. I did that with someone who parked like that in the parking lot where I worked at. They got mad at me and I told him they were the one that parked outside the lines.
My car would 100% fit on the left side of this car. I'd search it out every day, and block the drivers side by parking in the partial spot.
Sight problem. Eyes don't match up the lines right. Tell co worker that you are worried about their eyesight because you've noticed that they have problems parking within the lines. Suggest they get their eyes tested because it could be a serious problem. Make sure to use a straight face and concerned manner. I drive for someone who only had one eye. You need two eyes to focus properly for driving and parking
Note on her windshield: "i tried to squeeze my car in and it went badly. Sorry about the scrape."
Add to your note : "You can hardly see the scratch". Let them look for it for hours.
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Have her towed. They'll charge whoever owns the car, not the caller.
Move the lines for Karen. She is so worth it. Just look at her ride. She's special.
Pull in as close as you can to her. Preferably driver's side. Douchebags like this do it so people won't park too close to their precious. I love this game š
Park right next to the white line in the space near her drivers door.
If you have assigned spaces, you should be allowed to put a spike trap on your side. We had a neighbor who's teenaged daughter kept backing over our mailbox and destroying it constantly. My brother switched to a steel box and pole sunk into 3' of concrete. It took her bumper APART and she learned how to back out properly.
time to have a co-worker with an old beater-mobile pull in on the left about 1 inch away. If you can find another to do the right side too then so much the better.
Someone needs to get a white dry erase marker and write "I could have keyed your car. Next time park properly or I will! "
Park very carefully on the driver side. and make sure not to leave first
Iād be so tempted to paint like 12 white lines down both of these spaces
Give her a page from a coloring book and some crayons and say, "If you practice, one day you may be able to stay inside the lines! My nephew figured it out when he was 2 years old! You'll get it eventually!" And see how it goes! Then remark the lines for them the second time they do that using spray chalk or paint. After a while they get tired of being judged on how they park. And, tell them they are more likely to have issues than not since they are pointing their car out to everyone!!
You and another coworker should block her in or at least block the drivers side.
Actually, after my recent illness where I started losing my balance and falling, I canāt park worth s**t.
Block off her driverās door so she has to crawl through the passenger side.
If she is parked at the far rear of a barely-used, never-full lot, it's fine. She has probably had frequent encounters with inconsiderate door openers and walking further is worth it to avoid additional damage.
Park a car on either side as close as possible. Let her get out then. Or get upset.
Park next to her so she can't get in her car. Too bad that you have to work late that night.
shitparker.....you should park so close that she needs to get into her car through the passenger side!
If I could, I would park in the space to the left of her and block her door from opening
She doesn't know how she can handle the car in the parking line. Some don't have IQ enough to park.
Plenty of parking for others right? If so let it go. Donāt sweat the small stuff
Give her a coloring book and tell her when she can stay in lines of the coloring book, then she'll be allowed to park on property.
If you have a compact car or know someone at work who does, have them park right up next to her so she can't get in through the driver's side. Enough times and she'll learn.
She should be careful...those white lines cause flat tires (plural). š
I always park as close as I can with my passenger door all but touching the drivers door.
Squeeze in next to her, you can get out on your side by her driver's side will be pinned.
You can easily fit a car in there, get as close to her car as you can (w/o hitting it) and keep doing it EVERYDAY, perhaps she'll get the idea or at least park somewhere else
I'd park as close as I could. Make her climb in the passenger side a couple of time and maybe she'll learn to park.
I would park my smart car next to it so close that they couldn't get out.
I worked at a place that had someone do this, so we parked them in and left a note on his car to come talk to us. He had to apologize to the office and never did it again.
If I could afford to, I would splurge on rental cars and fill the entire lot with them, parking the last one 15 minutes before she got there so they are forced to park correctly, then bill her for driving lessons
You need to have two people park really close to either side... (Or a fork lift truck driver fix it)
You and another coworker....Park so close, she can't get in her car either side.
People don't realize in some countries this is the perfect way to park in all lots and it should be in the USA too. Get all your coworkers together and try this experiment. If you all park with your driver side wheel on the yellow line and then your coworker does the same thing and so on you will notice there is enough space between all cars and all doors that no one will ever get a door ding and it spaces out the distance between the cars perfect!! Just a little life lesson for all who don't know this already!!
I don't think you realize the girth of American cars.
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Time to park super close on either side of her so she can only access the car from the trunk.
Coworker did that I parked my Kia in the space with about 1ā for his door.
Park so close to their car that they need to climb in through the passenger side. I do that to a-hole in my building who parks his Audi like this.
Two people that work late need to park RIGHT NEXT TO HER on either side.
To all of you commenting over and over about pinning her in, I agree. However, this could be a parking lot for, say, 150 cars, but only 100 or so are typically parked there and she's at the back of the lot. In that case, why would anyone without control or OCD issues even care? If you think keying the car is an appropriate response to this annoying, but mostly harmless, infraction, then you have much worse issues than that. (Before you accuse me of being a "pansy," etc., there have been occasions where I let the air out of the tires of cars parked like this in a busy parking lot and have no regrets.)
She was taught well. People don't respect other peoples cars. Especially those that drive large SUV's
She's tryna keep people from hitting her carš¤·šæāāļø
Coworker Walks Around The Office Barefoot
Coworker Forgot Something In His Work Truck
My Coworker Eats His Pickles Like A Psychopath
A Coffee Pot That I Discovered In A Coworker's Office. Wonder What The Inside Is Like At This Point
AURGH!!!!! Please tell me this was a lockdown-related accident...
My Coworker Has Been Complaining About Lack Of Available Space On Her Work Computer
The Side Of My Coworkers Desk Where They Leave Dead Skin And Nail Clippings
The Way My Coworkers Cut This Cake
My Coworker Stocks The Coolers At My Work, And His Dandruff Is On Every Single Can
Someone Cut The Tops Off The Cinnamon Crunch Bagels At The Office
When You Are Off For Christmas But Your Colleagues Have To āWorkā
My Colleagues Marked My Lost Safety Goggles With Permanent Marker
Just go over the writing with a dry wipe marker and then wipe with a paper towel. Comes straight off
When Your Coworker Tries To Take Two Pallets Down At A Time With A Forklift
Someone broke one box of beer. It smelled awful. I can't even begin to imagine how terrible it must smell here
A Coworker Tried To Sharpen My Good Kitchen Knifes With An Angle Grinder
My Coworker Made Sour Cream And Onion Pringles Cake. Oh God Why
The Interior Of A Coworker's Truck. Just The Tip Of The Iceberg With This Gentleman
Office Mates Chair
My Coworker Needs Her Office Grocery Privileges Taken Away
The Way My Coworker Eats Sushi
Note: this post originally had 113 images. Itās been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
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.
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.
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.
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Yup. This list made me mad. That many people sucking is kinda depressing.. considering it's just a drop in the bucket.
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.
The gross cars and personal hygiene issues almost made me puke.... I'm not super a**l about cleanliness, but COME ON
There should be a special place in Hell for some of these people!
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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!!
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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.
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.
Just wait until Generation Z and Alpha take over....total stupid chaos
Or all the kids who were homeschooled by day drinkers--
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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.
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... 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.
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.
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... Yup. This list made me mad. That many people sucking is kinda depressing.. considering it's just a drop in the bucket.
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.
The gross cars and personal hygiene issues almost made me puke.... I'm not super a**l about cleanliness, but COME ON
There should be a special place in Hell for some of these people!
Load More Replies... 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... 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.
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.
Just wait until Generation Z and Alpha take over....total stupid chaos
Or all the kids who were homeschooled by day drinkers--
Load More Replies... 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.
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".
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