What's the strangest thing you have been told off for at work?

[NoEffingWay]

I once got told off for leaving on time, I had done my contracted hours, all of my work was done but apparently leaving on time was frowned upon .

The same job told me off when I left 'for only working my 4 weeks notice'. I think they genuinely expected me to stay even after leaving .

At speed

@Alleycat1

I was new and at a junior level in an Admin. position. I was screamed at by a senior colleague because I hadn't put myself on the rota to buy milk for the office coffee and tea and to make the tea and coffee. I don't drink either and used to bring in a bottle of water everyday. When I refused to go on the rota I was sent to the boss. Fortunately, he backed me up but the senior colleague never missed a trick to have a go at me. It was sweet when, a couple of years later, I was promoted and ended up as her boss.

Oh you just reminded me!!

Started a new junior role years ago, we took it in turns to buy the milk.

I was shouted at by a senior colleague that the mug I had brought in with me was too big (one of those huggable ones) so it would use more milk... I used to have my coffee black... the mind actually boggles!!

I also was promoted above her and am totally not smug about it at all 😉

For drinking too much company water. At most I'd fill up my reuseable 800ml bottle in the morning and again at lunch time, from a filtered water tap in the staff kitchen.

The complaint was by another colleague at the same level as me and when I paid her no attention she brought it up at one of our all staff meetings and strongly encouraged me to bring water in from home in the morning and then go out and buy a bottle from the shop at lunch time if I needed more. Management ignored that request but did entertain some of her other crazy demands.

Aeons ago as a pre-uni summer job I worked at a fast-food place. Had been working the graveyard shift (9pm–4am) and we got a meal on our break. Now I was on the earlier shift of 6pm–1am. Took my break, got some chips and a burger and sat in the staffroom.
I was finishing off the chips when the manager came in, looked aghast, said, 'You don't get a meal on this shift!' and TOOK THE CHIPS OFF ME.
Even then (young and quite timid) I thought it was pretty weird. Now I just look back and laugh about the jumped-up little twerp.

cricketmum84 You must be a nicer person. I was very smug!😂

@Alleycat1

cricketmum84 You must be a nicer person. I was very smug!😂

Oh no I was totally smug about it 😂

She really wasn't a pleasant person. Obsessed with peoples size and weight. If I opened a pack of crisps she would peer over and say "Oh, are they allowed on your diet?"

She had a 10 calorie slim-a-soup and cold mushy peas out of the tin for her lunch every day.

I was so glad when she retired.

Her farts must have been toxic, @cricketmum84!

Told off by the housekeeping supervisor for not drying off the baths I had cleaned, while working in a hotel cleaning rooms, changing bed linen etc. We were told to use the used towels to dry off the baths and sinks and tiles we had cleaned which I thought was utterly disgusting, and so I just didn't do it. Said housekeeping supervisor taped a note titled 'YOUR FAULTS' to my cleaning trolley, and apparently not using a damp used towel to dry off sinks, baths and tiles was one of these faults! She treated the staff generally appallingly anyway, like something nasty on her shoe, and would search bags and lockers incase anyone had stashed any of the complimentary hotel biscuits or shampoos. I remember thinking how ridiculous it was. We were supposed to have our meals provided on shift too, and there was only ever enough food to feed less than half of the staff, and every day this was greasy hot dogs in the staff room with paint peeling off the walls and ceilings, and filthy floors, tables and chairs - in the same room where hot food was served. We had in contrast been wined and dined in the hotel dining room with a meal from the hotel lunch menu during induction day. On induction day we were also allowed to enter and leave the hotel through the main doors.
After starting work there, we were only allowed to enter and exit the building via a back door by huge bins and rubbish strewn around.
I quit after about 2 weeks as I'd had a gut's full and the pay wasn't very good anyway. (I went on to get a job in retail and earn twice as much per hour.) I remember the day I left, the housekeeping supervisor was really pissed off for some reason, probably because it reflected badly on her. She shouted after me saying my uniform had to be returned there and then, despite knowing full well that the uniform I was wearing, were the only clothes I had with me. I started laughing because she was so mad with me, it was just silly and comical, and she got even angrier and threatened to come round my house that night to get the uniform herself. I laughed even more and shouted back 'I'll bring it back on Thursday', (two days later), which I did, freshly laundered. It certainly hadn't been laundered when first handed out to me, that's for sure. This was a big name hotel chain which no longer exists as they were bought out by another big name hotel chain. I'm still friends with two other staff members who worked there, who also left around about the same time as me for exactly the same reasons.

I also got shouted at in a busy office by one of the slightly more senior members of staff, although he wasn't one of the business partners, he was more like my imediate manager. I was 16 and made a mistake weighing the post, so had used too many stamps on two of the letters/parcels, and he went ballistic! The other officers staff told me afterwards to take no notice as it was a mistake anyone could have made, and what an arse they thought he was. Every morning he would do paperwork in our small office, despite the fact he had his own spacious office, and our office always smelled of farts after he had been in there in the mornings, it was rank and we had to open the windows.
I left after a while to accept another job.
I found out a few years ago that he is now a practicing Pastor. I hope he shows the members of his Church more empathy and patience than he showed me that day he was spewing venom over no more than about £2.50 worth of extra stamps.

Nicknamed the mangler - all sorts! Was told off for using my lunch hour to do volunteering (workplace events), that my husband was meant to help me with my work, it got crazy batshit

My manager wanted to put a warning on my file, she emailed HR and everything: That I had closed her office door whilst she was making a phone call.

No I did not slam it, it was gently done.
Her (loud) phone call was actually TO HR and she was querying the validity of a colleagues sick note as they were signed off during a bereavement they experienced.
There were also two people as well as other colleagues in the office at the time one a contractor the other a service user (so a member of the public in a council office).

Batshit. Just didn't like the idea her little "power display" on this occasion was shut down.
So yeah. Basically a wrist slap for closing a door to maintain privacy for her dickmove

Ah, singlemama, time to drop into conversation 'I worked at x some years ago. They had a policy of one person making drinks for the rest of them staff. She told me she disliked doing it but on the other hand, if anyone had been especially obnoxious to her, she could spit in their drink.' No tea for me, thanks.

I got told off for going to the toilet too much when I was pregnant!

I once had a huge bollocking as an 18yo barmaid for having a drink in the pub where I worked.

It was a big Carvery place, with lots of local teenagers working as bar tenders, pot washers & glass collectors. We weren't allowed to drink in the pub as apparently some staff were suspected of giving their mates freebies.

I'd started the week before & no one had actually told me this.

I'd made friends with one of the other girls & we'd arranged to go out for the night - my day off, her afternoon shift.

I rocked up to meet her when she was finishing at around 7pm, & was quietly drinking a half of lager - which I'd paid for - whilst waiting for her to get changed out of her uniform so we could get the bus into town.

Almighty ticking off ensued & I was sent to finish my beer in the carpark, after being tersely informed that my 80s goth look (long velvet skirt & too much eyeliner) wasn't acceptable on the premises anyway. It really wasn't a pub where I'd have chosen to drink in the first place...

I got told off repeatedly by my manager when I worked for the MOD for correcting the officers’ spelling errors - cos (apparently) they were far more clever than I was so they must be right.

A senior colleague asked me to find something out (can’t remember what, I think it was how the company handled some data). I emailed someone in another department, who forwarded my email on to someone else and on it went. Until it came back to another senior colleague, who forwarded it to me, copying in lots of people, and said that they expected me to find the answer within two days.

They were really pissed off when I went to see them to say that unfortunately the query had originated with me and I hadn’t been able to find the answer.

Cringing with embarrassment at remembering the time I ticked off my team for all using "should of" in their emails.

Bet they thought I was a right grammar nazi!

I used to work with a girl whose entire life was her holidays so her desk was surrounded by pictures.

I was over at here desk once, spotted a picture and said “Oh I love that top, you had it on last week”.

I was pulled up by my line manager for embarrassing her as the holiday pic was 5 years old.

Fortunately I was working my notice at the time.

I was once a manager in the Third sector.
I made a referral to Social services after an aggressive Client disclosed some really concerning incidents involving a child during an assessment. They made a complaint.
I was dragged through meeting after meeting, made to go on training, had telling off after telling off from my seniors for making the referral as it resulted in a complaint, they even tried making me go around all the staff in my local area to tell them what I had done and how they should never make the same mistake as me.
In the end I had to involve solicitors and they backed down. Bonkers.