'How she got hired, I have no idea': 15+ coworkers who got fired almost instantly

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 30, 2025 4:00 PM EST

Some new hires turn out to be such a mess for the company that one cannot but wonder what the people in Human Resources were even thinking. Of course, we are sympathetic to the fact that some so-called qualified job candidates end up not being exactly as gifted or as qualified as they made themselves out to seem. 

Still, you would think that after multiple rounds of interviews, references, and deliberation, HR would have at least a decent idea of who these people are and what they are capable of in the workplace. Unfortunately, this mentality means having way too much trust in the hiring process. If these stories serve as an indication of anything, it's that terrible coworkers can show up in any industry and in any role.

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    Cheezburger Image 10460959744
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Ge... New guy came in to work ha red out of his mind and started trying to operate a forklift right in front of the regional safety manager. A lot of forklift certified and "right in front of my osha handbook" memes were shared that day.
    via Business_Reporter420

    Let this story serve as a friendly reminder that sometimes, it's best to stay home if you've had a late night out. Powering through can be even worse for your career than one might think.

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    ginger_whiskers. New guy offered to pull a semi trailer to a dock for unloading. Said he did it in the Army all the time. I told him, nah, you gotta get tested out by the safety guy first, someone else will handle it.
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    5 minutes later, I see him pulling the trailer around anyway. OK, I gotta go tell this dude he's fired 2 hours in. Before I could advise him of his updated employment status, the trailer came loose of the tractor. Slid right off the back.
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    He did know how to drive a semi. He did not know how to check the trailer was locked in.
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    It seems that one of the most common themes here among these fired coworkers is overconfidence and a lack of care. Based on my own experience with terrible coworkers, that sounds about right.

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    saltnotsugar We hired a woman who turned out to be pretty abrasive. How she got hired, I have no idea. Our secretary was the sweetest lady in the office and never complained until this new hire talked with her for a few minutes.
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    Right after talking to this horrible person she approached the boss and said she would walk off the job if this new worker stayed on with us. By lunch half the office was ready to walk off the job because of this abrasive person. She just
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    had an utterly horrible way of talking to people that made them feel degraded and enraged. She was let go at the end of the day.
    via Business_Reporter420

    You know it's a sign that you have a terrible employee in your hands when the person who never complains about anyone has a bone to pick with the new hire.

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    jpiro ⚫ A guy at my work was caught playing World of Warcraft for hours each day. Boss called him in and told him that was wholly unacceptable and he had to stop immediately or he'd be canned.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    Less than an hour later, IT calls the same boss and says the guy is back in his office playing again. He was let go that day.
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    You have to at least hand it to this guy for refusing to put his love for World of Warcraft behind his work priorities.

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    回
    via Christiann Koepke

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    [deleted] ⚫ In high school I worked at a clothing store as a cashier. Guy next to me has his sister come through with a huge pile of merchandise.
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    He scans one item that was on clearance for like $2 over and over again for everything she had, which was likely hundreds of dollars.
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    Didn't realize the manager was standing right behind him. "Go clock out and give me your name tag, you're gone."
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    He didn't argue or anything, just put his head down and walked off. The manager jumps on the register to clear the transaction out and the sister takes out her card, "This is gonna be a credit."
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    Manager says "Not for $2 it's not, get out of here." The sister actually tried to complete the purchase like nothing had happened lol
    via Business_Reporter420

    Who knew that being a loyal sibling could mean risking your job? The fact that the sister tried to pretend like nothing had happened says everything we need to know about her. She literally was willing to let her brother take the fall and to assume zero responsibility herself.

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    talontd92tsi. Day 1, delivering pizzas. I was the trainer. Dude wasn't familiar with the town at all (this was before GPS was a thing).
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    Second delivery, he gets in the car, and proceeds to floor it in the parking lot, showing off all 80 horsepower for the 30 feet before slamming on the brakes to turn onto the main street, nearly hitting a customer
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    I say whoah, slow down in the Parking lot, you almost hit that "F em" was his response. That was his last delivery, lasted all of about 90 minutes.
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    Reckless driving is not exactly ideal if you're trying to deliver pizzas for a living…

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    FOOD DELIVERY
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Sunless Tatooine ⚫ Pizza delivery gig: New guy on his first shift. Claims he's got previous experience, so doesn't need training.
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    Clocks-in. Grabs a few pizza orders ready for delivery. Leaves with his car to deliver. An hour later, the calls start coming-in about the status of their order. They haven't been delivered.
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    The guy just grabbed himself a bunch of free pizzas and left!!! I secretly admired him!
    via Business_Reporter420

    As a pizza lover myself, I also can't help but admire this guy. Still, it's fascinating that delivery drivers have the best stories about former coworkers.

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    [de... . Showed up and just instantly dropped her entire life story on the boss, preventing them from doing work and not doing any work her whole first shift. Boss gave her another chance and the next day she just sat in the back in tears over a text she got for the whole day.
    via Business_Reporter420

    No one enjoys someone who overshares in the office. It's just awkward! 

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    Renmauzuo⚫ I work in software engineering and a couple of times I've seen people let go after like two weeks because they just couldn't do the job at a all.
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    Not me personally, but a former coworker told me about an incident at a prior job where the person who showed up to work was not the same person they interviewed. Obviously they were immediately let go.
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    TuPacSchwartz411. Got a speeding ticket, 20+ mph over, in the company car picking up lunch for the staff. Day 1.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    misoranomegami ⚫ 6 hours. Call center job. She showed up to orientation on day 1 about an hour late. Hey stuff happens. Then we go on a 15 min break. She goes out to take a phone call, comes back in after about 45 min. We go to lunch, it's 30 minutes. She
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    comes back over an hour later. We go on afternoon break, when the 15 min break is up, one of the trainers gets up and steps out in the hall and closes the door behind him. We hear
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    her arrive and argue with him about 20 minutes after that. He comes back in and gets the stuff she left at her desk and we never see her again.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    AlternativeFilm8886. I was working as a stable boy, and I was showing the new girl around the stables. As I introduced her to the horses, she was very apprehensive to come near them, refusing to even step into the stall (she signed on to help care for the horses.) Later that day, she admitted that the horses terrified her, so the boss let her go.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    Desperate-Drink-6... . Came 2 hours late, didn't do any actual work and then asked how long he has to keep doing tasks 'below his qualifications'.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    gaijin5.: So. I worked in a Chinese restaurant for a while. Was good stuff. Two of my male colleagues got caught f ing out the back. I recommended one of them. All of us got fired. Fun times.
    via Business_Reporter420
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    BeerPowered Nons... How about getting fired before you start working? Our boss hired a new person - as a contractor, and he was available to work immediately, so he was scheduled to start work the day after his interview.
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    Next morning my boss turns up, very annoyed, and shows me his phone. The new hire had sent several rambling and confused SMSes that could be
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    summarised as "had a few drinks last night, won't be able to come into work today, you know how it is". My boss told him the contract was cancelled.
    via Business_Reporter420

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terrible coworkers getting fired workplace-stories fired work stories toxic-workplace fired story work coworkers bad bosses funny work stories toxic-work-environment
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