The Office is an epitome of successful storytelling through cringe-comedy. While cringe-inducing humor is rather difficult to master, to keep alive and relative in nine seasons of The Office is a huge achievement.
The success of the sitcom was made possible through characters who just kept getting worse and worse, or in other words awkwardly comical. If a show makes people laugh at cringefests such as "The Dundies," know there are equally cringe-worthy characters at play.
10 Jim Halpert
Jim Halpert's odd behavior with his girlfriends was overshadowed by his nice boy image. His lack of faith in Katy and later, Karen says he was either deeply confused and/or on a rebound with them. He invited Katy on the booze cruise, only to cold-heartedly dump her there.
As for Karen, she was another perfectly great girl who moved to Scranton to pursue a relationship with Jim. She continued to live in a hotel all because Jim wouldn't let her rent a place two blocks away from him, saying it was little bit much. The second Jim dumped Karen, he rushed to ask Pam out on a date, showing no remorse whatsoever.
9 Dwight Schrute
Dwight Schrute has done some terrible things that make him one of the worst characters in The Office. But worst of all, he brings a revolver to work and accidentally puts a bullet through the floor thereby jeopardizing Andy and everyone else's life.
Consistently sabotaging his co-worker, Jim's career, euthanizing Angela's cat without her consent, spying on Prince Paper, and unethically driving them out of business, nearly killing Stanley Hudson in an unannounced fire safety drill are a few instances that prove Dwight had no moral compass.
8 Andy Bernard
Andy Bernard was almost forgiven for all that Cornell talk and sycophancy the moment his co-workers realized those habits stemmed from insecurity and playing second fiddle to his brother, Walter Jr. all his life.
But that changed pretty quickly when Andy abandoned Erin and his responsibilities at work to go on a sailboat cruise to the Caribbean. The saddest part was watching his girlfriend, Erin expressing her desire to accompany Andy to the camera crew. The fact that Andy never asked Erin if she wanted to come proved he constantly overlooked people's emotions.
7 Angela Martin
The office cat-lady, Angela Martin was known to adopt an attitude of moral superiority as often as she could. She liked to pass judgments on her co-workers for their lifestyle choices, when she, in fact, was no different from them.
Angela's notorious behavior included cheating, lying, pushing Dwight to go behind Michael's back, and sneering at Oscar for his sexual orientation. Angela was also guilty of disparaging women, especially Pam Beesly, and generally, of being rude to people.
6 Roy Anderson
What can be said about Roy Anderson, a man inspired by a stranger named Captain Jack to set a date for his wedding? That he was selfish and ignorant of his partner, Pam's needs. Roy had been dragging his feet on their marriage until Pam rightly realized he wasn't worthy of her time and affection.
Besides taking Pam for granted, Roy clearly had anger issues, often resulting in violent outbursts. In a fit of rage, he attacked Jim at work, and in another, he trashed the bar at Poor Richard's.
5 Cathy Simms
To this day actress Lindsey Broad receives hate for playing Pam's temporary replacement, Cathy Simms on The Office. During Cathy's brief presence on the show, she caused discomfort to Pam (who, by the way, was training her) by being over-friendly with her husband, Jim.
Cathy wanted to get in the middle of a married couple and break a family of four apart. Before leaving for the work trip, Cathy, on record, spoke to a friend about utilizing three weeks at Tallahassee to seduce Jim.
4 Jan Levinson
The horrors being Jan Levinson's romantic partner are well documented in the "Dinner Party." With resilience and courage, Michael Scott was able to sustain his romance with Jan as she lacked healthy boundaries.
Jan caused all sorts of relationship woes to Michael. She abused their dynamics (emotionally, physically, and financially), made him sleep on a small chest at the foot of their bed, and caused him grief with aggressive behavior.
3 Ryan Howard
Ryan Howard started out as a pretty reasonable guy with ambition. The second Ryan got a corporate job offer based in New York, he happily dumped Kelly. His narcissism indicated he was headed for a downward spiral. Thereafter, the timeline of Ryan's troubled life included doing drugs, committing major company fraud, and getting fired.
Even after getting a do-over at Dunder Mifflin, Scranton, Ryan never treated Kelly or his co-workers right. He had entitlement issues and an unrealistic sense of superiority. If there was an evil snail at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, it was Ryan Howard.
2 Todd Packer
Todd Packer was a loudmouthed man, incapable of saying anything pleasant or decent. Through demeaning jokes and guffaws, Todd encouraged harassment of every kind at the workplace.
By demonstrating his ill manners, not only did Todd send out harmful messages but impacted the head, Michael Scott's behavior as well.
1 Michael Scott
While working under Michael Scott, his subordinates experienced workplace rudeness, often risking their health and safety. Michael outed Oscar and forcibly kissed him as the whole office watched in disbelief.
It's utterly baffling how Michael went unaccounted for multiple workplace offenses, like hitting Meredith with his car or, making fun of Phyllis when she got flashed.
