We expect offices to be boring: coffee breaks, endless emails, and the occasional awkward birthday cake. But sometimes, coworkers bring more drama than any thriller on Netflix. From chilling betrayals to jaw-dropping secrets, these true workplace stories prove you don’t need a movie theater for suspense — you just need a desk next to the wrong person.
Story1
I applied for a job once, had an interview. While waiting for the result, I told everyone at my current job where I was going to work. I got a new job, started working there.
And after a couple of weeks, my boss told me that one of my former colleagues sent them a CV too, and they rejected him. So, he called them and started demanding an explanation, like why I was hired, and they didn’t even want to talk to him.
There were reasons, by the way. And I would never have thought that this man was like this. I made my conclusions. © d***lydd / Pikabu
Story2
I had a manager once who dumped trash on my desk my third day there. She said it was to remind me that taking out the trash was part of my job description. It wasn’t, I was a research assistant at a mortgage firm. © litkat16 / Reddit
Story3
I worked with a guy that regularly googled everyone we worked with. He knew information about the apartment we had just sold and told everyone at our department meeting how much we sold for. © fetedelamusique / Reddit
Story4
I had a colleague who showed up to work every day in a completely different car. It didn’t make sense. He lived modestly, dressed simply, and never talked about owning a fleet of vehicles.
One day, I asked directly, “How many cars do you own?” He laughed and said, “None.”
Turns out, his neighbor owns a car rental business, and every morning, my colleague borrows whatever car isn’t rented out that day. “It’s cheaper than owning one,” he said, “and I never have to pay for maintenance.”
Story5
The day a coworker got fired, she texted the manager that she needed to come in late. And leave early. And she wanted her old shift back (she’d been switched to a later time because she was constantly calling off or coming in late). Also, she needed a raise.
We found out that she had been posting bad things about employees and the business on Facebook. Where she was friends with half of the staff at a forementioned business. © Throwitaway9009y / Reddit
Story6
Today, one of my coworkers stormed into the manager’s office yelling, “I’ve had it with this place! I quit!” Clearly expecting drama, maybe some begging. The manager just looked up from his computer and said, “Okay, good luck out there.”
My coworker froze, stammered, “Wait… you’re just letting me quit?” Manager shrugged and went back to typing. Five minutes later, my coworker sheepishly asked if they could “un-quit.” Manager said no. The silence in the office afterward was louder than their entrance. © sweetgirlsj / Reddit
Story7
One coworker’s father had had a stroke. This happened on a Thursday when we were pretty busy. The next week, another coworker asked if the father was going to have a stroke EVERY Thursday, as it was really disruptive to the workflow. © firelady1530 / Reddit
Story8
I had been covering a coworker’s responsibility on a project for about a month because he “didn’t have time” to learn the task up until that point. I finally pressure him to schedule some time to learn it with me, and he says, “Well, why can’t you keep doing it?” © SenorSerio / Reddit
Story9
Super toxic boss, she was known for her hissy fits, even in front of management. Usually, because of deadlines she decided were unfair.
She started doing this thing where she would get herself so worked up, she would throw her own glasses. Like a child. She did it enough times, and they finally broke.
When the whole thing finally came down, and she had burned enough bridges that she was removed from the contract, one of those same managers came to me and said he “didn’t know it was so bad.” © JEWCEY / Reddit
Story10
For our office Secret Santa, a colleague I’d always clashed with handed me a neatly wrapped box. Inside was a sleek leather notebook with my initials embossed in gold. She smiled and said, “Figured you could use this for all your brilliant ideas.” I was surprised — maybe this was her way of making peace.
I carried it everywhere. It held my meeting notes, goals, even personal reflections. It became part of my routine, almost like a trusted companion.
Months later, under brighter light, I noticed faint writing pressed into the back cover, barely visible unless you tilted it just right. Two words: “Office Clown.”
My stomach dropped. When I asked around, I learned she had joked about it at happy hour. Apparently, the whole gift had been a bet — she wanted to see if I’d flaunt something that was secretly mocking me. She even snapped a photo of the hidden message to share with coworkers.
The notebook went into the trash, but the story didn’t end there. HR asked to see the texts and “joke photos.” Turns out, the gift said more about her than it ever did about me.
Story11
A colleague brought a cake to work. It was delicious, and almost all of us took the recipe from her. Many of us tried to bake it at home, but it turned out gross. We went over to see if she’d missed some ingredient.
And this lady said, laughing, “Did you seriously think that I will tell you all the real recipe of my cake? Of course, I made up that recipe on the go. This will be a lesson to you all not to demand recipes from skillful cooks.”
Worth noting that this colleague didn’t last long at that job — she resigned herself. © Aida Javakhyan
Story12
There was a girl from another department who interrupted our conversation about how to cook fruit just to say that fruit can’t be cooked, it is eaten only raw, and we were joking about it on purpose. When I said that I often bake quince with cinnamon, she took offense and declared that there was no fruit like that, that we made it up, and proudly walked away. © OldRaven999 / Pikabu