TV's worst workplaces

By Kate Lorenz | Wednesday 14 May | 13:34

After a hard day at the office, all you want to do is curl up on the sofa and switch on the box. Hit shows such as Ugly Betty and the likes of Hell's Kitchen aim to keep you entertained, however many of the workplaces on TV would cause HR departments everywhere to have nervous breakdowns. Take a look at these popular shows and decide for yourself whether or not the grass is greener on the other side of the screen.

 

Ugly Betty

 

Why it's the worst: “Catty” is the name of the game in this office. Betty may have her dream job working for a top-notch magazine - but is it worth it? Colleagues going behind her back to sabotage her position? Bitchiness and back-stabbing galore? Getting caught in the middle of your bosses' personal and family issues? Having to see the man you love at work day after day, knowing he’ll never be yours? No thanks.


The Office

Why it's the worst: Wernham Hogg paper merchants in Slough may seem like a laid-back place but could you really bear to have David Brent as your boss? Although he believes himself to be friendly, hilarious and well-liked, he is in reality petty, pompous and snide. Could you handle those unfunny jokes and hackneyed impressions, 9 – 5? And imagine arriving on your first day, only to endure a health and safety lecture from his lanky assistant Gareth with tips on how to pick up boxes and where not to put mugs of coffee?


EastEnders

Why it's the worst: If you fancy pulling pints and chatting to customers all day long, then behind the bar of ‘The Vic’ in Albert Square is the place to be. The upside could be the amount of gossip you’d get to hear: cot death, rape, AIDs, adoption, sexual abuse, under age pregnancy, schizophrenia and drug addiction - not to mention jealousy, domestic rivalry and extra-marital affairs. The downside could be working for landlady Peggy Mitchell – brassy, bossy, fast-talking. She’s always done things her own way, so heaven help anyone who crosses her, and you’d have to put up with listening to her catchphrases such as “It's all about family!” and “Get outta my pub!”


Hell's Kitchen

Why it's the worst workplace: Talk about the boss from hell. This series features individual and team cooking challenges, where contestants are kept or eliminated based on specific cooking criteria. Each challenge requires a stamp of approval from Gordon Ramsay or Marco Pierre White, and the food isn’t the only thing to get heated in this environment. When Ramsay’s around, the air is blue with the ‘F’ word. Dishes get trashed, contestants cry and walk out – it’s enough to put you off cooking altogether.


Fawlty Towers

Why it's the worst: Working in a hotel on the glorious English Riviera may be one thing but a run down shambles in Torquay with a pompous, xenophobic, henpecked hotelier as your boss is another altogether. Could you put up with his insulting and sometimes aggressive manner? All those guests leaving the hotel in disgust doesn’t do wonders for work morale. Nor does having to listen to your boss slag off his wife with insults such as “my little piranha fish” and “my little nest of vipers”.


Casualty

Why it's the worst: The adrenalin is always rushing in the Emergency Department of Holby City Hospital where doctors, nurses and administrators work around the clock to help people and save lives. You’d imagine it might be the safest place in the UK to work, but with staff having been shot through the back of neck by a patient, stabbed to death while on duty, killed after being pushed down steps by an intruder, hit by a motorbike outside the hospital, or poisoned by chlorine, maybe you’re better off staying on the sofa at home.

 

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