Boo: Stories that Will Make HR Scream

With Halloween around the corner, we’ve decided to put together a list of some of the scariest HR Strange but True! stories from this year, guaranteed to frighten any HR pro.

• 10 Most Outrageous Things Applicants Have Done that Did and Didn’t Work—Candidates want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable. However, sometimes their outside-the-box methods just bomb.
• Trick or Treat: Employee Hands Out Pot Brownies to Employees—A former San Diego bus driver joined the ranks of going too far with a prank by handing out pot brownies at work.
• Does that Tweet Scream ‘Fire Me’?—If you’re a Twitter user, you’ve probably seen a few Tweets from disgruntled workers. The problem—Twitter is a public social media site, a fact that this app exploits.
• Strange Sightings at Company Parties—As part of a survey, respondents were asked to recount the wackiest or most outrageous thing they have heard of an employee doing at a company event.
• The Man and the Mooning—After a Chicago investment analyst learned of a colleague’s termination, he took matters into his own hands. He went into an executive meeting and expressed his anger by mooning the group.
• Dirty Rats and Crazy Ants: Here’s Your Workplace Vermin Update—Here’s an animal-related SBT that’s not about dogs, goats, or monkeys (our usual favorites), but about what OSHA calls “vermin.”

And last, but certainly not least, here are a few frightening tales from our readers:

• Toilet Talk or Dirty Seat? Clean It Up—This reader shared a story about how HR had to clean up a messy issue.
• The Creepy Coworker—One SBT reader wrote in about an employee who had his own weird way to personalize his workspace.
• Keep Your Clippings to Yourself—Personal hygiene can be an issue in the workplace. While you may immediately think of body odor as the main culprit, this SBT reader shows that there are other grooming issues that HR may have to address.

Do you have an odd workplace story? Share your story with us (submissions can be anonymous).