Smosh Reads Reddit Stories

Stories That Make Us Want To Quit | Reading Reddit Stories

September 13, 2025

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • The podcast explores the complex and often blurred lines of workplace relationships, from casual friendships to inappropriate romantic entanglements and the ethical dilemmas they present. 
  • The discussion highlights how seemingly minor workplace incidents, like a coffee spill or a prank, can escalate into significant interpersonal conflicts and HR issues. 
  • The podcast emphasizes the importance of clear boundaries and professional conduct in the workplace, even in informal environments, to prevent misunderstandings and maintain a healthy work atmosphere. 
  • A prank involving a fake arrest for embezzlement caused severe psychological distress to a new employee, highlighting the potential for jokes to cross legal and ethical boundaries. 
  • A manager's decision to orchestrate an elaborate and expensive office party on a holiday, in response to a mandatory work order, demonstrates a powerful form of malicious compliance that led to significant company policy changes and repercussions for a VP. 
  • The podcast emphasizes that genuine workplace respect and understanding of employees' lives outside of work are crucial for maintaining morale and productivity, as exemplified by the IT team's response to being forced to work on a holiday. 

Segments

Coworker Dynamics & Relationships
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(00:01:31)
  • Key Takeaway: The nature of ‘coworker’ relationships varies significantly, from transactional survival jobs to the integrated friendships required in on-camera roles, creating unique pressures and bonds.
  • Summary: The hosts and guests discuss the definition and experience of being coworkers, contrasting survival jobs with their current roles at Smosh, and exploring the pressure to be friends as part of the job.
Workplace Romance & HR Issues
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(00:06:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Navigating romantic relationships with supervisors, especially when it involves preferential treatment, presents significant HR risks and potential for workplace chaos.
  • Summary: The discussion delves into a Reddit story about a person dating two supervisors simultaneously, exploring the ethical implications, potential HR violations, and the stress of managing such a situation.
Pranks and Workplace Conflict
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(00:14:51)
  • Key Takeaway: Workplace pranks, even if intended lightly, can have severe emotional and professional consequences, leading to prolonged conflict and a toxic environment.
  • Summary: The hosts analyze a story about a coworker being tickled under a desk, leading to a manager’s intervention, ongoing hostility between the involved parties, and a general breakdown of workplace harmony.
Revenge and Workplace Justice
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(00:22:37)
  • Key Takeaway: While seeking petty revenge against a disliked coworker can be cathartic, it often fails to address the root cause of problematic behavior and can create further workplace issues.
  • Summary: The podcast examines a Reddit story where someone eats their coworker’s apple chips as revenge for his bad behavior, discussing the effectiveness and potential downsides of such actions.
Prank Gone Horribly Wrong
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(00:47:04)
  • Key Takeaway: A prank involving a fake arrest for embezzlement caused severe psychological distress to a new employee, highlighting the potential for jokes to cross legal and ethical boundaries.
  • Summary: The discussion centers on a story from Ask a Manager where employees played a cruel prank on a coworker, making her believe she was being arrested for stealing $50,000, leading to her vomiting from distress and subsequently not returning to work.
Malicious Compliance Holiday Party
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(00:57:52)
  • Key Takeaway: A manager’s elaborate and expensive office party on a holiday, in response to a mandatory work order, served as a powerful act of malicious compliance that led to significant company policy changes and repercussions for a VP.
  • Summary: This segment details how an IT team, forced to work on the 4th of July, responded by throwing an extravagant office party with a $6,000 budget, complete with a massive barbecue feast, which ultimately led to new spending rules and consequences for a VP who had belittled the IT staff.
Workplace Respect and Balance
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(01:12:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Genuine workplace respect and understanding of employees’ lives outside of work are crucial for maintaining morale and productivity, as exemplified by the IT team’s response to being forced to work on a holiday.
  • Summary: The conversation reflects on the importance of work-life balance and treating employees with respect, contrasting the negative impact of a VP’s dismissive attitude towards IT staff with the positive outcomes of a manager advocating for their team and the subsequent fallout for the VP.