What happens when a mysterious office phone bill exposes $5,000 in phone sex calls, an ordinary business trip places one man aboard US Airways Flight 1549, and a security consultant is kidnapped not once, not twice, but three separate times?

On Episode 13 of I Used To Work There, we have assembled what may be the most unbelievable collection of workplace stories we have ever released. From an emergency room nurse helping a chef escape an extremely uncomfortable zipper situation to a powerful Canadian workplace perspective from September 11, 2001, these stories move from hilarious to historic in a matter of minutes.

Then, we meet the last passenger rescued from the Miracle on the Hudson and hear what it was like to remain inside the sinking aircraft, surrounded by freezing water, darkness and floating luggage before making one final swim through the Hudson River.

When Day Shift ends, Night Shift takes us inside a haunted hotel where the smell of chicken noodle soup signals the arrival of a long-dead construction worker, and into a locked hospital call room where the lights go out one by one before an impossible discovery is made the following morning.

Finally, one man takes us through three separate kidnappings across Nigeria and Sweden. What begins with nine days drinking warm beer in the Niger Delta becomes 35 days of violence and mock executions before culminating in an escape from a moving van that plays out like something from a Hollywood action movie.

Every story you hear on I Used To Work There comes from real people and real workplaces because the truth is almost always stranger than fiction. Whether you have had a terrible boss, an unbelievable customer, a paranormal experience, or a day at work you will never forget, this show is built around stories just like yours.

If you are enjoying the show, please follow us on your favourite podcast app, leave us a five-star rating and written review on Apple Podcasts, and text a link to someone you know who has an incredible workplace story.

🎙️ Have a story? You can submit it two ways.

Pull out your phone, open the Voice Memos app, tell us what happened, and email your recording to [email protected].

Prefer to be interviewed? Submit the guest intake form here:

https://form.jotform.com/260164378157057

You can share your story openly or remain completely anonymous.

🏆 Employee of the Month Night Shift Story Competition

The Employee of the Month Story Competition is back, and this time we want to hear the scariest thing that has ever happened to you at work.

Presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, the Night Shift Story Competition is open for submissions from September 1 through October 31, 2026.

Submit your true scary workplace story for your chance to win a $1,000 USD cash prize. The winner will be announced during the first episode of November.

Haunted buildings, terrifying overnight shifts, unexplained encounters, creepy customers, dangerous situations, or anything that still gives you chills years later. Voice memo and interview submissions are both welcome, and you may share your story anonymously.

Submit using the email address or guest intake form above.

🏨 Night Shift Story Competition Sponsor

The Employee of the Month Night Shift Story Competition is proudly presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels.

Fall is one of the most beautiful times to visit Edmonton, with changing leaves, major events, live music, theatre, professional sports and attractions throughout the city.

With direct flights from cities across the United States, getting to Edmonton is easy. When you book your stay through Edmonton’s Best Hotels, you can earn up to $225 in Mastercard gift cards to spend on anything you want while you are here.

Discover upcoming events, explore direct flights, book your hotel and earn rewards at:

https://bit.ly/4zVhpPJ

If you have been looking for a way to support Foxx, Shelby, Kelly and their family, the greatest gift you can give is sharing their GoFundMe. Every share helps their story reach someone new and means more than words can express.

Support Foxx’s Fight:

https://gofund.me/d5c97f2b5

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you are restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

What happens when lunch with an aspiring filmmaker takes a horrifying turn, a business meeting is held at a strip club, and one phone call exposes a financial scandal approaching $20 million? On Episode 12 of I Used To Work There, we have packed together one of our wildest lineups yet. From a workplace safety lesson that goes spectacularly off script to a $30,000 inventory discrepancy, rumours of an employee’s death, Cheetos beside a corpse, a coworker’s first Christmas present, a final goodbye from a familiar ghost, and one unforgettable encounter with a future murderer, these are the real stories people still cannot believe happened at work.

Every story you hear on I Used To Work There comes from real people and real workplaces because the truth is almost always stranger than fiction. Whether you have had a terrible boss, an unbelievable customer, a paranormal experience, or a day at work you will never forget, this show is built around stories just like yours. If you are enjoying the show, please follow us on your favourite podcast app, leave us a five-star rating and written review on Apple Podcasts, and text a link to someone you know who has an incredible workplace story.

🎙️ Have a story? You can submit it two ways.

Pull out your phone, open the Voice Memos app, tell us what happened, and email your recording to [email protected].

Prefer to be interviewed? Submit the guest intake form here: https://form.jotform.com/260164378157057

You can share your story openly or remain completely anonymous. Halloween is right around the corner, and we are actively looking for the scariest true workplace stories we can find. Haunted buildings, terrifying night shifts, unexplained encounters, creepy customers, or anything that still gives you chills years later. Both voice memo submissions and interview submissions are welcome.

If you've been looking for a way to support Foxx, Shelby, Kelly, and their family, the greatest gift you can give is sharing their GoFundMe. Every share helps their story reach someone new and means more than words can express.

Support Foxx's Fight:

https://gofund.me/d5c97f2b5

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops, and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you are restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

A burned beaver. A rare case of mouse disease. A fake luxury handbag scam. A shoe thief bold enough to return to the scene of the crime. A private prison Code Blue. An executive secretly monitoring workplace emails. And two haunted workplaces that may leave you thinking twice before working late.

In Episode 11 of I Used To Work There, we take you on another unforgettable journey through some of the funniest, strangest, most unbelievable, and downright chilling workplace stories we've ever received. We also announce the winner of our first-ever Employee of the Month competition and award one incredible storyteller our $500 cash prize.

Before the stories begin, Kelly shares a heartfelt update on his son Foxx's fight against cancer and thanks the incredible community that has rallied around his family during the most difficult chapter of their lives.

If you've been looking for a way to support Foxx, Shelby, Kelly, and their family, the greatest gift you can give is sharing their GoFundMe. Every share helps their story reach someone new and means more than words can express.

Support Foxx's Fight:

https://gofund.me/d5c97f2b5

Love the show? Here's how you can help:

⭐ Follow I Used To Work There on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

⭐ Leave us a 5-Star Rating and, if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, a 5-Star Written Review.

⭐ Share this episode with someone who loves unbelievable workplace stories.

⭐ Have a story of your own? We'd love to hear it! Email your workplace story to:

[email protected]

Whether it's hilarious, unbelievable, heartwarming, heartbreaking, or something that still gives you chills years later, your story could be featured on a future episode.

Thank you for listening, thank you for supporting the show, and thank you for being part of the I Used To Work There community. We couldn't do this without you.

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops, and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you're restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

In this short personal update, Kelly shares why I Used To Work There was unable to release a new full episode on its regular every-second-Thursday schedule.

Kelly is coming to you from the Stollery Children’s Hospital, where his one-year-old son, Foxx, is currently fighting cancer. The family has not been home in a week, and they are still taking things one day at a time as they support Foxx through the beginning of this fight.

The show is not stopping. Kelly plans to continue releasing episodes as close to the regular schedule as possible, but for the next few weeks, the show will need support from the I Used To Work There community.

If you are sitting on a work story, now is the time to send it in.

For the time being, storytellers are being asked to self-record their stories as voice memos and email the audio file to:

[email protected]

Record your story on your phone in a quiet room and tell it like you are talking to a friend. It does not need to be perfect. Natural is better.

Please include:

• What happened
• Where you were working generally
• Who was involved generally
• Why it was memorable
• How it ended

If your story is negative, sensitive, embarrassing, or could reflect poorly on a workplace or individual, please do not name the company, workplace, coworkers, managers, customers, or anyone directly involved. You can describe the setting generally, such as a restaurant, construction site, retail store, corporate office, hotel, or wherever the story happened.

The show will return to interviews in a few weeks, but voice memo submissions will help keep the stories moving during this difficult season.

If you would like to support Kelly, Shelby, and their family directly as Foxx fights cancer, a GoFundMe has been created here:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shelby-kelly-during-foxxs-fight-against-cancer/cl/s?utm_campaign=fp_sharesheet&utm_content=amp20_control&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&lang=en_US&attribution_id=sl%3A7af964c5-fe12-4830-9f1b-c42fee0f5602&ts=1785115627⁠

There is absolutely no pressure to donate. Sharing the fundraiser, sharing the show, leaving a rating, sending a message, saying a prayer, or keeping Foxx in your thoughts means more than words can express.

Submit your stories: https://form.jotform.com/260164378157057

Email voice memo stories to:

[email protected]

Thank you for supporting I Used To Work There, and thank you for standing with Foxx and the Kennedy family during this fight.

What happens when a car vending machine turns into a nightmare, a haunted hotel has guests convinced they're not alone, and a startup CEO vanishes overnight leaving employees to deal with the fallout? On Episode 9 of I Used To Work There, we've packed together one of our wildest lineups yet. From fast food pranks that unexpectedly change a life to one of the strangest things an employee has ever taken after being fired, mistaken identities, ghosts, helicopters, near disasters, and one unforgettable workplace mystery, these are the real stories people still can't believe happened at work.

Every story you hear on I Used To Work There comes from real people and real workplaces because the truth is almost always stranger than fiction. Whether you've had a terrible boss, an unbelievable customer, a paranormal experience, or a day at work you'll never forget, this show is built around stories just like yours. If you're enjoying the show, please follow us on your favorite podcast app and leave us a 5 star rating, especially on Apple Podcasts.

🎙️ Have a story? You can submit it two ways.

Pull out your phone, open the Voice Memos app, tell us what happened, and email your recording to [email protected].

Prefer to be interviewed? Submit the guest intake form here: https://form.jotform.com/260164378157057

Both voice memo submissions and interview submissions are eligible. All stories with a signed guest release submitted before July 31st will be entered into our Employee of the Month story competition for a chance to win $500 USD and be featured on a future episode.

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops, and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you're restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

What do a business trip to South Korea, a fake phone booth, an entire workplace quitting before someone's first shift, a Russian liquor store, and a Hollywood movie shoot mistaken for a real gunfight have in common? They all happened to real people, and they're all waiting for you in Episode 8 of I Used To Work There. From laugh-out-loud moments to stories that will have you shaking your head in disbelief, this is one of our strongest episodes yet. The truth really can be stranger than fiction.

Before you go, we need your help in three simple ways:

First, submit your true workplace story for our Employee of the Month Story Competition. Stories submitted between June 15th and July 31st, 2026 are eligible. Just record your story as a voice memo, email it to [email protected], and complete the guest release for your chance to win $500 USD and have your story featured on the show.

Second, please hit Follow on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Third, if you’re enjoying I Used To Work There, please leave us a 5-star rating and written review on Apple Podcasts.

Those three things help us find new stories, reach new listeners, and keep growing this incredible community.

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops, and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you're restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

What do a construction worker chained inside a porta potty, a photographer who accidentally destroyed a $90,000 movie prop, a haunted church, and a Canadian trapped in Belarus have in common? They're all part of another unforgettable shift on I Used To Work There. In this episode, you'll hear eight incredible stories from real people who lived them, including a habanero pepper disaster that went horribly wrong, a government-funded porn inspection job, a gas station customer nobody could forget, a Blockbuster theft unlike anything you've ever heard, and a business trip that turned into a three-week international survival mission.

Before we get started, I also want to say thank you. The support for this show has been absolutely unbelievable. In just a few short months, we've grown into a Quill Award-winning podcast, welcomed thousands of new listeners, and built an incredible community of storytellers from around the world. It's been a wild ride so far, and we're not even at Episode 10 yet.

I Used To Work There is a listener-driven show built entirely around the stories you never forget. If you're enjoying the podcast, please hit Follow on Apple Podcasts and leave a review telling us what you love most about the show. Your support helps more people discover these incredible stories. And if you've got a work story you'll never forget, we'd love to hear it. Send your story to [email protected] for a chance to be featured on a future episode.

We'll see you next shift.

🚗 Title Sponsor

I Used To Work There is proudly brought to you by Atlas Elite Lifts.

Building car lifts so cool they would make Batman jealous, Atlas Elite Lifts delivers premium automotive lifting solutions for home garages, professional shops, and serious automotive enthusiasts across North America.

Whether you're restoring classics, wrenching on weekend projects, or running a professional service facility, Atlas Elite Lifts has a lift built for the job.

Learn more at www.atlaselitelifts.com.

Episode 6 of I Used To Work There is complete workplace chaos from start to finish. This week’s Day Shift brings the lighter insanity, including a Valentine’s prank email that somehow ends in HR, a wildly inappropriate duck call video accidentally sent to the wrong company, a first-year teacher whose classroom movie causes a student to pass out cold, a shutdown engineer who becomes the victim of a fart machine prank during an oil and gas turnover meeting, a firing that spirals into someone threatening to press charges for “assault on my boots,” and a Zoom classroom disaster that goes completely off the rails during the COVID era.

Then Night Shift takes things into darker and stranger territory with a legendary Vancouver breakfast shift that ends with a waitress completely snapping and throwing a fistful of wet rice at a customer, a journalist nearly crushed by a falling light inside a building connected to tragedy, and one of the most emotional stories we’ve ever featured on the show: a deeply personal shared death experience that changed one man’s understanding of grief, connection, and life itself. From hilarious workplace disasters to moments that genuinely challenge how we understand the world around us, Episode 6 may be the most unforgettable episode yet.

And to all of our new listeners discovering the show this week, welcome to I Used To Work There. Make sure to hit follow on Apple Podcasts so you never miss a future episode. We release brand new episodes every two weeks, and trust us, we have a lot more stories coming.

Got a story of your own? We can't wait to hear it! Pull out your phone, open your voice recorder app, record your story as a voice memo, and send it to [email protected]. Funny, wild, awkward, scary, dark, or completely unexplainable, if it happened at work, we want to hear it.

Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-used-to-work-there/id1885381849

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Et8lbPWYDUWBBkulwAmgP

Episode 5 of I Used To Work There is complete chaos from start to finish. This week’s Day Shift brings the lighter workplace insanity, including a bachelor party thrown inside an office building, a haircut on company time, and the moment rain literally started pouring into Kelly’s office mid-interview.

Then Night Shift takes things into much wilder territory with a Russian train ride involving KGB security and army jeeps, an exploding tablet during a corporate meeting, a heartfelt Paul McCartney security story, and a business trip that somehow escalates into VIP parties, private jets, and a flight to Switzerland that sounds straight out of The Wolf of Wall Street. From hilarious office disasters to surreal international moments that genuinely sound made up, Episode 5 might be the wildest collection of work stories yet.

Got a story of your own? We can't wait to hear it!

Send your story to [email protected] and we will get you onto the show.

Leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i-used-to-work-there/id1885381849

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Et8lbPWYDUWBBkulwAmgP

Episode 4 of I Used To Work There delivers one of the most dynamic mixes of stories yet, blending chaos, humor, and moments that feel almost too wild to be real. From a shocking late-night call involving an employee who’s been shot at a 7-Eleven, to a Christmas party karaoke performance that nearly derailed a career, this episode captures the unpredictable reality of the workplace. You’ll also hear what happens when someone gets locked out of their house barefoot in the middle of a live Zoom meeting, along with stories of stranded workers, unexpected hires, and the kinds of situations no training ever prepares you for.

As the episode builds, the tone shifts from light and relatable to intense and unforgettable, culminating in one of the craziest stories told on the show so far. These are real experiences from real people, told exactly as they happened, and they highlight just how unpredictable work life can be. Whether you’re here for the laughs, the shock, or the relatability, Episode 4 is a reminder that sometimes the most unbelievable stories are the ones that actually happened.

Got a story? Tell it. Email [email protected]. We will get you onto a future episode!

Episode 3 of I Used To Work There delivers a full lineup of unforgettable Day Shift stories that prove the workplace is anything but predictable. From a wild jobsite encounter that turns into a full-on beaver chase, to a moment caught on camera that no one saw coming, these stories bring the kind of chaos, humor, and “you can’t make this up” energy that defines the show. Along the way, you’ll hear about workplace bets gone wrong, jobsite challenges that push people to their limits, and the kind of everyday moments that somehow turn into lifelong stories.

But this episode doesn’t just stay in the chaos. It balances the laughter with a powerful, feel-good story of a community rallying around a family with identical quadruplets, showing the human side of work and life. And just when you think you’ve heard it all, the episode closes with a story about losing a job that takes an unexpected and unforgettable turn, reminding us that even in the toughest moments, there’s always room for perspective, humor, and a story worth telling.

Got a story from your job you’ve never told out loud? Submit it to [email protected]