Bosses like Michael Scott from The Office really do exist out there.

It seems like it would probably be a barrel of laughs, but I have a feeling that if you’re in the thick of a situation like that, it’s likely not very much fun.

Let’s all enjoy these funny stories from AskReddit users about their weird, funny, and annoying bosses.

1. The Italian Michael Scott.

“My Italian Michael Scott boss has that traditional stubbornness which he’s really allowed to display since it’s a traditional gelato shop and we’re an at-will state (US).

One summer, he fired a kid for ‘not being hygienic and not cleaning well’ when we all knew the boss was uncomfortable this kid was queer.

Next summer, I’m the manager and my then assistant manager and I are both queer women. In the midst of a mild homophobic/heretophobic (?) misunderstanding, we both came out to my boss. At one point before opening he pulls me outside to ask me a “personal question”- if I preferred having s*x with men or women.

I told him women, and I’m a pretty open person and find jokes help break barriers, so I ask him which he prefers. He says women, “of course,” and we walk back inside where my assistant manager is and joke about it with her, and I tell him he’s a lesbian since he prefers women. He finds this f*cking hilarious, and yells out in the shop

“I GUESS I’M A LESBIAN!”

He’s grown more understanding ever since. His questions are sincere, though sometimes badly phrased.

2. Five long years.

“I had one and these are just a few quick stories

He asked me how much I weighed during my interview

One time he was considering selling the company to a Japanese company and while walking them around the building he was heard saying ‘we really bombed the hell out of you, huh?’

He got on the intercom and interrupted everyone by yelling for someone to bring him the football team’s schedule

I have video of him telling a really cringy joke during a sales meeting. You could see at least one person covering their face in embarrassment

One time he told me to call his assistant and have her bring him a bag of coffee and his 5lb dumbbell

He had a ‘secret’ facelift. He was mysteriously gone for 3 weeks and came back with a beard.

I ended up with a box of pictures from the 70s with an exotic dancer giving him a lap dance. In the conference room. Same furniture.

One time I watched his business partner go down the pot luck line, tasting everything with the same fork. At the end of the line, he stuck his used fork into the cake. I haven’t eaten at a work buffet since.

Honestly, these are just the ones I immediately remember. It was 5 years of this.”

3. I love the part about the fence.

“My brother had two bosses at his first job that I think fit this. It was an old married couple that owned the gym across the street from us. Probably in their 70s when he started working there. The wife was from Germany and super strict, the husband was clearly losing it Some notable mentions are:

•when the husband combined bleach and ammonia to clean the hot tub and sauna room, tear gassing my brother in the process

•wife insisted the street be swept once a week, this was my brothers task. Almost every single time, the husband would come out halfway through with a leaf blower and destroy any progress my brother had made

•husband would regularly sit in the sauna for way too long and have to be rescued by brother and coworkers

•brother opened every Saturday. They never gave him a key so he would have to hop the fence to get in.”

4. Awkward.

“Yep, I had one.

Organized a thoroughly awkward award ceremony once (that we never did again).

Asked a Mexican employee if his new baby’s name was going to be “No Mas” during the shower we threw for him.

Heard me once use the phrase “economy of scale,” then used it wrong 5 minutes later in a conversation with different people.

Didn’t know the meaning behind “Black Friday” and what it meant for a company to be “in the black.”

Just like Michael Scott, only more of a d*ck.”

5. Drop your pants.

“Long ago, my 80 year old boss pulled me into his office

B: “Paul, I’ve noticed that your shirts come untucked and that looks unprofessional”

Me: I’m sorry about that Joel

B: I want you to start tucking your shirts into your underwear

Me: Uhhh…

B: Go ahead and and try it now.

Me: Joel, you know I have 15 women who report to me – I can’t un-do my pants in the office.

B: Sure you can. Drops pants. He is 80 and wearing Spiderman underoos…”

6. Yikes.

“I worked for a woman as her “personal assistant/ cat sitter”. She was super rich and off the deep end nuts.

She had me order a mannequin online, and then paid me to take one of the mannequin legs to Nordstrom to try and see what suitcase I could buy that would fit the dismembered mannequin body, because she wanted to fly with the mannequin to Pittsburgh to display “as her daughter”, dressed in her daughter’s clothes, at that daughter’s graduation celebration.

Buying the mannequin was a whole thing too. She kept trying to get me to order from “adult doll” websites because she didn’t get it.”

7. Hahahaha.

“My boss used to carry around a backpack full of hammers and if you fell sleep at your desk he started banging a hammer on your desk until you woke up and then he would autograph the hammer and give it to you as a gift.”

8. Never a good idea.

“Had a manager at my previous job that really, really tried his best to be everyone’s BFF.

He loved giving pep talks and thought he could raise our abysmal morale by being Mr. Positivity (note: morale was low because we were always buried in work and paid sh*t).

He’d crack jokes, randomly burst into song and sneak up behind you to yell “you’re doing a great job!”

Unfortunately, he was also super incompetent at his job. He relied heavily on a junior colleague for help with technical stuff (they practically did his whole job for him), and spent days working on paperwork that should really only take an hour or two.

If you had a problem, his answer was usually either to stare blankly at you until you left or to say “think positive and it’ll work itself out!”

Thing he did I hated the most: whenever people would apply to work at the company, he’d print out the stack of resumes, sit at his desk and read aloud all of the parts he found “funny.”

He’d laugh at people for working at McDonald’s or other fast food places. He loved finding grammar mistakes and making fun of them. If someone had a cringe-y objective statement, he’d guffaw over that too. This was all done loudly, and it was a open office so you couldn’t avoid hearing it.

That definitely lowered morale too.”

9. The real, live version.

“Worked with a genuine Michael Scott: i.e. a nice, well-meaning person who just did some absurd things.

We had kidnapping drills one day, where we learned how to ‘not be kidnapped’. Notably, this was a regular, boring office in a regular, boring suburb. No reason why kidnapping would be on anybody’s radar…

He and several of the guys randomly broke out into a push-up contest. Again. White collar office. Middle-aged dudes in khakis.

Couldn’t remember the nationality of our Hispanic colleague. Tried to “learn Spanish” to make her feel special when she returned from maternity leave. (1) What he learned was NOT Spanish, and (2) she was from Portugal. She knew like, five words of Spanish.

Disappeared for four days. No call. No email. Wouldn’t respond to any of our attempts to reach him. Finally, someone drove out to his house to make sure he was alive. He was. He’d just forgotten to tell us he was taking the week off, and then lost his phone in a lake.

There were many, many moments like these. Great boss. Genuinely cared about everyone in the company. Occasional moments of brilliance, where he really got things done.

But OMG, so many moments of ridiculousness.”

10. This happened to me once, too.

“We had an anonymous feedback program at work, and our boss was livid with the results, particularly with several comments that he frequently lost his temper in meetings and would yell at us.

The more he talked about how incorrect and unfair and hurtful these comments were, the redder and angrier he got, until he finally pounded the table and shouted, “I DO NOT! SCREAM! IN MEETINGS! OKAY?”

11. Pathetic and not funny.

“Mine had aspects of Michael Scott but the ones that are sad and pathetic and not funny. A couple examples:

• he called an all staff meeting to announce his divorce. He then instructed our receptionist to lie to his soon to be ex wife and deny he was in the office, all the time.

• he was just so, so incompetent at his job. If a task was too big or complicated he would just …. Not do it. Wouldn’t ask for help or anything, he’d just move on and leave whatever issue to fester. I would have to constantly monitor and follow up with him to get things done that effected my job

• his writing read like he used a thesaurus heavily. Tons of superfluous words clearly put in there to make him sound smart

• when he was terminated he kept the corporate laptop and cell phone. After several strongly worded letters requesting their return, he drove back to the office, parked on the edge of the road (think busy rural highway) and made his teenage son carry it all across the yard and parking lot to deliver them

I was eventually tasked by the big bosses to coordinate his termination. They then gave me his job plus my previous one. I can do both within a 40 hr week no problem.”

12. Fun while it lasted.

“I had one for a year and it was awesome!

If he would be in the middle of a story and the phone rang he would literally say “let it go to voicemail”. If a customer called 5 min before closing he’d demand I let it ring and go to VM.

He was late more often than I was. He frequently bought us coffees. He always took our side in customer disputes and if a customer yelled at us or got abusive on the phone, he would call them back and get into an argument with them and tell them to order from someone else.

He straight out told us that if weather conditions were bad he didn’t care how late we were, just that we were safe. Sometimes he would tell me on random days to take a two hour lunch ( I was salary and didn’t punch in or out). He was great! And he gave me so much free stuff.

We used to call him Micheal Scott behind his back!

Unfortunately… the owners were a bit stricter.. Myself and another coworker got fired and said boss got demoted. It was fun while it lasted.”

13. Just play along.

“I’ve had a few. One would only approve your days off if you played into her ego.

Her boring stories had to be the most fascinating thing you had ever heard. She would come into the office and spin around in a new outfit and we had to pretend it was amazing.

I had to work every weekend for months until I started playing along.”

14. Best boss ever.

“I used Michael Scott as a reference point for an old boss of mine from the moment I started working there.

He made Chewbacca noises on the regular because one of my coworkers’ names sort of vaguely sounded like Chewbacca (it didn’t), used voice to text extremely loudly in his office for no reason to send really personal messages, got really excited and wore a specific vest any time we had after-work outings scheduled.

Shouted the same like 7 references to old movies and extremely awkward hip-hop song quotes 100 times a day, and insisted on greeting all our international coworkers very loudly in their language (they all speak perfect English, of course)

Looking around for approval afterward, and then fully giggling at everyone’s French accents on conference calls. He also told me a lot about an improv show he did for a full year after it happened.

That said – he had all the good parts too. He never hesitated go to the mat for any of us whether we deserved it or not, he gave really sage business advice and great examples of how to face challenges out of absolutely nowhere, and he came to every community play I did in the 4 years I worked for him.

And told everyone else in the office how good I was in it for the following month and chastised them for not coming. When things really got serious or bad in my life, he couldn’t have been more kind, helpful, and supportive.

Honestly? Probably the best boss I’ll ever have.”

Have you ever had any ridiculous bosses in your life?

If so, we want to hear your stories!

Tell us all about them in the comments!

The post People Who Had Bosses Like Michael Scott Talk About Their Experiences appeared first on UberFacts.

I’ve never had a boss that was like The Office‘s Michael Scott, but I’ve definitely seen some characteristics in a few of them that made me cringe just a little bit.

And maybe if I could put all my past bosses together and pick out the most ridiculous traits of each one I’d be able to create one INCREDIBLY ANNOYING head honcho.

But these kinds of bosses really do exist and they’re out there in charge of employees all over the place!

AskReddit users went on the record with their funny boss stories.

1. Hahahaha. Wow.

“I had a boss once who spent all morning locked in his office.

He asked me to come in after lunch where he showed me a handmade graph. He then proceeded to explain that this was a chart of all the s*x he had ever had in his life.

“See, here it is blank until I joined the army. Then I went to a hooker here. Then they sent me to Vietnam where hookers only charged $2 per time. That’s where you see the big jump. I was on two tours but then got shot in the face. I came back home and you see how it just drops to almost nothing. ”

I was astounded.”

2. Oh, boy…

“My boss is certainly Michael Scott-esque.

When I first started I was essentially Pam as well since I was both receptionist and his assistant to some extent. My favorite story was back when we were prepping for a conference.

Some context, he’s terrible with the English language in general and will mangle phrases and descriptions to no end (how the turn tables…). So on a group call he kept talking about wanting a “golden hamster ball” to do giveaways with.

Was raving about how great it would be spinning around while people walked by, all the while everyone on the call was just sitting in confused silence. However by that point, I had become so good at decoding his nonsense that I knew he was referring to a gold raffle cage and sent him image privately asking if it’s what he was thinking.

To this day he still talks about the fact I can read his mind and must be psychic. And he still refers to it as a hamster ball.

All in all he’s a pretty nice guy and a solid boss. Hired me based on a gut feeling and has been decent to me ever since. I think I knew it would be a good fit when during the interview he tried to tell me about the four pillars of the company and forgot one.

Told me later it was Knowledge.”

3. Whatever you say.

“He wanted a pomegranate for lunch and they were out of season, but that didn’t stop him from sending me on a quest to every grocery store in town in search of a pomegranate.

Multiple produce guys laughed at me, but that was the easiest $13/hr I’ve ever made.”

4. Hmmmm…

“I had a redhead boss who made us all sit down and watch a training video about how we shouldn’t refer to him as a “ginger” because it is bullying.

No one had ever called him that.”

5. Peculiar.

“Had a boss who was very peculiar. For instance, he’d open a random closet, look at the stuff inside, then go on a tirade, “look at all this! Who bought all this crap?!?!” – “Uh, you did”.

“Oh. Well somebody needs to throw it away!”

Constant stuff like this.”

6. Leave me alone.

“I had a boss that used to watch me through a gap in the glass partition between our desks. She wanted to see if I was paying attention during meetings.

One day, I put a large folder to cover the gap and she freaked. I still laugh when I think about it.”

7. Sounds about right.

“I once worked for a family company (not my family) where my boss often had loud fights with her husband, mother, and sister (an addict with a penchant for stealing) in the halls. I have a million wonderful stories about that workplace but one that stuck out to me is this:

Once for someone’s birthday, she decided it would be fun to buy an anatomically correct, male blowup doll. She took this doll into the office, blew him up, and dressed him in a construction vest (the company was a contractor).

When I walked by, my boss was trying to manipulate the position of the blowup d*ck, and asked me if I wanted to be the “fluffer”.”

8. Just like Michael Scott.

“I had a boss sneak up behind a middle-aged female employee and pick her up, then immediately drop her down saying “I didn’t think you weighed that much!” He could not stop laughing.

He was the principal of the school.

This occurred during passing period in a crowded middle school hallway.”

9. The nerve…

“My boss insisted his daughters be flower girls in my wedding.

I declined.

At the reception, he told me I was spending too much time talking to one person, and I need to work the room more.”

10. A good use of time.

“He held a meeting with our whole team less one person to discuss said person being gay.

We all knew for well over a year, and never made a deal of it.

So yes, they are out there and that is why the show is so funny to me. I can relate…”

11. Conspiracy theories.

“I literally had a boss who would stop us in the middle of our work and hold company-wide meetings talking about 9/11 truther conspiracies and chemtrails.

Mind you we were furniture-making company.

He would get so caught up in his conspiracy theories that he forgot to order wood to make furniture one month.”

12. Welcome to America!

“My first boss in America, I was 21. He was Asian-American. I had never seen the office but noted the absurdity.

He would get free potato chips from a guy in a company truck and would stuff his cheeks in the middle of telling me what to do. He always offered some.

Fired a coworker for screaming some racist stuff at me by just..yanking her out the door.

Called another coworker a cub or a baby lion because she was tiny with wild unruly hair. Would do a small mini roar whenever she was about to report for her shift or when I mentioned her name.

Ran around the place with a wig on his head imitating me.

Brought his daughter to work and give her piggy back rides in the office. Would ask me to take videos.

Would talk to black people in a “black” way. He would say wassup shorty to the ladies and what’s poppin. Called the guys Tyrone and would say shieeeeeet in his most convincing “black” voice. It was actually pretty good.

Would ask me to teach him random Arabic words so he could yell them sporadically in the middle of the day. He always got the accent right.

Had an open door policy and would do shots in his office.

Started a small chicken farm in the back of the building and would give out whole chickens to the staff. Had me and a coworker try to slaughter one one time. I couldn’t and nicked it just a little bit and shrieked, spraying all three of us with blood.

Received a visit from the city people to tell him he couldn’t keep chickens in back. He was rounding the main floor with a small basket of freshly laid eggs just as they were asking for him.

Did the chicken farm again the next summer, this time with a small garden growing squash, cucumber, corn etc to disguise the chicken coop. Happily gave out vegetables along with chicken.

Would be extremely proud of taking home a tray of his own eggs to his children. Ate two fresh eggs every morning.

Bought a wok to work to deep fry sausages in. Sometimes made lunch in the back. The entire floor would smell like food and he would round us all (3 of us) to his office to eat.

Would regularly fall asleep under his desk. The snoring was so loud you could hear it in the front. Once a client asked what that noise was and I said it was the plumbing.

Woke up after his naps looking puffy but acting as if nothing happened. Would immediately go next door for a Cherry coke.

Would constantly eat hard candy to stay awake during the day.

Ate too many edibles at a party I hosted once and passed out.

Told me to hire someone but when he saw the girl did a comical thing with his face, eyebrows raised and eyes big ( think Ken Jeong ) because she was having trouble fitting into her chair. She was a bigger girl.

Took away chairs the next day because they “encouraged us not to concentrate on the client.” The girl was a no call no show the following week.

Had a love hate relationship with a groundhog not long into his farming venture. He never caught the guy.

Once threw a cricket at me from the very opposite end of the office floor. He and another coworker kept such straight faces as I finally convinced myself the cricket flung itself at me. I watched the cameras at the end of the day only to see them do it. I’m still traumatized.

Has an office to this day full of the weirdest collection of things. A few feather from favorite chickens of his that he had since consumed all named and dated, a rabbit paw someone gave him, a goat’s hoof, a framed quote I told him told to me by a very high homeless person.. I don’t remember the rest. It’s just an odd place to go into.

Had a hard time growing a beard and would ask me what I thought of the progress of his “soup taster.”

Nicest boss I’ve ever had. Well meaning if a little racially insensitive all while being fascinated by other people’s cultures. He would buy different cuisines for us to try each week. Gave bonuses because he knew the job didn’t pay much so that was always a nice surprise. He paid my former coworker when she had to stay home all through her husband’s Covid.

Also, he loves llamas, alpacas, baby goats and when I showed him how to use Reddit he would almost always sends me an alpaca photo. I still get a photo now and then.

Also 3 years after leaving he still sends me photos of his illegal farm and recently asked me to post his cucumbers on Reddit.

Also I forgot to add that he fell into poison ivy bush once and didn’t know right away. He ran around screaming until we sat him in his office semi undressed and put medicine on his wounds. He was so miserable for days, it was hard to watch.

He dove head first into the wall when asleep once and needed to go to the doctor and get 3 stitches on his busted lip. He came to work that morning with a huge lip and kept having to explain himself all day.

We kept joking his wife was beating him up. He still insisted on snacking as usual. At one point he sipped ketchup with a straw.”

Did you ever have a boss that reminded you of Michael Scott?

If the answer is YES, then please share your stories with us in the comments.

We’d love to hear from you!

The post People Who’ve Had Bosses Like Michael Scott Share What It Was Like appeared first on UberFacts.