There is no wonder why people go to work everyday. Obviously, they get paid to go in and work but they also get to work with other interesting employees! This statement is not always universally agreed upon as the Human Resources Departments of most companies deal with the complaints of employees about their ‘disturbing’, not ‘interesting,’ co-workers.
Here we have included the top 10 weirdest complaints that Human Resource Managers have received as reported to CareerBuilder from a recent survey:
*1) If there are ever good cookies in the break room X employees eats them.
*2) Employees who are too polite often make the people around them angry.
*3) Another co-worker has been attempting to poison them. 
*4) There are no places in the office to nap.
*5) There is one employee who always wears his slippers to work.
*6) A co-worker breathes to noisily.
*7) A co-worker once asked to be checked for ticks.
*8) Work needs to start later. 8 a.m. is way to early to be up and ready.
*9) One employee has been wearing bells on her shoes and it is not Christmas! 
*10) The men’s bathroom is messy so a certain male co-worker keeps using the women’s bathroom!
While these complaints may seem a little over-the-top to you the reader, the employee who reported them felt compelled enough to do something about it. Some of these claims, however, should be looked into further. For example, it is a serious accusation to say that a co-worker is trying to poison you. Pre employment background screenings and/or criminal background checks are two ways to help companies really get to know their employees before hiring them. If you discover a potential employee who has been fired or jailed for threatening poisoning or a similar offense this is an immediate red flag for the hiring committee.
A medical doctor, Dr. Michael Swango, was recently convicted of killing a number of patients. The hospital staff itself attempted to do a criminal background check instead of hiring a professional company. Unfortunately, in the hospital’s background check they missed that Dr. Swango had spent 5 years in jail in a different state for poisoning his co-workers. You want your company to be well informed in order to avoid hiring this type of employee and thus should trust a professional screening company.
While the other complaints on the top-10 list are quite hilarious to actually imagine happening, the final complaint regarding the men and women’s washrooms could become a major problem. A dangerous situation could arise if the male employee is using the women’s restroom with bad intentions. It cannot only result in numerous and potentially destructive complaints for co-workers but could be a liability for the business. Unfortunately, many companies decide to decline pre-employment background screening and criminal background checks because of finances.
When you look at both of these examples, the importance of background checks before hiring a potential employee is enormous. Not only for the safety of your employees but also for the legal responsibility of your company!
