IT support drinks Diet Coke at customer service desk, manager demands they hide it in a mug: 'She told me children might see the can and be tempted'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
May 5, 2026 9:15 AM EDT

Micromanaging puts employees in absurd situations.

A boss who is overly concerned about the behavior of those who work for them often ends up producing results that are more ridiculous than they are a show of productivity. Some are neurotic, and others just enjoy the power trip, but either way, they generally get to a point where they are making up rules that don't really make any kind of sense. Employees often have no choice but to comply, even though it can be frustrating.

One upside of dealing with a manager like this is that occasionally, their demands become so absurd that they are kind of funny. At the very least, they prove to be a good story to tell when that boss or that job has become a thing of the past. Sometimes we need some perspective to fully appreciate how dumb some workplace events really are. Other times, we are completely aware of it at the time, but we have to hold our tongue in order to keep ourselves employed. Everyone in the workplace has a rationale for how they act, but that does not mean that it makes a lot of sense to everyone else.

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  • A girl looks to the side as she takes a bottle of Coke off a shelf
    via Ömer Haktan Bulut

    A girl looks to the side as she takes a bottle of Coke off a shelf

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • An IT support worker in a school once faced criticism from his boss when she instituted a rule that an employee had to be at the customer service desk in front of the office at all times. He felt it was a little redundant when the department was not busy, but he still complied.

    However, she was unhappy when he brought out a can of Diet Coke with him during his shift at the desk. She felt it set a bad example for children, and as a result, he needed to hide it. He didn't think that this was a very effective strategy.

  • My boss told me to hide my can of coke in my coffee mug

    The story is much stupider than the title suggests. I work in IT as helpdesk for a fairly large organization. Our setup is that we have a shared office, with a service desk out the front. Person walks up needing help, we walk out and assist, then we walk back in.
    via davidgrayPhotography
  • My former boss decided that we needed to be out at the service desk all the time, even when nobody was around. Stupid rule, but whatever. One day I had a can of (diet) coke with lunch, and took it out to the desk with me to finish it off.
    via davidgrayPhotography
  • My boss didn't like that. She told me that children might see the can and be tempted to walk to the supermarket across the road and get their own sugary drink, which would be bad for them.
    via davidgrayPhotography
  • Her solution was for me to put the can in my coffee mug. Not "empty the contents of the can into the mug", but "place the can inside the cup". The can was taller than the mug, so it stuck out like a sore thumb, but that was the solution she was happy with.
    via davidgrayPhotography
  • She had lots of other dumb rules, like insisting we clean our own area (e.g. wipe down tables etc.) even though we paid cleaners to do those exact things in the rest of the building. I was so happy when a restructure meant she was no longer my boss.
    via davidgrayPhotography
  • A can of Diet Coke against a white background
    via Aron L

    A can of Diet Coke against a white background

  • DeliciousChemical284 Don't you just love managers! They put the inept into positions they can do the least amount of harm.
    via DeliciousChemical284
  • justmyusername47 Mid level manager..... "you can only have the company issued water bottle at your work station" as she walks around with a Dunkin iced coffee on her cart
    via justmyusername47
  • ColeBlueSees You God forbid a kid see an adult drinking a soda and they can't have one. I worked at a school once where the principal had the same stupid rule. Had to use a water bottle to drink my coke.
    via ColeBlueSeesYou
  • RAD_Sr That is how I keep my Coke at my desk. Much less chance a careless sweep of the arm will knock it over.
    via RAD_Sr
  • Head Razzmatazz7174 I'm sorry, what? She didn't want to tempt kids to go buy a sugary drink at a different place, because 'it would be bad for them?' Okay then
    via Head_Razzmatazz7174
  • NeartAgusonoir OP, but a thermos with stickers of the most unhealthy products you can find. Only drink from that.
    via NeartAgusOnoir

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drink boss school employee manager diet coke workplace it support
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