The Worst Crisis You’ve Ever Faced First Thing in the Morning

We’re not making this stuff up. Workforce members sent these responses in as part of the Day in the Life -2000 survey.

• “Two U.S. Marshalls arrived in the lobby to arrest an employee. It turned out that they were mistaken; the man they were looking for was not an employee but an applicant.”

• “Had to have an emergency staff meeting to tell our employees that we gave out the wrong raise amounts to everyone—the actual raise would be about 50 percent less than the figure that was originally given.”

• “No coffee … no explanation is necessary.”

• “Finding out that someone had come into work with their Doberman pinscher and had someone trapped in a basement office threatening to let the dog loose. There were no windows and only one way into the office. Her CD player was blaring music, and when we finally got into the office she said everything was fine. The police escorted her off the property. Oh, I forgot to tell you one minor detail—our entire Board of Directors was at our facility that day, too! I thought that day would never end.”

• “The Department of Labor arrived five minutes after I did for a ‘routine audit. “

• “One day when I walked in, the CEO and COO grabbed me in the hall to tell me that they had both just been fired.”

• “Blackout at the building on payroll transmittal day.”

• “Monday morning: An employee’s 24-year-old wife had died Friday afternoon due to complications from childbirth. I had to tell the other employees, send flowers from the company, and make arrangements to keep the office staffed while his co-workers attended the wake and funeral. [This event also included] such painful duties as removing her from the health insurance policy (while adding the baby, who thankfully lived). I never want to go through another day like that again as long as I live.”

• “Seven employees resigned to go to a competitor.”

• “Facing 2,000 applicants at 5:00 a.m. who had showed up early to apply for positions. One of our vice presidents had made a public announcement on television, which was also picked up by local radio stations, that we had 500 immediate job openings and we were paying top dollar for these positions. In fact, we did not have 500 jobs open and we certainly were not paying top dollar.”

• “Finding out a department had a drinking party after work on company property and one of the females did a striptease for the group.”