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malicious compliance

'I am counting EVERYTHING': Retail worker maliciously complies with supervisor's contradictory instructions

'I am counting EVERYTHING': Retail worker maliciously complies with supervisor's contradictory instructions

If you give unclear, contradictory instructions to your employees, you're just asking for problems. It makes you wonder how these supervisors got promoted in the first place. Clarity is pretty much the most important part of the job, and if you can't do that, you have no business expecting your team to follow you blindly. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/Correct_Campaign3707 , who worked on the Member Service team at a retail company and was tasked with ch…
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'You asked for this!': Team of employees humble micromanaging boss by taking four times as long to complete a task

'You asked for this!': Team of employees humble micromanaging boss by taking four times as long to complete a task

I think we've all had to deal with a smug and entitled manager at some point in our lives. My personal experience has shown me that it's simpler to find a method of working with them as opposed to confronting them outright. The story that follows is about a dissatisfied employee who works in a shipyard that specializes in ship repair and refitting. We are talking about a hardworking blue-collar worker. But things take a bitter turn when the entitled manager—who is occasionally referred to as EB…
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'I can't, I'm stuck in traffic': Boss insists presentation given from the office, worker misses it due to traffic

This world is chaos, and the more you try and control it, the more it's going to fly back in your face. As with anything, adding more opportunity for uncertainty in what needs to be a certain situation is eventually going to come and bite you. A commute to the office in a major city is a little bit like that; small traffic incidents can cause a chain reaction that creates delays that can increase your commute time two, three, or even four-fold. Braving the Seattle traffic is a bit like this; I…
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'I went to the bank and withdrew $50 in 2 dollar bills': Online seller needs to reach 100 sales, maliciously complies to earn top rated seller status

'I went to the bank and withdrew $50 in 2 dollar bills': Online seller needs to reach 100 sales, maliciously complies to earn top rated seller status

There is nothing quite like the satisfying feeling that comes with finding a loophole that actually works. Here, we have an online seller who was hoping to achieve a top rated seller status and had already earned over $6000 for his sales. However, he achieved this with just 75 sales, and according to eBay, he needed to earn at least $1,000 but with 100 sales. You would think what this online seller achieved would be more than enough to earn that status. In fact, it's much more impressive, but I…
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'The school had to call my parents and explain': High school senior gets back at teachers for his strict attendance policy

'The school had to call my parents and explain': High school senior gets back at teachers for his strict attendance policy

One high schooler was upset by their teacher's policies, so they decided to follow his rules to the letter. Every teacher is different when it comes to keeping order in their classrooms. Some teachers have a million rules and stick to them strictly. Others have more relaxed policies, and only become strict when it's absolutely necessary. This high school teacher was very strict, and he wouldn't leave any room for error with his young pupils. That can be frustrating for kids, especially since th…
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'It was time to protest the overreaching HOA': Teacher hires lawyer to save his pecan tree

'It was time to protest the overreaching HOA': Teacher hires lawyer to save his pecan tree

When you find your dream home, you may have to put up with an HOA. Home Owners Associations are a “necessary and unavoidable evil” when buying a home, as the homeowner in this story knew all too well. It's all well and good to say, “Just avoid buying a home in an HOA area, how hard could it be?” Well, pretty difficult, actually. Depending on the town you want to live in, your U/JMP817 shared their favorite malicious compliance story ever, which happened to be enacted by their high school teache…
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'I just did what she had asked me to do: Boss insists on detailed meeting notes, used as evidence to get them fired

If you're doing something wrong, you normally wouldn't want evidence that you're doing something wrong, and you certainly wouldn't want to order someone to—no, demand that someone—record evidence of your misdeeds. Well, beware of the power of the pen… when meticulous records are kept detailing your “leadership” and just the type of operation you're running: a toxic work environment rife with dismissive attitudes and unwillingness to acknowledge critical issues. Little did this boss know that th…
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'Work tried to punish me. It backfired': Tax associate blamed for not coming in on day off, maliciously complies and ruins boss's reputation

'Work tried to punish me. It backfired': Tax associate blamed for not coming in on day off, maliciously complies and ruins boss's reputation

If your boss fails to find someone to cover for you on your day off, do not take the blame. No matter how much your employer tries to make it seem like this is all your fault, you are entitled to that day off, especially if you gave them as much notice as this employee did. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/TheVaneja , who worked as a tax associate and wound up practically running the show at a small office in a Walmart despite not technically being promote…
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'You will never become a cadet!': Military General eliminates potential cadet for entitled demands at restaurant with his favorite server

'You will never become a cadet!': Military General eliminates potential cadet for entitled demands at restaurant with his favorite server

Every time we dine at a fine restaurant, we mentally prepare ourselves for the horrible moment when we get handed the check. No matter how prepared we think we are, our hearts skip a beat as soon as the bill lands on the table. The story below is of a young and daring teenager who thinks he can get away with anything. I guess it has to do with the naivety of children that lingers in our teens. To get back to the point, this young boy opted to invite all of his closest buddies to a fancy restaur…
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'I know full well what is going to happen': Boss tells employee to wash off sidewalk graffiti and 'only wash where the paint is'

'I know full well what is going to happen': Boss tells employee to wash off sidewalk graffiti and 'only wash where the paint is'

This boss saw graffiti outside his business and decided to do the funniest thing possible. Not that he intended to… but his employee got a kick out of it regardless. So you've had a bad experience with a company. What do you do about it? You might want to call up and speak to a manager, and that may net you a gift card or some coupons. Or if you're still upset about it and the place won't right their wrongs, you could leave a one-star review to warn others. This person was ready to break the la…
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‘I started barking like a dog’: Student witnesses classmate bark at her friend, principal asks her to reenact the incident, cue malicious compliance

‘I started barking like a dog’: Student witnesses classmate bark at her friend, principal asks her to reenact the incident, cue malicious compliance

This strict principal clearly did not realize what he was asking. Haven’t we all had a fantasy of telling off a teacher or, even more impressively, a high school principal? Well, let’s take those fantasies up a notch. Imagine barking in the face of your high school principal as loudly and as raucously as you possibly could. That’s what this student managed to pull off without retaliation or consequences. She shared her side of the story via this thread on Reddit’s r/MaliciousCompliance subreddi…
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'I don't see how I did anything wrong': Student reads the school rulebook to outsmart principal

'I don't see how I did anything wrong': Student reads the school rulebook to outsmart principal

Snowy weather is one of the best things in the world for a kid. For their teachers, it's not so much fun. Every town reacts to changes in the weather differently. If your town is accustomed to getting heavy snowfall each winter , the town will be ready with salted roads and snow plows. Other towns almost never get snow, and even an inch or two can stop normal activities in their paths. Then, there's the other extreme. In places like Norway, winters drag on for months, and snowfall is common. Ki…
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 'Chop-chop? Yes ma'am!': Karen shuts down team of employees attempting to correct faulty product

'Chop-chop? Yes ma'am!': Karen shuts down team of employees attempting to correct faulty product

We have likely dealt with a Karen at some point in our lives, particularly if we have extensive customer service experience. But what matters is how we deal with the wild Karen. Karens are here to stay, whether we like it or not, as they existed before the dawn of time and will probably exist for decades to come. If you look past their various nicknames over the years, Karens are just the same old entitled personality we love to hate. Nothing particularly unique or innovative about them. The st…
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'Good luck parking now': Driver's targeted parking move backfires when one person restricts access to their parking space

'Good luck parking now': Driver's targeted parking move backfires when one person restricts access to their parking space

Big, packed parking lots are my nightmare. Trying to maneuver my small car in between angry drivers who I believe are out to get me is one of my least favorite things to do in the world. If you own a car, you don't really have a choice… You just have to accept your fate. This person was going Christmas shopping in Philly when they encountered a parking lot Karen who had carefully surveilled the situation before her. OP had their blinker on, and was waiting patiently for another driver to vacate…
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'We don't need to check the design': Builder tries to warn fuel company that their blueprints were flawed, they tell him to 'get building'

'We don't need to check the design': Builder tries to warn fuel company that their blueprints were flawed, they tell him to 'get building'

This company has never heard of the phrase “Measure twice, cut once.” Instead, they're perfectly fine with winging it, and then starting all over again. Experienced craftsmen know that there's no such thing as being too careful. You can always measure one more time, or check that your equipment's working one more time. It's better to spend a few extra seconds double-checking your work, rather than spending days or weeks redoing a part of your project. U/thornae had a cool malicious compliance s…
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‘You need to pay me now’: Contractor gets paid for 600 days of work in advance after writing a script to auto-complete 6000 reports in one day following boss's demands

‘You need to pay me now’: Contractor gets paid for 600 days of work in advance after writing a script to auto-complete 6000 reports in one day following boss's demands

One contractor read the terms and conditions of his contract so well that he got paid 600 days in advance for completed work. I want this dude as a mentor, where do I sign up? Let's start at the beginning… OP was contracting for a large financial services provider, where his team manager was promoted to a new division, leaving him and the rest of the team with bosses who did not know how to 'boss'. OP's job was to onboard new hires into all kinds of required systems for their daily functions. O…
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