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.
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I 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.
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She 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.Â
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.
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She 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.Â
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.
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My 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.
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Not 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