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malicious compliance

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'Get back to work': Employer sends employee on errands during their lunch, won't let them eat on the clock

When you do someone a favor, it's common to expect a little gratitude in return—or at least acknowledgment. It's a sign of mutual respect and is just proper etiquette. If the person you're doing a favor for doesn't show any appreciation., it might be time to reconsider anything and everything that you're currently doing for them. Alas, this happens all too often in the workplace , with workers who go above and beyond being consistently taken for granted, with any extra contributions they're mak…
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‘No more overtime; Ok, boss': Machines overheat and shut down after delivery driver complies with demanding supervisor's request to ‘stop taking overtime’, leading to over $10,000 in damages

‘No more overtime; Ok, boss': Machines overheat and shut down after demanding supervisor instructs delivery driver to ‘stop taking overtime’, leading to over $10,000 in damages

When complying with your boss's request ends up costing the company tens of thousands of dollars, be ready to get fired… unless you have receipts. Oftentimes, your boss has their head up in the clouds and doesn't know how things work down on the ground. There is only so much you can tolerate before you begin to maliciously comply with their recurring, ridiculous demands. This being said, you don't always know what your boss is going to stipulate, so at times, you will have to be flexible with s…
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'I got it in writing': Manager demands BBQ cook clock-out early to cut their hours, their kitchen goes uncleaned and work goes unfinished

Employers regularly have this idea that they need to save money on the cost of labor to decrease their bottom line. This usually comes about when there has been some quarterly meeting about what the company can do to increase profits. Rather than coming up with anything new, some bright-eyed manager will boldly propose that the company reduce the cost of labor—thinking themselves to be the first to ever do so, making them, therefore, a business genius . To be fair, reducing the cost of labor is…
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'I should get a bump in pay too': Boss pays new hire 20+% more, denies employee the same rate, employee gets a better job elsewhere

'I should get a bump in pay too': Boss pays new hire 20% more, denies employee the same rate, employee gets a better job elsewhere

Bosses should never underestimate their employees' ability to get the pay they want somewhere else. This dude not only denied their overworked loyal employee the raise they deserved, but they also had the audacity to tell them that the only way they could negotiate a higher salary is if they got a competitive offer at another company. Either this guy wanted his employee to leave (and his team's productivity level to implode) or he really underestimated the Redditor's ability to find a better jo…
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‘You can't have breakfast until I say so’: Overworked hotel worker singles out guest who demands breakfast ‘on time’, allowing everyone else to eat breakfast early

‘You can't have breakfast until I say so’: Overworked hotel worker singles out guest who demands breakfast ‘on time’, allowing everyone else to eat breakfast early

Woe to those who deal with sneering customers, conniving hotel guests, and Karens. In other words, I salute anyone who works in the customer service industry, because you have to be tough as nails to tackle these kinds of entitled folk. As shared by u/anna12o, one hotel guest, who was, of course, a Karen, was making her life especially difficult, when it genuinely didn't have to be. You know those types of people who pay for something and then just assume that buys them a one-way ticket to be w…
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'The lady of the house simply will not permit it': Movers tasked with impractical sofa bed delivery, use their own contract to avoid carrying it up stairs

'The lady of the house simply will not permit it': Movers tasked with impractical sofa bed delivery, use their own contract to avoid carrying it up stairs

No one ever said moving was easy, and this customer seems determined to make it as hard as possible. That's no problem for her, because she's not doing the heavy lifting — a group of movers are. U/_korvan_ shared this great story about the time they just wanted to do their job and go home, but were stymied by a customer. Being a mover is a physically demanding job each and every day. These folks work hours each day to take people's boxes and furniture from their old house to their brand new liv…
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'[HOA] said that sunflowers are not allowed': Guy enlists lawyer's help to get even with HOA, maliciously complies with contract by planting corn

'[HOA] said that sunflowers are not allowed': Guy enlists lawyer's help to get even with HOA, maliciously complies with contract by planting corn

Imagine being a lawyer and having someone walk into your office with a problem about sunflowers. That's right: this guy's axe to grind with his HOA was all about the row of sunflowers he wanted to plan outside of his house. This story serves as yet another example of why HOAs merely exist to cause drama, enforce silly rules, and watch you suffer the consequences. It's like having to endure adult detention, but the rules are even more ridiculous and even less clear. However, this man seemed to h…
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'With a smile [my boss told] me, "I see what you did there"': Manager and employee team up to stick it to large company's HR, gets paid extra in overtime

'With a smile [my boss told] me, "I see what you did there"': Manager and employee team up to stick it to large company's HR, gets paid extra in overtime

It's not often you read on the internet a good story between manager and employee. Usually, it's an employee struggling with an entitled manager or vice versa. However, we've recently come across a story where the brain and heart finally meet and we just had to share it . It all started with a feud with a large company's HR. Apparently, the company's HR was messing up the 3k+ employees' overtime payments and totally trying to pull one over on them. It was a very large issue and, luckily, the ma…
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'I will update you every possible moment': Squadron of interns overload senior doctor with dozens of phone calls

'I will update you every possible moment': Squadron of interns bombard senior doctor with dozens of phone calls after he calls them 'lazy'

Interns in training decided to take this senior doctor at his word. Too bad it totally backfired on him. They say aging is difficult — your body aches for no reason, you fall asleep in random places, and all the young people are talking about things you don't care about. Depending on the field you work in, however, seniority can be a great perk. If you're a professor, the more years you teach, the better your job security. And if you're a doctor, that's the exact path many professionals take to…
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'I may not have questioned the process… If I had gotten a bit of respect': Civil engineer spends 3 hours on redundant paperwork, asks HR about computerizing and gets entire filing department cut

'I may not have questioned the process… If I had gotten a bit of respect': Civil engineer spends 3 hours on redundant paperwork, asks HR about computerizing and gets entire filing department cut

Welcome to 2023, where everything is paperless. Even if you fill something out with a pen or pencil to paper, it usually gets inserted into some sort of online database. Places that still only use a paper filing method are simply mind boggling. So when this civil engineer was asked to do hours of paperwork for no reason, they had to say something. The engineer wrote their rant on Reddit : They work as a civil engineer for a large military construction company and when they were transferred to a…
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'I was having my main character moment': Summer camp student gets unjustly marked tardy after walking into class a few seconds late; she epically rebels by ditching class immediately

Good students feel guilty about being late to class. When we're young, the ‘people pleaser’ and goody-two-shoes in all of us gets fueled by teacher approval and getting gold stars, but deep down, there's always a spicy rebel just waiting to be unleashed.
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'I stopped doing their work for them': Company experiences huge losses when developer stops doing her coworker's work for them, exposing them

Pulling far greater than your own weight at work—or in any team—is a common frustration to experience and can make you feel like you're carrying an incredible burden on your shoulders. What's worse, it can make you wonder whether any effort is even worth it… Why bother working so hard if your coworkers are just going to refuse to do their fair share (and get away with doing less) anyway? This is something that you first encounter in grade school in the form of group projects, with some members…
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Update: 'This is gonna raise a lot of eyebrows': Employee spends weeks doing nothing at work after boss refuses their simple solution to computer issues

They made this dude's job too easy. A tech worker shared their story of what happened when their computer broke . Like many workplaces, some people have a knack for being able to troubleshoot technology . It's a valuable skill — many of us just don't have the technological know-how to fix these issues without recruiting someone from the IT department. To be fair, a lot of the time you only have to turn your computer off and on again, or clear the browser history, and for some reason it does fix…
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'It cost the company $10,000': Thrifty salesman scores luxurious business trips after the beancounters nitpick his travel choices

Sensible employees are burdened by sensible choices. It's the compulsory reaction of the working class to choose an affordable option versus an expensive one, so when a traveling salesman is faced with a frugal travel choice and a lavish one, they're most likely to pick the cheaper option. However, because company policy isn't always so practical, sometimes the rule-following beancounters come after you for the most reasonable of choices.
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'I called... to tell him the great news, and he loses it': Service advisor tells customer about cheap fix for his car, he insists on an expensive new fuel pump

'I called... to tell him the great news, and he loses it': Service advisor tells customer about cheap fix for his car, he insists on an expensive new fuel pump

Car owners have immense pride over their precious vehicles. People who are into cars get so invested in the details that make their automobile shine, from shiny rims to blackout windows. All of these extras don't come cheap, but for lots of people, their car is their favorite hobby, and they'll pour hundreds or thousands into making it look the best it can be. This person also took a lot of pride in his car , but it's less about love for his vehicle, and more about him thinking he can never be…
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'Hey, guess what everyone!': Boss stops speaking to employee for two weeks after employee joins 'mass exodus'

'Hey, guess what everyone!': Boss stops speaking to employee for two weeks after employee joins 'mass exodus'

When you're the fifth person to quit at a company in just a month, you know it's a sinking ship. Companies with high turnover rates should make any prospective job-seeker run for the hills. When your business can only retain employees for a few months, it might appear at first that the individual isn't cut out for the job. But when lots and lots of people rush out the door after just a few months, it's definitely more of a problem with the company itself. Of course, you can't really tell how hi…
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