HR Horror Stories!

HR Horror Stories With Lessons You’ll Actually Use

If you’ve been in HR for more than five minutes, you know the truth: most wild workplace stories start as employee relations issues.

It doesn’t matter if you’re in a warehouse, a call center, or a small office; when people work together, there’s no shortage of drama, oddities, and “did that really just happen?” moments. That’s the thing about small employer HR. With fewer people and fewer layers of leadership, issues don’t stay contained. If someone’s upset, disengaged, or just acting strange, everyone feels it. And when something goes truly off the rails, it’s instantly everyone’s business.

Recently, after a conversation about common ER challenges, we found ourselves swapping the kinds of stories that get told at HR happy hours and whispered about in break rooms years later. Some are funny. Some are awkward. Some… well, you just had to be there.

For example!

One of my own greatest hits started in the shipping department, where a few employees decided the private bathroom would make a great break room, spending half their shifts in there. When I shut that down, I instantly became the “shit shamer,” a nickname that stuck far longer than the problem itself. 

POOP GATE

It started like any ordinary Tuesday—until the men’s restroom was sealed off for construction. Bright yellow Out of Order signs hung on every stall door, like a neon warning to stay away.

And yet… someone didn’t.

Despite the barricades, despite the notices, the toilets were still being used. For their original purpose.

At first, we thought it was just a one-time incident. Then it happened again. And again. That’s when the security team got involved, launching an investigation that spiraled into weeks of interrogations, camera reviews, and whispered breakroom theories.

Somewhere between plumbing problems and corporate policy, what began as a simple facilities issue twisted itself into a full-blown employee relations nightmare—before I’d even finished my first cup of coffee.

and then...

A few employees decided the private bathroom would make a great break room, spending half their shifts in there. When I shut that down, I instantly became the “shit shamer,” a nickname that stuck far longer than the problem itself. 

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Sabrina has her own impressive collection of HR legends, covering everything from medical misunderstandings to… let’s call them “server room shenanigans.” There was the employee who insisted he needed pituitary gland surgery, while pointing to a completely different body part (he meant prostate). 

The time she walked in on the IT manager and an employee in the server room, while his girlfriend also worked there. 

A rejected candidate who hit on her immediately after being told he didn’t get the job, reasoning that “if I don’t work here, dating you would be fine” (never mind the fact she was married). 

And of course, a boss who once decided sleeping in teepees was the pinnacle of team building. She’s also got tales involving cheese sculptures, eagle ice carvings, and deer urine, but those deserve their own blog post.

Christine’s career hasn’t been without its own chaos. There was the termination that began with the employee flipping her off and telling her to “f*** off,” and ended with him apologizing as security walked him out because he “needed this job.” 

Or the time she conducted an interview while fighting the urge to gag, a necessary evil in the “butts in seats” recruiting culture of the time.

The absurdity makes these stories memorable, but not all of them could have been prevented by speaking up early. Some employee relations issues arrive fully formed: no warning, no slow build-up, just a phone call, an email, or a walk-in moment that makes you stop and say, “Wait… what?”

That said, plenty of situations do start small. In a small organization, there’s nowhere to hide. A weird vibe, a dip in performance, or a petty conflict is instantly noticeable and if no one addresses it, those “small” things can snowball into sagas that live on as HR legend.

Sometimes the problem is a manager avoiding an uncomfortable conversation. Sometimes it’s inconsistent treatment.

Sometimes it’s just a straight-up communication breakdown. Whatever the cause, silence rarely makes things better and often makes them worse.

The best defense against your own workplace legend? Address issues early when you can, even if you’re not sure you have the “right” words. A simple, “Hey, something feels off. Can we talk about it?” can stop months of gossip, resentment, and awkward hallway run-ins before they start.

And when you can’t prevent it? Handle it with intention. Be human in your conversations. In small teams, transparency matters more than you think. Even a quick “we’re handling it” beats radio silence. Because when people don’t get information, they’ll fill in the blanks themselves.

Employee Relations doesn’t have to be scary, but it does have to be intentional. And somewhere out there, another HR pro is dealing with their own “bathroom incident,” wondering if it’s going to make the cut for the next horror story roundtable.

So… what’s the wildest HR story you’ve been part of?