Here are some workplace stories – all true - that I’ve encountered in a variety of locations over the years:
The employee who put curses on co-workers.
The supervisor who would get drunk and wave a gun around at work while declaring that he knew how to take care of dissenters.
The embezzler who was caught when an alert bank employee spotted a sizable and odd movement of money.
The department head who, very wisely, accumulated a year’s worth of sick leave.
The janitor who kept the restrooms spotless by locking their doors.
The union negotiator whose initial bargaining position usually sought less than management had offered.
The chief of staff who described himself as a “people person.” (He wasn’t.)
The tech company that awarded its “employee of the month” with a parking space near the front door and the use of a BMW sports car for the month.
The law firm that held “interventions” to persuade good employees to stay.
The department head who kept a large jar of Tums on his desk. (He regularly had to replenish it.)
The executive who openly mocked employees who lacked college degrees (even though many of them were among his best employees).
The van supervisor who, on a cold and rainy night, drove to the airport and dropped off pizzas for his crews.
The (non-veteran) executive who said he never hired any veterans who had reached the rank of major or above because “They don’t know how to lead. They only know how to give orders.”
The non-techie members of a management technology committee who always held follow-up meetings in order to decipher what the techies had said.
The manager who held staff meetings at 4:30 on Friday afternoons.
The center director who said it would take six months to issue a request for proposals.
The executive who had a lectern cemented to the floor a few feet in front of his desk so employees would stand while making reports.
The chief executive who, day after day, went to his office on the top floor of the headquarters and never ventured to the other floors.
The team who converted a conference room into a living room with sofa, chairs, and coffee tables in order to ease conversations while conducting job interviews. (They got a lot more information!)
The department head who kept an album with individual photos of everyone in his large department so he could recognize each employee and memorize their names. (He eventually knew all 300+ of them.)
The parks work crew who, after a wild car chase, cornered a man who had been watching them from a distance with binoculars. They discovered he was their supervisor.
The HR professional who opposed simplifying the grievance procedure because, as he put it, “The employees might understand it.”
The medical clinic that hired a pianist to play a grand piano in its lobby.
The chief executive who, when his company faced financial challenges, took a salary of one dollar a month. (The company survived.)