
Office Horror Stories: True Workplace Nightmares
50 episodes listed below
Bad-job stories read in full, then judged out loud.
The gist
Office Horror Stories: True Workplace Nightmares reads listeners' stories of bad jobs all the way through. The stories run from coworkers who grope staff to a boss whose insistence on the expensive store makes the pair wonder about a kickback. Then the two react, naming the villain and siding with whoever got stuck.
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About Office Horror Stories: True Workplace Nightmares
Office Horror Stories: True Workplace Nightmares is a story-and-reaction show about jobs that turned ugly, built on accounts sent in by the people who lived them. The format is simple. A submitted story is read straight through in a relaxed, conversational voice, with the odd stumble corrected on the fly, and then the talk takes over. The second half is where the show does its real work: the pair pick out the villain, name what was absurd and side with whoever was stuck. The trouble ranges widely. One letter describes coworkers who groped and crowded the women on staff until the writer finally punched one of them. Another involves a boss whose insistence on buying from the expensive store has both voices wondering about a kickback. One of them, having remodeled a home or two, argues that products agreed with a homeowner are not the contractor's to swap on a whim. An episode titled 'In-Human Resources | HR Nightmares' asks what anyone can do when the person meant to keep a workplace ethical is the least ethical one there. Advice does come up, but it is practical, not polished. In one stretch they argue that flying under the radar is no disaster, that confidence and conceit are different things, and that being right counts for less than a paycheck. None of it sounds like an HR column or a self-help explainer. Sentences run long and improvised, then land on a blunt judgment or a joke. Patience helps, because the openings wander. One detours through a Midwest food court chain and a ranking of the good mall, the one with the Cheesecake Factory and the movie theater, against the lesser one with the rug shop and the off-brand pizza place. The show can move from mall jokes to harassment without a formal reset, and it treats the heavier material gravely when it comes. Tony Bruschi signs off episodes, speaking for Carol Hughes or Sean as well, and asks for new stories through the show's website and a phone line. The feed has also carried a preview of a companion podcast, Nightmare Neighbors. Its stories include a neighbor burning off brush with gasoline and a donut-shop worker whose neighbor turns out to work nearby too. An entry called 'Sneek-A-Peek' offers the title of Employee of the Month and a chance at a gift card in exchange for an Apple Podcasts review. A listener gets the whole story first, then an unhurried, dry debrief from two people who are plainly on the worker's side.
Made for: Suits a listener who wants to hear a workplace nightmare told start to finish and then picked apart by two people firmly on the worker's side, and who does not mind a winding road to get there.
What sets it apart: It sounds nothing like an HR column or a true-crime narration: the submitted story is read in full, the tangents around it are left to wander, and the verdicts that follow are blunt and plain-spoken. It can also swing from mall nostalgia to harassment without dropping its easy, dry register.
As heard by us
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Listener accounts and candid host reactions expose how bad management, failed oversight, and everyday workplace power shape people's lives.
Office Horror Stories turns listener-submitted accounts of bad jobs into conversational case studies of power at work. Tony and his co-hosts move from controlling bosses and ineffective HR departments to harassment, customer abuse, and the quiet calculations employees make to…
Why you'd press play
HR becomes the enemy, and your strategy of staying under the radar gets a hearing.
Press play if you want
- to hear Tony and Sean weigh being right against keeping your paycheck
- to hear a contractor's costly flooring switch get the incredulous reaction you had
Talks about
Podcasts like Office Horror Stories: True Workplace Nightmares





Development ReimaginedAnita Gouveia and Chinwe Grace JonesWorkplace learning with the human layer left in.
Episodes
- 1
Sell Out Staff | Office Horror Stories
Hosts Tony Bruschi and Sean present three listener-submitted workplace horror stories: a commission-based electronics store employee whose manager was caught stealing electronics to her car after intercepting every customer sale; a receptionist with severe asthma who was hospitalized after coworkers deliberately sprayed air freshener inside her purifier filter and drink, with one coworker later saying 'sorry you didn't die'; and a restaurant worker whose owner banned curbside ordering during COVID to avoid credit card fees.
Jun 4, 2020·40m·2 clips - 2
Call The Cops | Office Horror Stories
Hosts Tony Bruschi and Carol Hughes present three listener-submitted workplace horror stories: an employee falsely accused by their boss of altering equipment on a day off, who couldn't quit because leaving would mean returning to an abusive home; a worker at what appears to be a police department who was serially sexually harassed by two coworkers — including one who brought a sex doll to work — with no management intervention; and a new pizza restaurant manager whose first solo COVID-era shift ended with a customer being handcuffed after flipping a desk.
Jun 2, 2020·35m·2 clips - 3
Collections Agency | Office Horror Stories
May 28, 2020·40m - 4
Thrown Under The Bus | Office Horror Stories
May 26, 2020·39m - 5
Neighbors From Hell | Nightmare Neighbors Podcast
Hidden gemThe first episode of the Nightmare Neighbours podcast, hosted by Tony and Jenny Bruschi, features listener stories and personal accounts of neighbor conflicts recorded on April 27, 2020.
May 22, 2020·39m·2 clips - 6
Car Dealership Nightmare | Automotive Horror Stories
May 21, 2020·38m - 7
In-Human Resources | HR Nightmares
Hidden gemHosts Tony Bruschi and Sean cover three listener-submitted workplace horror stories and one personal anecdote: a letter describing four HR directors across two companies — including one who openly bragged policies weren't written down 'because then people would make me follow them' and another who called pregnancy a 'self-inflicted disability'; a beauty store employee whose burn was mistaken by a customer for a lipstick swatch; and a home improvement store worker who spent ninety minutes dealing with a customer convinced terrorists had tampered with fertilizer beads in her soil.
May 19, 2020·47m·3 clips - 8
Control Freak Boss | Office Horror Stories
Hidden gemHosts Tony Bruschi and Carol Hughes present two listener-submitted workplace horror stories: a contractor whose boss Hutch sabotaged a $56K project by forcing expensive material changes that drove costs to $87K, and a librarian who returned from maternity leave to find her formerly close boss had grown cold and accusatory.
May 14, 2020·38m·2 clips - 9
Too Good To Be True | Job Search Tips
May 12, 2020·33m - 10
Fake Identity | Business Fails
May 7, 2020·36m - 11
Send Us Your Neighbor From Hell Story!!
May 6, 2020·2m - 12
Delusional As F | Manage Productivity
May 5, 2020·41m - 13
Can't Make Them Happy | Be Your Own Boss
Apr 30, 2020·35m - 14
Strange Co-Workers | Entrepreneur Stories
Apr 28, 2020·34m - 15
Be Part of The Nightmare Neighbors Podcast!
Apr 24, 2020·2m - 16
Not In My Job Description | Manager Tools
Apr 23, 2020·35m - 17
Working On Vacation | Dream Job Nightmare
Apr 21, 2020·41m - 18
Vindictive Boss | Management Tips
Apr 16, 2020·32m - 19
Ungrateful Bitch! | Employee Relationships
Apr 14, 2020·31m - 20
Call Center Nightmare | Career Growth
Apr 9, 2020·32m - 21
Creepy Co-Worker | Office Management Tips
Apr 7, 2020·44m - 22
The Cleaning Company | Office Horror Stories
Apr 2, 2020·43m - 23
Monitoring Inappropriate Videos | Career Advice
Mar 31, 2020·39m - 24
The Dark Side of Wikipedia Preview!
Mar 30, 2020·17m - 25
Scabies Outbreak Fun! | Hospital Job Stories
Mar 26, 2020·33m - 26
Warehouse Nightmares | Dream Job Nightmare
Mar 24, 2020·35m - 27
No More Bathroom Trips | Working Advice
Mar 19, 2020·46m - 28
Fired From First Job | Crazy Office Ladies
Mar 17, 2020·39m - 29
Do a Better Job | Career Tools
Mar 12, 2020·46m - 30
Crazy Customer Letters | Entrepreneur Stories
Mar 10, 2020·42m - 31
Corporate BS | Career Growth
Mar 5, 2020·37m - 32
Retail Nightmares | Big Box Nightmares
Mar 3, 2020·29m - 33
Overworked | Office Horror Stories
Feb 27, 2020·35m - 34
Moving Company Nightmare | Office Horror Stories
Feb 25, 2020·40m - 35
Bridal Consult Nightmares | Bridal Industry Stories
Feb 20, 2020·46m - 36
Affair In The Workplace | Human Resource Nightmares
Feb 18, 2020·43m - 37
Bar Horror Stories | Office Horror Stories
Feb 13, 2020·34m - 38
Don't Tell Anyone | HR Nightmares
Feb 11, 2020·45m - 39
Office Gossip | Employee Management
Feb 6, 2020·37m - 40
Dentist From Hell | Crazy Office Stories
Feb 4, 2020·33m - 41
Ride Share Nightmare Stories! | Side Job Stories
Jan 28, 2020·41m - 42
Lost In Translation | Career Tips
Jan 21, 2020·39m - 43
Company Money Problems | Office Horror Stories
Jan 14, 2020·37m - 44
Crazy Boss Stories | Workplace Nightmare Stories
Jan 7, 2020·38m - 45
Crazy Office Christmas Party | Office Horror Stories
Dec 23, 2019·32m - 46
Lying Co-Workers | Office Horror Stories
Dec 17, 2019·48m - 47
Sneek-A-Peek | Office Horror Stories
A comedic podcast sharing true workplace horror stories, with a call for listener reviews to win a gift card.
Dec 10, 2019·39m - 48
Kitchen Nightmare | Workplace Horror Stories
The episode transcript consists entirely of advertisements for Florida sweet corn and WellPoint health insurance, with no actual content from the show.
Dec 3, 2019·40m - 49
Boss Only Hires Friends | Office Horror Stories
A podcast sharing true horror stories from the workplace, with a call for listener reviews and a segment on dealing with a manager who only hires friends.
Nov 26, 2019·43m - 50
Crazy As F Boss | Workplace Nightmare Stories
A podcast sharing true, frightening stories from people's workplace experiences, with this episode featuring a call for reviews and a teaser about a typical bad day at the office.
Nov 14, 2019·36m