25+ bosses who instantly regretted taking on their new hires: '[She] started crying as soon as the phone rang saying she couldn't handle it'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 26, 2024 8:00 AM EDT

Every new hire deserves time to adjust to their new workflow, but sometimes it becomes instantly obvious that hiring someone was a mistake. There are several ways in which this can happen. For starters, the new hire could be one of those rare unicorns who is actually good at interviewing for positions despite being remarkably unqualified. On the other hand, it's quite possible that it was the company's fault. Perhaps the job requirements and expectations were unclear, and the only people to blame were the recruiters and hiring managers who did not clarify anything. Or perhaps this new employer-employee dynamic is simply not working socially, culturally, or financially. 

Here, we have a number of stories in which bosses instantly regretted fighting for a certain job candidate. Whether it was an inappropriate remark made by the employee during their first week or an unforeseen circumstance getting in the way of their work, most of these employees did not last at their respective companies for very long.

Keep scrolling below for the full stories. For more, check out this post about a job candidate who was asked to donate to the company that just rejected her.

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  • 01
    "[He] downloaded and stole all of our email/company info and prices and took them to the competitor"
    via Hunters Race
  • 02
    r/AskReddit. Posted by u/hanlus ( Bosses of Reddit, what did your new employee do that made you instantly regret hiring them?
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  • 03
    rlnation She stapled papers in the middle of the page... like as far as she could reach with the stapler. 4.5k Share
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  • 04
    Ronnylicious I hope my former boss doesnt comment about his employee that made 2 espresso's when someone asked for a double espresso I regret being myself guys I'm sorry. 3.4k Share
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  • 05
    pessimistchick. They were loudly taking a phone call while waiting to be interviewed. Taking a call is not a total dealbreaker by itself, but the call was her coaching the friend into getting fired so she could get unemployment. I didn't hire her, but after I left I think someone else did. ⇧ 2.1k ↓ Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 06
    banjobb. I give out a daily summary of unresolved cases and new cases yet to be answered. I hand write some notes on it as well. On her second day, she asked why her score went down. Confused, I asked her what she meant. "Yesterday I got a 10/12 but today only 10/13" The date.... 2.0k Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 07
    Random Usernamed ⚫ I once worked with someone who was an absolute waste of space, my boss said he was going to promote him, I told him not it's a bad idea. After 3 months of training the guy became a manager, then on his first shift alone stole all the cash from the days sales. I wasn't even mad, I smiled when my boss told me. 2.0k Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 08
    bingwhip. "What's the company policy on fighting?" He was totally serious too, when told he can't, he asked "what about in the parking lot?" 1.7k Share
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  • 09
    soonerguy11 · He antagonized every single female coworker. It was like his only way of communicating with anybody of the opposite |was to be demeaning and constantly using facetious tones to undermine them. Luckily, these weren't the reserved gals he was used to at his private college. He learned this the hard way after making a joke about one of the senior member's lunch being too small and to eat a sandwich. She barked back and he did not return the next day. 1.2k Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 10
    Kyle RichXV. Entered the clean room without the proper attire, so we had to stop production and bleach about 6 rooms. He was union, so I didn't really have a choice in hiring him, but luckily was able to make sure he was not retained in our department.
    via u/hanlus
  • 11
    FuzzyCheddar Ran an in-home senior care business. Hired a chick and she got a sweet gig. 9-5, steady work, great easy going family and easily cared for elderly lady. All she had to do was wear scrubs, not tanktops and shorty shorts. That's it, 1 week in was when that changed. We also found out that she brought a catalog of stuff to sell to the person she was caring for. Ended up selling her like $500 worth of Luckily we were able to stop it in time. Only person we ever had to actually fire, ever
    via u/hanlus
  • 12
    [deleted] I hired someone for a moving company I was with 7 years ago. Based near milwaukee, WI. On his first day he was supposed to take the company car and drive to Madison, WI. He didn't show up. Fired him on the way to HIS job. 867 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 13
    KikiCanuck Asked me permission to use the bathroom. Every time. In spite of my protestations that he was an adult who I trusted to make his own decisions about going to the lav. He also sent me a weekly spreadsheet of all his breaks (potty and otherwise), lunches, and arrival and departure times. This is in no way required or the norm in our workplace. Finally, after multiple pleas from me he stopped doing that. He was very smart and very skilled, but this was the first indication that he would
    via u/hanlus
  • 14
    [deleted] ⚫ Downloaded and stole all of our email/company info and prices and took them to the competitor. We sued the ☐ out of him and won, though. 672 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 15
    user9394. On his second day, responded to an email complaint about our customer service. My boss told him to respond to the email; he responded by pretty much telling the customer off, without having anyone read or approve of it first. Idiot didn't last very long.
    via u/hanlus
  • 16
    Mister Mysterios A company my mom worked in. Begged for a job, was told job demanded flexability timewise from his side. Frist friday he informed his suprior that he would now leave (after working for an hour) because there was a football- match that he wanted to see and left. 391 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 17
    DenseFever. I had an employee that slept overnight in the office, as he had a fight with his girl friend, and then he used the fuel card from the company car (for going to locations to fix IT equipment) to fill petrol cans (apparently for personal use)... 354 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 18
    CowboyLaw The second time he showed up to work, at a professional office, making high-5 figures, in a mesh shirt. 358 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 19
    undefined_one. Started asking me for advice about men. Not just a little, I'm talking detailed advice. Like, "I text him 'this' and he text me 'that' what does he mean by that? Should I text him back? Do you think he's done with me?" Sadly, said employee is not nearly as young as you might guess. 222 Share ...
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  • 20
    natephant As soon as he got outside he spit a massive lougie in the air and then caught it back into his mouth. 220 Share
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  • 21
    serenityvall3y. New salesperson literally looked out the window and stomped her feet because she was mad her out- of-state boss and the in-state owners were going to a lunch meeting without her. It was her second day. She lasted less than a month. 181 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 22
    Wmdalford. Continued to ask questions that I have already answered. I want people to ask any and every question they have, but please don't make me continue to repeat myself. 156 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 23
    clem82. After a week I had our assistant come in to take some papers. When she left he nudged me and said dibs. 149 Share
    via u/hanlus
  • 24
    Sways-way Started crying as soon as the phone rang saying she couldn't handle it.
    via u/hanlus
  • 25
    lostsoulsburn Went through my wallet.
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  • 26
    chani32. I took a guy out for his first day of training, he didn't listen to a word I said and just kept trying to give me advice and train me.
    via u/hanlus
  • 27
    hacksauce. The look of regret on my bosses face after I dumped several gallons of egg whites into the deep fryer haunts me to this day. I'm proud to say I've never screwed up like that since.
    via u/hanlus

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workplace-stories fired work stories toxic-workplace job new hire work askreddit reddit thread Reddit company toxic-work-environment
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