To ask what your most stupid work telling off was?

[BeatleBattleInABottle]

I need cheering up so if you'd like to share the most stupid reasons you've been told off for at work, that would help!

I've just been issued a formal warning for not following sickness procedures. I returned to work today after being off work since last Monday. Literally "Hi, welcome back. Here's a warning". The reason I didnt follow sickness procedures was because I texted my boss each day instead of phoning in. She replied so she received them. Why did I text? I collapsed on Sunday evening and was in hospital until Sunday. TBH they are lucky I remembered to contact them at all for the first few days. I certainly wasn't in a state to talk.

Same job a few months back. I was organising a conference for 350 people. I needed to confirm numbers so sent a professional email to everyone asking thrm to confirm attendance, dietary and other requirement etc. If they hadn't replied by the deadline, I would phone them. Plenty of time to do this. Nope. Not good enough. I had to recall the email and spend 3 days calling people instead. Great use of time, boss!

Finally, last month, I was sent an email bitching about me. They'd obviously put my name in the address, instead of the subject. I just replied "I don't think this was meant for me". Apparently that was "unprofessional" and upset the people who'd sent it! In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have replied, just to watch them squirm.

Yes, I'm stepping up my job hunt.

For having a cup of tea on my tea break. Id usually just bring it back to my desk and work. According to my line manager tea breaks should be used to sit in quiet contemplation, preferably with your eyes closed. Getting a cup of tea was a waste of time.

I'm long gone from she's still their and has worked her way through quite a number of staff

DP had arranged to leave early (he had done his hours for the day by coming in early as well) for a doctors appointment and on the day his boss who had agreed this previously had a massive go at him for leaving early in front of everyone. No proper apology even though she was in the wrong and he was very glad to leave

I worked somewhere that was introducing a new system costing roughly a million quid of public money. It didn't work very well (it was so bad, in fact, that the staff it was intended for refused to use it) and I wrote a report detailing the issues with it as I had been asked to do. Ructions ensued. But somehow I was the one who was forced to apologise.

Working flexi many years ago in the civil service there were those of us who started early doors and those of us who came in later. I was an early doors person.

This particular day there were three of us who had started early. I had a conversation with one of them by the photocopier - something not work related about clothes shopping.

The third person complained to the team leader that we had had the conversation too quietly and she was unable to eavesdrop (exact word used…) - this apparently was entirely my fault and I was informally warned for “whispering in corners”.

I was hauled into Sisters office as a student nurse to be told my uniform brown shoes were " not brown enough " . 🤔. I was told to polish them darker by tomorrow . I didn't. The next shift Sister walked past and looked down at my shoes and said " " much better Student Marple" , keep them that colour now " .

I used the wrong form for a client but the information given was correct. She turned up for her appointment at the right place and time to be told that she had the wrong form so she left.

I was told by a manager that I'd used the wrong form and therefore wasted everyone's time. They could have checked the client's notes before sending her away but apparently common sense didn't prevail.

I moved to another office and was told by five people about the form and how someone had missed an appointment. I was then approached by my manager because a complaint had been made about me.

Zero hours contract clerking work. Cannot attend a meeting with a client in June because of a medical appointment for my child. Gave three months notice to get cover. This is “unauthorised absence”.

Bollocked for using Tippex once as we “aren’t allowed to make mistakes”.

I was told off by the manager for being late to work when I was on earlies because the deputy manager had said I was 10 minutes late and hadn't finished setting up my room.

What had actually happened was the deputy manager was late. And only senior staff had a key to the building. I was at work on time, but I just couldn't enter.

Was that the Liverpool store?
I did a Christmas season and one female manager was horrible.
Fortunately I didn’t work in her department but that didn’t stop her walking through and bollockiing us for not tidying up if we had nothing to do. Everything was always tidy too.

Apparently that was "unprofessional" and upset the people who'd sent it!

Whaaaat?? You’re being unprofessional?!

Not checking work emails before you send is surely unprofessional? And what about how upset you felt on reading this email?

Sounds like they’re grasping at straws to drive you out OP. Been there.

Loads.
Called in sick because baby had S&D apparently I should have dropped her off at some random nursery we’d never been to before and just not told them. Childless boss seemed to think nurseries were a drop in service, he complained to HR who set him right.

We were told to use public transport where possible when out of town. I was at a meeting in the north, but lived south of the town I worked in, so I passed through the town I worked with on way home.
There were slow and fast trains. Fast trains didn’t stop there.
I got a fast train that passed through 10 minutes before we finished (I’d left an hour before I started so worked out really). New manager told me I needed to take that 10 minutes off my holiday time and leaving early didn’t count and couldn’t claim it.
So everyone started taking the slow trains and then gaining the extra time for passing later and refusing to leave until start time to go to meetings. Caused some issues for a while.

Once worked in a healthcare setting and a GP phoned to see if we offered a certain test. If worked there 7 years, had never seen hide nor hair of this test, never booked one in on the computer, seen a report go out, never seen a sample. However I still checked with a colleague, who was also had never heard of it. I told the GP we didn't. I later got told by my Manager that if I ever did that again she would "slap me". (I should have reported her to HR about this with hindsight but didn't) It transpired that the manager for some reason didn't book them in on the computer, stored them somewhere we didn't know about, and then came in late at night on the weekend, when she wasn't even on duty, and did these tests in the dead of night. Not one member of staff knew about this, but I was irresponsible for assuming we didn't do them!

They sound like a bunch of fools….look for another job

Manager that if I ever did that again she would "slap me".

Can’t believe you didn’t report this abusive bitch

On my first placement as a student teacher it was expected that as trainees we would stop what we were doing every break time and make tea for all of the staff in the department. We had to make cups of tea for 6 staff members. We weren’t allowed in the staff room and had to knock the door and wait for permission to enter. On one occasion a member of staff interrupted my lesson after break to tell me in front of the class that it was the worst cup of tea she’d ever tasted and that I had to see her at lunchtime to be shown how to do it in future!

Told off for sitting in the wrong place in the staff room. Only staff of a certain seniority were allowed to sit there.

Also told off for telling a trusted colleague I’d resigned. I was told by my line manager I needed to run any further communications through him to help me “craft a statement”. I was resigning due to hideous bullying and he knew it. I told him no and I was old enough and professional enough to say what I wanted in an appropriate way and it wasn’t for him to police me. Also reminded him that I was leaving so it was of no consequence to him. To his credit he apologised.

Too many to choose from (retired teacher!) but I still think my favourite was a telling off from the Head of a school I’d joined recently because I’d failed to remind him of his secretary’s birthday. Obviously, I immediately apologised and asked where the list of staff birthdays was kept as I hadn’t realised this was a task I’d inherited from my predecessor - turned out there wasn’t actually a list but Mary (who had been at the school for 30 years) just always did it!!

She ruled that place like the Trunchbull. Everyone was terrified of her, I think she'd have eaten the higher managers alive if they'd pulled her up on it. At the time I was too intimidated to do anything but nowadays, with more life experience, I'd have pushed it and pushed it into something got gone.

I did pull her up on it a couple of years later, she she claimed she was joking and actually seemed shocked that I'd believed it. Well yes, strange how having it screamed at me while she marched off back to her office throwing her hands in the air gave me impression she meant it!! 🙄

If that behaviour went on now she would have found herself out of a job!!!

I got in trouble for lying about a miscarriage. My first sick note said something vague, so my manager thought I’d made it up. Talk about kicking someone when they are down. My second sick note said post-miscarriage infection.

In the 70s i was called into the managers office for wearing trousers.

It was a trouser suite, dresses and skirts were very short in those days, so each time I reached up to a high draw, my knickers were on show.

But that, apparently, was ok. It was the matching trousers and top that was offensive.

I just laughed and asked why a woman in trousers was such a threat.

Life really was like that in the 70s.

Sleeping in late as a 19 year old and being told I should be setting alarms and being responsible. I had been emancipated for years and trying my best to function on my own.

To be fair, it’s reasonable enough to expect a 19 year old to manage to get to work on time.
What do you mean by emancipated?

Agree with this. I started work at 16 and always got there on time. I never relied on anyone to wake me up!