Category: HR Strange But True

Catch up on the latest odd, offbeat, and humorous HR stories.

Leggo My Jell-O

Many workplaces seem to have one, a refrigerator thief. The coworker who believes that food in the fridge is there for the taking. While many victims simply vent to colleagues about their missing lunch, or start using Post-it® notes to ward off would-be bandits, there are others who feel the act is a crime—literally. Yes, […]

Cupcake Confections and Their HR Connections

It may not be on your wellness program’s list of healthy foods, but recently cupcakes have been in the news in relation to Human Resources. In the past year, nearly one third (32 percent) of workers have called in sick when not actually ill, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey. Along the same lines, 30 […]

The Perfect Employee—And Cup of Coffee

Your dream has come true, HR professionals.  Your next “employee” may take no leave or vacation, need no benefits or discipline, do a perfect job every time—and make a perfect cup of coffee, too. Yes, new on-site “coffee kiosks” are manned, pardon the term, by robot baristas, reports NPR.  Hot and cold beverages are ordered […]

A Pension That Spans 3 Centuries!

When you are reviewing your retirement and dependent benefits or helping your employees who are veterans or on active duty or, you would never think that what you are doing could have ramifications centuries into the future—but they can! The Veterans Administration (VA) is still paying a pension to a dependent of a Civil War […]

Impressions at Work: Does Your Desk Do the Talking? (Infographic)

Without knowing it, your desk could be giving a bad impression at work. For example, nearly half of workers said they have been “appalled” (strong word!) by how messy coworkers’ offices are, as shown in a recent infographic by Marketo. The infographic breaks down workspaces into six types: the minimalist, the hoarder, the documentarian, the […]

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 […]

The Evil Presence that Lurks in the Workplace at Halloween

Halloween can be a very scary time of the year for HR pros! An evil presence is out to kill the efforts being put into company wellness programs—Halloween candy. Yes, it seems like Halloween becomes the end of year "kickoff party" for calorie-, sugar-, and fat-filled holiday celebrations in workplaces, sabotaging companies’ health efforts. And […]

Beware! Dark Overlords, Dungeon Masters, and Attention Vampires Can Ruin Your Brainstorming

Scary creatures and evil spirits are fine on Halloween night. But they have no place in your brainstorming sessions, where they’re sure to terrorize everyone in the room and thwart any fresh, innovative thinking. Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer, idea generation experts and coauthors of SmartStorming: The Game-Changing Process for Generating Bigger, Better Ideas, have […]

Employee vs. Company: It’s a Dance Off

A few months ago we wrote about a pretty sweet way to resign. Literally. A man, an aspiring baker, whipped up a cake for his employers and used icing to pen his resignation. His tactic paid off, as a handful of media outlets picked up the story, putting him and his baking skills in the […]

Can Casino Impose Appearance Standards for ‘Borgata Babes’?

A group of female “costumed beverage servers,” who were required to meet certain grooming and appearance standards at work, filed suit against their employer, alleging that they were subjected to an atmosphere of “sexual objectification” and to humiliating treatment due to discriminatory standards based on sexual and/or gender stereotypes. What happened. From its inception, the […]