'Don't food shame me or I'll go to HR': Top 20 Mildly Infuriating HR Fiascos

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 29, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Working in the human resources department means you have likely seen some things no professional wishes to see. Perhaps you love managing teams of employees and making sure they are taken care of day in and day out. However, we know all too well at this point that working in HR means you are protecting the company at all costs. The employees? Sure, you may care about their well-being a little bit but only to a certain extent. At the end of the day, your job is not really about protecting them but more about making sure they all fall in line.

Of course, there are exceptions to this scenario and perhaps this is the more cynical take on the modern work environment. That being said, if these mildly infuriating tales serve as justification for anything, it's that this cynical take certainly holds some merit in the vast majority of toxic workplaces. Keep scrolling below for this collection of top HR fiascos. For more stories like this, take a look at this post about an employee who got fired for calling out management over consistent wage theft.

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  • 01
    Which of the following items might help an HR professional drive employee retention and success? A ping-pong table. Additional responsibilities A raise in pay. Incorrect. Often when an employee leaves, it's not about the money. A good exit interview can help determine the real causes of employee discontent.
    via wng378
  • 02
    I emailed HR after noticing a pay error. This was their response...
    via Sabrine_Heester_2001
  • 03
    Dear I am writing to confirm that your 10% pay raise was applied to your pay during the work period from August 11 to August 25. Your new hourly rate is $26.38. Below is a breakdown of the calculation: Previous Pay Rate: $26.35 New Pay Rate Calculation: $26.35 × (1+ 0.10/100) = $26.38 If you have any questions or need further clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out. Best regards, Thank you for the Thank you Thank you so much! for the clarification. information!
    via Sabrine_Heester_2001
  • 04
    Clocked out 12:59 instead of 1 and got docked an hour of pay
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 05
    Such a broken system where if I clock out seconds early I don't get my full pay for the hour.
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 06
    The old place I worked just added up the hours at the end of the week and paid you accordingly but my new colleague told me even if you clock out seconds early (like I did) you lose the full hours worth of pay.
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 07
    Edit: thanks for all the replies, I plan to talk to my Manager or HR tomorrow.
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 08
    I won't lose sleep over an hours pay (though I was angry in the moment) but it's the fact I wasn't told how the system worked.
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 09
    The reason I checked out early was purely accidental, but equally I come in a few mins early and leave a few mins late most days so I thought I would be covered (If it worked like my old job)
    via Regular-Rent-3099
  • 10
    Coworker threatened to go to HR for "food shaming:
    via Runaway_Smoke
  • 11
    I was working at my desk when I noticed an absolutely foul odor. I tried to ignore it but it got so overwhelming, that I look off my headset and quietly asked "Did someone microwave fish?". I heard my coworker mumble
    via Runaway_Smoke
  • 12
    something and asked her to repeat herself. She said "Yeah, it was me. Don't food shame me or I'll go to HR." That me off, but what really made it infuriating is that we have a MASSIVE café
    via Runaway_Smoke
  • 13
    downstairs that she could've used to heat up her food. Instead, she chose to heat it up in our communal kitchen space and stink up the whole office floor. The fact that she was so comfortable threatening to go to HR is beyond me.
    via Runaway_Smoke
  • 14
    My boss told me I wasn't worth a raise... As the topic states...
    via micknick00000
  • 15
    I was internally promoted from an hourly employee to a salaried manager in January of this year. I was excited at the time as was a new opportunity within a large company.
    via micknick00000
  • 16
    I was making ~$30/hr working 45-50 hours a week with overtime (1.5x) over 40 hours.
    via micknick00000
  • 17
    Before tax, I was making anywhere from $1,200 - $1,600 weekly. When I transitioned into my new role, I was offered a base salary for $75,000/year
    via micknick00000
  • 18
    plus the opportunity for a performance based bonus paid out once a year (March) for overall revenue targets, profitability, etc.
    via micknick00000
  • 19
    I'm now working a pretty consistent 50 hours a week, at $75,000 a year, which not accounting for the potential bonus comes out to like $29/hr.
    via micknick00000
  • 20
    My initial responsibility was nothing compared to the 22 direct reports I have now, constant emails and phone calls at all times of the day/night.
    via micknick00000
  • 21
    My boss and I sat down last week to do a "midpoint" review, and recap the last 6 months or so of me being in the new role. He praised me
    via micknick00000
  • 22
    up and down, saying how good of a job I've been doing, how profitable my department is, and how we're hitting numbers that the company has never hit before.
    via micknick00000
  • 23
    I waited until we finished the month of July to ensure that we were going to hit our goals,
    via micknick00000
  • 24
    which we did. It was a record month for my department the biggest - month our branch has ever seen in terms of revenue generated and profitability.
    via micknick00000
  • 25
    I approached him a few days ago to recap our midpoint review, as well as the great month we had in July, to which he agreed with literally everything I was saying.
    via micknick00000
  • 26
    Once I brought up the possibility of giving me more money, the conversation immediately
    via micknick00000
  • 27
    turned and he started to backpedal and then started touching on all the things he believes we're missing out, and what he would like me to change.
    via micknick00000
  • 28
    He ultimately ending the conversation with "I can't justify giving you more money at this point in time because the results aren't where I'd expected
    via micknick00000
  • 29
    them to be. But come November when we do merit increases, I can probably push to get you a 4-5% increase, the company usually only allows us to push 2-3%.
    via micknick00000
  • 30
    That should put you where you need to be." I NEVER TOLD YOU HOW MUCH MONEY I WAS EVEN LOOKING FOR - you have no idea where I need to be.
    via micknick00000
  • 31
    The last couple days have been unbearable - he's micromanaging more than he ever has before,
    via micknick00000
  • 32
    expecting me to do the job of people within my department who perform these tasks on a daily basis and are part of their job description - not mine. I'm one foot out the door at this point.
    via micknick00000
  • 33
    Know your worth people! Edit: I left out a very important detail in my initial post... When I was offered the position
    via micknick00000
  • 34
    initially, I was told that we'd revisit my pay in 6 months, after my performance trend was able to be monitored for a few months.
    via micknick00000

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boss workplace-stories toxic-workplace job work human resources mildly infuriating Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit funny toxic-work-environment
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