Lee Biggins of CV Library reports on The Most Scandalous Things UK Employees Have Done At Work...

Have you ever knowingly broken the rules at work? According to the latest research from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site, a third (33.2%) of UK employees admit to consciously ignoring the rules set out by their employer. A further 37.6%revealed that they have lied to their boss in the past.Other workplace confessions include:

• Lying to a colleague (31%)
• Knowingly been rude to a client or customer (18.2%)
• Getting colleagues in trouble (12.3%)
• Taking credit for someone else’s work (7.1%)
• Misleading a colleague, causing them to do a bad job (4.1%)

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library, comments:

“We spend a great deal of our time at work, so it’s unsurprising that some employees will hit a rebellious streak every once in a while. Although these offenders are not true of every workplace, it’s clear that some workers are knowingly acting inappropriately, and clearly aren’t afraid of the consequences. But, whilst white lies or taking credit for other’s work may seem harmless, there could be bigger repercussions down the line. We often joke that rules are made to be broken, but if you want to do well in your job, and move ahead in your career, it’s best to keep it professional at all times.”

The research, which surveyed 1,300 UK workers, also encouraged respondents to write-in some of their most shocking workplace confessions, CV-Library has pulled out the top 10:

1. John, an IT consultant from Manchester said: After months of putting up with an obnoxious boss, I placed my resignation letter with a knife on his desk and very calmly said; “I found this in my back…I think it’s yours!”
2. Ryan, a sales manager from Bristol said: I once slept with a customer behind a stage whilst a conference was taking place…and we got caught
3. Michelle, an advertising executive from London said: There was a heatwave, but my boss said we weren’t allowed to take any holiday, so I lied and told her that I was attending a funeral so that I could have a few days off in the nice sunny weather
4. Jack, a shop assistant from Liverpool said: My boss had been annoying me so I fed him laxatives one morning and left after lunch for him to run the shop on his own. To this day he still thinks he caught a random stomach bug
5. Mike, a waiter from Edinburgh said: I tried to play a practical joke on my colleague by putting a bucket of water on the staff room door, but it was my boss who ended up with water all over her new dress
6. Lucy, a retail assistant from Brighton said: A customer was looking for a dress in a particular size but I wanted it for myself so I lied to her and pretended we didn’t have it in stock
7. Jake, a recruitment consultant from Lincoln said: It was near the end of the month and I was poor so I stole loads of stationary and catering supplies for a party that I was hosting at the weekend
8. Ben, a project manager from Bournemouth said: Things got rather heated with a colleague – he was really winding me up so I threw a stapler at him in rage!
9. Katie, a finance assistant from Newcastle said: I once did lines of cocaine off of my manager’s desk…he wasn’t there and I obviously never told him what I got up to
10. Howard, a construction worker from Essex said: Had a number two in my work mates tool box…when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go!