12 Coworker Tales So Crazy, They Could Be a Blockbuster Series

Workplace drama is more common than people think—from baffling coworker behavior to unbelievable office twists. In fast-paced office environments, even ordinary days can take unexpected turns that no one sees coming.

1.

• The new guy, Marcus, was quiet. Too quiet. But every now and then, I’d hear him whispering fast, nervous little sentences. I figured he was rehearsing something, or maybe had anxiety. I didn’t want to pry.
  Last week, IT came around to check headsets for a system update. When they got to Marcus’s desk, he froze. One of the techs asked where his headset was, and Marcus reached under his desk and handed them a pair that was still in its original packaging.
  Turns out he wasn’t whispering to himself at all, he was on calls with a completely different company. And all this time he used their headset. He’d accidentally been double-employed and was working two full-time remote jobs from one cubicle...and we only found out because of a headset audit.

2.

• “Our staff Christmas party has been booked for a particular Friday night for months. The staff who normally work Friday nights were given the choice to work their hours or go to the party. All 5 chose the party. The manager found other workers who had no interest in going to the party to work instead.
  Everything was fine. Until it turned out that the work that needs to be done is for a particular client that will earn the workers for that night a happy little bonus (few hundred each I think). Now original night team want their shifts back, new night team say that’s unfair and no one knows what management will decide.
  I’m not working or going to the party and think the new team should work and get the bonuses, but I’d never say it out loud so I can keep watching the drama from the side lines.” © ComfyInDots / Reddit

3.

• “We got a mother’s lactation room about 6 months ago. So far, we have caught people using it for napping, overnight camping. Not once has it been used for a mother to collect milk for their baby.” © Rain_in_Spain_Plane / Reddit

4.

• At work, we often gossiped about our boss. One day, I noticed a blinking light by the door and thought, ‘it’s a recorder.’ So, we gossiped only in the bathroom, only to spot the same light. We were panicked when suddenly our boss stormed in and said, “We have an urgent meeting. Be ready.”
  Turns out it was just a motion detector, nothing more. During the meeting, they introduced the safety rules. So, the boss had no clue about our gossip.

5.

• “A few jobs ago, our warehouse supervisor was fired for having an affair with someone from (drumroll please) HR. They were using company time, company vehicles to....facilitate their shenanigans. The supervisor was the owner’s long time best friend and their wives were very close, it was a whole ordeal.” © Hsbnd / Reddit

6.

• “We had a table tennis table for breaks. One worker was really good and was unbeatable, but not arrogant about it, just a bit of fun. Came into work one day and someone had snapped all the handles off the table tennis paddles, bent the net, stamped on all the balls, kicked in the table.
  Someone had come in at night and put the table tennis table out of action. A big mystery ensued. Who was the table tennis saboteur? The management checked the office CCTV a couple of days later.
  It was the office champion!!! He’d been beaten by a food delivery guy when working late, and smashed up the table. Managed to hold onto his job by the skin of his teeth, blaming ‘stress’. He left about 6 months later because of the shame.” © Unknown author / Reddit

7.

• “A senior (Head of Geography) colleague’s husband walked out on her after a twenty-year marriage. She only told her closest friend at work, who was asked to keep it quiet. She had a spectacular meltdown at the end of year staff party because someone asked her how her husband was.” © PeggyNoNotThatOne / Reddit

8.

• “A guy walked home with a girl after work once because they live in the same direction and had worked together for a while. She just moved in to a new flat and the guy was looking for a place himself.
  When they reached it, he asked her what the flat was like and if he could have a quick look inside, with the idea being to see if it was something he would like to get himself. She said no, then went to HR the next day and claimed he made a move on her and had been ’stalking’ her for weeks (which was entirely untrue).
  In the end it was regarded as a big misunderstanding, and they carried on working together as friends/colleagues for years, but I don’t think they walked home together again.” © RainbowPenguin1000 / Reddit

9.

• “I said hello to a colleague and told her that her perfume smelled nice. The next day, I was brought into an HR meeting with my boss because this passing comment made her feel uncomfortable. Safe to say, I never said anything to her again.” © Specific-Ad-532 / Reddit

10.

• “My grandma got rushed to hospital while I was at work, I asked if I could leave 10 min early to catch the 5pm train to go see her, and so there’s no rush, and they said no. This was a Friday.
  Monday morning I get called into a meeting about how asking that was so unacceptable of me to ask, and I have to stay down to the last min, and they fired me, lol.” © Available_Patience95 / Reddit

11.

• “The main office has been going back and forth for MONTHS on whether or not they should allow a ’casual Friday’ and allow admins to wear jeans. It has caused a lot of contention between those who believe that non-holey jeans should be classified as business attire, and those who don’t like any sort of change.
  I’m sitting here in one of the satellite offices in jeans and flip-flops on a non-Friday, as I always wear.” © writingskimmons / Reddit

12.

• “I work in daycare/preschool. We have several Mothers on our staff. A couple of them breastfeed and pump at work. Someone took some pumped breastmilk out of the fridge, and no one knows who. It has caused a lot of drama and accusations.
  The other thing going on is a mother keeps dropping her 3-year-old son off in a dress. Not a big deal, plenty of boys like dresses and princess stuff. The issue is, he HATES it. So there’s been a pretty big debate about it.” © Unknown author / Reddit

Despite the chaos, these unusual coworker moments often bring teams closer and add unexpected color to everyday routines. In the end, they remind us that even the strangest office surprises can turn into memorable, positive stories.
Read next: I Was Seconds Away From My Dream Job — Until HR Crossed a Legal Line