The English language appears to have extended over the globe in our modern era. Because of globalization and America's immense cultural influence, it's nearly a given that you know a few terms in English, no matter where you are in the world. The story below is an account of a petty cousin. Since he was a little boy, the original poster (OP) has spoken English fluently. Therefore, OP furiously rejected his cousin's sudden request to teach him English so he might woo a girl by reading her a poem…

New bosses love to bring in new ideas, barreling into situations they know next to nothing about and waving their authority in order to make broad-sweeping changes that they say are for the better. Meanwhile, everyone else glances sideways at each other and braces for the worst. You can probably see where this is going, as it always does with these types of situations: short-sighted cost-cutting hamstringing vital operations that only cost the company more in the long run when everything goes b…

Experiencing seemingly inconsequential and fleeting moments of happiness gives us a sense of meaning and significance in life. The story below is an account of a clever customer. The original poster (OP) explains how he was able to settle his dispute with his mobile phone carrier. More than 20 years ago, the concerned party decided to change mobile carriers. To settle his debt with the company, OP contacted the sales agent and paid the remaining invoices. To his dismay, though, the very next mo…

You'll repeatedly encounter people who think they know better than you, even when it comes to the responsibilities of their own job. Most upper managers have this cynical view that their subordinates are just slack-jawed lackeys without a single decent thought. They probably think that whatever job it is their subordinates are doing, anyone could do, completely blind to the fact that this single employee is pulling more weight than anyone else in the organization—including them. Heck, there are…

It's easy to blame the landlord in any tenant-related dispute, but every so often, one comes across a story in which the tenant got exactly what he deserved. In this scenario , we have a landlord who rented out a room in his apartment to make some extra money. He covered all utilities and renovated the place so that there was some separation between him and his new tenant. However, after the first month, the tenant started bringing “lady friends” over five to six times a week and would make a t…

It turns out that if you tell a contract worker to work fewer hours, they'll… do exactly that. So it's surprising that this client was under the impression that she was getting more for her money after trying to bully this worker. U/rentacle couldn't wait to share her malicious compliance story of “corporate stupidity” with the world.

Serious workers don't play about their vacation time . It's not like most of us just love working ourselves to the bone. To be fair, a lot of people love their jobs, and many will stay at the same company for decades. It's great to get into a rhythm of working until you start to feel those signs of burnout, and then having the luxury of taking a week or two off . Those two weeks can make a huge difference: spending time with family and friends, traveling, or even just relaxing and sleeping in c…

Here's a story about one grandfather who had an interesting job as a bridgekeeper. I imagine that's the kind of job that's automated today. But in this man's day, he and his wife would keep an eye out for boats each day and let them through when they needed to cross under the bridge. Many years ago, people would take multiple breaks throughout their workday, like this grandpa who was supposed to take two separate coffee breaks . It also was fairly common to go home for lunch. Many school kids d…

It's nice to think that you're irreplaceable. It's that sense of security that lets you sleep at night, not worried that you'll lose your entire livelihood should your employer choose to replace you overnight. That confidence and knowledge can get you a long way and actually help you to be successful in your role. That said, change is inevitable, and it's almost certain that you'll eventually move on from your role or even need enough time off that someone needs to be seconded into it. Gatekeep…

Those in charge typically think that they should be making all the decisions, even when they don't have all the answers—no, especially when they don't have all the answers. Something about their egos and insecurity in these situations makes them double down on any decision they make without listening to anything their subordinates tell them in warning. When the upper management of this tourist attraction in London decided to flip the script on their employees, it led to absolute chaos. For some…

No one should expect much from a standard continental breakfast at a run-down hotel. Unfortunately, this Karen did not manage her expectations and decided to stir up a fuss, leaving an overworked hotel worker no choice but to enact some much-needed malicious compliance. This worker was often held responsible for preparing breakfast first thing in the morning so it was ready by 6:00 am when a group of construction workers and local hunters were typically among the first wave of diners. These gro…

“The loud ninja makes noise so people aren't scared. When told to be quiet, he ends up scaring them instead.”

Every person struggles with self-fulfillment when it comes to their jobs. We all want to feel fulfilled with our jobs, we all want to have a purpose in life, and to feel like we truly enjoy what we do on a daily basis. But more often than not, it is impossible to both feel fulfilled and get to have sufficient time off of work, when you enjoy your own privacy. So if you were given the choice to get paid for your job, but do no work whatsoever, would you accept? Would you be willing to give up on…

“The documentation needed his specific knowledge and a set of reports that were saved on his company-issued laptop, which had been returned and promptly wiped after his departure.”

Do you remember the days when jobs would provide you with a work phone? Some still do: instead of using your personal phone, your workplace might provide you with a phone just for work . People feel different ways about this. Some love the separation of work and personal life ---not to mention that they'll never accidentally text their boss something that was meant for their spouse, or send a sensitive email from their personal account. Other workers don't like carrying multiple devices, and le…

This boss is quite literally not the brightest bulb. He seems like the kind of person who cuts costs at every possible moment, which as you can imagine, is not making the employees very happy. A lot of workplaces operate on a tight budget, but some managers take this way too seriously. They'll either say there's no money to fix workplace issues , or they'll wait until the issue can no longer be ignored before they finally decide it's worth looking into. This person, u/MillyHughes, shared that t…