FRIDAY FUNNY: This Is Unacceptable!

A recent survey conducted by OfficeTeam, a staffing service specializing in skilled administrative workers, reveals some wacky reasons managers have been given by former employees handing in their notice. From unacceptable building conditions to following a dream to attending to short-term desires, some of the motivations for having left a job indicate not everyone is worried about holding onto employment in this challenging economy.

Developed by OfficeTeam, the survey was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,300 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees in the U.S. and Canada.

Have you ever had an employee at your organization leave due to any of the following conditions?

  • “A person quit because he hated the carpet.”
  • “One worker did not like the colors of the walls.”
  • “The employee quit because the office building was unattractive.”
  • “Someone felt the lobby area was too small.”
  • “She hated the lighting in the building.”

Meanwhile, other respondents had suffered from sensory overload:

  • “He quit because he didn’t like the way the office smelled.”
  • “One employee didn’t enjoy the cafeteria food.”
  • “An individual did not like the sound of file cabinets being slammed.”

Other reasons given by survey respondents include:

  • “Someone left because her boss lost the dog she had given him.”
  • “Our employee said he was joining the circus.”
  • “One person left because she lost her cell phone too many times at work.”
  • “We had someone quit to participate in a reality show.”
  • “An employee said it was his routine to change jobs every six months.”

Some individuals simply had to follow their true calling:

  • “One worker left to become an apple farmer.”
  • “A staff member quit to climb Mount Everest.”
  • “There was an individual who left to play the trombone.”
  • “An employee wanted to enter a beauty contest.”
  • “One worker quit to join a rock band.”

Other reasons the employers surveyed had heard from former employees include:

  • “A guy said he was making too much money and didn’t feel he was worth it.”
  • “One person left because she didn’t want to work so hard.”
  • “An individual said he was bored.”
  • “Someone quit because she was going to live off her trust fund.”
  • “An employee said work was getting in the way of having fun.”
  • “A person quit because informal dress was not allowed.”
  • “The worker told us he just couldn’t get up in the morning.”

And finally, these shortsighted workers gave notice when a day off might have sufficed:

  • “One person quit to watch a soccer tournament.”
  • “We had someone leave because he had to stay home to feed his dog.”
  • “An employee left because he wanted to watch a movie with his girlfriend during work hours.”