whats the worst thing you have been called on the job

spaceman

Lifer
Dec 4, 2000
17,616
183
106
someone said this to me(20 years my sr.)
"ya know, you can be one irritating sonofabitch"
i'll never forget it. haha!
 

compuwiz1

Admin Emeritus Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
27,112
930
126
I've never been called anything derrogatory but I have an ex boss from way back that I once told to go fuck his beard as I resigned. :shocked:
 

RKS

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,824
3
81
I was told I was lower than whale shit in a hole at the bottom of the ocean. This was from my boss during my 1st month on the job. He didn't say it directly to me but to another employee while we were all in his office.
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
"Worst thing" is subjective, really. What bothers me might not bother you, and vice-versa. I've been called some bad things "professional-wise." I've been called some bad things "personal-wise." Really depends on what irks you. For me, the professional comments hurt b/c I try very hard to be ultra-professional at work.

A few years back, my section head said something to me after he saw me chew out my shop for them screwing up. He said "You know...when you lose your cool, your shop has no faith in your abilities as a manager." And he just walked away. :( This guy was one of my mentors so I took his comment to heart. Turns out he was right.

You NEVER lose your cool in front of your subordinates. You can praise, punish, chastise, reward or just show no reaction...but you never lose your bearing. Don't lose your cool.
 

Squisher

Lifer
Aug 17, 2000
21,204
66
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Originally posted by: spaceman
someone said this to me(20 years my sr.)
"ya know, you can be one irritating sonofabitch"
i'll never forget it. haha!

I would've taken it as a compliment and said, "I guess it must be working then"


I guess the worst thing to ever happen to me at work is to have someone question my competence, but eventually I made everyone who ever did so eat those words.

 

Nik

Lifer
Jun 5, 2006
16,101
3
56
Originally posted by: xcript
Australian. :|



I'm English. :p

I had a teacher in high school who strongly stuck to being English and not British because he refused to be in the same group "as those bastard Scotts" :laugh:
 

AreaCode7O7

Senior member
Mar 6, 2005
931
1
0
"Too young to make a decision like that" by a director, in front of the managers, senior managers and super users, whose buy in and support I needed in order to perform a good product launch. To make it worse he was referring to my personal life (my upcoming marriage).

If he hadn't already set his end date I would have had his ass so fired.
 
May 16, 2000
13,522
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Having worked with criminals and the mentally ill for a dozen years, I couldn't begin to recount what I've heard.
 

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Nov 2, 1999
6,731
1
81
"motherfvcker!"...I heard that a lot when I fired people.

My boss told me "fvck you and the horse you rode in on" when he was going off on some tangent about Bill Clinton several years back.....I'm was not a Clinton fan, but I politely told my boss that he was incorrect about some of his facts....didn't make him too happy...I laughed at him, which didn't help matters any.
 

xcript

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2003
8,258
2
81
Originally posted by: Nik
Originally posted by: xcript
Australian. :|



I'm English. :p

I had a teacher in high school who strongly stuck to being English and not British because he refused to be in the same group "as those bastard Scotts" :laugh:

Well then, he's all right by me. As long as he's not a northerner. They're worse than the Scots! :|

;)
 
Sep 29, 2004
18,656
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My father in law when he was a new lawyer had his superior say that he "could do better" when referring to his girlfriend. Now his wife.

I tend to tease people alot and someone got mad at me at work because I told him he doesn't work hard enough. The joke was that none of us were working hard enough on this particular project.
 

feralkid

Lifer
Jan 28, 2002
16,884
4,993
136
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Having worked with criminals and the mentally ill for a dozen years, I couldn't begin to recount what I've heard.

So...they whacked you on the head and destroyed your memory?
 

Sentrosi2121

Platinum Member
Aug 8, 2004
2,567
2
81
Insubordinate. Just happened Friday night. New procedures were handed down a couple of weeks ago that I was not familiar with. Had to call in sick Friday night last week so I never got a chance to talk to the person who sent down the procedures. Interpreted them as well as I could, but while the data was secured, the method to do so wasn't done within the parameters of the instructions. So while I misinterpreted the instructions, my super called me insubordinate.

Felt like hitting my super upside the head with an Intro to Unix textbook.
 

mAdMaLuDaWg

Platinum Member
Feb 15, 2003
2,437
1
0
My manager got so frustrated with me that he said that he said he had a hard time managing me. This was after I f'ed up a project so bad so I deserved it. Thankfully, he gave me another chance.
 

imported_Imp

Diamond Member
Dec 20, 2005
9,148
0
0
"Asshole"

I was about to leave and got too comfortable teasing/screwing with a new coworker. Well, she didn't care too much for it:).
 

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,365
14,770
146
I worked heavy construction for over 30 years...I've been called just about every name you can imagine...and many you can't...especially when I was a business agent for my union...I LOVED catching contractors running equipment without Operators in the seat...and some of them, (frequen offenders) I hit for the max penalty. THAT always drew a few innovative cuss words. :D

Of course, having been cussed out more than a few times in the Corps...these folks were rank amateurs.