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We probably all hate when something doesn't work or go as planned. We want signs to give us the right information, building interiors to make sense for walking around, and printers to print. When these things don't do what we want, our reaction might be anger. Or we might laugh at the absurdity of it all.

That’s what the Facebook group "You Had One Job" does. The community shares absurd cases of incompetence and not caring about doing a job right. Some of the entries on this list might even veer into the realm of grotesquely absurd, where you might think: 'How did anyone approve this?'

#1

You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

youhadonejob Report

Jeff White
Community Member
1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Certainly NOT a fail. I give 17 creative points for this.

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    This particular Facebook group doesn't have that many followers. Currently, the count is at 4,000. And although the community is not that big, it's without a doubt dedicated. There are new posts every day for new and old members to enjoy.

    The admins describe the community as a place "for examples of next level not giving a toss about the quality of work done." They promise prizes for those who submit the best photos, but that's probably just a gag. The jury is still out on whether anyone has received a prize for posting a photo of a job done wrong.

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    #4

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    Fonts matter, no. 79

    Steve Wells Report

    Bob Brooce
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Seems like a good place to work in quality control.

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    #5

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    While this list is undoubtedly funny, there's something irritating about incompetent people in real life, isn’t there? Oregon-based David Lechnyr, LCSW, writes that "Being around incompetent people and situations 'slows down our own pace of doing things,' causing us to be late, not get things done right, or just making our 'lives difficult.'"

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    In his 1969 book 'The Peter Principle,' educationalist Laurence J. Peter wrote: "Occupational incompetence is everywhere." He coined a term after his last name – the 'Peter Principle.'

    It goes like this: "Every employee tends to rise to his [or her] level of incompetence." And it's not exclusive to the job world – plenty of examples of mistakes made anywhere else are in our list.

    #8

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Who wants to lick the bowl and who wants to lick the spoon

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    #9

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My mind is now happy after I imaged a seal riding that bike

    Kevin Beard
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    They could mean Seal the musician, you don’t know

    A C
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Heard he was looking for a new bike cos a kiss from a rose gave his bike a puncture

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    RageOfAquarius
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I read that as FDR seal and was VERY confused...

    Mrs.C
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Disappointed again! Seal wants a kiss from a rose, not a bicycle!

    Phantom
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ok it is awesome such love for a endangered species

    Mr. Ping Pong
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Add a T before the E and have fun!

    Jane W.
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When you grow up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, (MN), and then move to CA, EVERY lake is Lake Disappointment.

    Dylan Gillis
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Did you see the one where a gorilla is riding a bike?

    Valek Fermiga
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This bike has got the seal of approval - I'll see myself out....

    RosenCranzLives
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think there's a famous quotation from Gloria Steinem about seals and bicycles. I could be wrong.

    pineapple87
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well, if you imagine it's pronounced the same way as break, it's not hard to see how he got there

    Pensive_Panda
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle (?)

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    Lee
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I could watch videos of seals playing all day long. I love when they just lie down so quickly and roll down hills. I've never met one before but I just found out for the first time in 36 years that we have indeed had them visiting our shore this entire time, a 10 minute walk from our home (we just moved here.) Gonna go in the summer months, I'm so excited.

    Kat Hoth
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I laughed WAY too hard at this!

    Mint Sauce
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's a little crazy.

    Janna Dakota
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    a woman needs a man like a seal needs a bicycle!

    Khavrinen
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "A woman needs a man like a fish ( -- or a seal ) needs a bicycle."

    Lavern Defazio
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yay!! Waving seal! My day is complete.

    PlatinumThe8-BitCat
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    Organizational scientists and psychologists use the 'Peter Principle' to explain workplace dynamics. It explains why people think their boss is incompetent, or, the other way around – why bosses get frustrated with incompetent employees. Peter claimed that the higher the person climbs on the promotion ladder, the more likely they are to fail. Hence, they reach their 'level of incompetence.'

    #12

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    glowworm2
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When life gives you demons, you make demonade.

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    We can take the infamous pop culture icon Michael Scott as an example. He was a considerably great salesman in the past, but is a terrible manager. Kelly Shue at the Yale School of Management told the BBC about her research on this. 

    Her team found that the 'Peter Principle' did apply in the field of sales. "Managers who used to be very high-performing sales workers tended not to bring a significant boost to their colleagues, while the lower performers were often much better at raising the average sales within their team."

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    #13

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    The Disneyland Duck
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I KNEW IT! The priest is the Easter bunny in disguise!

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    #15

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Passerby
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If only there were another round letter resembling a ring. Edit: My point is, they should have just replaced that o with the ring picture in the first place.

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    Nobody wants to feel incompetent. That's why most people get hurt easily when others point out their mistakes. We also tend to get mad when our competence at a thing we think we're good at gets challenged.

    Alex Lickerman, M.D., and the author of The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self writes that mistakes don't imply a person is incompetent.

    #16

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hey!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When one department doesn't talk to the other department.

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    #18

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    He writes that mistakes are fine as long as you know what you're doing. "Competent people make them all the time, whether due to lack of attention, working too fast, or being too tired.

    But one thing competent people don't do is make mistakes because they don't know what they're doing," he concludes in a blog post for Psychology Today.

    #19

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Don't remind me of my flirting skills just because I cant pull

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    #21

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Black Garbage
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You are free to take out your wallet and pay for the coffee.

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    Lickerman concludes that anger over incompetence (yours or others') is more about the desire of power. "Why does anyone become angry when their competence is questioned? Because anger makes us feel strong. And if we can't make ourselves feel strong by experiencing competence, we'll make ourselves feel strong by experiencing anger."

    #22

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hey!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I saw this a few times when my brother and I were motorcycling on Cabot Trail.

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    #23

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Mselaineyus
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    FINALLY! Steve is so excited he purchased our other "totorcycle" as we only had room for one now we have room for...well..

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    #24

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    JG123
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's some fine police work, Lou.

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    This is obviously not a good response mechanism. We become angry at ourselves and at others for pointing out our incompetence. It hurts relationships, lowers our self-worth, and, as Lickerman writes, in extreme cases, can evolve into depression.

    #25

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Jeff White
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I am now curious what third class there might be? Semi-members?

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    #26

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hey!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She was probably wondering why you wanted one in the first place. But I bet anything that if she had talked to the pharmacist and to praise her grandkid who wanted an eye pad, he would have steer her in another direction...

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    #27

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    But what about anger over the incompetence of others? We're certainly not mad at ourselves for someone else not doing a job well, right? David Lechnyr writes about the effects of someone else's incompetence.

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    "Being resentful and upset over 'the incompetence of others' will block your own progress in life. It will affect your ability to make changes, heal, have less pain, or improve your own relationships and life."

    #28

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #29

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hey!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    LOL. It's time to block that piece or get an electrician.

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    #30

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    I asked for a “Happy Birthday” plaque

    Sarah Alfaro-Ramire Report

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    Trying to change others to make them more competent isn't an optimal strategy. That's the number one rule in therapy, isn't it? You can't change what others do, you can only change your perception and how you react. As a cognitive behavior therapist, Lechnyr suggests dropping the need to be a perfectionist.

    #31

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wheelchairs are meant to grind the railing duh

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    #33

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ewok Lem was Stanislav's lesser known but very cuddly brother.

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    #34

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Andy Frobig
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I used to hate when my phone cord would get like that

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    #35

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Bill Swallow
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I-80 in Pennsylvania smiles, says "Aw, aren't you cute!" (ruffles hair)

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    #36

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    You can't say this without tell us what we're looking for. Is it raining geckos (hallelujah) or is it more a high pressure monitor front?

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    #38

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    #40

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #41

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    Neil Reilly Report

    Benjamin
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I like to think of all my farts as magical

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    #43

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    #44

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #45

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    giku T
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    he looks like a a ten year old charlie sheen, so i think the gift is appropriate.

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    #46

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Zaphod
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Turn it on and you have a stellar globular cluster

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    #47

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    #48

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #49

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    glowworm2
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think this is actually meant to be a slide you can climb up. Those bumps are there so kids don’t have to do it the hard way like I did all those years ago.

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    #50

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It means you have to get a wizard's staff to open it, like diagon alley

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    #54

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I say put a deck on top and call it a feature

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    #55

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Stannous Flouride
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This looks like a building code requirement that was installed after the stairs were built. It probably required hand rails on both sides and a single one in the middle would be too far apart. For aesthetics I would put a planter there.

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    #57

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Betta Fish
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That looks like it would be so much fun to go through drunk

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    #58

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hey!
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Even my little finger wouldn't fit in there.

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    #59

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Hippopotamuses
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Clearly someone didn't think this through, and common sense - in the form of angle parking - won the day.

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    #60

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    jennifer marshall
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh....my, for the love of all that's holy! Worst pattern EVER!

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    #61

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Passerby
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Doesn't seem that bad. Just take out the door hinges.

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    #62

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    lily jones
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    How many people were sleeping at the table for them to decide to put that sign up...?

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    #65

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #66

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Jeremy James
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If Legend of Zelda has taught me anything, it's that the Hookshot is probably in this dungeon. Or there's a switch somewhere that will flood the lower room and you can swim across.

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    #70

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Owen
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This is a perfect example of a UK bus stop. It's not a problem, it's a normal feature.

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    #71

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    #72

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    Angels or angles?

    Virginia Maestro Díaz Report

    Scar Scar
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My math teacher decorating for Christmas

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    #74

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If you ever wondered why anyone would ever carpet a bathroom floor...

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    #77

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

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    #78

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    #79

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    WhyBother?
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well atleast i can listen to music while dying

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    #80

    You-Had-One-Job-Fail-Pics

    youhadonejob Report

    Robert Beveridge
    Community Member
    1 year ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Aside from the horrifying proportions, I see nothing wrong here.

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