'She demanded I hire her': Manager's old company calls begging him to hire his useless ex-coworker to get her off their hands

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 4, 2023 12:00 PM EDT

Imagine having a coworker so terrible that when you get a new management role and poach the members of your old team, your old HR manager actually gets mad at you for not poaching the awful one. That's a scenario that boggles the mind so completely it's hard to imagine this scenario actually playing out in real life.

Yet, that's exactly what his manager reported experiencing in a story that they shared on Reddit. In their account of events, they tell how—a few months after leaving their old job—they were placed in a position at their new company where they needed to assemble a team. This team would comprise the best of the best within their specific skillsets… complete with quirky and endearing personalities. Together they would overcome the impossible and get back at George Clooney's ex's new boyfriend by stealing all of his money from his super-secret vau—Hold on. Let's rewind for a second… We're receiving word that this synopsis is for the wrong story.

Right, so forget the rest of that; this manager needed to assemble a team, and just like in Ocean's 11, who better to get a job done than the people you've worked with before? So, they set about contacting their old team, making them offers that they knew would be irresistible, and eviscerating the staffing of their old employer in the process by successfully taking every last member of their team—except for one. Now, there was one member of their old team who the manager didn't reach out to—possessing no desire to ever work with this person again. 

This person was the laziest member of their team who needed constant hounding to complete even the most basic tasks. Sure enough, the manager received a call from this person furiously demanding why she hadn't been offered a shiny new job. After telling her the harsh, unshielded truth, the next call they received would be even more surprising.

Read on to see screenshots of the original thread, as it was shared on Reddit's r/entitledpeople subreddit community by Redditor u/ThePeasantKingM. Next, see this terrible coworker who was fired for harassment and used the job as a reference anyways.

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  • 01
    Font - Former coworker demands a job because she's a mother M In my previous job I was a mid level manager and I was assigned a small team to lead. This team was composed of four members; three of them were very hard workers who always finished their jobs and tried to learn as much as possible. The fourth one...well, she had to be asked continuously to finish her job, often tried to make others do her job, was late more often than not, would spend hours talking to others, not doing her job and d
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 02
    Font - Eventually, I was offered a better paying job and left the company. After a few months, I was offered a promotion that required me to assemble a team to lead, I could either choose from the company or bring new people. I decided to contact the hard working members of my old team and offered them the new job. It was a no brainer for them; much better pay, much more benefits, better working conditions and the possibility of WFH most days. They were happy of landing a better job together and
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 03
    Font - A couple of days later, the fourth member of my old team called me. She was very angry that I didn't offer her the job, knowing that as a mother she could use the benefits and working hours. She demanded I hired her too, but I refused. Since I had no one forbidding me from being honest, I told her that her work ethics and performance are terrible and that hiring her would be worse for me. There were so many more things I wanted to say, but I bit my tongue. She called me some names and hun
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 04
    Font - Later that day I received the weirdest and most stupid call of my career. The HR manager from my former company called me (this has to be the most stupid HR manager I've met, I have so many stories of her incompetence). Apparently, after calling me, my former coworker was angry and upset. HR noticed and asked what was wrong and she told them. So the HR manager called me to reprimand me for making her upset, for treating my team unfairly and demanding that I either offered her a job in my
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 05
    Font - Cfwydirk I was thinking the slacker was who you were calling entitled but,.... That last paragraph! An HR lady calling you to guilt you into taking a turd off her hands. Priceless! 639 manBEARpig03 Reply Share Right? Wouldn't the HR manager be upset that they lost 3 solid employees instead? 62 Reply Share
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 06
    Font - RandomCoffeeThoughts HR wanted to get rid of her in the worst way. 352 Reply Share RandomCoffeeThoughts Wait...HR knows you don't work for them anymore, yes? This is just so out of line. Yeah, they probably want to get rid of her, but it irks me they'd have the brass to pull that. Reply Share 182
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 07
    Font - No_Dependent_8346 HR's probably catching shit because she also poached their best and brightest and they got stuck with dead weight. Petty assed me would petty bomb HR's LinkedIn with the details of your last conversation, that's got to be some kind of "harassment" that's likely to make her unemployable at any company (including this one) that's even slightly aware of potential legal ramifications. And, make sure top brass gets sent the details. But admittedly I'm a mean S.O.B. that takes
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 08
    Font - Esau2020 the HR manager called me to reprimand me for making her upset, for treating my team unfairly and demanding that I either offered her a job in my new company or apologized. Did the HR manager actually think she actually had any authority over you? I laughed, argued with her for a bit and hung up. Ooh, now you've done it. Now you're in trouble. You're gonna get a write-up, for sure. /s (Heh... actually, if you did, you'd have physical evidence of just how fucked up that company is.
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 09
    Font - HowellMoon93 Slacker mom definitely had a stake at your old job (from the way your boss handled her they might have been sleeping together or something) 54 Reply Share The PeasantKingM OP They aren't sleeping together. My former boss is a foreigner and doesn't understand my country's language, nor does the mother speak the boss's language. The problem with the boss is that he's afraid of upsetting people, and feels pity for the mother. No matter how much I've told him otherwise, he's conv
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 10
    Font - Justan OldBabyBoomer. That HR manager is a completely DELUSIONAL ASSHAT if she thinks she has that kind of power over companies she has NO connection to!!! I hope you told her to take a LONG walk off a SHORT pier! I've been known, when an Entitled Asshat pisses me off bad enough, to say: "Just because you chose to spread your legs does NOT make it my problem!" ✩44 Reply Share
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 11
    Font - ersentenza So the HR lady wanted you to rid her of the dead weight? Lol :) Reply Share 13
    via u/ThePeasantKingM
  • 12
    Font - Nevermind 04. HR called you and demanded you poach another one of their employees? That's wild as hell. ↑ 18 ↓ Reply Share
    via u/ThePeasantKingM

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories-reddit workplace-stories in-the-workplace hr workplace-story manager funny story tales-from-the-workplace coworkers workplace-discussion human resources managers workplace entitled creativity in the workplace coworker entitled people
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