Fans of The Office love the series precisely because it is a bit ridiculous at times. It’s supposed to be an exaggerated comedy that takes things many people recognize about an office job and then dials them up to 100. So, the situations and characters from the series aren’t always believable, and they don’t always have to be.
However, while the hilarious moments are great, there are some times when The Office took things too far. Even in a comedy, there’s a fine line to walk between humor and ridiculous. And, there were some choices that the characters made at Dunder Mifflin that were too questionable, even for this show.
Keeping Creed On Board
Truthfully, there were many characters who should have been fired or just never hired in the first place. Kevin Malone couldn't even seem to do basic math despite being an accountant, and Meredith was always drunk at work. However, one of the worst offenders was Creed. He was creepy and incredibly inappropriate, he did not know how to behave professionally, and he also was really bad at his job. The fact he wasn’t fired after the time the paper went out with two cartoon characters having sex is just too out there, even for The Office.
Having Michael & Jim As Co-Managers
While many workplaces have managers and leadership in different roles and functions, the Scranton branch didn’t seem big enough to warrant managers with nearly equal amounts of power. Their employees didn’t really get it, and it just made the chain of command too confusing. This seemed to cause more problems than it solved, and didn't make sense in the first place.
Dwight Shoots Stanley
Dwight is another character who should have been fired so many times. He would harass others in many ways and make many sexist, racist, and homophobic comments. And he kept weapons in the office, which he revealed on multiple occasions. But one awful thing Dwight did that often gets overlooked is when he shoots Stanley with a tranquilizer gun to force him to go on a sales call. He should have been fired and also charged with assault.
Keeping Andy On Board
Andy is a character who went from bad to worse in many ways. He was always obnoxious, and he had some anger management issues that got out of control. While Jim putting his cell phone in the ceiling wasn’t mature, Andy’s outburst that had him punch a hole in the wall was unacceptable.
It doesn’t make sense that he was allowed to come back after just attending some anger management courses. And, it makes even less sense that he was allowed to become regional manager eventually.
Pam Tricking Her Way Into A Promotion
Compared to many of the other characters, Pam was a more realistic person. However, this doesn’t mean she was perfect. She also made poor choices at times, and she wasn’t always ethical. She tricked Gabe into giving her the office manager position with a better salary. There’s really no way a company would create a new position that wasn’t really needed, especially in a situation like that.
Jim's Constant Promotions
To be fair, Jim Halpert seems like a fantastic employee compared to most of his co-workers, and he does make an effort at certain times to be better at his job. Yet, at the same time, he is also seen to hate his job and talk about how he does the bare minimum. It’s clear it’s never his passion, and he spends a lot of time messing around and pranking others. So, it’s strange that he gets away with all of it, and even gets continually promoted.
The Snowball Fight
Jim and Dwight have a strange relationship, and it can be entertaining to watch. But, there are times when they both take things too far. Jim’s pranks can be cruel, and Dwight can just be a straight-up awful person. One instance of things getting out of hand is the snowball fight.
Jim shouldn’t have thrown a snowball at Dwight in the first place, but Dwight took things to the next level in a pretty scary way. Yet, of course, he wasn’t even punished for throwing rocks at Jim.
Re-Hiring Ryan Howard
There’s a lot of things that happen at Dunder Mifflin/Sabre that don’t make a lot of sense. But, one of the strangest is letting Ryan Howard work at the company again. While he gets hired again as a temp, not a permanent employee, given that he committed fraud against the company there’s no way this would ever happen. It was obviously a weird plotline to keep him on the show, but even for The Office, it was a stretch.
In-Office Romances
There are so many unprofessional and even criminal things that the characters of the show do, and, while not illegal, the sheer number of relationships between co-workers was extreme. This was obviously done as a way to show these relationships on screen in a simpler way, but it was over the top. And, most of the characters in relationships at work got 'intimate' at Dunder Mifflin, which is definitely a questionable choice.
Having Michael Scott & Dwight Schrute As Managers
Just like Dwight, Michael Scott was homophobic, racist, and sexist, and his harassment was probably even worse because he was usually the one in a position of authority. The fact he was allowed to be the manager for so long after all the times he messed up is ridiculous. And, then, at the end of the show, Dwight was once again allowed to be in charge despite firing a gun in the office the last time he had the title.