We all make mistakes at work, that’s just part of life.

But some people epically FAIL and it ends up costing them their job.

And you’re about to meet some folks today who were nice enough to share their embarrassing stories.

Let’s see what they had to say!

Oops.

“Working at a builders’ merchants.

Customer calls to place order over the phone (not unusual) and wants to give me the card details there and then (red flag). I initially refused but another member of staff vouched for them as they were regulars.

Put the order through, knowing that whoever came to collect would need to come into the office for their paperwork before loading so we would have them on CCTV if it did turn out to be suspect…..only the yard crew didn’t follow process. When a van turned up for the goods, they loaded it all up and sent them away without asking for any kind of ID or manifest.

The payment card was later reported as stolen and the staff member who vouched for the customer denied even being in that day, which was a fucking lie as she never took time off. I got fired and everyone else got to keep their jobs.”

Over the line.

“I worked retail pharmacy for 10 years.

One day in the drive thru we had a belligerent patient. The guy’s doctor sent his script to our other chain about 1.5 miles down the road. We were on the same street, addresses get mixed up all the time. No biggie, give me 10 minutes and I’ll have it ready…

Dude just starts laying into me for no reason. Calls me an idiot. Calls me incompetent. Says he knows where his doctor sent it and I’m a lazy, lying piece of shit. Etc, etc.

After a few MINUTES going back and forth, with this guy yelling loud enough in my drive thru that other staff inside the store can hear him, I tell him he needs to leave and find a new pharmacy.

Guy lays into me again. Refuses to leave. I tell him “F**k off or I’m calling the police.”

Apparently that was over the line for my company. No interview with HR. No discipline. No suspension. Just straight up fired my ass about 3 weeks later after “internal investigation”.”

Blacklisted.

“I testified truthfully at a federal grand jury to my knowledge about a professor in my department who was funneling federal grant money into their personal bank account.

I was “invited” by the dean of the college to leave the Ph.D program I was in and find another program. Unsurprisingly I found it difficult to get into another program.”

Salty.

“Getting promoted to supervisor started the dominoes falling.

I worked at a prison. I had been there for about 7 years and I knew I was most qualified, so I applied for the open sergeants position. I got it, which is where this story starts.

As a sergeant, it was my job to do investigations and document the findings whenever an inmate alleged his life was in danger. I would do the investigation and do a report on my findings, and it would get sent to the warden for them to interpret the evidence and make a final decision.

So, one day, an inmate gets beat up on a building I was in charge of. This inmate had never spoken to me, and had never told anyone he was having friction with his cellmate. Well, when questioned about it, the inmate said he had told me he needed to be moved and I told him I would.

Initially, my supervisors believed him, but after I pulled up the surveillance camera that showed i had never even gotten down to that area that night due to being on a mission from another one of my supervisors all night, they admitted I hadn’t talked to him. However, the higher ups needed someone to blame and because it was my area, I got the blame, and got fired.

As a side note, I was salty about getting fired because I cared about my job but I wouldn’t go back if they begged me. I have a much better job now and the prison is so short staffed because of how they treat their people, the officers are stuck doing 16 hour days, 6 days a week. No thank you.”

In pain.

“Lifting wrong.

14 years of arboriculture coming to an end now.

Not sure of the next job.”

Ironic.

“I got a PhD and now I can’t get hired anywhere.

The irony. Workplaces are no longer impressed by Bachelor’s. So you do a Master’s or a PhD for another 3-5+ years.

Then they turn around and say you need more experience. Or that you’re overqualified. You just can’t win.”

Should have kept quiet.

“Didn’t get any sleep the night before (answering calls from a store in need) and did not take the next day off when I needed it.

Ended up speaking my mind in front of a corporate liaison…”

You’re outta here.

“Stood up for a colleague who was being unfairly targeted in a team meeting. Promised I’d hear out his project idea and see if there was any validity to his bold claims.

Turns out everything was a lie and I sided with someone the organisation was trying to get rid of. Didn’t go well with my superiors but I’d say it was a career ending move.”

Ratted out.

“I brought my kid to work with me so i didn’t have to call out.

I needed the money. It was an afterschool program at a school.

I worked off site so I thought I was good—my coworker ratted me out. I lost my job two weeks ago. I’m not sure what’s next.”

Weak.

“I needed to hand in a form. I found an old form in my folder.

It was already filled out properly but it had the wrong date on it. So I put white out on it and changed the date. When I handed it in my boss saw the white out and asked about it. I told her.

She said I couldn’t do that and she would have to inform corporate. About 3 weeks later they fired me for it.”

Yikes! Be careful out there, employees!