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I was about to make malicious compliance my new religion until I came across this example of it going the exact opposite way it was expected. Maybe it’s time to give up on our mischievous endeavours and turn back to old, regular, direct communication. When something like this backfires, we get two problems where there used to be one.

Manteinance employee maliciously complies with his manager's new rule and in an unexpected turn of events, his manager loves it: 'As you can tell from the title, this did not go how I was expecting'

IT fails to fix employee's computer, leading to their account and login being deleted, employee spends over two weeks unable to work: ‘What a clown show’

IT fails to fix employee's computer, leading to their account and login being deleted, employee spends over two weeks unable to work: ‘What a clown show’

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Some things we can only figure out in retrospect. People often act in ways we deem incoherent and irrational, and only after everything ends can we see the underlying motives for their behaviour. Becoming too close way too fast with someone might be a cause for concern.

Resentful manager goes from bonding immediately with new server to sabotaging her every move: 'Looking back, it suddenly made a lot more sense why she seemed to go from friendly mentor to treating me like public enemy number one'

Boss refuses to admit they underpaid employee after they quit, then proceeds to blame them for their lack of empathy for the business: ‘The working conditions are not sustainable’

Boss refuses to admit they underpaid employee after they quit, then proceeds to blame them for their lack of empathy for the business: ‘The working conditions are not sustainable’

I think there is something to say here about a road paved with good intentions, but anyway. Sometimes we analyze a situation and come up with the best solution we can think of, and we end up breaking something that was steadily functioning. The key to success might be communicating our plans to fix the thing instead of doing it as a surprise, but well, everybody makes honest mistakes, and it even feels unfair to call a situation like this a mistake.

Employee spends months thoroughly organizing communal folder in secret, only to wind up causing office chaos: 'I’m sitting here, staring at the perfectly organized, color-coded, and searchable directory I created, terrified to say anything'

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management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr coworkers colleague Horrible Bosses volunteer entitled people Workplace - 45797637

Volunteer refuses to come back after being bossed around, given no water, no bathroom breaks, and nearly having her phone confiscated, gets emails a year later telling her she needs to be a better team player

corporate workplace-stories malicious compliance bad bosses Workplace - 45749765

Employee gets punished for being great at his job, so he decides to stop trying at all: 'Even though I performed my duties better than the others in my department, I was effectively punished for being so good.'

corporate workplace-stories malicious compliance toxic boss Bad Bosses - 45761797

Boss argues with employee because he is paying attention to how much he's getting paid, boss said that he was stealing confidential information: 'She accused me of stealing confidential information.'

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management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr coworkers Horrible Bosses Workplace - 45772549

Travel agent discovers manager has been skimming hours for 18 months, spends 8 months quietly documenting it, then gets called into a meeting where the manager accidentally exposes herself to head office

management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr Horrible Bosses Workplace - 45769989

Professional butcher gets back at his boss 5 years after he stole his paternity pay: ‘When I left that shop, I had the biggest grin on my face’

management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories Horrible Bosses DIY retirement Workplace - 45773317

Tech guy gets fired at 58 after 35 years in tech, and instead of panicking, sees it as a chance to retire early, do DIY, and work part-time at a hardware store: ‘It's actually a relief, I was getting SO sick of the corporate stuff’

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Boss ignored employee for their two weeks' notice period, waits until an hour before their last shift ends to send them tasks, employee simply leaves: ‘Radio silence’

Boss ignored employee for their two weeks' notice period, waits until an hour before their last shift ends to send them tasks, employee simply leaves: ‘Radio silence’

management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr coworkers colleague gen z Workplace - 45758469

Gen Z employees demand “tone indicators,” older coworkers study and use them seriously, but young workers still get offended, and the whole thing gets dropped: ‘I’m here to do a job. That job is not babysitting anyone’s feelings’

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Union electrician spitefully applies to low-wage jobs requiring expert skills to waste unjust employers' time in interviews

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Employee is put on PIP after refusing to join a 10 PM work call, tries to understand if they're getting fired: ‘Is this a genuine improvement plan?’

Employee is put on PIP after refusing to join a 10 PM work call, tries to understand if they're getting fired: ‘Is this a genuine improvement plan?’

Top employee quits job and starts his own business after boss refuses to give him a raise, he thrives in the new business while old boss struggles: ‘What a fool’

Top employee quits job and starts his own business after boss refuses to give him a raise, he thrives in the new business while old boss struggles: ‘What a fool’