IF you think you have it bad at work, check out these poor souls. From spankings to naked file cabinet jumping, these events come from the annual strange-but-true workplace stories file compiled by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc.

Hopefully, these top 10 most unbelievable workplace stories of 2006 will give people a better appreciation for their job situations.

1 Next time the boss complains about time spent with fantasy football, just tell them at least you are not leaping naked from filing cabinets. That is what workers of the Rural Payments Agency in Newcastle, England were caught doing by closed-circuit cameras. Other office antics included break-dancing competitions and fights in the reception area.

2 The CEO of a New York bank resigned after being arrested for allegedly offering an undercover police officer US$500 for services in a prostitution sting.

3 The CEO of the Red Cross chapter in Pasadena, California resigned after hiring a convicted embezzler as her top fund-raising officer. A closer look at her led to the discovery of her past involvement in an international heroin ring.

4 As if interviews were not stressful enough, some Russians are making it even tougher. A growing number of employers have adopted a new interviewing technique: shouting at applicants, accusing them of lying about their qualifications and throwing their résumés in their face. Known as “stressovoye,”, or stressful interview, employers claim it is the best way to see how people will react to difficult situations.

5 A woman in California sued her employer for spanking her in front of the office staff. Lawyers for Alarm One Inc claimed the spankings were designed to “build camaraderie among the sales force” and boost productivity. She settled for $1.4 million.

6 In preparation for layoffs, Northwest Airlines issued a 165-page guide with a list of 101 ways to save money. The advice – including “Buy spare parts for your car at the junkyard” and “Ask your doctor for samples of prescriptions” – caused such an uproar among employees that Northwest had to issue an apology.

7 Tiny microchips were embedded in two workers and the CEO of CityWatcher.com, a private surveillance company in Ohio. The chips allow the workers to access classified video footage for government and police forces. It is believed to be the first for humans in this country.

8 A public works employee in Hurst, Texas was given a one-month paid suspension during which he was not allowed to leave his home between 8:00 am and 5 :00 pm.

“We are not in the business of giving free time off from work, and the city does not pay people to run errands,” a city attorney argued.

9 A Yale University student submitted an 11-page résumé along with a video to numerous Wall Street banks claiming to be “a multisport professional athlete, the CEO of two companies, and an investment adviser”. On the video he is shown lifting weights, ballroom dancing and serving a tennis ball at 140 mph. The résumé sparked both laughter and criticism among recruiters.

10 Among over 3,000 entrants, the award for the worst commute went to Dave Givens of Mariposa, California. The electrical engineer’s commute to and from San Jose is 370 miles and takes seven hours – nearly as long as his work day.

Copley News Service