When I worked at a very casual art handling company, one of my bosses pulled me into the server closet and told me that my acid wash jeans and Joy Division t-shirt made it look like I was going clubbing. While I fought the urge to ask which clubs he was going to, I teared up a little after the chiding. Another time, I was berated (this time at a restaurant job) for not coming in for a call shift – even though I had been told I wasn’t needed when I closed the night before. Unfortunately for many of us, our superiors seem to love putting us down – or in our place – for reasons that, frankly, are ridiculous.
Twitter user Katie Harrington reminded us of these injustices by asking her followers a simple question:
What’s the weirdest thing you ever got in trouble at work for?
I was accused of being disrespectful because the six people I CCd on an email weren’t listed in order of seniority.
— Katie Harrington (@katieharr1988) October 4, 2021
The responses, as one can expect, are full of facepalm. We’ve put together the most damning anecdotes, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all dumb as hell! Here’s hoping your employers are on the saner (and smarter) end of this bleak spectrum.