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malicious-compliance-reddit

'Her system absolutely backfired': Student finds loophole in summer job's payment policy, gets paid full day's work for 30 minutes of labor, collects all the money

'Her system absolutely backfired': Student finds loophole in summer job's payment policy, gets paid full day's work for 30 minutes of labor, collects all the money

They say you're supposed to work hard for the money, but there is a special satisfaction that comes with not working hard for as much money as possible. Now, personally speaking, I am not slick enough to pull off something like this. I have too much “rule follower” energy in me to be able to create a plan that pays me as much as possible for doing as little work as possible. Blame it on how I behaved as a student in school or blame it on millennial anxiety! Regardless, I just don't have the aud…
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Update: 'I can't even handle this level of pettiness': High school principal won't let teacher leave early for doctor appointment, teacher decides to take even more time off

Update: 'I can't even handle this level of pettiness': High school principal refuses to let teacher leave early for doctor appointment, teacher decides to take even more time off

Some points in your career give you a sudden moment of clarity.
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'[I told] her that I wasn't being suspended': Student stands up to Karen principal, proves her strict rules aren't in the handbook, gets suspension revoked

'[I told] her that I wasn't being suspended': Student stands up to Karen principal, proves her strict rules aren't in the handbook, gets suspension revoked

Who knew that sometimes being suspended isn't exactly a mandatory order? Personally, I was always too much of a “goodie two shoes” to test the waters, break the rules, and potentially get myself in trouble. As I've grown older, I have become less and less content with the various systems I have found myself trapped inside of, whether that be the system of higher education, the workforce, or the existential social system of what it means to be a human. In hindsight, a little part of me wishes I…
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'You said I needed to submit my essay, here it is': Professor denies college student's request for an extension, student discovers professor's grading secret

'You said I needed to submit my essay, here it is': Professor denies college student's request for an extension, student discovers professor's grading secret

Lazy college professors should not be allowed to be strict. Like any social contract, everything should be a two-way street: if you're expected to deliver quality, they need to do the same. Otherwise, as far as we're concerned, the social contract is null and void. I remember when my high school teacher tried to solicit her students to contribute paragraphs that she would then compile into a research essay she was required to submit. We made sure that nonsense was shut down as soon as we could.
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'My job can be done 100% remotely': Sick employee has to get doctor's note in order to work from home, doctor writes sassy message

'My job can be done 100% remotely': Sick employee has to get doctor's note in order to work from home, doctor writes sassy message

There are so many red flags to look out for in corporate culture these days, but having to produce a sick note in order to work from home for more than two days has to be at the top of the list. In this case, we have a sick employee who had to go to the hospital numerous times for a rare cold/flu that was not easy for the doctors to diagnose. Obviously, we know what you're thinking. This illness sounds like your worst nightmare or the beginning of a horror movie. Instead, the horror story reall…
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'Remember, I don't work for free': Farm driver refuses to work unpaid overtime, informs boss he will leave his truck on the side of the highway

'Remember, I don't work for free': Farm driver refuses to work unpaid overtime, informs boss he will leave his truck on the side of the highway

This company decided they weren't going to pay overtime to their employees anymore. Maybe they should've thought about their very perishable product before implementing that rule! Being a truck driver is a crucial job in America. It's how we receive all sorts of items---every time you buy food from the grocery store or buy a new sweater at a clothing store, you can be sure a truck drove it to that location first. Even though truck drivers are so critical, they don't always get the best treatmen…
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'The auditor shows up for their surprise inspection, right in the middle of the lunch rush': Food service employee labels restaurant food to pass an audit

'The auditor shows up for their surprise inspection, right in the middle of the lunch rush': Food service employee maliciously complies with labelling restaurant food to pass an audit

Who said complying with the rules can't be a little fun? One employee told their story of their coworker's malicious compliance when their bosses started demanding they label every little thing. Food service workers have a lot to juggle. This person, u/Dra5iel, shared that they and their coworker both worked at a restaurant chain. Along with prepping food, cooking it, plating it for customers, and cleaning up, back of house staffers have enough on their plates already (pun intended!). When the…
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'Turns out the admission was really important': Insurance lawyer refuses to download video software to help his client, realizes his mistake in the courtroom

'Turns out the admission was really important': Insurance lawyer refuses to download video software to help his client, realizes his mistake in the courtroom

This lawyer was all set to lose an open and shut case, until another attorney made a huge mistake . One of the first things your parents probably told you after you learned to drive was how to act if you ever get into a car accident. After making sure everyone is okay, you inspect your car and take photos, call the police, and phone up your insurance. And one major thing to know is that you shouldn't say sorry to the other person, because in a legal sense, it shows that you're admitting fault o…
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'He's contradicted himself... his face went bright red': Retail employee begins clocking in four minutes late every day to protest boss's time-clock policy

'He's contradicted himself... his face went bright red': Retail employee begins clocking in four minutes late every day to protest boss's time-clock policy

How bold of this company to take a few minutes of every employee's day for free! U/afazihdob had a great workplace tale to share from their time working in retail. The OP laments that although they worked at numerous retail chains in their career, their bosses at one store were notoriously strict about latenesses. If I were ever a manager at a retail or food place, I wouldn't be able to take clocking in seriously at all. I just don't think it's the end of the world if an employee is two minutes…
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'Grandma is a hoarder': Grandkid told to clean something of his from grandmother's fridge, maliciously complies and cleans the whole thing

'Grandma is a hoarder': Grandkid told to clean something of his from grandmother's fridge, maliciously complies and cleans the whole thing

Talk about an American Hoarder Story! This grandkid is a saint for finding just the right way to clean his grandmother's refrigerator, which was filled with expired food, without getting her frustrated. By planting one food item she despised in the fridge, she texted him to clean the fridge. She meant to just clean out the one item, but this Redditor took it upon himself to clean out the whole fridge and then some. He shared his story via this thread on Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit.…
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'Teacher lost it': Student realizes he can get 100% on the final exam through extra credit alone, maliciously complies, infuriates teacher

'Teacher lost it': Student realizes he can get 100% on the final exam through extra credit alone, maliciously complies, infuriates teacher

Teachers should be careful when assigning extra credit. They just might get exactly what they asked for… There will always be students in this world who work hard, who complete every assignment to the best of their ability, and who impress their teachers to no end. And then there are the students who don't work hard but who work smart . This Redditor certainly falls into the latter category. He also had a gift for memorization. So when his English teacher said that students would receive points…
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'Their faces were priceless': Boss makes sick employee come in, employee maliciously complies, gets company sick policy revised

'Their faces were priceless': Boss makes sick employee come in, employee maliciously complies, gets company sick policy revised

All employers should know by now not to mess with the company sick day policy. Here, we have a horrible boss who decided that every employee who called in sick needed to physically show up to the office first to hand in a note from their physician. A phone call wouldn't even suffice. Clearly, this boss didn't have any trust in his employees and also didn't fully comprehend the risk of having infected folks show up and potentially getting more employees sick. Essentially, this dude was either as…
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'My HOA will learn that I absolutely live by the letter of the law': HOA tells car collector not to park cars in their own driveway, car collector slows traffic with parking solution

'My HOA will learn that I absolutely live by the letter of the law': HOA tells car collector not to park cars in their own driveway, car collector snarls traffic with parking solution

One HOA keeps changing the neighborhood rules , and one car collector keeps being affected by the changes. It's almost as if the HOA dislikes having a car collector living in their jurisdiction! Car collectors sure do get into their hobby. Lots of people enjoy buying cars that are fixer-uppers, then spending weekend after weekend putzing around and working on it. It's a fun group activity too---if your friends come over, they can pop the hood and stand around and look at the car with you. Then,…
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'He's complaining to me he's overdrawn...not my problem dude': Repair shop refuses customer's credit card payment, then realizes his mistake

'He's complaining to me he's overdrawn...not my problem dude': Repair shop refuses customer's credit card payment, then realizes his mistake

This person told a tale of their car repair debacle from 20 years ago, and you can tell it's an old story because they discovered the repair shop using a phone book. A real phone book! What a delightful throwback! For those of you who don't know, a phone book was a very big and heavy book with hundreds of pages. The white pages listed the numbers of people, and the yellow pages listed the numbers for businesses. It wasn't just numbers, either, it usually listed addresses too. Having your phone…
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'We wait even longer for a third tow truck to arrive': Service tech tries to reschedule appointment located on steep hill, gets themself and numerous other vehicles stuck

'We wait even longer for a third tow truck to arrive': Service tech tries to reschedule appointment located on steep hill, gets themself and numerous other vehicles stuck

This service tech is used to driving to jobs in different neighborhoods, but they weren't prepared for this weather. In any job, if your boss has your back, it makes your life a lot easier. However, many managers think that their employees are always trying to be sneaky or deceitful. They have no trust in their decision-making abilities…even though they presumably hired them for such qualities. This person, u/EmuExternal6244, shared a story from a snowy day on the job. As a lead service tech, t…
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'Foolish, FOOLISH man': Husband complains his wife should have dinner ready because she does nothing all day, she maliciously complies and refuses to clean anything

'Foolish, FOOLISH man': Husband complains his wife should have dinner ready because she does nothing all day, she maliciously complies and refuses to clean anything

You would think most of us would know at this point that being the primary “breadwinner” in a family does not mean you are entitled to make a fuss when dinner is not on the table upon your return home from work. It's 2023, people! We should have more realistic expectations of all parties in a family dynamic, and therefore, we should have equal respect for the financial and emotional contributions that all parties make. Unfortunately, these kinds of expectations do not gradually fizzle from one…
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