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 .

@ojojojoja

stapling documents in the corner diagonally, rather than vertically.

Oooo, I've had that!!! Boss made me unstaple a huge pile of documents and restaple the lot - madness !

I worked in a special school where I was regularly attacked. I had learnt to keep my face passive but one day got huge clumps of my hair ripped out and was bitten. Next thing I knew I was being told off for showing emotion in my eyes.

Worked with someone who worked at different sites, had meetings with organisations at their premises, did outreach work etc but had a base in our building. He never, ever bothered to update his shared calendar so we generally had no idea if/when he would be in and he didn't want his number given out. My colleague and I got a telling off from the big boss after the non-calendar updating guy had complained that we were offering to take messages to pass onto him as we weren't sure when he'd be in. Made him look unprofessional apparently.

To be fair, he was massively unprofessional.

The wrong eye contact apparently

Yes the person who said it was bonkers

For having desktop shortcuts on my computer. Apparently they were dangerous

For not enforcing my childminder to take care of my two kids at 8.30am on a sunday morning once a month. Sunday was not in my contracted working hours, unless it was for overtime / holiday cover. This was for me to attend (unpaid) staff meetings that were not mentioned as being on sundays when I had my job interview or after my induction, but more a case of oh BTW, we have decided to move staff meetings from Friday mornings once a month to sundays. Fridays my kids could have gone to the childminder, but she didn't (and wouldn't) work on a sunday. It was even suggested by them that I leave them home alone since the meeting was only 20-30 mins anyway (I would have been out of the house well over an hour) the children were 8 and 4. Single parent living in a different town to rest of my family, and I had no one I could ask, they said I was unreasonable for saying I couldn't do a sunday morning because of lack of childcare- reason the meetings were moved in the first place was because another member of staff took her Nanna for breakfast on Fridays. I would never have taken the job if they had said that the staff meetings were on sundays.

Also got told off by a manager who saw me having breakfast at wetherspoons before my shift began, it was a one off because my kids both went into school early for school trips, and I was still on time for work. But apparently if I was free I should have come in early and worked overtime because the store was busy. I was still a little earl for my shift, by 5/10 mins, but she was really annoyed that I dare have time for breakfast before it started!
I was juggling two part time jobs at that point because the retail job couldn't offer me enough hours. When they found out I also had an evening job starting at 4pm they called me into the managers office, basically gave me a bollocking for daring to have a second job and changed my contracted hrs to the afternoon shift ending at 5pm. No extra hours, still only 8 hrs a week, they just didn't want me to work anywhere else as well.

I returned later that same day and handed in my notice. Taking the plunge and going fully self employed was the best thing I ever did.

Laughing

Using the toilet more than once in a 12 hour shift at 24 weeks pregnant.

Having 'unnaturally colored' hair. I mean it was a bit white blonde, but my boss had pink streaks in her hair! Also for having a bad attitude when pointing out said pink streaks

For refusing to let my supervisor out me to my homophobic team (that she refused to deal with despite frequent complaints). She argued I was depriving her of the chance to go on a double date with a gay couple and also because she wanted to use me as bait to get one of my colleagues sacked. She knew this woman would bully me so I was meant to be the sacrificial lamb to oust this underperforming cow with minimal delay.

For handing in my resignation to care for a seriously ill parent, my only family. I was told by my psycho bitch boss from hell that they were 'just being manipulative' and that she was refusing to accept my resignation.

Not at all unusual behaviour from that woman unfortunately. Among many other things, she expected me to collude with her in bullying my line manager out of their job.

Of course I left but looking back I'm sorry I gave notice at all and didn't just walk out.

For using the wrong tack on a horse by the yard manager. This was at a large notorious boarding school in North Yorkshire back in the 2000s.

I'd been off for a week, never worked with that horse before and had tried to check with her twice before tacking up. She told me to use whatever was in that horse's locker so I did.

She had a massive screaming fit at me in front of staff and pupils over it and kept me back to clean the tack.

I hated her and quit not too long after.

At another job - because I turned the broom over to get into a corner better. With it the right way, the wooden bit stopped the bristles getting where they needed to be. Told it was ridiculous that I couldn't sweep properly.

@bloodywhitecat I used to be a nurse in a nursing home and we always spoke to people after they had passed away. We would wash and change them and treat them as we did when they were alive, with respect and dignity

I got called into the head’s office and was told off for having 4 days off in a row.

My son had nearly died of sepsis, had been in resus (then on a ward) and has ASD and selective mutism. I had hardly been able to get food for myself as I hadn’t left his side.

I had gone back to work immediately after this (hardly any sleep for days) and was told my partner should stay in hospital with my children if they became ill again.

I’m a sole parent.

When I was a third year student nurse, I got told off for knitting in the canteen during my (unpaid) lunch break, by the cow who was the Theatres Manager. According to her, knitting in uniform was unprofessional, and would give the wrong impression to any members of the public who saw me.

The list of things considered 'unprofessional' by nursing managers is long and inconsistent to say the least. The word has been completely de-valued in my eyes because of it's inappropriate overuse.

Was told off for daring to take an injured animal I found on my way into work to the vets which was a five minute walk away. Apparently I should have just left it to suffer/die. Had to sacrifice my lunchtime and break time to make the time up. I handed in my notice very shortly afterwards, I couldn't work for such callous people.

At a care home, was told off for daring to clean up a resident who had a gastric infection rather than help with the tea trolley round with two other members of staff...apparently getting their cigarette break quicker was far more important than the poor resident. I left that job shortly afterwards as well, was the final straw in a line of bullying behaviour I received for daring to care.

I was yelled at and then lost my job because I told someone over the phone that a certain person no longer worked at the company. This person had left many years before I started and I'd previously been told to just say he didn't work there.

Apparently I should have known that the directors had secretly agreed to re-employ this person and a super secret meeting was due to take place that day. They then found out id applied for another job and sacked me - then remembered that they needed me to skivvy for them at the meeting so asked me to stay on for the day to cover it. Ummm, NO! Apparently I was unreasonable for not staying .

In an office job, secretarial work, I was told off for reading and to put the book away. I was looking a word up in the dictionary.

Another time, temping at a tiny, dusty suburban law practice, senior lawyer complained loudly - in my hearing - about the cheek of me, a temp, using their electricity to charge my phone. Wasn't me, it was one of his partners.

Colleague and I spent many hours creating a comprehensive office info / induction document from scratch. Handed over finished document to more senior staff who took all the information we compiled, rearranged it in alphabetical order and reissued it as their own, complete with stupid mistakes ie putting Exit under X.

Fuck 'em

Turning someone's music off.

I have difficulty processing sounds, some cause pain.

The person had gone off to teach a 2 hour lesson and had left his headphones playing on our shared desk.

I once had a programme deleted from my computer as I was using it more than anyone else!!! (We were continually being told to use it all the time). After a day of me sending emails to another department asking them to add everything I would have done in that day (on the advice of my manager) I had a phone call the next day quietly telling me it would be re-installed.

For starting my emails with Good morning/ Good afternoon instead of 'Hi'

As a teacher, called into the HT's office to be told I had been nearly late a few times.

As I pointed out, nearly late is on time.

At my first proper job 15 or so years ago (admin and copywriting for a local businessman) my employer gave me the option of working from home for a day if I wanted. I chose to as it was the day after a public holiday. He told me a few weeks later that this choice had been a “test” which I had apparently failed!

Looking back at all of the BS he told me and the comments he made on my personal life. i.e. I should leave my boyfriend as I was too young to be in a serious relationship - I wish I’d told him where to stick his job!

For wearing a trouser suit, in a law firm, by a female partner, in 1999. Not the done thing, apparently.

I got told off for being too efficient, accurate, and helpful because it made my lazy colleague look bad.

Same here.

I was seconded over to a struggling team because their line manager was hopeless but had close family connections to one of our clients so was being treated with kid gloves.

I spent two weeks on the team and got their productivity back to an acceptable level and covered a gap in annual leave until more experienced people could come in and shore up the team.

One night, while doing overtime, so it was dark outside, I could see by the reflection in the windows that the line manager was most unhappy at me being in her team because she was flicking 'V's at my back and making faces.

Anyways, after I had finished with the team, one of our senior managers told me that the paragon of efficiency and maturity of a line manager had told them never to put me anywhere near her team ever again because "I made her look stupid."

No dear, you did that to yourself.