Craziest things a boss has done

[GerbilsForever24]

Inspired by the "craziest reasons to sulk" thread, I thought it might be entertaining (and cathartic?) to do similar with bosses? The weird/crazy/irrational things a boss has done?

I'll start with a male boss with a team of 7 women. He would regularly send his PA or the most junior member of the team into the bathroom to "find" anyone who was in the toilet when he wanted to speak to them.

[no, as a rule, no one was spending hours in the toilet - we were hard working, conscientious, busy people. Also, it was a very busy office so it wasn't unusual to hold the need for a bathroom break to unacceptable levels.] He did this on more than one occasion to almost everyone in the office except me (most likely because he knew I'd have taken it straight to HR).

When I told my boss I was pregnant (I was nearly 4 months pregnant), she told me that I couldn't talk about my pregnancy with anyone. She also stopped talking to me and mainly corresponded with me via email. I eventually told others in my team and they were happy for me, even the ones who were childfree. They asked how I was doing etc.

My boss was childfree (not by choice) and terminated my contract when I was 8 months pregnant despite saying she'd renew it (before she found out I was pregnant).

@Bayleaftree63 like absolutely no words. I work for a large multinational so stuff like this just doesn’t and absolutely shouldn’t happen.

Not that crazy, but once in a retail job it was slow, so my boss sent me to drive to the cinema to buy popcorn (had to explain that I didn't want a ticket...just wanted popcorn to go). At least he shared what I brought back!

This is a reference to the American version of The Office 🤣🤣🤣

Thought of another one - not me . But a colleague of mine was told by the manager she was being made redundant. The manager deliberately blew a cloud of cigarette smoke in her face after she’d told her . No words

I need more info on the chocolate? Like a decent adult box of chocs or a fun size twix 🤣

I had a boss who was very nice, partner of a law firm but so ditzy.

I had to call a cafe for her once to locate her very expensive handbag she'd left there.

Left her child in the office whilst she went to get her hair done, child running around crazy (no one in my shared office had agreed to actually babysit)

Went out for lunchtime lip fillers and sat with a bag of frozen peas on her face saying dont let anyone in her office 🤣🤣

In a cramped company car park where the afternoon workers had no hope of securing a parking space, my manager decided to park his flashy sports car half in the parking space and half in the narrow thoroughfare.

The most ridiculous one was at my last job. My old manager (not the car guy) fired my colleague for being an atrocious worker and actively considered re-hiring him even though a) he required constant supervision, b) he wasn't allowed to do certain important tasks as he wasn't trusted and c) we were overstaffed. Then my (now ex) colleague tried to get my manager sacked, and my manager thankfully saw some sense!

I had a manager that said to me after my time off to watch any further absences and be wary of accruing further time off. When I said I’ll try not to have anymore miscarriages he nearly keeled over and died before profusely apologising, because he knew if I went to HR he’d be in a world of trouble. And yes he was aware that’s why I was out of work

Office manager decided she didn't like me. My first weekend on roster I couldn't send out the post because the franking machine was out of credit.

Monday morning I get a stern telling off for not having taken it and the cheque that was kept in the directors top drawer to the post office for a refill. I said I didn't know that was how it was done, nobody has told me. She called me a barefaced liar and showed me and the director her work diary with a meeting with me about the franking machine. I was let go for not being reliable.

I took great delight when going back to pick up my severance cheque in reminding her, the direct and everyone else in the office, that I had been at Head Office on the day she had that meeting and that I had confirmed it with the training team there.

I still left, but so did she a couple of months later.

I lost a job I had for about 3 weeks. She had been there for 20+ years. I always wondered how many others she did the same to.

I had one who didn’t believe I should be ‘allowed’ to use my wheelchair in the office. She knew I can walk a few steps, transfer out of it, that sort of thing.
I raised a grievance and as part of the process I found out that she’d contacted the local council ‘blue badge’ department to try to find out why I’d been granted one ‘when I can walk’
Stupid woman had contacted the wrong council though, the one where the office was located, not where I live.

🤣🤣 I wish I had seen it! But there must be more of these dickheads out there in real life.

Hahaha definitely 🤣🤣🤣

@Aliflowers

"I had a manager that said to me after my time off to watch any further absences and be wary of accruing further time off. When I said I’ll try not to have anymore miscarriages he nearly keeled over and died before profusely apologising, because he knew if I went to HR he’d be in a world of trouble. And yes he was aware that’s why I was out of work"

I had a similar warning after I first had brain surgery for a brain tumour and then pancreatitis caused by gallstones. I had gone to work with the start of jaundice and feeling like death because I didn't want to let colleagues down. One of the managers told me to watch my sick record going forward. Best bit is that I was a health professional in the NHS!

Not my boss. Me ! Myself ! Moi !

Announcing to the world that...
"In December, I’ll be in Beijing, opening up new pork markets"

As it turned out I didn't go. Which rather impacted the my ability to...
"grow the pie".

😕

@annonymousse absolutely shocking.

i was the same. I didn’t want to let colleagues or company down. I’d taken two weeks off after failed medical management, a haemorrhage and then an ERPC after a missed miscarriage. And that was just the physical element of it. When I left the hospital with my sick note, the doctor had left the return to work date blank and told me to fill it in and go back when I felt ready. That I’d had a traumatic time and not to return too soon. I will say there was no badness with my manager, just giving the rote spiel about absenteeism rather than looking at it as an individual case and thinking this absence couldn’t be avoided

mix on personality,

I used to work in a comaony, where when the boss left early on Friday afternoon they would sit in the office and drink n smoke weed or forward the phones head off to the local park etc to drink

There are 2 different kind of Personal Assistants, 1. Is paid by a person or couple to do errands etc 2. Works in a office and admin person logistics, setting up meetings etc, the second one does not include personal errands

Is your boss so stupid he doesn't know they have holes in them?

I'm so grateful for my boss after reading these!
Good example of how he manages us

"Right shall we do a team building meeting, what activities should we do?"
Imagine the collective faces of horror
Me "absolutely fucking not"
"Scrap that, how about we just go to the pub for lunch then"

He also tried to suggest a uniform once, our horrified faces appeared again
"Ahh.. ok let's just do a wear your trainers day instead"

Three for the price of one!
Genuinely a nice man but a bit hapless with a form for forwarding on email trails. He once forwarded on a large email trail that had originated from HR and at the bottom there was an embedded spreadsheet of the entire teams’ salaries. Cue the chaos and recriminations.
He was soon gone but replaced with possibly the most evil creature I have had the misfortune to share the same atmosphere with. As a shameless and expert upwards arse kisser, he groomed upwards but kept his team unsettled by ensuring one was always exalted and one on his 💩 list. Like a twisted Wheel of Fortune. He’s still there (albeit moved sideways away from
people) yet was allowed to leave a trail of MH issues, resignations and union complaints.
As a teenager I worked in a franchise restaurant whose fearsome owners would bring their twin girls (aged 11) in on Saturdays and leave them in the staff room. There they caused chaos by bitching about anyone who came in, going through people’s stuff and just being generally obnoxious brats. None of us dared to complain.

fun size or child type, freddo etc..😂

What a pig 🤬

One of my first Jobs was for a Chinese takeaway that was located in the back of a fish and chip shop. The entrance to the Kitchen had a chest freezer on one side and just enough room to squeeze through to the kitchen. The telephone just happened to be located over the freezer so when taking phone orders, I had to lean over the freezer and use it like a table top to write on. The owner of the chip shop used to regularly slap my butt on his way through.

I also have quite frizzy hair and he on another occasion compared me to a clown.
I left.

I was a manager at a cleaning company - I also had a director extend my 6 month probationary period for an apparent complaint from a client(cleaning company) who was overdue on their account. The complaint was over 2 months old and was never brought to my attention when the email was originally received.
I was picking up the slack from the office admin as she was busy and stressed about arranging her wedding.
I was also accused of 'changing everything' when all I had done was make suggestions.

Also had hapless boss who when my direct manager was on holiday (emails all forwarded to me) emailed my boss regarding redundancies - on two separate occasions.