A Canadian employee has been fired after an April Fools’ prank involving a “stop crying” sticker in a staff bathroom, despite claiming to have received prior approval from the company’s Human Resources department. The incident has raised questions about workplace humor and employee discipline, especially in light of the employee’s claims that the prank was meant to lift spirits.
The now-former employee, who shared their story on Reddit, said they placed a sticker on the bathroom mirror reading, “Employees must stop crying before returning to work.” According to the employee, the lighthearted prank was intended to bring humor to the office environment and had even been approved by HR beforehand. The prank was conducted on April 1, with the employee saying they had discussed it in advance with HR and were told which bathroom to place the sticker in.
However, just one day after the prank, the employee was informed by their boss that they were being let go. “I was in disbelief,” the employee wrote, explaining that when they arrived at work the next day, their personal belongings had been packed up. “I went straight to the boss’s office and took full responsibility,” the ex-employee continued. “I wanted to be transparent and admit that I shouldn’t have done it, and I apologized. But the response I got was, ‘We have to let you go.'”
The former employee, who had been with the company for 10 months without any prior disciplinary actions, believes the firing was a result of the sticker incident combined with a prior disagreement with the boss over “currency handling” four months earlier.
“I’m heartbroken because I was viewed as a leader by many of my colleagues, and I never expected this,” they said. The employee also noted that their boss seemed to be emotional about the decision, which they found unusual.
The employee now faces a dilemma, asking Reddit users whether they should pursue the matter further by taking it to the labor board. While some Reddit users thought the prank was inappropriate and in bad taste, others speculated that the firing was a result of underlying tensions between the employee and their boss. The situation has sparked debate over the limits of workplace humor and the reasons behind sudden terminations.
Sources By Agencies
