Human Resources is definitely not the most fun department to work in, but the intra-office conflicts do result in some great stories.
Reddit user u/sgy00003 asked:
"HR employees of reddit; what was the most ridiculous/hilarious complain you ever received?"
20.
I recently had HR tell me that one of my staff had been under supplied in his annual leave over the past few years, and he needed to take at least ten days off over the next six months to correct the leave liability. Paid at a higher rate than usual to make up for the error, of course. He could take a two week block or, say, a day off a week until he'd used the leave - his choice.
He was so enraged over being given extra paid holidays that he wrote to our General Manager to complain, screamed at me (his boss) "I know my rights!" refused the leave or even to discuss why he wouldn't take it.
Anyway, I wrote his performance review this week and there are multiple goals about professional, respectful behavior that need to be reached in order for him to get a raise this year.
Yeah, not so much. Oh, and he still has to take the ten days off.
19.
GiphyI was a manager and had to call our HR in on this one. We had a computer that was used by multiple people and a couple of girls complained that it had a virus and porn was always popping up when they turned it on in the morning.
I decided to have look see if someone was messing around on the closing shift so I looked at the security footage and low and behold one of the supervisors was watching porn.
When we called him in he didn't deny it but it's not really that bad. The HR guy just looked at him didn't say a word until after what seemed like forever the jerker said so I guess I'm fired and then walked out.
18.
My partner is in HR. Someone took a dump on the job site. He was given a photo complete with measurements. The people that complained wanted DNA testing done. He's still not sure why they measured it.
17.
I told my coworker as professionally as I could that it wasn't appropriate for her to be using her phone while at work, teaching kids (supposedly). She spent all her time on Facebook, little kids would be screaming and whaling on each other literally 10 feet away and she was totally oblivious.
She complained by email to HR that I was rude and confrontational. They pulled me aside and told me to be more careful about how I spoke to coworkers. I told them my side of the story, they spoke to her again. She got a written warning, they didn't tell me what happened but I gather from office gossip that she lost her self and started shouting at the HR staff. Rude and confrontational perhaps?
Anyway she's on her final warning now and she has a habit of hitting on the married dads of our kids, involving children in adult matters ("why hasn't your mummy paid your fees yet? Don't you want to come to daycare?") and generally being an un professional self-absorbed PITA so... Can't wait until she gets fired.
16.
You wouldn't believe the headaches that I received when management signed a new copier/printer lease which reduced the overall number of printers in exchange for centrally located multiplex copiers. Evidently, people feel their social standing is signified by if they have a printer (or two) in their office.
My favorite was an Executive Assistant who stated that, because she wears heels to work she couldn't walk to the new copier and requested that a reasonable accommodation would be to replace the printer she had in her office.
15.
We had a complaint that the toilet roll holders were to low in the stalls because when a guy was "taken a poo" his knees were hitting the holders. We then lifted all the stalls toilet roll holders 8 inches on whole company site so no knees would hit the toilet roll holders. No complaints since. HR working for the people!
14.
I worked in HR and my coworker hated me. She wanted someone else to get the job I did and she would complain about me to management for anything.
The final straw for everyone was when I sneezed and she slammed her keyboard on her desk, basically ran out of the room and didn't come back for 30 minutes.
Management called me in and said I was making too much noise. I told them I sneezed and they said she would complain about me every day so they didn't believe her but had to make it look like they were doing something.
She left shortly after
13.
GiphyShe came in with a complaint that she tried to give one of the younger guys a hug and he refused. His story was that he basically had to run away.
I had to explain to a middle age woman that it was not her right to hug people who didn't want to be hugged. She still didn't get it and left thinking she was still in the right.
12.
I was the complainer.
My buddy was dating a girl that worked in HR at my company. Their relationship starting was totally unrelated to me (they had gone to college together). He dumped her and she didn't take it well and started threatening my job since I was still friends with him. I lodged a complaint just through the main email (hrcomplaints at company dot com or whatever it was).
My complaint was assigned to...guess who! I ended up having to independently schedule a meeting with the VP of HR because the regular reps and middle managers were protecting their rep rather than believing me.
11.
One gal had an obsession with mini muffins. She brought a 12 pack with her to work 3-4 times a week. Never labeled them as hers. And frequently left them on the 'shared foods counter', where it's up for grabs to the whole staff.
One day, someone who was newer accidentally ate one of the mini muffins. Pandemonium followed. There was screaming. Tears. Thrown pastries. Threats of physical violence.
I had to complete a report explaining that the scuffle ensued because another woman had 'violated her mini muffins', and the whole time this woman is FUMING AND CRYING, like someone ate her firstborn child instead of a muffin.
10.
My work has one men's toilet.
Had one coworker complain that another guy kept using the bathroom before him, and doing big ol' poos. But the way he said it was like this guy knew when he was about to go, ninja'd in just before him, dropped a massive stinker and then forced the other guy to marinade in the smell when he went for a leak afterwards.
We ended up adding a can of air freshener to the bathroom, and the next complaint that came in was the poo guy never used it. thetenofswords
9.
GiphyShe wanted to lodge a complaint against a colleague who had a new TV delivered to the office instead of home, and she thought her colleague's spending money on the TV was irresponsible. BunnyBunny13
8.
Hr Consultant for 10+ years. You won't believe the amount of times I've had to shut people down for trying to sell their pyramid scheme "side hustle" in the office. anywherebutarizona
Our HR got involved when an employee attempted to sell her used sports bras on the lunchroom table. She needed the money to fuel her MLM habit. orbital-fracture
7.
Not HR, but I have a story about an HR person that I will never forget. The company I worked for hired a new girl in the HR dept. She was young and very enthusiastic. I'm sure this was probably her first job out of college. Cut to a week or so later, and I'm riding in the elevator on the way up to the executive floor, and she steps in with me.
A couple floors later we stop, and an older gentleman wearing a polo shirt and jeans gets on. Before I could greet him, she says, "pretty casual for a workday, huh?" I had to stifle my laughter when he replied with, "that's one of the benefits of owning the company." She turned an amazing color of red that I haven't seen since... it was all in good fun though, she ended up working there a long time. steelie34
6.
An employee used very derogatory terms to make fun of a customer who was in the back of the store... while talking to the customer who was at the counter. Who happened to be the other customer's mother. Yikes. Alkalined13
5.
Was once asked to investigate a sexual harassment situation where three different women were coming on to a male coworker throughout their shift. I took down the details, got the names, easy peasy investigation so I thought.
A week later, nobody by these descriptions or names had ever worked for the company. I decided to talk to the gentleman again. After a lengthy conversation where things didn't quite stack up I asked him how these women communicated with him.
I kid you not, with a straight face, he looks me in the eye and replies "telepathically" like I'm some kind of idiot.
I had never sent an employee for psychological evaluation up to that point and I hope never to have to again.
So yeah I was asked by a delusional schizophrenic to conduct a sex harassment investigation on the voices in his head. skittlesnwhiskey
4.
GiphyMy HR department once fell for a phishing email and sent everyone's W2s to a random hacker. HR then informed everyone via a mass email, with no read receipts, at 9 p.m. on a Friday... even though multiple people were on vacation and had left instructions to be called in an emergency.
When I got back from my trip a week later and expressed my concern about her not actually notifying me about this, she totally brushed it off.
I said "do you realize that I need to freeze my credit, and I'm 7 days late in doing so?" She said "no, don't freeze your credit, you won't be able to use your credit cards if you do!"
Another time, during a worker's comp claim, I needed to speak to our claims adjuster and she said "an adjuster doesn't get assigned until after the claim is settled." (That's the exact opposite of how that works.)
She was my stupid complaint. thefuzzybunny1
3.
A woman claimed that people were spreading rumors about her sleeping with coworkers. The investigation wasn't even done yet when she moved in with one of the guys. The others showed me texts and nude pics she had sent them. And if that wasn't enough she followed me home from the bar one night "to make sure I was okay."
I shut my door in her face and the next day said I was too drunk and didn't realize she was there. Had enough from everything else I didn't even need to bring that part into the conversation with her supervisor. jgear319
2.
GiphyNot HR but a complaint raised against me
"Hostile and unfriendly behavior."
I had to explain to the head of HR that the complainant had walk up behind me whilst I was relieving myself at a urinal, launching into a detailed explanation of their computer problem.
Rather than say "shut the hell up, reboot your pc and leave me alone" I replied "please log a ticket for me"
So yeah, prompting them to follow the proper procedure, never mind accosting me whilst urinating was me being hostile...
The complaint was promptly filed in the under desk circular receptacle. Moontoya
1.
I don't know if this story fits, but I'll tell it anyway.
I went to HR once to complain that my manager refused to give me a couple of vacation days. The HR lady reminded me about the boilerplate rule that "vacation time must be mutually acceptable to the employee and the company."
I then pulled out six more vacation requests that had all been denied, including one that was denied -- in writing -- for a reason that was not permitted. I asked her if the company is allowed to say that it's never acceptable?
My last request was un-denied. hymie0
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.