Most people have been asked to do something that’s not in their job description, at some point or another.
But spare a thought for these unfortunate employees, who were forced to do tasks that were well beyond their pay grade.
Ranging from sourcing tapeworm eggs to plucking the boss’s chin hairs, people took to Mumsnet to reveal the craziest things they’ve ever been asked to do at work.
In fact, some of the requests strayed into the illicit – with one person revealing that they’d once had to refuse to ‘provide a false alibi’.
Mumsnet users revealed the craziest things they’ve ever been asked to do at work (file photo)
The discussion began after one user explained how she’d once been asked to decipher around 500 receipts that were in Chinese
One woman said she’d been told to procure some tapeworm eggs, as well as being asked to provide a false alibi
Many were asked to go above and beyond the call of duty. One person said they’d been asked to kill a bird with a shovel, while another said she’d been asked to trim a patient’s pubic hair
The discussion began after one Mumsnet user revealed how she’d been given a huge folder of receipts to expense while working as an admin assistant at a university.
The only problem was that all the receipts were in Chinese.
Posting under the username oldlaundbooth, she explained: ‘One of the profs spent a lot of time in China on a research project. Away for months at a time.
‘She came to my office and plonked a folder down on my desk. It was at least three inches thick.’
Meanwhile, one woman revealed how she’d been asked to get cocaine for her boss in a previous job
Many of the other requests involved personal favours. One woman was asked to type up GCSE maths coursework, while another was asked to pluck her boss’s chin hairs
Another said she’d had a number of strange requests, including putting bite cream on her boss’s back
Meanwhile, one woman was told to tie up her bikini, which her male boss was wearing
She continued: ‘All of the receipts were in Chinese. There must have been over 500 receipts….I don’t speak Chinese. I don’t read Mandarin either. I left soon after.’
Other members of the parenting forum began sharing their own stories of weird things they’d been asked to do at work.
One person shared how she’d been asked to procure some tapeworm eggs, which she did do, and provide a false alibi, which she didn’t do.
Another described how she’d been told to kill a bird with a shovel – without catching the attention of ’25 nosy pre-schoolers’.
Many of the Mumsnet users who shared stories on the forum said they’d had bizarre requests while working as personal assistants (file photo)
One described how she’d had to buy underwear for the CEO’s wife at Christmas, as well as driving 25 miles to wash up a cup for the boss
Another said she’d been asked whether she’d consider marrying a foreign national so he could continue working for the company in the UK
Meanwhile, one Mumsnet user described how she’d had to ‘research porn sites at work’
Another said that she’d been forced to ‘make a video of public toilets flushing’ as part of her job
Meanwhile, a medical professional revealed how she’d been asked to trim the pubic hair of a patient, after he came in for appointment about something completely unrelated.
Many of the bizarre requests concerned their boss’s personal lives, rather than having anything to do with work itself.
One person revealed how she was asked to get cocaine for her boss when they had parties.
Another said she was once handed a pair of tweezers by her boss, who then asked her to pluck her chin hairs.
Other bizarre requests came with particular jobs. A dentist revealed how they’d had to take all the teeth out of someone’s mouth, even though they were healthy
One Mumsnet user, who presumably worked as a set designer or producer, said she’d had to make ’12 fake babies wrapped in blankets’
Another woman revealed how she’d had to run up and down on the roof of a medieval building in high heels to ‘see if it was too slippery to walk on’
Meanwhile, one described how she had to be ‘completely wrapped in cling film’ for an art installation
One woman said she had to hand out complaint forms for customers to use as toilet paper
Another described how she had to locate her boss’s ‘favourite chinos’ – which suddenly ‘magically appeared’