After U.K. insurer Aviva sent an email to 1,300 workers telling them they were fired, they all must have been so relieved to learn that it was a mistake -- except the one who actually did lose a job. As Bloomberg's Noah Buhayar tells it, the errant email happened like this:

It was intended that this e-mail should have gone to one single person,” [spokesman Paul] Lockstone said by phone. “Unfortunately, as a result of a clerical error, it was sent to all of the Investors staff worldwide.” Most people recognized immediately that the e-mail was a mistake, he said, adding, “From time to time, things go wrong.”

God, what a bummer to be the real recipient, though. You go from thinking "Hey, we may have lost our jobs, but at least we're in this together" to realizing "Oh, no, I just got fired." Think of it this way, fired person: At least you don't have 1,299 competitors for your next job.

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Adam Martin