43 Times Workplace Rules Were So Over-The-Top They Just Annoyed Everyone

I used to work in an office with three women and fifteen men. One day the three of us girls went to lunch together and when we came back, we were berated and told the girls were no longer allowed to go on lunch breaks together because "nobody was here to answer the phones." Apparently only women know how to answer a phone...? My misogynistic boss was the one who ruined it for us. Very glad I don't work there anymore.

At a restaurant I worked at needed a manager override to make any price adjustments, remove items, or process certain cash transactions. This was done because another service found a away to discount their own meals or something. Anyways, this was a huge problem for everyone because there were only two managers in the whole restaurant, and often only one was on shift at a time. So when it would get really busy, which happened almost every night, it was next impossible to get a manager to help you out. Often times they'd scream at you for asking for help, meanwhile your tables are getting mad because they've been sitting there for 15 minutes waiting for me to cash them out, and I can't do anything about it. So between my managers yelling at me and getting stiffed, the job because insanely stressful. I quickly put in my two weeks and got out.

Former boss here. My total pet peeve was company wide memos about “behavioral” problems that were really about a single employee. Not on my watch! Supervisor has a problem with “Bob”? Talk to Bob. That draft memo is not going out. I feel your pain y’all.

Many years ago I worked for a company that had beer in the fridge. The rule was that after 5:00 you could have a beer at your desk or in the lunch room. It was an honor system. We bought a company out of Des Moines, IA and implemented the same system. The good old boys up there came in and raided the beer stash over the weekends. Within a few weeks of them joining the company, the perk was ended.

I worked at a little on campus coffee cart we had a tip jar which usually gave us enough back in tips to cover taxes with maybe a few bucks leftover. I was working with a girl who usually worked at the other location and she reached into the tip jar saying she had to feed her meter, and grabbed a fist full of coins. I called the manager to report her because that’s some next level stuff. The next day we all got an email that tips were no longer allowed. The girl didn’t get fired (well she did but for something completely unrelated).

When I worked at McDonald's, one of the janitors at our store was terminated because he allegedly planned to meet a person in the dumpster area (which had no cameras nearby), and he was caught making love with her by one of the managers. Every since that happened, we couldn't go out to the dumpster area to take the trash out without a supervisor.

Place i used to work gave out turkeys for thanksgiving, an employee accidently dropped his on his foot and tried to file a suit against them for some crazy amount of money. No more turkeys

You’re not allowed to take sick leave on a Monday or a Friday, without a doctors note, otherwise it would be taken as if you’re taking a long weekend. Turns out the person who made that rule was just a huge control freak, and we are in fact allowed to do that.

The optional meeting became mandatory after one person complained that he always went but others didn’t.

A place I worked just randomly decided to ban headphones one day. For some crazy reason, our boss thinks it decreases productivity. If it was a physical labor job, I would understand. But this was a sit at your desk, graphic design job. It was absolute torment to make it through the day with nothing to listen to. Even worse, the entire place seemed like it was designed to be the mossy boring-est, least creative and uninspired place as possible. Not a place to be creative which is what we were supposed to be doing.

No toast allowed. Why? Because the junior doctors kept coming in and toasting their cheese sandwiches (they lay the toaster on it's side so the cheese wouldn't leak out, but it still did) and the obviously-going-to-happen smoke set off the smoke alarms, which automatically send the fire service out. First time it happened were all pretty stunned at the stupidity. Second time we were livid because it was one of the few perks we had at work; being able to make toast instead of taking breaks. Fire service actually took the toaster away like we were naughty school kids.

Someone posted a picture on a random forum website during work hours. The employee was not disciplined. But instead now no cell phones are allowed on any one of our 3500 employees at work/must be left in your car, except for members of management.

The Sick Room and Quiet Room are now locked because a certain slacker keeps hiding in it. They've been "hiding" in the glass meeting pods since.

My supervisor used to allow breaks even if you were only working 4 hours. One day this person was only coming in for four hours and it was in between our 15 mins break and our 30 mins lunch break. So she took both breaks and my co-workers and I pointed it out to her that she couldn't take both breaks she got upset. So the next week my sup gave me the 15 mins break cause I was only working 4 hours, she noticed and went and complained to management. So now you have to work 5 hours to get a break. Another time she told me I should do all her work cause she has to do all the work at home. I just laughed at her... Anyways she shortly got fired.

Well, they made the rule that employees have to give their jobs their best hours, days and years of their lives while earning poverty wages and unable to save for the future or self-care just so the one billionaire owner could increase their own profit shares... That person continues to ruin it for everyone.

No office chairs with wheels. One kid decided to hang a sign over his desk and instead of using a ladder, he put his rolling chair on top of his desk, climbed up, and the chair rolled off. He hit the floor, was injured and out of work for two weeks.

No couch in our breakroom cause people that didn't work in our department were napping in it during work hours.

Worked as a cashier and supposedly a superior or whatever came to look at the store one day and said us cashiers/floor employees having water bottles up front is not good. So we weren’t allowed to have water bottles out on the floor anymore; so if we wanted water, we’d have to go the back…. Us cashiers talk to many customers a day and we’re going to get thirsty of course, we all thought it was a stupid rule.

Before cell phones…. I worked in a restaurant and we were allowed to use the phone in the food pantry if needed. Then the bill came and someone was calling those 1800 phone love places! The phone was taken out. Everyone knew it was the weird night cook.

Wife is a flight attendant and we were able to buy cheap tickets for us, family and friends. Someone sold the cheap tickets to strangers at eBay. No more tickets for family and friends since then...