By the next day, the gossip had spread everywhere. Later, the HR called us in. Then, the new nurse came in and started to explain she “misunderstood” our relationship.
HR wasn’t buying it. Afterward, her reputation plummeted. She started showing up late and unprofessional, and HR issued a warning.
Eventually, she was transferred to a less visible role. The gossip died down, and my dad and I returned to work, feeling relieved. — Anna G.
- This happened at my husband’s job.
He had a co-worker on his team, had been there for a few months. Apparently, during downtime when he had nothing to do, he would browse the company files on their server, and he came across files that he was not supposed to have access to (he was mistakenly given the wrong clearance). It wasn’t anything that was a matter of national security, but it was something that was supposed to be for management’s eyes only.
He started telling my husband and their co-workers what he saw. Someone overheard him and reported him. Got called into the director’s (or someone in upper management) office and was fired on the spot.
- Promotions manager at a radio station I worked for was selling the prize Disneyland tickets to pay for his wedding.
Fired the second it came to light.
- I worked at a place that required security clearance. One clear rule that everyone is stressed by is absolutely no pictures. A supervisor posted his office setup on Facebook.
Canned the next day.
- He worked the overnight tech support shift, mostly alone in the office for hours. One night, he took a stepladder into an empty office that shared a wall with the receptionist’s office, which is kept locked. He climbed the ladder and then onto the ceiling to access the next office.
He jimmied the lock to the drawer and grabbed the box, and tried to climb back out. Except the ladder was really short, and he couldn’t get a toe hold, and he fell, breaking his ankle. He called the boss to say he needed to leave early, so the boss came in and found the place a disaster.
The next morning, you could see these plaster dust hand prints sliding down the wall above the ladder. It was pretty entertaining.
- Things started going missing from people’s desks. The culprit remained elusive until one day he showed his “brand-new iPod!” to another coworker.
On the back, it was engraved with the name of a different coworker who had just had his brand-new iPod stolen. Managers were summoned, he was gone within minutes, and so were all the unsolved thefts.
- We hired a radiation physicist with an MS. He told us he was going for his Ph.D., and for 4 years gave us updates on how it was going.
One day he came in and announced he had gotten his Ph.D., and we gave him a substantial raise. Then it turned out that he was never in a program, never got a Ph.D., and had patiently carried out a scam for 4 years.
- Coworker pretended to have a snake in a box (we’re in Texas) and chased someone who had a severe fear of snakes to the point they hid in their boss’s office (boss was gone on vacation that week), having a panic attack and sobbing under the desk. That was not a fun day, and they had me go home once I had calmed down enough, and then fired him, which was a long time coming, so I think they were relieved to have a reason to finally pull the trigger on firing him.
Being a nanny isn’t always as picture-perfect as it seems.
Sometimes, it feels more like a wild adventure that should come with a handbook! Here are 11 nannies who definitely wished their job came with a manual.
