Being a professional and acting like one are, unfortunately, two different things. Although one expects a certain level of responsibility and decorum in the workplace, that isn't always the case. Some people throw caution—and their careers—to the wind by acting terribly. Keep reading to discover some of the most unprofessional employees these Redditors have ever seen while on the job.
1. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold
I witnessed an incident involving a co-worker and our manager at the store. The co-worker held a strong dislike for our manager—and she decided to take matters into her own hands. She sent a glitter bomb to the store, specifically addressed to the manager.
When the manager opened the package, they were immediately covered in sparkles. The co-worker, who was present at the time, couldn't contain her laughter at the sight.
Amidst her laughter, the co-worker inadvertently revealed that she had done it out of her dislike for the manager. The consequences for the co-worker were dire—the manager took the decision to terminate her employment.
This led to a heated argument about the legality of firing someone for what was perceived as a prank. In the end, the co-worker stormed off in anger, leaving me to clean up the glittery aftermath.
2. Bottle And Canned
One of my employees, a nurse, unfortunately had a habit of drinking while on duty. She would discreetly bring liquor in a plastic water bottle.
Our suspicions grew when her behavior became erratic. Notably, she became excessively protective of her water bottle, never letting it out of her sight or allowing others near it.
However, her flawless record finally stumbled one day when she accidentally left the bottle unattended at her desk.
Curiosity got the better of us, leading us to smelling it, and our suspicions were confirmed. The situation with this particular employee was quite chaotic.
Freepik, lifeforstock
3. Rubbed Out Of A Job
An employee repeatedly touched a pregnant co-worker's belly after she asked him to stop. Additionally, he made inappropriate comments about her personal life.
As a result, I terminated his employment. He later requested to remain friends, but I declined. Furthermore, he attempted to claim unemployment benefits despite only working part-time for a brief period of three weeks.
4. Wreck And Roll
I was part of a team of IT contractors assembled for a significant international project. As part of our arrangement, the client arranged apartments for us to reside in during the 6-12 month implementation period at each site.
During a visit from the CTO, a member of our team engaged in a heated disagreement with him. Unfortunately, things escalated when she began personally attacking him in the hallway, even as he attempted to defuse the situation.
Her behavior led to immediate termination. Her reaction was quite shocking. Upon returning to the company-provided apartment, she proceeded to cause significant damage.
Given that the site was located in the middle of the desert, she opened all the windows and doors, turned the AC to its maximum setting, blocked the drains, turned on the water, and even threw red nail polish all over the bathroom.
It was the most extreme breakdown I had ever witnessed in a professional environment.
5. The Gasbag Was A Goner
During a meeting with representatives from Netflix, an assertive saleswoman, who often insisted on attending meetings even when unnecessary, emitted an unpleasant odor.
The small boardroom, which tended to get stuffy in the winter, became filled with an exceedingly foul smell. The scent evoked images of an abandoned nursing home, with neglected bags of soiled diapers and spoiled food left to decompose within the building.
The stench was unmistakable, and everyone present recognized its source. However, as responsible professionals at work, no one addressed the situation aloud.
The meeting proceeded despite the uncomfortable atmosphere, until the woman who passed gas, overwhelmed with embarrassment, interrupted to wrongfully attribute the incident to one of the Netflix representatives.
This incident created an extremely awkward and disruptive moment, causing genuine irritation for the Netflix attendees. Consequently, she was terminated prior to the Netflix representatives returning to Los Angeles.
6. High Volume Vacancy
A few years back, I had a job at a restaurant where we had a rather bothersome new employee. This individual seemed to have an arrogant attitude of being too good for the job. As it was their first job, it happened to be their first day out of training.
One of their assigned tables consisted of a family with two small children who were acting rather rowdy. However, since it was a family-friendly establishment, such behavior was somewhat anticipated.
After walking away from the table, they uttered something along the lines of "Shut up your kids." Only, they didn't mutter it under their breath—they said it loudly enough to be heard. Unfortunately, the mother overheard the comment and was not at all pleased.
Consequently, the new employee was promptly sent home and kindly asked not to return.
7. Shut Down And Fired!
During my time as a pizza delivery worker, we encountered a situation involving one of our managers. This individual attempted to close the store five hours prior to the designated closing time set by the corporate office.
He went as far as clocking out all the staff members and sending them home. Furthermore, he adamantly refused to answer any phone calls or fulfill any work-related responsibilities. Once our boss became aware of his actions, he was promptly terminated.
Nevertheless, the next day, he brazenly showed up for work as if nothing had happened.
8. His Job Went Down The Toilet
One of our young warehouse workers, approximately 25 years old, was suspected of having a substance issue due to frequent absences and odd behavior.
On one occasion, he called our office manager from the back parking lot, explaining that he was experiencing an upset stomach and had an accident. Concerned, the office manager promised to locate a change of clothes for him.
Unfortunately, he disregarded her advice and hurriedly entered the building—and what ensued was a chaotic mess. He ended up unintentionally smearing excrement from his shoes onto the floor.
He proceeded to discard his soiled pants in the bathroom before hastily returning to his car outside. This caused the rest of the small office staff to hastily evacuate to escape the unpleasant odor.
Meanwhile, the office manager managed to find a spare pair of pants in a colleague's locker. However, upon reaching the worker's car, she was taken aback to discover him standing beside it completely pants-less and without underwear.
While the rest of the office grappled with addressing the aftermath in the workplace, the worker abruptly left in his car. He resurfaced three days later, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Ultimately, he was instructed to return home.
9. Keep On Driving!
One of my colleagues, who had an excessive obsession with his car, was caught driving at double the legal speed limit. Rather than complying with the patrol car that trailed behind him, he made the ill-advised decision to flee.
This led to an intense pursuit by the authorities, eventually bringing them to our workplace. Utilizing the underground parking facility, he managed to lose them and successfully hide. From his office, the general manager witnessed the whole incident unfold.
Taking immediate action, he descended via the elevator, located the co-worker's car, and instructed him to remain inside, saving him the trouble of stepping out.
Sign up to our newsletter.
History’s most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. Making distraction rewarding since 2017.
10. The Spice Of Life
One day, I received an unexpected call from a customer with a shocking revelation. It turned out that one of our employees had collapsed inside their truck, with a glass pipe resting on his chest.
Thankfully, the customer chose to inform me rather than involving the authorities. We immediately arranged for the employee to be brought back to the workplace.
Upon questioning, he claimed that he was on a break and the substance in question was not an illicit substance but rather a legal alternative called Spice.
However, I expressed my doubts about this situation and informed him that it seemed unlikely for our working relationship to continue.
11. Her Job Was A Smash Up
I worked as a bartender at a restaurant and had an interesting encounter with one of the waitresses. While I was in the process of cashing her out, she unexpectedly entered the bar to make herself a smoothie.
Unfortunately, she ended up dropping a glass from the hanger, causing it to shatter all over the counter. I informed her that before I could finish cashing her out, she would need to clean up the mess she had made.
Desperate for her tips, she pleaded with me, explaining that she needed the money urgently as she owed it to a friend waiting outside. She assured me that she would return after delivering the money and take care of the cleaning.
However, she never came back, leaving me to replace all the ice and fruit garnishes on a busy weekend night due to the broken glass scattered everywhere. As a result, drink tickets got delayed by about 10 minutes, catching the attention of the manager.
When the manager approached me to inquire about the delayed drink tickets, I honestly shared the incident with him. Without hesitation, he immediately redistributed all the waitress's future shifts to other staff members.
Just moments after this decision was made, the waitress called the restaurant to find out why her shifts had been reassigned. The manager coolly responded, "Because you're fired," and promptly ended the call.
12. Hung Up On Racy Vids
I terminated an employee in his mid-20s during his first week of work for accessing and downloading explicit videos while on his lunch break. He used a computer in a shared open space at a government organization where other employees were present.
I caught him in the act and warned him to stop, already knowing that he would likely be fired by the end of the day. However, I had to follow the proper procedure. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of my ordeal.
Two hours later, he repeated the same behavior at the same location. At that point, I obtained approval from the Vice President to immediately terminate him and handle the paperwork after the weekend. I let him go, leaving him surprised and speechless.
As the only manager present, I took screenshots of the websites he visited and shared them with Human Resources and the Vice President to document the incident. A few days later, the employee's father contacted the Vice President to express his dissatisfaction with his son's termination.
Apparently, the fired employee never saw browsing inappropriate content on a government computer in a government office as a valid reason for dismissal, and he had failed to inform his furious father about the situation.
The Vice President dealt with this situation diplomatically, explaining that the employee had engaged in viewing inappropriate content despite receiving a warning. However, the father refused to accept this explanation—and things only got worse for him and his son.
In response, the Vice President began reading out the list of specific websites that had been accessed. Interestingly, the Vice President suspected that the terminated employee was eavesdropping on the conversation through another phone, as there was a distinct audible click of someone hanging up when the websites were being read out.
13. Steered Out The Door
I was employed in the automotive sales industry where I encountered a salesman who consistently engaged in questionable behavior.
He often misled customers, struggled with substance-related issues, and had persistent personal problems, which made it incredibly challenging to manage him. Regrettably, his actions reflected poorly on the entire team.
Eventually, a confrontation occurred between him and our general sales manager, during which he resorted to heartlessly mocking our GSM's handicapped son.
In response, the GSM promptly escorted him to an office, informed him of his termination, and left, despite the internal anger he undoubtedly felt.
14. Cutting Ties
I had to assign an individual to conduct an inspection at a remote gas/petroleum refinery site. He had been reliable in the past, but this time, he failed to show up for the pre-substance screening test the day before his departure.
He provided a lengthy excuse, blaming car troubles. Unfortunately, due to a recent bone graft surgery, I was unable to go myself. Despite my recommendations, the director decided to send him anyway.
He was flown to the site for his onsite induction, during which he abruptly left. I attempted to contact him that night, but received no response. After checking with his accommodation, I discovered he had just checked in.
Thankfully, nothing serious had occurred. The following morning, I spoke to the client who informed me that the staff member had apologized for leaving and had urgent personal matters to attend to. I did not pursue the matter further.
However, two hours later, the client informed me that they had removed him from the site as he was found sleeping on the job and became aggressive when awakened. The consequences were severe.
The client was furious and criticized our organization for sending such an individual. They demanded that we send someone else the next day to complete the task.
That evening, we had a conference call with the client, who informed us that they would no longer work with us due to this incident, causing a loss of approximately $1M in contract value. The employee was brought in for questioning the day after he returned.
Although I was supposed to lead the discussion to get his side of the story, my director immediately asked him if he would fail a test that day. His response was affirmative, leading to his immediate termination. He erupted in anger, scapegoating others for his actions.
I insisted that he leave immediately or the authorities would be called, and he complied. In the following month, our administrator received emails criticizing my performance and demanding my dismissal without any prior conversation about his grievances.
However, that was not the worst part. The employee turned out to be my brother, and it became evident that he was struggling with addiction. My father and I financed his rehabilitation, but unfortunately, he did not stay committed on either occasion.
Moreover, he resorted to making physical threats towards my mother and our family, pressuring us for money. This led me to sever all contact with him. The entire situation took a toll on my mental health, resulting in severe anxiety and depression.
15. Left Stumped
I used to own a company that specialized in removing trees. One day, I hired a new guy to help out as a ground worker. For the first two weeks, he did a great job. He never complained, seemed to know the work well, and I made sure to pay him well too.
During his third week with us, we had a job to remove two big boxelder trees. It was scorching hot, about 95 degrees that day. Before we started, I reminded all the guys to take care of themselves and stay hydrated.
I told them not to overexert themselves and to take breaks if needed. The new guy had to leave early that day because he had a dentist appointment, so he drove his own vehicle to the job.
About 40 minutes into the job, I noticed he was moving really slowly and seemed to have no motivation. It was clear he didn't want to be there. We had blocked off the customer's driveway with branches and debris.
As I was still up in the tree, I saw the new guy dramatically driving through the customer's huge yard, which spanned about two acres. He was in a rush to leave.
I tried calling him numerous times, about 30 calls, just to make sure everything was alright, but he never answered. My other employees were shocked too.
They saw him quickly jump into his truck and speed away. It was clear that he had decided in that moment to quit and never return. I didn't fire him, but I never heard from him again.
16. He Was On A Break!
My construction company had been in the process of building an additional wing for a hospital. One morning, I received a call from the president of the hospital. He informed me that he had just witnessed one of our workers smoking in his truck during his break.
Immediately concerned, I went to the construction site to address the issue. What happened next was quite entertaining. When I confronted the worker about smoking, he responded in a humorous way.
He casually said, "Yeah, I was smoking, but I made sure it was during my break." However, it's important to note that smoking is strictly prohibited, even during breaks, and bringing personal vehicles to the construction site is against the rules due to liability concerns.
Throughout the years, we have encountered some interesting individuals, but this particular worker truly stood out.
Flickr, Asian Development Bank
17. Teed Off
During the summer, I worked as the lead instructor for golf camps at a golf course. We had recently hired two high school boys to assist us. Typically, I would begin each day with a brief teaching session before allowing the students to go out and play on the course.
I informed the students that I would oversee holes 1-5, while the high school employees would be responsible for holes 6-9. To expedite their movement between holes, I made the mistake of providing them with their own cart.
Initially, everything was going smoothly. However, about an hour later, one of the students approached me and complained about dirt trails on the eighth green.
Curious, I drove my cart over to investigate and indeed found evidence of the new hires doing burnouts and drifting on the green. Naturally, I was furious and immediately wanted to confront and berate these kids.
I began heading back towards hole number seven to find them when I witnessed a peculiar sight. They were actually chasing a beaver in their golf cart, despite the fact that there were no ponds or water traps on the course.
I still don't know how that beaver ended up there, but what I do know is that those two employees were fired on the spot. After that incident, we decided not to hire any more high school students.
18. His Fate Was Signed, Sealed, And Delivered
While reviewing security footage, I had a rather mundane task at hand. However, on that particular day, I stumbled upon a rather unsettling revelation.
The recorded footage revealed an employee, who initially seemed resistant to signing his contract, ultimately taking it and proceeding to sign it. Shockingly, he then went on to discreetly place it within the front of his pants and proceeded to smear it across his person.
To make matters worse, he thought it fitting to deposit the contaminated contract into the secretary's inbox.
Consequently, the contract was promptly incinerated, the secretary's inbox was thoroughly disinfected, and the responsible employee was promptly dismissed from their position.
19. Drinks Under The Table
I encountered a situation where a person would process dine-in orders with the correct number of sodas, as requested by the customers.
However, just before finalizing the payment, they would surreptitiously reduce the quantity of sodas, keeping the surplus for themselves. Since the customers received the initial receipt, which matched their order, no one complained.
It was only after this person was terminated that I became aware of their deceitful actions.
20. A Shining Example Of Stupidity
During my fifth grade year, I had a teacher who unfortunately made a grave error in judgment. At the age of 9 or 10, our class was offered a reward for good behavior in the form of a movie session.
Our choices were between a film depicting a family in the mountains and one involving a ghost. Sensibly, we opted for the family-themed movie, fearing that the ghostly one might be too frightening. But despite our choice to play it safe, things went south anyway.
To our dismay, the family movie turned out to be none other than The Shining. Without any edits, we were subjected to the entirety of this chilling movie while in the classroom. Some of my classmates couldn't bear to watch, hiding their faces for most of the film.
The unfortunate consequence was that many of us ended up having terrifying nightmares that night. Due to this irresponsible act, the teacher was promptly removed from our class and subsequently fired the next morning. As it turned out, the ghost movie choice was Poltergeist.
21. Swindler Of The Silver Screen
I used to work at a movie theater that had a rewards program like most places. Customers would show their card to the box office cashier when purchasing a ticket, and by earning points, they could get free drinks, popcorn, and eventually a free ticket.
Unfortunately, one of the cashiers took advantage of this system. This particular cashier always seemed to have a lot of cash on her and would take the free tickets from customers and keep them for herself.
When the next customer would come and pay the exact amount, she would use one of the stolen tickets and pocket the cash. It was surprising that she managed to get away with this for so long, considering we had cameras in the box office.
However, her actions finally caught up with her when a regular customer realized they weren't receiving their usual free tickets. They asked to speak to our general manager, who investigated the matter.
A few days later, the same customer returned but had to leave before watching the movie and requested a refund. The general manager personally handled the situation and discovered that the ticket was actually a free movie ticket, making it ineligible for a refund.
Upon reviewing the security footage, it became evident that the customer had indeed paid exact change for their ticket, without using a coupon. However, the cashier subtly slid a coupon in front of her to use it herself.
The general manager confronted her in the break room and informed her that she was no longer employed at the theater. She was instructed to gather her belongings and leave the premises.
Flickr, Michigan Municipal League
22. The Sun Didn’t Come Up Tomorrow
I managed a theater company, and on one occasion, I made the decision to hire a director who, unfortunately, brought along her boyfriend. Despite his lack of acting experience, I allowed it to proceed, although I was not in favor.
This turned out to be a significant error. The incident that I absolutely could not overlook occurred the next morning when I unlocked the theater and discovered them engaging in inappropriate behavior on set.
Typically, I would have given them a warning and requested a meeting with HR. However, this particular situation was complicated by the fact that we were in the midst of performing Annie, with 12 young girls present behind me witnessing their on-stage exploits.
As a result, I had no choice but to terminate both individuals from their positions. Consequently, we rescheduled Annie for the following season.
Freepik,wayhomestudio
23. He Served Up A Bad Attitude
Previously, I was in a managerial position at a restaurant. One of my responsibilities was overseeing the process of taking to-go orders, but I couldn't assign this task to the hosts since they needed to remain at the host stand.
So, I would have them approach a server who wasn't too busy to handle these orders. On the second day of work, one of my hosts approached me and said, "I asked the new guy to handle the to-go order, but he told me that it's not his job."
Towards the end of the shift, while everyone was busy putting chairs away, I decided not to single out the new employee. Instead, I gathered everyone together and addressed the group, saying, "Listen, if someone asks you to handle a to-go order, please do so.
They are not asking because they are lazy, but because I have instructed them to ask for your assistance." However, following my quick speech, the new employee reacted negatively by angrily handling the chairs.
I couldn't tolerate such behavior, so I made the decision to let him go from the team.
24. The Big Talker Got Booted
I used to work at a pub where our manager left, leaving the position temporarily vacant. In the meantime, our assistant manager was given a temporary promotion while the decision was being made on what to do next.
The management decided to recruit and send us an assistant who didn't contribute much. On his first shift, this assistant told the staff that they could freely help themselves to crisps and snacks, assuring them that he would take care of it.
Instead of actively working, he relaxed at the end of the bar, enjoying the free juice and crisps. And that's not all—in addition to slacking off, he would boast to customers about how he planned to improve and manage the place, while also undermining the rest of the staff.
This gossipy behavior quickly spread throughout the pub, causing tension among the regulars. After just a few hours, the negative rumors reached everyone's ears. When he arrived for his next shift, he was promptly informed that he was not needed anymore.
25. Get A Load Of This Guy!
I held the position of manager at a local concrete plant. We recently hired a new yard man whose main duties included operating the payloader, loading materials when necessary, and maintaining the cleanliness and organization of the sand and aggregate piles.
Although he had prior experience, it was on a different type of loader. Therefore, I took the time to train him on our machine for a few hours before returning to my office. After some time had passed, I decided to check on the yard.
What I witnessed sent shivers down my spine. The loader was positioned at a precarious 45-degree angle on top of the 3/4" gravel pile, with the bucket full and raised but completely stagnant.
I attempted to reach him through the mobile radio but received no response. With the piles located at the far end of the yard, I continuously called out to him, growing increasingly concerned as my calls went unanswered.
Worried that there might be a mechanical issue or, worse, a medical emergency, one of my dispatchers and I hurriedly made our way through the yard, covering a distance of approximately 150 meters, towards the loader.
To our surprise, we found the yard man engrossed in a conversation on his cell phone. I climbed up the ladder to the loader and knocked on the door. In a rather loud voice, he retorted, "HEY! I am on the phone!"
Not wasting any time, I promptly instructed him to empty the bucket and disembark from the pile. Initially disregarding my request, he eventually complied, although clearly irritated. He proceeded to confront me, demanding to know what my problem was.
In response, I firmly stated, "At this moment, my problem is that I need to find someone else to operate this loader. Leave the premises." He displayed his discontent, and as the three of us made our way back to the office, I contacted the owner via radio to inform him of the situation.
The owner had already prepared a termination letter by the time we arrived.
26. Pulling Double Duty
During my time at Walmart, I witnessed an incident involving a co-worker from a different department. This individual would arrive at work, clock in, and promptly leave for their other job.
They would then return to Walmart after finishing their shift at the other job and finally clock out for the day. Surprisingly, this went unnoticed for over two months.
However, once the higher management discovered this misconduct, both the co-worker and their department manager were terminated. I can't say for certain if they were collaborating, but it was certainly fascinating to witness them being escorted out of the building.
Wikimedia Commons, Rachmaninoff
27. Judgment Day
I used to be a partner in a business, but I wasn't really involved in the day-to-day operations anymore. However, I had to sign some important paperwork that had to be done urgently. So, I left the gym and headed straight to the office.
Despite being showered and dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, I arrived ready to take care of it. Upon reaching the office, the receptionist loudly exclaimed, "Can I help YOU?" Her tone seemed a bit off, but I brushed it off and simply replied, "Yes, I would like to see Mr. Hampton.
He's expecting me." I realized later that I should have mentioned my name, which she might have recognized. However, she didn't ask for it or check the schedule or attempt to contact him. Instead, she laughed and said, "Mr. Hampton doesn't take walk-ins, Sir."
While this alone wouldn't have been a big deal, her laugh felt rude. To make matters worse, she then turned her back to me and started ignoring me by putting in headphones.
There was another person waiting, hoping to see our office manager for a job as a courier, and he found the situation amusing. The whole experience was embarrassing and unacceptable. I raised my voice and insisted, "I need to see Mr. Hampton and I am going in.
As I mentioned before, he is expecting me." Despite her laughter, she still refused to buzz me in. Luckily, the office manager noticed the commotion and rushed over to let me in. He greeted me by name, leaving the receptionist looking shocked.
It was evident that she was panicking. After signing the papers, I informed my partner about what had happened. He accompanied me out of the office and promptly fired the receptionist on the spot, commanding her to pack her bags.
Treating anyone in such a disrespectful manner is completely unjustifiable and unnecessary. After all, a client could have also arrived in a similar situation. It was a chaotic and unbelievable experience.
28. This Kid Was A Real Turkey
I operated a bowling center for approximately 10 years. During that time, I took a chance on hiring a young individual with no prior work experience. Although he displayed some eccentricities, he exhibited intelligence, prompting me to give him an opportunity.
Around a month into his employment, a woman of significant size entered the premises accompanied by her family. Astonished, the young employee insisted to everyone that it must be a costume, repeatedly claiming, "That surely has to be a fat suit." And he didn't stop here.
Despite numerous attempts to dissuade him, he remained fixated on the idea. Determined to uncover the truth, he approached the woman in front of her entire family and boldly inquired, "Are you genuinely that overweight or is it simply a costume?"
I was utterly speechless and dumbfounded by the situation. Consequently, he was immediately suspended and eventually terminated following a thorough investigation by our Human Resources department.
Understandably, the woman was deeply distressed by this incident. As a result, she received a fair compensation from the establishment, which was rightly deserved.
29. He Got Called Out
I was in charge of supervising a call center that provided tech support. One day, a female technician approached me looking extremely shocked and pale. Concerned, I asked her what was wrong. She didn't utter a single word but motioned for me to follow her.
Intrigued, I followed her as she led me around a corner of cubicles. To my astonishment, I discovered one of the agents with explicit videos playing on his computer screen. His pants were down, and he was clearly engaged in inappropriate activities.
We took immediate action to handle the situation discreetly. Security escorted him out while wearing gloves, and they packed up his belongings. We made it clear that we wouldn't press charges as long as he never contacted us again.
I decided to leave the job a few months later, but during my time there, we never had any further issues with him. It seems that, for some reason, he was desperate to lose his job but couldn't bring himself to quit or find a less inappropriate way to get fired.
30. These Customers Got More Than What They Expected
The owner of the company I worked for previously held a managerial role overseeing systems engineers at a prominent aerospace engineering firm.
During a morning tour with some potential clients, one of his engineers, who had been working tirelessly until late at night and arriving at 6 AM for the past week, surprised him by jumping out from between two racks completely naked.
While they had been close friends and prone to office pranks over the 15 years they had worked together, the engineer, exhausted and disoriented from lack of sleep, had lost track of time. Unfortunately, he was immediately terminated.
I often ponder about the mix of emotions he must have experienced in those brief moments before the prank.
Freepik,wayhomestudio
31. I Rolled With It
I enrolled in college using the GI Bill and took up a job in hospital security. This local hospital had recently become part of a larger medical center. However, the new policies meant that the GI Bill would no longer cover all my expenses.
As I neared the completion of my degree, I had to work at the hospital for an additional year after stopping the GI Bill payments, otherwise I would have to pay back the money.
I was frustrated because now that I had obtained my degree, I could pursue better job opportunities, but it came at a cost. To make my daily routine more convenient, my wife surprised me with a pair of adult Heelys.
She suggested that I wear them during work since I had to navigate both the indoor and outdoor areas of the hospital. Although I had reservations about it, she assumed I didn't appreciate her gift. In hindsight, I should have trusted my instincts.
I decided to wear the Heelys during a Sunday shift when there was not much activity. It was a delightful experience as I glided around like a child from the 90s on rollerblades.
However, unlike rollerblades, the Heelys had a chunky rubber rear section that resembled a brake, but it wasn't actually designed to function as one. I discovered this the hard way when, during a perimeter check, I attempted to conquer a hill as if I were on rollerblades.
I quickly found myself speeding down the hill, with a considerable distance still ahead, and ended up crashing. Fortunately, I only ended up with a scuffed pant leg and a scratched radio. Additionally, I was lucky that my fall occurred just out of view of any security cameras.
While I wasn't immediately terminated, I knew it was inevitable once my shift coincided with the manager's. I bid my farewells, shook his hand, and left. Thankfully, I was able to secure two part-time jobs promptly, which served as building blocks for my career.
Although I hadn't intended to get fired, things ultimately worked out in my favor.
32. Double Discharge
I recently hired a new server for my establishment. However, just a few hours into his shift, he decided to take a break. Shortly after, I received an unexpected phone call from the owner of a nearby motel.
It turns out, he had gotten into a heated argument with his girlfriend and had resorted to physical violence by hitting her. The motel owner witnessed this disturbing act and confronted him.
Shockingly, he then proceeded to point at his car and ominously mentioned that he had a machete inside. He threatened to harm the motel owner if they didn't stay out of his business, even going as far as to threaten to decapitate them with the weapon.
As you can imagine, immediate action was taken and he was fired on the spot for his alarming behavior. However, the very next day, he was hired by a convenience store located across the street—and he continued to wreck havoc.
Unfortunately, my wife happened to be passing by when he openly threatened her in front of his new colleagues. Given our close relationship with the convenience store owners, we promptly informed them of the unsettling incident, leading to his swift termination once again.
Thankfully, we have not encountered that unstable individual again.
33. Stuff It!
During my time as a retail manager, I encountered a situation with one of our seasonal employees. This employee generally performed well, but had a tendency to be loud and obnoxious.
Despite a couple of warnings, she continued to bring food to her cash register and eat between customers. One day, I noticed what appeared to be food at her register again, so I decided to investigate further.
As I approached her, I was taken aback to find a full fast food meal sitting in an open drawer, with a customer in front of her. Upon realizing my presence, she defiantly asked, "What are you looking at?!"
It was clear that I needed to take immediate action, so I promptly fired her on the spot. However, the ordeal didn't end there. As she was leaving, she deliberately bumped into me and began screaming that I had physically assaulted her.
Complicating matters, she had recently announced her pregnancy, which further added to the drama. She threatened to sue me for endangering her and her unborn child. Her behavior was completely irrational, but fortunately, her baseless claims never gained any traction.
In an attempt to support my case, I had already provided the district manager with camera footage of the incident. When she later contacted the district manager to complain about me, he simply advised her to move on, knowing the truth behind her accusations.
Thankfully, we never heard from her again.
34. What A Bummer!
One of our delivery drivers was tasked with training a new employee, which involved showing them the ropes by driving around, introducing them to routes and customers, and the like.
However, to our surprise, the driver instructed the new employee to drop him off at a nearby park instead. When the boss promptly drove to the park within 15 seconds, he discovered the driver engaging in smoked activities with some park residents.
Naturally, the individual was promptly terminated from their position. Then, approximately a month later, we received a call from a customer reporting that the aforementioned individual was strolling in the middle of a busy intersection while wearing our company's shirt.
35. Their Call Time Was Up
In the past, I was in charge of managing a call center for a large corporation that also had retail counters in its stores.
The corporate policy mandated a minimum amount of time spent on the phone for these employees, and failure to meet this requirement could lead to disciplinary action. Surprisingly, the higher-ups believed that time spent on hold was equivalent to actual conversation time.
This led to employees finding a loophole in the system. Many of them began manipulating their phone times by making calls to their own cell phones and putting themselves on hold.
I took the necessary steps to address this issue by reprimanding several employees for their actions. In one case, we had to terminate an employee due to their disobedience and disrespectful behavior, among other typical reasons.
During our investigation of the employee's conduct, we reviewed all their company emails to ensure that any pending matters were attended to.
It was during this process that we discovered an email exchange between the terminated employee and another coworker from the retail counter. The emails revealed their boastful discussions about intentionally prolonging hold times with customers.
Not only did they criticize the customers, demeaning them as unintelligent, but they also made them wait for extended periods of time, ranging from 15 to 20 minutes, solely to fulfill their daily phone time requirement.
While it is never pleasant to have to dismiss someone from their job, this particular situation made the decision rather straightforward.
36. His Racket Ultimately Registered
I was employed at a famous clothing store, where one evening, my friend and another manager were closing up for the day. As they wrapped up their tasks, they engaged in conversation, discussing their plans for the upcoming weekend.
The manager mentioned that he couldn't afford to do anything due to financial difficulties. At that moment, my friend momentarily left to retrieve something, leaving the cash bags unattended. Upon returning, my friend resumed counting the money from the day's sales.
Curiosity piqued, my friend asked the manager about his sudden change in circumstances, reminding him of his previous remark about being broke.
The manager attempted to explain that he had discovered some cash he had forgotten about, raising suspicions in my friend's mind. The following day, while the manager had the day off, my friend, still troubled by the incident, decided to bring his concerns to the attention of the head manager.
They reviewed the security footage from the previous night—and he was shocked to see what was on it. It revealed that during the brief moment my friend was away, the manager had slipped $55 from the cash bag.
Further examination of the footage unveiled a pattern of the manager taking varying amounts, ranging from $55 to $110, every time he closed the till.
By carefully managing the discrepancy to stay within the store's designated threshold, he had successfully avoided arousing suspicion. The head manager promptly contacted the dishonest employee, requesting him to cover for an alleged sick coworker.
Fearing that his illicit activities had been uncovered, the manager failed to show up for work. Given that he hailed from a different country, it is presumed that he chose to return home, as he was never heard from again.
Calculations suggest that his misdeeds amounted to a substantial sum, considering his prolonged tenure at the company and regular involvement in closing the register.
37. Dino Was Finally Done
At the start of my career, I held a managerial position in a call center for a renowned Fortune 500 company. The design of the building comprised of three floors, each featuring a square hole in the center, allowing a view all the way down to the ground floor.
Moreover, a bright light illuminated this space. On the ground floor, there existed a set of computers accessible to all employees for non-work related activities such as checking emails or browsing Facebook.
One evening, during a late shift, a security guard approached me and requested my presence. Curious, I followed him to the balcony, where he gestured downwards.
To my utter disbelief, I witnessed an individual from the same language group as me, though not directly on my team, seated behind one of the computers on the middle floor. He was engrossed in watching inappropriate videos while engaging in self-stimulation below his pants.
The absurdity of the situation immediately provoked laughter from me. As a result, the man turned to face me, inadvertently causing his private parts to become visible as he sported a startled expression.
The sheer ridiculousness of the circumstances was astounding. However, the situation took an even more satisfying turn when we promptly escorted the individual out of the building.
We instructed him to return the following day to retrieve his belongings and complete the necessary employment termination paperwork.
Later, when I shared the incident with my own manager, he casually remarked, "Ah, Dino strikes again, does he? We've been trying to catch him for quite some time. He used to engage in similar behavior in the restroom, but capturing him in the act proved challenging."
38. Quick-Fire Hire
I worked as a house manager for a men's ministry, providing assistance to individuals transitioning from prison or challenging circumstances, helping them reintegrate into society. One day, a new resident joined us who had the shortest stay at just three days.
Surprisingly, he started complaining about the workload, despite having signed paperwork stating his willingness to contribute. Within those three days, he displayed some concerning behavior.
He neglected to clean up after himself, leaving food and dirty dishes scattered in the living room. Even outside his room, he carelessly left a broken egg on the floor. To make matters worse, he took food that belonged to someone else without permission.
One evening, he passed out while watching TV, clearly under the influence. In a desperate attempt to obtain alcohol, he even sold his medication. Unfortunately, his excessive drinking led to a dangerous accident, causing him to slip and fall, resulting in a trip to the hospital.
Realizing that he was not a good fit for our program, we informed his counselors about his behavior and the challenges we were facing. With their assistance, we arranged for his belongings to be gathered from the house while he was receiving medical attention.
39. His Career Was Fried
During my time as a sous chef in a prestigious restaurant located in a prominent historical tourist destination in Virginia, an incident occurred involving a fry cook and a server.
Instead of approaching me directly, the server chose to bypass communication and directly confronted the fry cook regarding the temperature of the fries being sent out. As a result, a heated argument ensued.
Before I had a chance to intervene and diffuse the situation, the fry cook, in a fit of anger, grabbed a basket of hot fries and forcefully flung its contents towards the server.
Fortunately, the server sustained only minor burns as the fry cook's aim was off, primarily hitting the area covered by their apron.
Understanding the severity of the situation, immediate action was taken. The fry cook was sent home immediately and eventually terminated from their position. Furthermore, legal charges were pressed against the fry cook for their unacceptable behavior.
Freepik, kues1
40. Move It Or Lose It!
When I was younger, I accompanied my uncle in his car. We came across a distributor truck parked across both lanes, blocking the road.
We waited for a while, hoping they would move, but when it became clear they had no intention to do so, my uncle approached them politely and asked them to make way for us.
They agreed with a casual "yeah," but after waiting for another five minutes, nothing happened. My uncle decided to take matters into his own hands—her firmly told them to move.
In response, one of the workers cursed at him and arrogantly said, "We're working here, can't you see? Find another route," while they all laughed. Little did they know, my uncle had a trick up his sleeve.
He calmly reached out to his best friend, who also happened to be the manager of that distribution company. He explained the situation and provided him with the truck's number. Without wasting any time, his friend immediately apologized and ended the call.
\At first, their reaction seemed rude, but soon we realized that his friend had contacted the truck's radio, and we could overhear the entire conversation. The manager was furious and wasted no time in ordering them to move the truck and then go home.
In fact, he fired them on the spot over the radio.
Flickr, U.S. Department of Agriculture
41. Cleaning Up The Mess
My former boss had worked for a phone company that acquired one of the first prepaid cell phone start-ups. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a problematic decision as it came with a lot of baggage, including troublesome employees and a chaotic work environment.
From connections to criminal activities and inappropriate relationships, the whole situation was a complete disaster. The female employees had certain advantages for being in a friendship with the manager, such as extended time off and overtime pay, even when they weren't actually working.
However, things fell apart when they discovered each other's arrangements and ended up arguing about their involvement with the boss while at work. As a result, he was fired and the women were put on probation due to the fear of losing their jobs if they refused.
Following that, my boss was promoted and had to take charge of straightening out this mess. In the span of six months, he had to let go of 18 people.
One particular young man, who had connections and anger management issues, consistently displayed negligent behavior like not logging into phones and taking excessively long lunch breaks.
One day, a coworker confronted him about his slacking off, which led to a physical altercation. The young man grabbed a heavy desk phone and violently pulled the other person's chair, causing him to fall to the ground.
He proceeded to repeatedly strike his coworker with the desk phone, resulting in the victim requiring hospitalization. The assailant was subsequently arrested and fired.
In another incident, one of the female employees was earning extra money during lunch breaks by engaging in inappropriate activities with male coworkers in the bathroom in exchange for donations.
Unfortunately, she was discovered in the act by a higher-up while at the Christmas party. As a consequence, both she and the male coworker involved were terminated from their positions.
42. Her Dirty Behavior Was Not Amusing
During my time working at an amusement park, I held a managerial position overseeing a team of over 200 employees.
Within this group, a situation arose involving allegations of harassment between a male employee and a female employee who stood at an impressive height of 6'7" and had a physique resembling that of Andre the Giant.
Initially, only one employee came forward with the accusation, stating that the female employee had expressed inappropriate intentions towards him despite his objections.
Unfortunately, similar incidents continued to occur, eventually escalating to a point where the male employee felt compelled to take action.
To properly address the issue and have productive conversations with the female employee, it was important for us to gather specific details for documentation purposes.
Accordingly, we respectfully approached the male employee to inquire if he would feel comfortable sharing more information. Although initially hesitant, he eventually decided to provide us with additional details.
It was revealed that the female employee would frequently approach him with inappropriate remarks, including phrases like "I'm gonna [do] you real dirty". Despite being asked to stop, she persisted, making statements such as "Do you know how dirty I am"?
Shockingly, she went on to disclose—and the revelations were sodeeply disturbing that the male employee started to feel physically ill, eventually resulting in him vomiting.
In order to gain further clarity, we conducted interviews with two other employees who shared similarly distressing stories.
When we confronted the female employee about these allegations, she neither denied nor provided an explanation for her actions, instead choosing to abruptly end the conversation. This entire situation continues to weigh heavily on my mind.
43. What A Rotten Tomato!
A friend of mine helped me secure a job as a cook at a great place. Within a short period, he started sharing stories about the person who was fired just before I took over.
Apparently, this individual had worked for only one day and had shown up to work under the influence, resulting in minimal productivity. While this former employee idled, one of the managers was preparing a side dish of fried tomatoes.
Unfortunately, the tomatoes were mistakenly taken, forcing the manager to make replacements multiple times. After finally completing the plate, the new employee could not resist reaching over and eating a slice of the fried tomato.
However, the restaurant had strict policies regarding the specific number of food pieces composing each side dish. Consequently, another fried tomato slice had to be made, and the new employee was swiftly terminated.
Interestingly, a few weeks later, news emerged that he had been charged with pouring gasoline on his girlfriend and setting her on fire. It seems that letting him go from the job was a fortunate decision.
44. Delivery Don’ts
I served as a general manager at a Jimmy John’s restaurant during a busy lunch rush. We had a hefty load of 30 deliveries ready to be delivered. Checking the dispatch screen and the delivery driver routing software, I noticed that it was Frank's turn.
Curious about his whereabouts, I asked a co-worker who informed me that he had seen Frank outside. Peering through the front window, I was alarmed to witness what Frank did next—he was weighing out a bag on his car's dashboard for his friend.
What made matters worse was that every customer in line, as well as those already dining or entering the establishment, could easily observe Frank holding an illegal substance in his hand!
Taking immediate action, I swiftly removed the delivery sign from his car, instructed him to hand over all his delivery slips to another driver whom I was planning to dispatch, and made it clear that he was not welcome back.
It saddened me because I knew he needed the job, but I couldn't ignore his reckless behavior. Considering the situation, I decided not to involve the authorities, which meant that Frank got off quite easily.
45. His Transcript Got Him Tossed
There was a recent hire at the refinery, claiming to be a proficient chemical engineer. Initially, he showed impressive skills and gained the favor of his colleagues. However, it later came to light that his academic background did not align with his claims.
Although he had completed his freshman year in the college he mentioned in his resume, he had not actually obtained a Bachelor of Science degree or graduated as an engineer. Consequently, due to his dishonesty, he was ultimately dismissed from his position.
46. Smile, You’re On Camera
I used to be employed at a large fast-food chain where every three months, the entire shop underwent a comprehensive inspection conducted by a company-appointed reviewer. While we had a general idea that they would eventually arrive, their visits were always unannounced.
Unfortunately, the company did not allocate enough funds for the stores to effectively follow the procedures set in place by the head office. Naturally, the store would always become anxious when the reviewer arrived.
On one particular occasion, the reviewer showed up while an employee, who we suspected of engaging in drug-related activities outside of work hours (and possibly during), entered a cold room. As he retrieved something from his pocket, an acid tab accidentally fell onto his hand.
Rather than concealing it, he decided to consume it. This entire incident occurred while the reviewer was checking the functionality of the security cameras, leading both the reviewer and myself to witness it unfold in real-time.
As a result, the individual was immediately terminated and even directed offensive language towards the reviewer. Subsequently, he became involved in drug dealing on a full-time basis and eventually faced arrest, narrowly avoiding imprisonment.
Flickr, Diplomatic Security Service
47. He’s Gone
One of my acquaintances was employed at a kitchen supply company that specialized in selling large equipment to restaurants. As a sales representative, he had the responsibility of completing sales reports whenever he made a sale.
However, he reached a point where he lost motivation and began neglecting his duties. Instead, he started filling out these reports solely with lyrics from the band Grateful Dead.
For a considerable period of time, nobody suspected anything unusual until he was being considered for a promotion. As part of the evaluation process, the management decided to review all of his reports and discovered his unconventional approach.
Consequently, he was promptly terminated from his position.
48. Bathroom Banksy
Repeated complaints were frequently reported by the custodial staff and security about ongoing problems in one specific restroom. Eventually, the responsible person was apprehended and subsequently terminated. Their discovery was mind-blowing.
It was found that on several occasions, while working late, this individual would visit the restroom before departing and proceed to deface the cubicle walls with feces. They were caught in the act one night, confirming their involvement in these incidents.
49. Martha Was History
As the director of a local county history museum, I recently oversaw the installation of an advanced security system. With cameras and motion detectors in every room, it provided a comprehensive view of the premises.
Additionally, it recorded the opening and closing of the entry doors at the beginning and end of each day. One Monday morning, while reviewing the video footage from the previous Sunday, I was taken aback by what I witnessed.
Martha, the weekend receptionist, was engaged in an intimate moment with her boyfriend right on the front desk. Their actions abruptly halted when the front door swung open, and several museum guests entered.
Seizing the opportunity, Martha and her partner discreetly retreated to the restroom to continue their rendezvous. During their absence, a visitor entered through the main entrance, explored various rooms, and eventually left.
Upon Martha and her boyfriend's return, they exited the restroom after a lengthy 45 minutes. They then left for lunch, cunningly leaving the entrance doors ajar.
Their intention was to mislead me into believing that the museum was still open for visitors when I reviewed the security logs for the weekend. This negligence resulted in the museum being left unattended and accessible for another hour and a half.
Unfortunately, during this time, several guests came in, perused the exhibits, allowed their children to create chaos in the children's discovery room, rummaged through the front desk, took money from the donation box, and left.
We were fortunate that the visitors did not abscond with any artwork or valuable artifacts, nor did they venture upstairs into the office area.
Naturally, upon discovering this series of events, I contacted Martha at her residence, honestly conveyed what I had observed, and subsequently relieved her of her duties.
The most disheartening aspect of this situation was the fact that I had held Martha in high regard and regarded her as a reliable and responsible employee, until that fateful day.
50. Party’s Over
When I arrived to open the restaurant, I immediately noticed some unusual things. There were an excessive number of glasses left on the end of the bar, which was unusual for after-shift drinks. Additionally, several barstools and chairs were not properly flipped up on the bar or tables.
As I made my way towards the office, I discovered that a sink in a staff-only bathroom had been broken off the wall. However, that was not the worst part. Upon entering the office, I was shocked to find a chair with feces mashed into the seat, resembling a crack.
I couldn't help but wonder what had transpired here the night before. Feeling unsettled, I left the office and returned to the restaurant floor. It was then that I noticed a disheveled waitress sleeping on one of the booth benches.
I learned from the cleaning crew, who arrived early, that one of the managers had been present when they came in. This manager had awoken from their slumber, but appeared heavily intoxicated.
The cleaning crew had discovered them relieving themselves on the empty kegs outside the cold room before stumbling away. Concerned, we immediately contacted the owners, who promptly arrived to assess the situation.
The owners were perplexed because the manager who had been seen waking up had not been scheduled to work the previous night. It turned out that this manager, along with some friends, had arrived after closing time and started an impromptu after-party with the staff who were on duty.
The manager who was supposed to be working that night had been under the impression that he could leave once his shift was over, as the partying manager had promised to handle the closing duties.
It was concluded that the manager involved in the office incident had engaged in inappropriate behavior with the waitress on the chair, taking advantage of its obscured location away from windows and security cameras.
The manager who had been working that night received a severe reprimand and narrowly avoided losing their job due to poor judgment. The waitress, in turn, was suspended for a week.
The intoxicated manager, who seemed oblivious to the chaos caused, came in around 2 PM the following day, still under the influence, and offered apologies, claiming to have no recollection of the events.
Unfortunately, he was promptly terminated after attempting to clean the chair with paper towels.
Sources: Reddit,
