Man Who Skipped Work For 6 Years Only Got Caught When He Was About To Win An Award

Most of us have had moments when we’ve been fed up with work. But this guy took things to a whole new level and simply stopped going altogether.

Usually, when people want to quit a job, they give notice or make a formal exit - unless you're Piers Morgan and prefer to walk off live TV. Joaquín didn’t follow either of these routes.

Instead, he just vanished from his job, quietly disappearing without informing anyone.

Incredibly, no one noticed he was missing for six entire years.

Joaquín was working as a building supervisor at a water treatment plant in Cádiz, Spain, holding a position under the local government for more than two decades.

As the stress and tension at work grew unbearable, Joaquín took a rather extreme measure to cope - he decided to simply stop showing up altogether.

A man in Spain grew tired of his job so simply stopped showing up Getty Stock

Somehow, against all odds, this bizarre plan worked for him for six long years without a hitch.

So, how did he manage to slip under the radar for so long? Turns out, it was a mix of office miscommunication, layers of bureaucracy, and a bit of blind luck.

Due to a disconnect between two departments, each one thought the other was keeping tabs on Joaquín. As a result, no one raised a red flag.

Joaquín didn't tell anyone about his unapproved absence Getty Stock

Things took an amusing turn when Joaquín was nominated for a 20-year service award. His supervisors only discovered the situation when they tried to bring him in for the ceremony and realized he hadn’t been seen at the office in years.

Despite his extended absence, Joaquín had been collecting his yearly salary of around $41,500 the entire time. When the truth came out, he was eventually ordered to repay $30,000 - the maximum fine he could reportedly face under the circumstances.

Deputy Mayor Jorge Blas later shared more details about the case with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

He continued to cash his $41,500 pay checks Getty Stock

"I wondered whether he was still working there, had he retired, had he died? But the payroll showed he was still receiving a salary," he explained.

"I called him up and asked him, 'What did you do yesterday? The month before, the month before that?' He didn't know what to say," Jorge continued.

Safe to say, “nothing” probably wasn’t the answer they were expecting from Joaquín...