'I left pool noodles outside on accident': 20+ Confounding reasons people got fired

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Apr 2, 2024 3:00 PM EDT

These people couldn't believe what they were hearing when their bosses told them they were fired. That's because these workers were let go for some pretty off-the-wall reasons. 

The usual reasons people are fired are things like repeated latenesses, complaints from customers, talking back to management, or being put on a PIP (performance improvement plan) without improving. Most companies try to avoid firing people if possible, but sometimes it's avoidable. 

At least you're not the person who got fired for being too tall! They claim that their boss didn't like them towering over top of them, and that was all it took to get kicked to the curb. Another person was working, and their manager told them they could leave. Then that worker got fired… for leaving work that day! Clearly, some managers or owners just have it out for certain employees, and they need to make sure they have a plausible enough reason for firing them. 

Check out this great question from u/strykazoid, who requested to hear about the dumbest reasons people ever got laid off. Then, read about the unfortunate case of the boss who fired an employee as an April Fool's prank, only for that employee to take their boss completely seriously. 

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  • 01
    esc # % & 2 3 4 5 6 7 Q W E R T Y Mab A S D F G H cops lock 'I gave highway directions to a customer. They fired me for talking to my friends at work' Z X C V B N X control option command
    via Ian Dooley on Unsplash
  • 02
    What's the dumbest reason a job ever fired you?
    via u/strykazoid
  • 03
    smurfsundermy... I was 16 and accused of following a coworker home on a regular basis. I explained that it's going to keep happening because they kept scheduling us on the same shift, and she lived up the street from me, but that wasn't good enough for them.
    via u/smurfsundermybed
  • 04
    Ch3wbacca1 My manager told me to go. home, I left, and the next day they fired me for leaving my shift in a bad spot because they got busy.
    via u/Ch3wbacca1
  • 05
    moochir I was 17. My Grandpa died unexpectedly from a heart. attack. My Mother called my work's office to let me know. I was called to the office to talk on the office phone to my mother, and staff (who were told what was going on) left the area so my mother could privately break the news to me.
    via u/moochir
  • 06
    I was obliterated of course, and walked outside for about 15 minutes to clear my head. I then went back to work. The woman who was in charge of the entire operation fired me for leaving the building. Human Resources stepped in and stopped the situation before I could be notified that I had been fired.
    via u/moochir
  • 07
    I only found out that this had happened after my grandpas funeral days later. I quit immediately.
    via u/moochir
  • 08
    [deleted] I was 16 and refused to date the owner's niece
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    W C -19 forced everyone to work from home on hastily setup computers and infrastructure. Then they fired the IT staff because we were deemed 'nonessential'. Bit them in the hard enough to remove chunks.
    via u/wkarraker
  • 10
    K Not "fired" but let go with severance. CFO told me to make up historical reports because they weren't done in the past, but now required, and wanted to show how so much better metrics are now than in the past.
    via u/Kir-ius
  • 11
    What they were asking for was literally not possible to do since the data was not tracked to what they were asking and wanted to tweak the past numbers into a full- on made-up breakdown. I told the controller I wasn't comfortable doing this. Next week got paid out A month later I found out the CFO was canned.
    via u/Kir-ius
  • 12
    drewxdeficit TL;DR arbitrarily fired from - video game job because of someone else's mistake. I wrote a video game script for a small developer. They "forgot*" to tell me when they started voice work- part of my job required me to help with voice acting sessions. I finally was invited to a session with a big name actor, especially known in
    via u/drewxdeficit
  • 13
    video games. The director asked me why I hadn't been present for the past two weeks' worth of recording. Apparently, telling the truth, that no one had told me recording had begun, was the wrong move. The developers fired me the next day despite my work already being done, which essentially meant I'd have no part in DLC or sequel(s).
    via u/drewxdeficit
  • 14
    *They didn't forget to invite me. They just wanted me out of the way while they brought in their yes man.
    via u/drewxdeficit
  • 15
    Cobra-Serpentr... I gave Highway directions to a customer. They fired me for talking to my friends at work.
    via u/Cobra-Serpentress
  • 16
    NWSGreen As a consultant, a company ended my contract early. (Not fired, but let go?) I was hired by the "Company" to help them save money. I did indeed fact help them cut costs in areas that were not needed. Help restructure some areas and help consolidate key parts of the business.
    via u/NWSGreen
  • 17
    Without having to fire anyone or let anyone else go. (Some people did move to full-time status to part time.). The "Company" did not like. this. They thought they were just going to "let people go" and continue as normal. No. They ended the contract early. Jokes on them, I still get paid and billed the same if I was there for a day or for the full time alloted of 3
    via u/NWSGreen
  • 18
    months. I worked 1 month and got paid for 3. So put that down your pipe and smoke it.
    via u/NWSGreen
  • 19
    HimmelensKonge I refused to endorse a paper, because it was missing key data and method. I guess the department head wanted it rubber stamping for funding, and I have my integrity.
    via u/HimmelensKonge
  • 20
    h1r0ll3r Worked at a Footlocker way back. Manager says to me, "hey if you have some free time this weekend, another store could use some help. Let me know if you are able to help out." I turned that down as I had other plans on the weekend. Show up on Monday and he asks why I didn't show up to help out the other store over the
    via u/h1r0ll3r
  • 21
    weekend? I reminded him I said no and that I had other plans on the weekend. "Man, you should've told me that before. They were expecting you to show up and help out. Since you didn't show, I'm going to have to write you up for that and let HQ know."
    via u/h1r0ll3r
  • 22
    Got fired after that shift ended. Stole some shoes and clothes, walked out and never went back there again.
    via u/h1r0ll3r
  • 23
    Stingray88 I used to work as a waiter at steak'n'shake back in highschool. I put in our books like 3-4 months in advance that I would be out of town for one particular weekend. When that week came up, the manager that did the scheduling put me on a shift for that weekend. I told her "hey I can't work this shift, I put in the books I
    via u/Stingray88
  • 24
    wouldn't be available a long time ago". She said, "oh don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." Got a call that weekend while I was out of town. It was that manager, she was firing me for being a no- show. lol
    via u/Stingray88
  • 25
    mahade I (software engineer), together with 5 other engineers, was deemed unnecessary and they hired a bunch more managers instead. Now they had 1 manager for every 2 engineers.
    via u/mahade
  • 26
    Soon after, they had 1 manager for every 0,5 engineers. Then the company died. They never understood why or how.
    via u/mahade
  • 27
    Pleasant_Bad924 I got fired from a supervisor job at an amusement park because I was "too friendly with the staff". The staff member in question was my girlfriend, and had been my girlfriend the day we both came in and applied for jobs at the same time with the same person who fired me. We just didn't like each other, which was fine. In
    via u/Pleasant_Bad924
  • 28
    hindsight I think he had a thing for my gf. Joke was on him though - the woman who ran the cash office had used me as a temp fill-in several times counting money and manning the window that supervisors came to for change. I ran into her while I was turning in my radio and she offered me a full time job on the spot.
    via u/Pleasant_Bad924
  • 29
    So I went from walking around outside in 90 degree weather with high humidity dealing with crowds of dipshits to sitting in an air conditioned office all day, and unlike the previous job I could now coordinate breaks so my gf and I could eat meals and hang out even more.
    via u/Pleasant_Bad924
  • 30
    listenyall Because I asked for time off to go to a family reunion, they denied it, and I went anyway.
    via u/listenyall
  • 31
    I was a 17 year old summer employee and told them it. was going to happen when I started at the beginning of the summer--I literally didn't have a choice about going. or not, don't hire 17 year olds and then try to fight their parents through the 17 year old!
    via u/listenyall
  • 32
    Angelwithashot... I left pool noodles outside on accident. I had only been at Dollar Tree for a month and was used to closing to another manager who always brought them in. I forgot once
    via r/AskReddit
  • 33
    KannaPlugsInHe... Not sure if it's dumb or unreasonable, but I lost my job for being off sick twice in 3 weeks due to what turned out to be pregnancy. Only had been there a month mind.
    via u/KannaPlugsInHere
  • 34
    [deleted] I needed to study for finals, so I got somebody to cover my shift
    via u/[deleted]
  • 35
    G The boss thought I was laughing at him after he told me to get my feet off the desk. I was actually just laughing at a very funny coworker.
    via u/G
  • 36
    The_92nd_ I worked for a jewellers about 10 years ago. The place got robbed while I was in the back, oblivious to it happening, fixing a battery into a watch. After the robbery ended and the police arrived, I was informed that I was fired because the company always fires everyone if there's a robbery. It's in
    via u/The_92nd_
  • 37
    case there was an insider helping the robbers. So basically I lost my job. because I went to work and did my job correctly.
    via u/The_92nd_
  • 38
    captainkilowatt22 I was offered a job by a competitor. I did not solicit the offer but my company fired me anyway. It took 5 days of dealing with my direct boss (his boss fired me) to get my job back. I stayed 6 months, set up a much better job and got the out of there to the company I'm currently with. I've been with that company 12 years next week.
    via u/captainkilowatt22
  • 39
    thezombiejedi A sink hole opened up in the road and I couldn't make it in. They told me I would be fine to miss that night and later fired me for it.
    via u/thezombiejedi
  • 40
    ChuushaHime I had a minimum wage job at a coffee shop. I wanted a full-time job but they only gave me part-time hours, early morning shifts. No problem, I'll just get a second job for the afternoon.
    via u/ChuushaHime
  • 41
    Fine, right? Shifts for the afternoon job started over two hours after my regular morning shift at the coffee shop ended. There was zero chance of schedule conflict. Not fine, apparently. They fired me after it came up that I had gotten an afternoon job. Never mind that they had never--literally
    via u/ChuushaHime
  • 42
    never, not even for training-- scheduled me on an afternoon shift. Simply not having the option to give me afternoon shifts was a fireable offense.
    via u/ChuushaHime
  • 43
    wet_sloppy_foo... Breaking their cell phone use policy. I was definitely on my cell phone. In the break room. On my lunch break.
    via u/wet_sloppy_footsteps
  • 44
    [deleted] putting in my 2 week notice
    via u/[deleted]
  • 45
    send-me-your-... Refusing to work.overtime.. I gave you my 40, I'm not obligated to give you more time
    via u/ send-me-your-grool
  • 46
    H010CRON I was too tall. The owner was shorter than me by a big margin - about a foot and he didn't like - looking up at me.
    via u/H010CRON
  • 47
    Raven2129 I put in a 3 week notice so I could train my replacement. They decided later that night to fire me.
    via u/Raven2129
  • 48
    [deleted] I worked too fast. Local government job.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 49
    f. I was told I " too much". For context, I told the manager that I was upset with him for completely changing my schedule around and giving all my hours to the new girl WITHOUT TELLING ME, and expecting me to be okay with it after I had expressed UPON BEING EMPLOYED
    via u/f.
  • 50
    that my hours were non- negotiable. My original hours were Monday-Friday 10-5 and I was put on Wed- Sun 5-11. Completely upended my was so yeah I
    via u/f.

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