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malicious compliance

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'Before 9 and after 5 don't matter': Employee stops coming in early and working unpaid overtime after being admonished for a long lunch

Focusing intently on petty mistakes and slights is a surefire way to make sure you miss the big picture. As a leader, this is a fantastic way to make your workers feel like they're being micromanaged and have no agency, potentially derailing the entire organization along with the workers' sinking morale. Sure, if someone isn't pulling their weight it makes sense to step in, but when your team member is late back from lunch one time after coming in sometimes hours early, you'd do well to cut the…
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'That was basically the "last straw"': Overwhelmed employee gets scolded for working overtime, starts working only 5 hours per day

'That was basically the "last straw"': Overwhelmed employee gets scolded for working overtime, starts working only 5 hours per day

If you could work just five hours per day , would you? Most of us would thrive with that lifestyle and would take that offer instantly. For many or most adults, working full time is a norm we get used to. In other parts of the world, people take three month vacations or work just a few hours every day. Meanwhile, America is a bit more focused on hustle culture. People love to talk about how they're always grinding away to make money and advance their careers. Have you ever been to a party and s…
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Karen barks at $250 bill, shoves manager in front of on-duty officers: ''[They] immediately cuff her'

Karen barks at $250 bill, shoves manager in front of on-duty officers: '[They] immediately cuff her'

This Karen literally did all of this to herself. First, she marched into a popular Mexican restaurant with approximately 15 teenagers behind her, threw down her credit card, and let all these kids order whatever they wanted. Her abrasive behavior had already ticked off the manager and the other employees at the restaurant, so they were happy to see these teens order more than their fair share. By the time the manager gave the Karen a $250 bill, things started to get way more heated. For one, sh…
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'Don't worry about the business... it'll run without you': Coffee shop manager blocks bosses number and quits, things start "going wrong the next day"

'Don't worry about the business... it'll run without you': Coffee shop manager blocks bosses number and quits, things start "going wrong the next day"

If you work somewhere long enough, you know all of the business's pressure points. And if you work at a coffee shop for 90 or 100 hours per week, you'd know exactly how to sabotage said business. This work shared their malicious compliance story of the time they really got back at their boss. This person was a manager, but they found it hard to work because their bosses were breathing down their neck all the time. They “only cared about money,” the employee writes. That can be a big red flag in…
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'Mind [your] own business': Neighbor refuses to heed warning about getting the proper permits, pays dearly for his arrogance

Generally, when someone is willing to lend their advice to help you with a problem it's best to listen. Still, no one likes unsolicited advice and that's an important thing to remember when you consider offering it—regardless of whether or not someone is in dire need of hearing it. Those who have elected to proceed without the proper knowledge and precautions are most likely to be the least receptive to listening to other people. Then, if they decide to arrogantly proceed with something that is…
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'Well, 9:00am - 5:00pm it is!': Lawyer refuses to come in early for big meeting after getting reprimanded by partner for leaving early

'Well, 9:00am - 5:00pm it is!': Lawyer refuses to come in early for big meeting after getting reprimanded by partner for leaving early

Welcome to the workforce, where managers never pick and choose their battles carefully. This one decided to scold her employee, a lawyer at a firm, for leaving the office early one day because he had to start a few hours earlier for a deposition. The meaning behind her frustrated lecture was that she did not want other lawyers to get the wrong idea that they can leave the office at any time. Let us be clear if we haven't been already on this site: if you are an employee and you have to come in…
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'The exec told me that the seal was fine': Construction boss insists on running broken cement mixer, gets humiliated and covered in dust

'The exec told me that the seal was fine': Construction boss insists on running broken cement mixer, gets humiliated and covered in dust

Leave it to an executive with no common sense to make a huge mess. As so often happens, this higher-up wanted to prove that they were the head boss in charge, and made everyone else's days a little worse for it. Our society would be nowhere without the folks who work in construction. Concrete is in just about every modern building, not to mention sidewalks and roads. Construction crews can make quick work out of this. In just a few hours, your company can go from having a broken slab of concret…
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'Meet me at the courthouse': Coder brings 500 pages of evidence to judge to get back at their boss

'Meet me at the courthouse': Coder brings 500 pages of evidence to judge to get payback on their stingy boss

This company just kept stringing their coder along without ever paying a dime. Working a side hustle has become the norm for many Americans. Inflation means that prices have never been higher. We're all renting instead of owning houses. Lots of millennials are even still living with their parents to save a few bucks! Even if you work 40 hours per week like this programmer did, it still might not be enough to cover all your expenses and have a little extra fun money. It wasn't enough for this du…
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'Please come back': Undervalued chef quits after boss refuses to pay full salary, restaurant collapses as boss begs him to come back

'Please come back': Undervalued chef quits after boss refuses to pay full salary, restaurant collapses as boss begs him to come back

There are challenges in the food industry. Drama, anxiety, and unforeseen events abound every day and must be managed to keep things running according to plan. What would happen, though, if your manager—who specifically sought you out for the position—tried to play the corporate game with you? Do you stay in your current role and work alongside those who make you detest the career you once loved, or do you leave to pursue better and more exciting opportunities far, far away from it all? The sto…
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$11,000 machine gets destroyed after the operator is fired for exposing executive's embezzlement scheme: ' [The books were] $20,000 out'

Growing up, we're taught that it's important to always tell the truth and that we should, further, point out and draw attention to any wrongdoing that we witness in the world around us. These points are even beaten into our heads in the US in the form of various folktales about historical United States presidents and other prominent figures doing “the right thing” when the chance was presented for them to do otherwise. Of course, while stories like “Honest Abe and the Six Pennies” serve as grea…
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‘Our agreement doesn’t apply': Employee quits and gets reimbursed for $21,000 after boss insists they commute 200 miles a day for 2 years without compensation

‘Our agreement doesn’t apply': Employee quits and gets reimbursed for $21,000 after boss insists they commute 200 miles a day for 2 years without compensation

Too many bosses don't know or care to go through company policy. But a handful of them know exactly which rules will benefit them… and not their employees. You would think that a boss who purposely makes their employee drive 200 miles a day without being compensated should be fired. I find it hard to believe I'm the only one rooting for this dude's professional demise… So what happened? This boss lied to his employee and worse, manipulated them into commuting 200 miles a day for 2 entire years…
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'My mom ends up ruining the life of her ex-boss': Head of Finance gets caught making financial 'irregularities' for decades

'My mom ends up ruining the life of her ex-boss': Head of Finance gets caught making financial 'irregularities' for decades

This woman managed to turn lemons into lemonade, even as she was getting fired from her job . We admire her can-do attitude, and her kid clearly did too, since they shared Mom's story to the malicious compliance subreddit. When companies do less-than-legal activities, they often try to make it seem totally normal. They need their employees to believe it's perfectly normal to bend the rules… and bend them some more… and keep bending them. By the time an employee has fully broken the rules, they…
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'I don't work here, lady': Delivery guy agrees to scan woman's groceries at her insistence

'I don't work here, lady': Delivery guy agrees to scan woman's groceries at her insistence

Never underestimate a customer's ability to be completely and utterly wrong. That's the lesson one baffled delivery person learned during one of their days on the job. Every job deals with clients or customers in some way, and at the most basic level, it's an employee's responsibility to assist them. Companies take this very seriously. For example, at call centers, most workers aren't allowed to hang up on callers, even if they're flipping out over the phone because they don't understand why th…
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'Want to play mailbox baseball? Fine it will cost you one window': Mailbox vandals and their vehicle lose to reinforced mailbox

“Mailbox baseball,” the act of hitting an unsuspecting mailbox with a baseball bat out of a moving vehicle, is a niche yet important part of the mythos of American life—a relic of Americana that lives on in classic coming-of-age stories and family folklore. If you've ever poked and prodded an older member of your family who grew up as a bored child back in the days when kids and teens roamed wildly unaccounted for, you've probably heard some of these stories. Beyond that, if you're living in a…
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'To save two dollars in OT, they let a few thousand dollars [...] go to waste': Employee lectured for working OT, double malicious compliance ensues

'To save two dollars in OT, they let a few thousand dollars [...] go to waste': Employee lectured for working OT, double malicious compliance ensues

Why is it that so many bosses are too concerned with enforcing minor rules rather than focusing on what should be their priorities? The answers are almost related to money and ego. If it's money, you have a boss who can only think about budget, budget, budget, and nothing else. There's no concern for the wellbeing of your employees and, in some cases like this one, there isn't even much thought given to the overall wellbeing of the company (i.e. sometimes, overtime is necessary to keep things a…
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'He claims [I] was "wasting two hours of everybody's time"': Manager won't speak to IT employee after being one-upped in front of clients

'He claims [I] was "wasting two hours of everybody's time"': Manager refuses to speak to IT employee after being embarrassed in front of clients

This employee didn't want to one-up their boss , but their hand was forced (by said boss). What's an employee to do? While working in IT at a small company , this guy was accustomed to working on different types of devices and operating systems. The employee was encouraged to bring their own device "as long as it got the job done." It's clear that their boss didn't understand what they did, though, after he made some questionable decisions. It's one thing if you and your boss don't get along at…
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