'[I] searched for new jobs... while still screen sharing': 20+ Employees who made huge mistakes at work

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 10, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

We all have that one big mistake that haunts our dreams, and sometimes that giant mess-up happens in the workplace! 

It seems like there are so many mistakes that happen during video calls. I suppose people just get very comfortable while they're relaxing in their sweatpants, watching someone else give a long, drawn-out meeting. If you're used to being muted all the time, you might start talking out loud to yourself, or telling your pet how cute they are for the umpteenth time, or prepare yourself some food and start eating it right there during the video call. Some folks get into trouble when they realize that while doing these things, they aren't muted at all! Instead, they've been on the call with dozens or even hundreds of other employees, and they're causing quite a commotion. 

At least during most Zoom calls, an admin figure can mute someone who's talking out of turn. But embarrassingly enough, some workers straight-up gave presentations and forgot to stop screen sharing! This is the kind of mistake that people have nightmares about — no one needed to see you searching for jobs after giving that big presentation, and now all your coworkers know your secret. 

Up next, read the sad tale of the receptionist in her 50s who trained an AI system, only to realize it was going to replace her. 

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  • 01

    "What's a mistake you've made in your career? Not a 'I sent the email to the wrong person,' but something that shook the company."

    Woman with brown hair and white shirt talks into laptop with gray couch and blue lighting in background
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

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

  • 02

    Now that's a big mistake

    kari6172 Deleted the company website
    via @kari6172
  • 03

    Eek!

    Moo Shared my screen to show my coworkers something & forgot to unshare. Shamelessly searched for new jobs for several minutes while still screen sharing
    via @Moo
  • 04
    A$AP NADZ my email profile picture was THE SNEEZING PICTURE FROM BOJACK HORSEMAN for sooo long and one random tuesday I realized i've been talking to my boss, HR and EVERYONE with this.
    via @A$AP NADZ
  • 05
    madison Shared my screen in a client meeting, after I was done I forgot to stop sharing and then proceeded to shamelessly scroll on Pinterest for 10 minutes until someone finally said "are you trying to show us something or...?"
    via @madison
  • 06
    Morgan Phelps I thought I was on mute on a company team call and I and so long everyone stopped talking so loud
    via @Morgan Phelps
  • 07
    Jordan A coworker of mine sent the demolition team to the wrong house. They demolished the home of a deployed soldier instead of the foreclosed home next door.
    via @Jordan
  • 08
    Woman with short hair looks at laptop held by woman in white shirt in office setting
    via UK Black Tech on Unsplash+

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

  • 09
    Ld73737373 Said "who's my furry baby" to my cat unmuted on a call with 1k people in it
    via @Ld73737373
  • 10

    People could not stop clowning on the Bojack guy

    celestia I had a co worker who had their email pfp as a sneezing bojack horseman image for SO LONG..
    via @celestia
  • 11
    Anya English not my first language so when my coworker quit, I emailed his customers that he is no longer with us
    via @Anya
  • 12
    j7secen I was on a teams call in my car and placed a Mc Donald's order at the drive through while the president was addressing the company. I wasn't on mute.
    via @j7secen
  • 13
    Man holding hands to head while looking at laptop in dismay
    via Francisco De Legarreta C. on Unsplash+

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

  • 14
    CyclonePatrick Not me but my friend accidentally marked someone as deceased in a government position making the person having to go to court to prove they're alive
    via @CyclonePatrick
  • 15
    Raphaëlle I was new and I fired 3 people instead of validate their vacation because I used the wrong option in the software.
    via @Raphaëlle
  • 16
    AC "Accidentally" printed everyone's payslips to the office printer during Co id Someone else found it looked at all of them and made complaints of others salaries. We all god a pay rise. A win is a win.
    via @AC
  • 17

    Not the Jonas lip bite...

    julian.eckhardt Sent out a,,last-goodbye" email to the whole company on my last day there, with a GIF of Nick Jonas waving goodbye. Little did I know, the GIF wasn't working, so it was just Nick Jonas biting his lips and grinning at the end of the mail...
    via @julian.eckhardt
  • 18
    LIZETH Forgot to change the name on a new email template. All our customers were Joe for the day.
    via @LIZETH
  • 19
    Ashley Lena Ann I wrote a profile for a teacher candidate that said she "enjoyed torturing students with special education needs" when I meant to type "tutoring". It went out to hundreds of schools. ☺
    via @Ashley Lena Ann
  • 20

    Perhaps it was still accurate?

    Rose I wrote "Dear Madman" instead of "Dear Madam" addressing the director on a letter
    via @Rose
  • 21
    Sophie Doyle I printed multiple huuuuge banners for a conference that said "fossil fuels are our only chance" instead of "fossil free is our only chance". I work for a renewable energy company...
    via @Sophie Doyle
  • 22

    Tragic start to a job

    dannimc__ My first ever night as a bartender... I cut halfway through the tip of my finger trying to cut a lemon in half AND I charged a woman 1,200 for her cocktail instead of 12.00
    via @dannimc__
  • 23
    BlueTheProdigy Instead of selling gas for 2.80 a gallon I accidentally sold it for 28 cents.. ALL DAY
    via @BlueTheProdigy
  • 24

    Be careful who you talk to in the workplace!

    Z • • • I met a new guy in the elevator and complained about not liking my job, I was like people are really mean here and no one cares and I gave him advice on maybe searching a different company like I was doing... he was the new CEO
    via @Z
  • 25

    I bet every other person in the meeting felt the same way, though

    Judith Thought my mic was off before a team meeting and I said, 'Ugh, not in the mood for all these clowns today!
    via @Judith
  • 26
    deffnotamandaaa Changed by background to the gibby eats soil meme from icarly and I literally have no idea how but it also changed every single persons background to Gibby.
    via @deffnotamandaaa
  • 27
    jrho2025 Exposed the CEOs affair at the time of my termination for a nice little NDA payout
    via @jrho2025
  • 28
    trollfacePb Sent a company wide email about my dogs vet appointment instead of the sales numbers The subject line was 'Lulu has worms"
    via @trollfacePb
  • 29
    Savannah Nolan wasn't me. but someone i worked with accidentally sent someone 400 refrigerators
    via @Savannah Nolan
  • 30
    Max Printed several thousand leaflets with a QR code to our website - accidentally left the default QR code from canva which leads to google image results of the Pokémon Mew
    via @Max
  • 31
    Megs A very high up female executive asked me to send her a document so I attached it to an email and wrote "here you "instead of here you go
    via @Megs
  • 32
    mer! my friend accidentally live tweeted the bachelor from a member of congress's account
    via @mer!
  • 33
    lizzythalizurd Just remember guys you will never be as bad as the guy who sent a false alarm to the entire state of Hawaii that a ballistic missile was heading their way
    via @lizzythalizurd
  • 34
    TWOY i may or may not have confirmed a student could combine two scholarships that they definitely couldn't but my work fixed it by making an exception so technically, that kid can thank me for his extra $20k for college
    via @
  • 35
    born_therese_hell I was doing a demo for a customer and forgot to stop sharing my screen. Continued to search this guys name on LinkedIn in front of him
    via @born_therese_hell
  • 36
    ninaxmasha Wanted to have a quick private chat with a colleague on teams.. accidentally invited the entire company. 50 people joined the call and asked what I wanted to tell them. I've never sweat so much in my life
    via @ninaxmasha
  • 37
    mer! one time i said our ceo looked like a homeless person on zoom while he was giving a presentation to investors. i wasn't muted.
    via @mer!
  • 38
    eveeehaley ordered 12,000 medium polos instead of 12. all with embroidery on so we couldn't send them back. more polos than staff nationwide
    via @eveeehaley
  • 39
    GemmaJayH I emailed Toyota with the subject Toyota count but the o out of count
    via @GemmaJayH
  • 40
    e4 ! opened an email with "h_I to all" and asked them to view the attacked documents
    via @e4
  • 41
    sawyernara accidentally updated our database and deleted everyone who owed the company
    via @sawyernara
  • 42
    Eu Accidentally shared my screen while Googling 'how to sound smart in meetings' With... the meeting still going. ❤
    via @Eu

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