'Not happening...': Terrible lazy coworker tries to get a reference from a frustrated former team member

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Feb 20, 2023 4:30 PM EST

We've all worked with that coworker who completely overestimates their competency, contribution, and capabilities. Whether or not they're blissfully and utterly unaware of their uselessness is never clear, but their work (or lack thereof) makes it plain to everyone else exactly how things are. Still, this person won't hesitate to tell you how to do your job as if it's their job to do so while doing seemingly everything possible to avoid doing any work of their own.

I've experienced almost the exact situation described in this post, and you have to wonder what these former coworkers are thinking in using their disgruntled former team members as references. In my past life working in management, we had a worker who we had to fire for pulling a "no call, no show" on their first shift of every week. We let this go on for far too long, trying to be as understanding as possible, and went through multiple steps of remediation before having to pull the plug. This worker then had the gall to list me as a reference when they applied to a competitor. Normally people would give me heads-up that they were listing me as a reference, and I'm always happy to do so if the person has any redeeming qualities in their work. Now, I have a terrible poker face as it is, and this call caught me so off guard that I wasn't able to come up with anything good to say about this worker. They, like the coworker in this story, must be going for a "Hail Mary" and hoping that the hiring manager won't bother calling the references they provide—which is almost never going to happen.

Keep reading for the original story below. For more, check out this coworker who called a woman a "nasty girl" after throwing his trash in her candy bowl.