This content was created by Girlboss, in partnership with Waterdrop.
We would like to start a formal petition to bring back office gossip. With the rise of remote and hybrid work, the traditional watercooler talk is no longer a thing—and we miss it dearly! So, what are some new ways for us to continue these sacred office rituals digitally? Making space for our Girlboss community to share their wildest work stories—anonymously, of course.
And what would a piping hot, tea-spilling session be without a bevvie in hand? No, it’s not a vanilla matcha latte. Our drink of choice is… water. But not the funky-tasting tap water from the lunchroom sink. Yuck! Or drinking from a plastic water bottle. Really? In 2025?
We’re talking about Waterdrop’s wide range of water filtration devices. Each NSF-certified machine removes 99% of lead, chlorine, and PFAS. Plus, one filter is equivalent to eliminating 1,500 plastic bottles. Who knew staying hydrated could be good for you and the planet?
The Waterdrop Reverse Osmosis Hot Cold Water Dispenser (A2) and the Waterdrop C1H Instant Hot Water Reverse Osmosis System are great options to keep at your desk (fair warning: once your coworkers find out you have this, they will be stopping by for their daily tea refill). There’s no installation needed—just pure hot and cold drinking water at the tap of a button!
If you want to be the office hero, might we suggest the Waterdrop X Series Reverse Osmosis System (X12)? You’ll need your boss or office manager’s buy-in because this one goes under the sink (perfect for the lunchroom or coffee station!). This tankless water filter provides instant, fast-flowing, pure alkaline mineral water right out of the tap, thanks to an 11-stage precision filtration. Impressive, huh?
Now that we’ve got our ✨crisp✨ glass of filtered water (with pebble ice and a cute glass straw, duh), let’s get into these corporate confessions, submitted by members of our unfiltered (in the best way) Girlboss community.
Forbidden office romances 🌹
“I had a strong opinion about romances at work: no way. But then, I started a peer mentoring relationship with my boss that ended up in bed.”
“I was three months into a post-breakup validation fog when I decided to hook up with my coworker: a hot bachelor who had recently separated from his wife. It was all hot and heavy at first: surprise lattes, anonymous roses, sexy notes, and passing comments. Then things got weird. I wasn't sure we had much in common, and seeing him at work and on the weekends was too much. The office competition from other flirty coworkers interested in him suddenly made things awkward. Guess our tryst was a little obvious to some. Finally, he gets fired and I could not be more relieved not to see him. He eventually reunited with his wife without telling me. What a sleaze! Glad that's over. Never again.”
“I ended up marrying my workplace romance! We started off as employees together, but when we started dating, I became his boss. Oops. It did cause a lot of drama with the higher-ups and eventually, we left because of their scrutiny. Our relationship was worth more than their criticism. Fast forward two years, and we tied the knot! It will be our fourth wedding anniversary in two days, and despite some of the hard times we suffered at that workplace, we'll always be thankful it brought us together.”
Managers who are walking HR violations 🚨
“I talked back to my manager and he said, ‘This is why your boyfriend broke up with you.’”
“I complained to her about a male colleague who was making me feel uncomfortable and she said that maybe he wouldn’t stare at me if I didn’t wear tight clothing to work (my clothes weren’t even inappropriate or tight).”
“I was written up for taking a mental health day!”
“Told me he sent a screenshot of my Tinder profile to his group chat saying, ‘Boys, what do I do?’”
“My CMO called me a toilet. Googled a picture of a dirty toilet, faced his monitor to a room of my colleagues and said, ‘This is Amber.’”
“I gave my notice and my boss said, ‘Well, it makes sense, you can't commit to anything. I'm surprised you got married' (I was a newlywed).”
And then there are the micromanagers… 🚁
“I had a micromanager for two years and it gave me panic attacks and anxiety on the daily. It ended up giving me high blood pressure and to top it all off, I was laid off from the team.”
“She wanted to review basic emails before I sent them out to people and would ask me about updates on tasks she had assigned to me a few hours prior. It got so terrible that I created a rule to send her emails to a different folder so I wouldn't have to see her emails pop up in my main inbox.”
Companies that track your every move 🔍
“Pre-pandemic, I worked in an office that tracked your bathroom breaks. You had to sign in and out, and if you were gone too long, the manager came looking for you. What are we in kindergarten?!”
“We got a new office administrator, and she does rounds to everyone’s desk to make sure you’re still there at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday. So weird to feel like you’re constantly being watched.”
Taking secret vacations (when you’re supposed to be working) 🏖️
“During COVID, when we were all working from home, my husband and I decided we needed a change of scenery from the past 2.5 months, so we loaded up our two kids (almost 3 and almost 1), and drove from Atlanta to Memphis to visit the grandparents. I never took PTO for the trip. Didn't even tell my boss where we were going. I did work a little bit, but never more than an hour or two. Otherwise, I was just monitoring my emails. It 100% felt like I was doing something wrong, but also, no one noticed, so who cares? Sincerely, a millennial who enjoys the occasional hush vacation.”
“I work remotely and wanted to go on vacay—while still working. Meetings at my company are intermittent, so I decided to head to Los Angeles and Atlanta with friends. Having to take meetings was a little annoying to me (and my friends), but it was all fine and dandy until my boss called me while I was at the mall. She asked about work and subsequently, where I was. I was then put on a performance review and I'm pretty sure I was being monitored on calls, as well. I’ll just keep my cameras on and communicate better from now on.”
Your worst work f*ck-ups 😰
“I lost my company over $70,000. Yup, you read that right. It was one of the most stressful and humiliating things I have ever experienced. It was my first accounting job out of college and I worked in accounts payables and receivables. I regularly spoke to one of our vendors and I received an email from a scammer saying that their payment info had changed. I didn't think anything of it, so I sent the info to the person who processes the bill payments. When it came time to pay the invoice, the money was sent to the scammer.
“I sent my manager a message meant for a recruiter, stating to keep me in mind for future opportunities. I tried to delete the message before she read it, but it was too late. I was mortified when she confronted me and asked if I was looking for another job.”
“I was project managing some IT development work, liaising with our external third-party developers. Every so often, we had a 'best practice' rule to wipe one of the servers they used. There was a miscommunication between me and the IT director, and I accidentally gave the go-ahead to wipe a second server, which had months of development work on it, costing the company an extra £12,000 and extending their deadline by months. I felt terrible!!!”
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