Michael Scott is such a lovable character because he's always sticking his foot in his mouth, he's always doing things for selfish reasons, but never out of real malice, and he tries way too hard to get people to like him. All those reasons make him a great TV character, but these real-life workers have to put up with a boss who's just like Michael, and it doesn't work out so well off-screen as it does on.
(Content has been edited for clarity.)
They Found Themselves On The Wrong Side Of the Tracks
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“My boss and I traveled to D.C. for a conference. To set the scene, he’s in his mid-40s, I’m a 26-year-old girl, and we’re both awkward.
One day, we decided to take the metro to a meeting across town. We had a large suitcase full of laptops which I was wheeling around. As we were standing on the subway platform, he suddenly yelled, ‘Wrong side!’ and SPRINTED up the stairs to get to the opposite platform.
I was like, ‘Oh crap,’ and tried to give chase, but this suitcase was big and clunky and I fell about 20 feet behind him. As I was running after him, I saw him dart onto the train. I got maybe 5 feet away, just close enough to make eye contact, him inside the train, me outside with this stupid suitcase, as the doors slowly shut.
The train pulled away and I was left dumbfounded at what just happened. I can totally picture Michael leaving Pam behind in the same way.”
She Led The Anti-Harassment Meeting By…Harassing Someone
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“Someone from corporate came in to teach us about racism, harassment, and other topics. My boss thought it would be a good idea to interrupt the presentation and ask us for personal testimonies of time when we felt uncomfortable in the workplace.
When no one answered, she called out a coworker and asked how she felt that everyone thought she was fat and makes fun of her when she comes back with fast food every day for lunch. The coworker of mine just sat there and started to cry. My boss was like well I thought she knew and proceeded to point out all the office gossip and what everyone felt about each other.”
“FYI, The One On Top Sounds Black”
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“He handed me a stack of applications for a job opening in my department and said, ‘Just FYI, the one on top sounds like they’re black, so only hire them if you want to be shot.’
I gave him a look and said, ‘Seriously?’
He laughed a bunch and said, ‘Oh I’m just kidding! They’d stab you.’
I said, ‘You know, my boyfriend’s black.’
He responded, ‘Really? I would have pictured you with like a librarian or something.’
I later ended up bringing in a gay man to interview for the job, who shook his hand and later revealed that he was HIV positive. He freaked out and went to the doctor to be tested.”
“His Identity Immediately Revolved Around Being A Motorcycle Guy”
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“I worked a marketing internship at a small firm. Our manager was this guy who was always trying to come off as cool to his employees, but his idea of cool was weird. He always wore huge, gaudy belt buckles, his favorite being a giant chrome Batman logo. He would fling around foam nunchucks in his office and would forget to close the blinds sometimes so everyone could see him.
One day he decided to get a motorcycle and his identity immediately revolved around being a motorcycle guy. He had some flashy Kawasaki bike. He would rev the engine pulling into our parking lot every morning. This dude would wear his motorcycle leather jacket, one of the ones with the pads all over it, while he sat at his desk all day (over a suit and tie) and would interrupt conversations around the office talking about how fast he drives down the highway at night.
He didn’t come into work one morning and called my supervisor from the hospital because he had crashed his bike and shattered his tailbone. Everyone in the office was losing their minds laughing. My manager had a standing desk moved into his office for the next month because his butt was busted. He still wore the jacket.”
The Spotlights Came On And It Was “Mr. Nice Guy’s” Moment To Shine
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“I used to work at a hotel/convention center. My boss was awkward, nerdy, and nice to the core. Mr. Nice Guy. Unfortunately, that meant most people walked all over him. This had a real effect on him over the years, and eventually, he became sullen and reserved. Late one night, five guys and I were setting up this enormous banquet room when Mr. Nice Guy and his assistant manager (we’ll call him Dwight) walked into the room. They walked over to the stage, fiddled with something up there for a bit, then dipped back out of the room without saying a word. I remember thinking it was odd but didn’t care enough to investigate.
Had I investigated, I would’ve found out that they’d turned the volume on the sound system all the way up and then swiped one of the wireless microphones. Then they took that mic into the office and set it down next to the computer speakers. Then Dwight came back into the room in a rush, ran back up to the stage area, and turned off all the lights in the room. For a moment, it was pitch black. Then this VERY loud music came booming over the speakers. I didn’t recognize it right away, but it was Stone Cold Steve Austin’s song that played whenever he’d enter the arena. Then Dwight turned on this AV light system which had a function that’d swirl various spotlights around for a moment, and then suddenly focus them all on the two big doors at the end of the room. This was typically used when wedding parties enter the room during a reception.
When the lights hit the doors, Mr. Nice Guy swung them both open and stormed into the room, much like Stone Cold would’ve, with a big powerful stride and a serious mean-mug expression. He was just beaming with more confidence and gusto than any of us in attendance thought he was even remotely capable of. At that moment, he WAS Stone Cold Steve Austin. When the song ended, this amazing grin spread across his face. It was the look of having just lived out a life-long dream and done it well. We were so taken aback and amazed by the whole thing that we were just frozen. Then Dwight got mad and told us all to clap for him. Mr. Nice Guy’s face dropped and he told Dwight that he’d ruined it. Then he walked out and Dwight ran after him.”
His Band Caused His Employees Nothing But Pain
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“He was in a ‘two-man acoustic band,’ where he and his friend would sing at open mics at coffee houses. They were both in their 40s, really awful musicians, but completely and utterly unaware how much they sucked. He would record his ‘gigs’ and then play them back to us in groups of two or three for feedback. In reality, he spent most of the time talking over the video, discussing his intentions for the song, the meaning behind the lyrics.”
The Mystery Of The Parking Lot Crockpot
“My boss brought in a crockpot full of hot chocolate for our staff Christmas party. Two days later, I pulled into the parking lot before work and there was a crockpot in an empty parking space. I went in and casually brought it up to my boss, like, ‘Hey, did you see the mysterious crockpot parked out there?’ She looked off into the distance for a few seconds, then started booking it out to the parking lot. She thought it was her crockpot from the Christmas party, except it wasn’t. We all had to go outside and study the parking lot crockpot to make sure it wasn’t hers, and after having the whole staff look, it was confirmed that it was NOT hers. So then we had another mystery on our hands because she couldn’t remember what happened to the one that actually belonged to her. Later, she had our assistant manager go to Sears on his break and pick up a new crockpot for her. The parking lot crock pot stayed in its parking space for a month, and then one night after work when it was snowing, she accidentally ran over it.”
He Has A Real Problem Controlling His Mouth
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“My boss IS Michael Scott. He even looks like Steve Carell. He tries so hard to be the entertainer. I keep a running list to tell my wife:
-His first meeting as the boss, he put up a picture of Donald Trump on the Powerpoint and went into a Trump impression, saying, ‘We’re going to make [department] GREAT again!’ He continued saying Trump things like, ‘Yuuuge,’ or ‘beautiful thing.’ There were only four of us in the room. It went on for an uncomfortable amount of time, with no one laughing. No joke, his impression lasted three or four minutes with all of us awkwardly smiling and wishing he would move on.
-Someone made a German reference, and he started going around the office saying, ‘Sieg Heil’ and Nazi saluting.
-He tells inappropriate stories all the time that go on for too long without any idea they are inappropriate. Like how when he was young, he used to tease his friend for going out with underage girls. Or how he loved to change his old coworker’s wallpapers to gay men getting it on.
-He loves to recount stories to you of other times he did something he considered funny, like, a funny remark he made in a meeting or something. The stories are so long, but he always makes it sound like he was killing it. He’s used the terms, ‘everyone roared with laughter’ in moments I am sure are not true. An actual example is someone’s last name was ‘Towns’ and he went, ‘What’s his mother’s maiden name? Village?’
-Any time New York comes up, he goes into a wiseguy accent. Starts going, ‘New Yawk’ and ‘Youz guys.’
-I sit next to my boss. The day I realized it was like working with Michael Scott was one day during my first three months when he was not in the office. It was easily the MOST productive day I ever had.”
They Had A New Rule For The Microwave After That
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“He spilled coffee on his shoes, and it soaked into his socks. So what did he decide to do? He washed his sock by hand in the kitchen sink, then attempted to dry it off in the microwave set on high for a minute. The wet sock just sat there and spun around trying to burn, but it was too wet. The horrible smell of a burning sweaty sock filled the entire office for a week. To better top things off, he then sent out a PSA through email telling everyone in the office to only use the microwave for food.
I sat there watching all of this go down while providing honest Jim Halpert like advice.”
Claudia Made Sure She Was The Name On Everyone’s Lips
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“I went to my wife’s company picnic where they played games, including company trivia, and the CEO, Claudia, asked all the trivia questions about the company. Most of the questions where:
‘How long has Claudia worked at__?’
‘What are the names of Claudia’s two daughters?’
‘When is Claudia’s birthday?’
It was all about her, and it only succeeded in outing all the butt kissers that my wife worked with.
When we got in the car to leave, I said, ‘That was weird. It’s like you work for Michael Scott.’ She burst out laughing, told three of her co-workers, and they all agreed. They worked for the female Michael Scott.”
They Were Surprised To See An Uninvited Guest At Their Table
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“When I worked briefly as an Aircraft Mechanic, my boss was about as Michael Scott as one could realistically be. To top it all off, his last name was Scott.
Here are a few of his fun, and mildly annoying, antics:
-We had a company cookout with cornhole boards set up. He and I were paired together on a team. After we won the first game, he smacked me on the butt and said ‘Good game,’ then immediately realized how awkward it was, and went on a tangent about how everyone he worked with was his friend, and he would never intentionally harass them.
-My coworker Jim and I used to go to a Chinese restaurant on Fridays after work sometimes. One day, out of the blue, we walked in and our boss was there waiting on us, unannounced and, frankly, uninvited.
-For another company cookout, he asked everyone what our favorite brewsky was. He wrote down everyone’s answers and brought a cooler full of brews. HIS favorite brews. When one of the managers told him drinking during the cookout wasn’t a good idea, he argued about how he was trying to make things fun for everybody. When the GM showed up and said, ‘No drinking,’ Mr. Scott packed up his cooler and went home.
-When I put in my two-weeks notice, he waxed poetic about how he hated losing a member of ‘the family’ but wished me the best. He threw me an impromptu going away party with pineapple upside down cake. I’m allergic to pineapple, so I couldn’t eat it. His response was to go to a vending machine and buy me a bunch of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
He was a total cheeseball, but one of the more entertaining bosses I’ve ever had.”
She Reminded Him Week After Week, But It Didn’t Do Much Good
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“I had a job where I worked in a department of two: my boss and me. He was a surly guy who drank a lot of coffee and kept to himself, but he was nice enough. We were coming into a time of year where we’d both be working overtime, splitting between the two of us the various evening and weekend events that our company was holding. At least one of us had to be at all of them, so we planned to divvy them equally.
Going into that season, the boss asked me if there were any dates that WOULD NOT work for me. I said just one: my husband had gotten us tickets to a show coming to town that I had wanted to see, and the tickets were for this one night during the busy time. Boss said fine. No problem.
About two weeks before the night of my show, the boss made a comment about me being available that night to work. ‘No,’ I reminded him, ‘I have tickets to a show, remember?’
‘Oh yeah,’ he said. ‘Got it.’
A week before the show, the same thing happened. Boss said that’s my night to work. I reminded him that it’s not, I even wrote it down for him. He just nodded and said, ‘Oh yeah.’ I felt increasingly uncomfortable with where this was going.
The day of the show, I was at work, and my boss stuck his head in my cubicle to tell me I’d have to do such-and-such that night. I stared at him. I said, ‘I’ve told you this several times, I’ve written it down, I have ONE conflict this whole season and it’s tonight. Remember?’
Boy, did he get mad. He froze, then glared at me. I timidly asked if I could still have the night off, and he grudgingly agreed. He stomped back to his office, though, pausing to look over his shoulder and told me (and here’s the Michael Scott quote): ‘Next time, you need to know what things I’m going to forget and remind me of them more.’
Sure thing, chief. I left that job a few months later.”
His Reaction To His Boss’s Prank Was Classic Jim
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“He put a fake severed head in my bottom desk drawer and watched me from the corner of the room to see if it scared me. I just looked up (in a very Jim way) and blinked a few times and then closed the drawer. The look on his face was pure defeat. He was upset it didn’t scare me like that’s all he thought about the night before and I completely ruined his day.”
If He’s The Real Life Michael Scott, She’s His Pam
“My boss IS Michael. His name is Malcolm. He looks the same, and I’m always calling him Michael by mistake. I am essentially his ‘Pam.’ He’s the director of the company; a single guy who likes sports cars and only socializes with people who he knows through work. This was confirmed when I did his Christmas cards for him. I also have to constantly avoid meetings with him that turn into lunches, that turn into nights out with just him and my significant other. He eats at restaurants every night and brags about the loyalty discount he gets at the curry house. He’s constantly calling me into his office to watch funny Youtube videos from five years ago.
For Christmas, I bought him a jar of sweets which he keeps on his desk. I’m expected to keep it constantly filled. If I want to keep him sweet, I fill it with old ’60s sweets to make him nostalgic, and he’s amused for days.
I just got off a phone call with him. He called to ask me to send a file to a client, then stayed on the phone for 47 minutes narrating the traffic and all the cars that were on the road.”
His Mnemonic Devices Need Some Work
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“My boss can’t remember names. He’s terrible at it. So he has made a habit of making a mnemonic device to recall a person. The trouble is that he still doesn’t recall the name. He just remembers people by certain vague traits and expects his employees to understand them.
For example, He’ll come to my desk and go, ‘Okay got a call from…’ then frown his face a little, ‘…Elvis. And he needs you to make X for him.’
‘Who?’
‘Elvis. You know…the guy who has an Elvis collection.’
‘I don’t know who has an Elvis collection.’
‘Hmm, well…He has a pool!’
It becomes a rather frustrating game of ‘Guess Who?'”
Her Boss Refused To Give Her The Day Off For A Very Selfish Reason
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“I’d been having some pretty bad insomnia, and asked my boss if I could have a day off at the end of the week. Things were pretty slow, so it wasn’t imperative that I be there, and I couldn’t face the idea of having to come in feeling like that. She agreed to it, then came running into my office five minutes later saying I couldn’t have it off after all. She said too many people already had the day off so it would look bad. When I asked who, she listed two people. Their jobs have zero overlap with mine. I accepted my fate.
I came in the next day, still exhausted, and brought some papers into her office. She looked at me and said, ‘Wow, you look so tired.’
I replied, ‘Yes, I have been having trouble sleeping, as I explained yesterday.’
She then told me, ‘Oh yeah, too many people have today off. Me, I just can’t work at all when I am tired, it is terrible.’
The next day came, the day I had requested off. I was still tired, but doing a little better. She then came in to tell us she was leaving. Turns out she didn’t want to give me the day off because two people had asked for it off, and she wanted to take a half-day.
She has also cornered me to talk about goat’s milk; brought in her soy milk maker so she could make soy milk at the office for some reason; used the toaster oven to bake small cakes for two days straight; tried to get me to buy stuff for her daughter’s fundraiser; tried multiple times to get me to get my parents to get her daughter an internship at the hospital where they work; and she does not understand how computers work. She also uses the company credit card to buy snacks for her daughters.”
Her Solution To Everything Is “Multitasking”
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“My current boss believes all problems can be solved by telling me to ‘multi-task.’
Multiple projects due the same day? Multi-task!
I have to deal with a coworker who may inhale freon, thus leaving me to fix all her mistakes on top of my own work? Multi-task!
Never trained on what I’ve been assigned to do? Multi-task it up and learn things that require years of knowledge and finish the work at the same time.
I hate her.”