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Alright, here’s the deal: work can be weird, especially when the rules are downright bonkers. We’ve gathered 43 of the wildest, funniest, and just plain ridiculous workplace rules people have shared. Ready to roll your eyes and laugh? Let’s go!
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I worked in an office with three women and fifteen men. One day, the three of us girls went to lunch together. When we came back, the boss chewed us out and said girls can't take lunch breaks together anymore because "nobody was here to answer the phones." Guess only women know how to pick up the phone? Thanks a lot, boss. Glad I left.
I worked at a restaurant where every little thing, like price changes or removing items, needed a manager’s magic touch. Problem? Only two managers existed, and sometimes just one was on shift. During busy nights, asking for help meant yelling from managers and mad customers who’d been waiting 15 minutes. I quit fast. Stress level? Off the charts.
As a former boss, I hated memos about 'behavioral' problems that were actually about one employee. If someone had an issue with "Bob," just talk to Bob! No sneaky memos on my watch. I get it, people.
Years ago, my office had beer in the fridge. After 5 pm, you could have one at your desk or in the lunchroom, on an honor system. Then we bought a company in Des Moines, and those 'good old boys' raided the beer stash every weekend. No prizes for guessing what happened next - the beer perk vanished.
I worked at a small campus coffee cart. We had a tip jar that usually covered our taxes and then some. One day, a coworker borrowed a fistful of coins from the tip jar to feed her parking meter. I reported her because, well, that's next-level shady. Next day? Tips were banned for everyone. Drama!
At McDonald's, a janitor got canned for allegedly planning a rendezvous in the dumpster area - caught in the act by a manager! Since that steamy incident, no one can take out the trash without a supervisor tagging along. Awkward trash runs, anyone?
My old job handed out turkeys for Thanksgiving. Someone accidentally dropped theirs on their foot, then tried to sue for a ridiculous amount. Turkey time? Cancelled!
You couldn’t take sick leave on Mondays or Fridays unless you had a doctor’s note. Otherwise, they'd say you were just sneaking a long weekend. Turns out the rule-maker was just a massive control freak and the rule was bogus. Freedom wins!
There was an optional meeting but one guy complained that he always showed up and others didn't. So boom - the meeting became mandatory for everyone. Way to kill the vibe.
I worked at a graphic design place where one day, headphones were suddenly banned. Boss said they hurt productivity. If it were physical labor, maybe, but sitting at a desk NEEDS tunes! The whole office felt like a creativity-sucking black hole.
No toast allowed in the office kitchen. Junior docs toasted cheese sandwiches sideways to stop leaks but still set off smoke alarms, which called the fire department. First time was hysterical; second time? No toaster for us, like we’re kindergarteners.
Someone posted a picture on a random forum during work hours. No punishment on them, but suddenly no one - yes, all 3500 employees - are allowed phones at work anymore. Management? Phone away. Regular employees? Leave ’em in the car.
The Sick Room and Quiet Room are now locked because someone kept hiding there. Since then, the sneaky napper's been using the glass meeting pods instead. You can’t outsmart the system forever.
My supervisor let us take breaks even if we worked only 4 hours. Then one coworker took both 15-minute and 30-minute breaks while working 4 hours and got mad when we pointed out it wasn’t allowed. Next week, breaks only if you work 5 hours. Boss drama 101.
They made the rule that employees have to give their best hours, days, and years for poverty wages so the billionaire owner could get richer. Yeah, that jerk totally ruined it for us all.
No rolling office chairs allowed! One guy stood his wheeled chair on top of his desk to hang a sign, it rolled away, and he fell. Two weeks off work later, and the ban was born.
No couch in our breakroom because folks who didn’t work in our department used to nap on it during work hours. The nap police struck, couch gone.
I was a cashier and a boss came in and decided cashiers having water bottles on the floor in view was 'not good.' So if we wanted water, we'd have to walk all the way to the back. Thirsty and annoyed, all of us thought it was a dumb rule.
Before cell phones, our restaurant let us use the phone in the pantry. Someone racked up calls to sketchy 'love lines' and the landline was yanked. Everyone knew the culprit was the weird night cook. Yep.
My wife’s a flight attendant, and we could buy cheap tickets for family and friends. Someone sold them on eBay, though, so that perk got nixed. No more cheap trips for buddies.
After COVID work-from-home, a bunch of personal things disappeared from desks. Since no one could find the thief, the new rule became 'only keep stuff you're okay losing.' Ouch.
Only full-time staff could take out the trash in food areas. One poor bakery worker took a cart with expired pies, popped one open, and dug in. Camera caught him, he was fired, and part-timers lost trash duty privileges. Sad lunch situation.
My office had first aid kits with aspirin, band-aids, etc. I started popping ibuprofen for my regular headaches. One day, the kits vanished because employees were "stealing" them. Wait, I thought they were for us to use? Mystery solved, I guess.
One person couldn’t keep their desk tidy, so the boss made a rule: no more than 10 things on your desk (that’s everything - phone, keyboard, mouse included). Also, no stacking items over three inches. Talk about tidy terror!
Everyone had to speak English because one lady thought people were talking trash about her in Spanish. Spoiler: they totally were!
'You can wear comfy clothes overnight, but pants must stay on at all times. No pajamas or underwear.' This rule goes way back - rumor is someone tried chilling overnight without pants and caused a panic.
In nursing school, first-year students had skill labs with syringes but no real needles. Why? A previous student drained her boyfriend's knee abscess with those needles and posted it on social media. She got expelled, and needles got banned for future students.
They're trying to ban earbuds at work, but no one's really enforcing it. People rock those flashy AirPods, wired sets, all kinds. So they banned hats that cover ears to catch the sneaky users. It’s freezing, but rules are rules.
I was hoping for an employee discount at a Japanese grocery store. But some past employee abused it to give friends crazy discounts. Management found out and pulled the plug. So long, discount dreams.
One employee downloaded a free student version of software instead of using the company's paid one. Nearly cost a fortune. Now everything is locked down so tight, I can't even delete desktop icons without IT’s approval. Fun times.
All social media and streaming sites got blocked on work computers after someone spent the whole day watching movies and scrolling social media at work. Lesson learned, I guess.
Someone complained they weren’t properly trained, so now we all have to do this insanely long training workbook during our shifts, plus weekly quizzes. It’s been weeks, and I'm still not even halfway through.
No more taxi vouchers after the Christmas party. One guy used his to visit his parents 400 kilometers away. Budget buster!
No sneakers allowed! One manager was obsessed with a woman 30 years younger who had a two-hour commute. She sometimes forgot to swap shoes, and he probably got sick of rejection, so he banned sneakers.
No dogs. Why? Because some dude thought it’d be hilarious to put his dog on a weak shelf. Spoiler alert: the shelf broke. RIP doggo shelf.
There were fans in the building, but after one guy used them to spread his daily farts, the owner took all the fans out. Now it’s a sauna with 30 people working in there. Gross.
I work at a video game company. We’re no longer allowed to include ourselves in the games because someone just couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Yikes.
Netflix is blocked at work. One secretary used to watch Netflix at her desk and nap when there were no calls. I don’t need Netflix at work, but now I curse her every time I check internet speed. She got fired fast, though, so there’s that.
We weren’t allowed to sing karaoke when the bar was empty because a guy who’s been fired and rehired at least seven times complained.
In a big warehouse, we had an exit door near our lunch spot that saved time. A boss was stealing cigarettes for her boyfriend. When the higher ups tried to catch them, he nearly ran them over and broke through a barrier. After that, no more exit door shortcuts.
Not allowed to fly paper planes in the office. I work in finance and yes, it was my fault. My aim is terrible and my plane "crashed" into a manager from another department who had no sense of humor.
We are no longer allowed to say things like "You look nice today." Unknown to everyone, they hired a crazy feminist who started screaming about harassment after a woman complimented her hair. Workplace drama, am I right?
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