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 .

For not telling them I had poor mental health. Except I did. I told the manager, the ceo's son the week prior in my one to one. I then got sent home because my colleague absolutely flew off the handle at me and I refused to retaliate.

I got told off because my boss's laptop died while she was delivering a webinar.

Apparently I should've checked it for her 🙄

I agreed with someone who pointed out a typo in the document. He didn’t get told off – just me. Apparently I was inciting panic as staff would be seriously worried if they thought the company had made a mistake.

Also, when working in a supermarket at 11pm after being at uni all day, a customer made an official complaint because I yawned. I did yawn, but immediately apologised…and it was 11pm 🙄
I couldn’t believe my manager actually upheld the complaint, but she was not happy.

I once got told off for charging my mobile as "that's (bosses names) electricity"
Someone I worked with was once forced to attend a training to learn how to slice a banana correctly (diagonal slices are more attractive apparently). It was a secretarial job so banana slicing of any description was already over and above the call of duty.

I rung work and told them I’m taking emergency compassionate leave and so I wouldn’t be in for 12. This was around 9.My sister was run over by a motorbike and was facing life changing injuries. My boss said no because I’m going out tonight with friends. It was a shop in a shop. I said I don’t care. Family is more important. She started arguing. I just put the phone down. I didn’t get the sack and she had to apologise.

My dad once walked off a site after being asked into a meeting where he was told off for using the toilet too much and for too long. They had noted times. It’s gone down in family legend. He never went back.

My Mum worked in the civil service in the 1960's and wasn't allowed a new pencil until she has produced the stub of her previous one. To evidence that she "really needed a new pencil"

Not told off for but once lost 3% on a mystery shop as “my lanyard was too long” and it “moved around when I walked”. Anything to not give me a tenner for the 100%

I was organising a customer event which was happening in a hotel Conference room. Whilst I was outside the room checking guests in the hotel staff set up the room and didn’t put a table cloth on the tea and coffee table properly so you could see the trestle table legs. Apparently this was my fault for a. Not spotting it (I was outside) b. Not briefing them on how I wanted the table cloths on the table (seriously!) In the middle of being bollocked about this, the manager came over to apologise for the table cloth Outrage , apparently there was a new starter who didn’t know what size to use, so had picked ones that were too small. Still appeared on my appraisal as an example of poor planning and Lack of attention to detail. I didn’t stay long after that.

Another job Horrible colleague phoned me to ask if I could put the coffee on in advance of her meeting as she was running late. She wasn’t senior but acted like she was. I didn’t really know how to use the machine so asked someone else (our big boss) to show me what to do. He didn’t put the filter in properly so the coffee didn’t drip into the pot but all over the floor. She wrote me a snotty email copying in loads of people suggesting I had deliberately put the coffee on wrong. Took great delight in replying, oh I didn’t do it, Big Boss did. When she left, there was a night out to celebrate, she was invited

I got told off for not making my supervisor a cup of tea when I made myself one even though everyone only made their own as there was loads of us in the office.

I sighed, rolled my eyes and never did make him one ever.

Going for midwife appointments while working as a temp - time that I wasn’t going to get paid for anyway. Boss already knew I was pregnant when I took the job.

For doing my job. I had to fill in some part of official paperwork, leaving just the signature free for the person who checked it and signed it.
One woman, Shirley, called me over and in front of clients berated me, saying "WE are the professionals and if YOU make a mistake with this form and we've signed our names to it, there would be a problem, right??"

Shirley, that was my job. Not all of it, but part of it, and if you signed your name to something you hadn't read, that would have been YOUR problem. You were a fucking bitch to work with and I really wish I'd had the guts to tell you that.

My clothes were "too fashionable" and "eveningish"

Putting a penny in the wrong cash tin. Yes, you read that right, a whole penny. It was fixed by literally taking the penny from one tin and putting it in the other. A 3 second job. I was sworn at, shouted at, there was stomping and slamming. I didn’t stay there long. You’re shocked, I know

Being too empathic.

Really.

I was told off for talking to a body. I used to work in a children's hospice and we sometimes cared for children who had died, I was checking on a little one before the family came to spend time with them and was telling the child what I was doing. The nurse in charge told me off for doing it because it was unnecessary and "freaky". The nurse in charge didn't last long in a hospice role and I continued to talk to the children whether they were alive or not.

I was once given a disciplinary for 'kicking a shredder'. The bloody thing only worked if you gave it a nudge with your foot, so after many failed attempts at shredding by the entire office (temp job in a call centre) I had found the solution!

I shared my success with the office, who were mostly delighted that they could now shred to their heart's content, with a small nudge to the bottom of the machine.

Unfortunately, admin were most upset to see me 'abusing office equipment' and I was forced to write a grovelling apology letter promising never to do it again...

I was also told off for walking past the supervisor's desk to seek help from IT when my computer froze mid call. They were a mere three or so metres away, but apparently I should have emailed the managers first (on my FROZEN COMPUTER!) and asked permission before daring to walk past their desk to IT.... I then had to go back to my desk, and get my colleague to email them on my behalf before they responded with 'permission granted' and I could walk back the three meters to IT...

I am so glad I now am a teacher, where the complaints are sooooo reasonable and fair, I can't divulge any of these utterly ridiculous complaints though for fear of reprisal...

I used to have a Saturday job at a restaurant within a department store. I got told off for not making mistakes when I was on the till.

My last boss, I resigned after 20 years because I knew I was going to kill her with my bare hands if I stayed there any longer.
Used to call me at 2 minutes to five every single day to check I had not gone home 2 minutes early, then 5 minutes later if I was still there - mostly I told her I was down at the post room or photocopying if I had buggered off early that day and she could prove nothing - she would ask why I was still at work, clearly I couldn't cope with my workload if I was still at work and did I need refresher course x,y,z.
I do know know how she had the time in her day to play these stupid games.
She never caught me out going early though, I always had a really good excise.

I once got told off (an absolute bollocking) for doing my manager's end of month stats when I was covering for her. Apparently I was deliberately trying to show her up. She was a really nasty piece of work and if I hadn't done them I'd still have got a bollocking.

For not putting DD into ‘another nursery’ when she had projectile sickness and diarrhoea as her own refused to have her oddly. Apparently you can walk up to any nursery and leave your child there with no prior arrangement even if they are sick.
Boss tried to make a formal complaint that I didn’t come in until HR explained to him (just as I had) how childcare actually works.

Not being able to give my boss directions. She was in Belfast, I was in London. Pre-smart phone days.

She was genuinely 'I'm facing a red brick wall. Which way do I turn'.

This isn't Challenge Anneka you dim woman. Why not go back into the hotel & ask. Or phone a bloody taxi.

I used to get in an hour early every day due to public transport. No extra pay or flexi time.

One day, due to traffic, I was only 5 minutes early. My boss was most unhappy and shouted at me for not being early enough.

I was a very junior doctor, had arrived at work an hour early (at 7am) to catch up with patients admitted over weekend. I got screamed at by a senior registrar for not doing antibiotic levels ( gentamicin) on patient admitted overnight - even though I was not there.
He is a specialist now and still an a...hole. I am a GP and refer a lot private work to that speciality ...but never to him.

Some of these are truly truly awful .💐

I once did not get my contract renewed because I had failed to get Sir Elton John to perform for free at a charity concert in Ukraine with 48 hours notice. It was a later post Friday lunch whim of my boss.

I am NOT joking.

(It was such a fun conversation calling up Elton John's representatives asking for that. )

For checking my phone when I met the bloke who was training me for coffee… after he’d been rocking around on his phone and calling his mates outside.