Strange boss requests: Will you clip my dog’s nails? Buy me a rifle?

WASHINGTON – Who hasn’t heard or told a bad boss story?

A CareerBuilder survey of 3,690 full-time, non- government workers finds that in some cases employers have asked their hires to do some pretty unbelievable things.

One person said the boss asked him to remove her stitches.

Another boss requested an employee buy illegal drugs, and yet another wanted a worker to spy on senior managers.

Here are some other choice items the 2013 survey uncovered. Workers were asked:

  • To buy a rifle – with reimbursement of course.
  • To come up with a science-fair project for her daughter.
  • To lend him $400 for a down payment on a car.
  • To scour an abandoned office building for furniture and supplies the business could use.
  • To clip her dog’s nails.

Harris Interactive conducted the survey for CareerBuilder between Feb. 11 and March 6. It has a margin of error of 1.61 percent.

In a similar CareerBuilder survey, conducted in November 2012, these were some of the outrageous things bosses asked employees to do:

  • To be a surrogate mother.
  • To go online and post good comments that are lies about the boss.
  • To bail another co-worker out of jail.
  • To help plan her wedding.

WTOP’s Del Walters contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up