April Ludgate is a stark contrast to Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation. She doesn’t care for her job, she's not worried about what others think, and she didn’t know her true purpose until later in the series. Despite these traits, it's an unpopular opinion to dislike her. As hard of a shell as April has, she does have a soft spot for everyone in the office, but that doesn’t always make her work harder.
Throughout the years, April has done some nonsensical things in the office — mostly because she doesn’t care about her job and would do anything to avoid it. Quitting wouldn’t have worked out for her because, for whatever reason, everyone at the parks and rec. department appreciated April’s input and found her to be a smart worker. However, despite the nice things people have said about her, April has done some bad things in the workplace.
She Was The Reason Ben's Employees In DC Didn't Respect Him
In season 5, Ben had to work in Washington for a few months and hired April to assist him. It was a chance for her to expand her resume and get out of Pawnee for a short time. April obliged but she did more to hurt Ben than help him.
One of the worst things April did to Ben was poke fun of him behind his back to his employees. Ben felt like his employees didn't respect him after someone created caricatures of him around the office. In a shocking twist, Ben found out it was April that was doing it — not one of his new employees. Ben felt betrayed by April.
Her Management Of Donna's Work Performance Was Horrible
Although April and Donna got closer as the series went on, the two women weren't necessarily close friends. They didn't communicate well or hang out outside of work. April also had an issue being Donna's boss when she was running Pawnee's animal shelter.
As Donna's boss, April was upset when Donna didn't show up for work at the shelter. Instead of talking to her as a person of power, April chose to humiliate Donna by leaving an anonymous review of her on the shelter's website. This not only bothered Donna but made April seem like a poor manager.
She Was Chris's Worst Assistant
In season 3, Chris Traeger asked April to be his personal assistant for a short time. Although April hated working for the parks department, she hated working for Chris more. Chris's constant upbeat personality and positive persona were tiring for April.
Surprisingly enough, Chris liked April's serious demeanor and asked her to consider moving to Indianapolis with him after his time in Pawnee. Although Chris was heartwarming and a great person to work for, April didn't care for him or working for him, and intentionally did a poor job.
April Did Not Help With The Merging Of Eagleton
When Eagleton merged with Pawnee, the Pawnee Parks and Rec. Department had to get used to new faces in the office. Some would last, some wouldn't. As absurd as Pawnee was at times, the people of Eagleton were a close second. At this point in the series, April had been working there for years and could have helped make the merger a success by implementing duties and making the new workers feel comfortable.
Instead, April mocked a worker named Tynnyfer and got her to quit before the day ended. As funny as their scenes together were, April was the opposite of a good and helpful employee.
She Was Not Helpful With Leslie's Speech
In season 6, Leslie was one of the five women chosen for the International Coalition of Women in Government award. To her shock, April was the one who nominated Leslie, proving that April and Leslie were true friends.
However, once the duo was in London for the award ceremony, April was anything but helpful when Leslie needed advice for her speech. After reading her speech to April, April suggested Leslie "meow for eight minutes" instead. Leslie doesn't ask for help often, so it was a shame that April couldn't show up when Leslie needed her in that way.
April Couldn't Handle Leslie's Duties
In season 5, April had to take over for Leslie as the head of Pawnee's public forum for a new park project, Pawnee Commons. Considering how much April hated public speaking and people, she was horrified to take over for Leslie.
April does deserve credit for trying at the start of the forum because she did wear some of Leslie's suits and tried to have a bubbly personality. She was also able to get the signatures she needed for the project. However, Apil's personality did get the department complaints for "excessive rudeness."
She Wanted Leslie To Win Councilwoman But Wasn't Helpful Getting Votes
When Leslie was running for councilwoman, the parks department helped their fearless leader with anything she needed to win. And as much as April hated work, she did what she could for Leslie because she respected her.
But when Leslie needed April, Chris, Donna, and Jerry to make some calls to garner some votes, April couldn't have cared less. The winner of getting the most votes would win movie tickets. She made the event a joke because she didn't feel like doing it... that is until she was becoming bothered by Chris's optimism. Chris was so enthused to help Leslie, that April worked harder to crush his spirit. And while she did her job in the end, her attitude and game plan was horrible.
April Turned "The Treaty" Into Performance Art
'The Treaty' was one of Leslie and Ben's most important episodes because it showed that while they were no longer in a romantic relationship, they were still able to be friends (to an extent).
With April and Andy's help, the foursome went to a local high school to help with the Model U.N. Everyone chose a country to represent, but as always, April refuses to go along with the rules and chose to be the moon. Although she was told she couldn't be the moon, April chose the moon. And while this wasn't the worst thing April did in a workplace setting, it's another example of how she does what she wants despite her role at work.
She Had A Poor Contribution To The Spirit Of Pawnee
Pawnee's City Hall is known for its unique and date murals, so when different departments were tasked with creating a mural that captured the spirit of Pawnee, everyone in the parks department shared their craft. And as assumed, April's was anything but realistic.
She claimed her artwork was a multi-media piece. There would be a human-sized hamster wheel with an exhausted person running inside at all times. All the while a video of knee surgeries would be playing in the background. Leslie was rather serious about the project and was bothered by April's suggestion.
April Butchered Staff Bios
When April was in charge of adding the parks and rec. department's staff's bios to the website, she turned it into a joke instead of being the helpful piece of information it was intended to be.
According to the show's Fandom page, April made up her bio and included that she "grew up on Easter Island" and that she can shoot tacos from her hands. Considering this bio would be looked at by possible job prospects and people of Pawnee, it's viewed as unprofessional and lazy (although it is funny).