Being in a professional environment requires a certain kind of conduct. You can't be too familiar with people and talk to them like they're your besties. You can't ask too many personal questions, like how much they earn, who they voted for in the recent elections, or what they did with their wife last night.
Religion, politics, and intimate relationships should automatically be topics people should never breach at work, whether in a job interview or just a casual conversation at lunch. Yet some people still do it. So when a person asked, "What is the most awkward question you've been asked in a professional setting?" people had all sorts of stories.
#41
“I’m sure my son has no problems listening to you, huh? 😉”
By a dad at a parent teacher conference with his wife right there. I was fresh out of college teaching high school.
By a dad at a parent teacher conference with his wife right there. I was fresh out of college teaching high school.
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34points
#42
My subordinate, a young girl a few years out of high school, was working at the front desk and checked in a young mother, carrying her child. This woman was young, maybe a year younger than my employee. And after that, patient was called back to the clinic, she asked me if I believed in abortion. Being a fairly new manager and caught off guard, I said something like I think every woman has the right to choose what happens to her body. And then she asked me my religious beliefs, and that’s when I shut it down.
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32points
#43
The manager at my first job asked to borrow my car to go pick up some weed. He offered some as compensation. It was some pretty s****y weed tbh.
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31points
#44
My first boss in my field, “why do you want kids if you can’t even take care of yourselves?”
Luckily I was on the phone and didn’t hear that or I would have been arrested.
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26points
#45
Was being seen for a rash on the hands- probably poison sumac- but after looking she wants me to spread my fingers, but says,” let me see between you legs”
Freudian slip? Who know but embarrassing for us both, especially as it was not a private setting with several people hearing this.
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25points
#46
"What do you do in your free time, and how do you let that impact your job performance?"
Not my current job, but during a past interview, someone asked this. It's one of those poorly-worded questions made up by some corporate HR nut. WTF kind of answers do they expect?
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25points
#47
“I heard that the lady in white dress is married. I wonder who the lucky guy is”- business colleague about my wife.
Most awkward moment of my life
Edit: No I’m not threatened by him nor will I ever be. It was awkward because I thought he knew she was my wife and was just joking but he was serious. Then I remembered he has actually never met my wife because I didn’t invite him to my wedding. I invited everyone else just not him. He only knew her by name and has never seen her.
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24points
#48
I once had to explain my polyamorous relationship in a job interview for a senior dev position. It was probably my fault that it came up, but going into detail was the right move and I got the job.
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24points
#50
"Are these yours?" Male colleague holding up a super haggard black thong. We have a weird job, sometimes we do laundry at work. He and I both did laundry that day. Not mine, and we are throwing this embarrassing thing away like it never happened. We're not going person by person to find the owner of this ratty thing.
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20points