Employee Teaches Entitled Boss A Lesson By Doing Exactly What He Asked, Turns A 10-Minute Task Into A 3-Day Project
It’s far quicker and easier to do something you’re good at all by yourself than to teach someone else to do it for you. There are a lot of small tasks and tidbits related to your job that you probably wouldn’t even think about sharing info on with your colleagues because they seem completely obvious to you. You’ve got flow, you’re in the zone. Now try writing out every little nuance of what you do, Pandas! It’d be a nightmare.
Some bosses totally get that a single person with the right experience and contacts within the company can get a new employee online within the system lightning-quick. This, unfortunately, is a story about the exact opposite of this. We’re talking about full-on malicious compliance the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long while! A micromanaging boss accidentally turned a tiny ten-minute task (3 to 4 hours with travel) into a three-day project by trying to control his employee a tad too much.
Redditor u/SadowSon shared a wonderful tale of techno-revenge after their stubborn boss wouldn’t let them travel to one of their other offices to help set up a large bunch of new hires’ accounts. When their boss asked them to just write out the instructions for getting someone in the system, they expected half a page. What they got instead was 34 pages of techno-babble. Scroll down for the full story that is practically dripping with sweet, sweet revenge.
Nobody enjoys being micromanaged. Alas! Some bosses take pleasure in controlling every aspect of their workers’ day
Image credits: Bench Accounting (not the actual photo)
One employee shared how they followed their boss’ request to the letter to teach him a lesson he’ll never forget
Image credits: Anna Shvets (not the actual photo)
Image credits: SadowSon
Generally speaking, you can tell if you’ve got a good manager by how they treat the employees below them, not just the corpos above them. Quality bosses support their team members and help build everyone up. Bad ones tear them down. Good bosses embrace transparency, independence, and growth. Bosses who make you wanna quit focus on controlling every aspect of your life and provide little-to-no opportunities for self-improvement and advancement within the company ranks.
A while back, Eddy, the Smith Professor of Equity & Inclusion at Queen’s University, shared his thoughts about management with Bored Panda. He pointed out that there are two main types of leadership. The first one is transactional. The second is transformational.
“Transactional leadership is based on exercising bureaucratic authority and legitimate power in the firm,” the professor explained that it’s a mode of leadership that relies on rewards and punishments to influence how employees behave.
On the flip side, you have transformational leaders who value idealized inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. Managers who embody this approach want to see their colleagues grow.
“In this regard, transformational leaders provide support and encouragement to employees. They tend to influence employee behaviors by positively motivating them. Good managers tend to practice a transformational style of leadership,” the professor told Bored Panda.
The author of the post answered a few people’s questions in the comments
Here’s what some internet users said after reading the viral post
Read this out to my husband who has worked closely with android developers and apple.. thought he was going to split something from the laughter at the thought of it being easier with apple. He hated apple; the company, the staff and their ethos with quite a fervour due to the enormous difficulties of working with them and their systems, but that was on a multinational level for a major telecommunications company and pretty complicated. Always found android easier with a collaborative approach and apple the absolute opposite, plus the licensing fees apple charge are horrendous. Still, gave me a chuckle to see him so animated!
I'm techy and the OP doesn't understand things. He should've already had the manual written. Why? So if he goes on vacation for an extended period of time people aren't calling him. Oh also he should've had a colleague this it. Though everyone else is just a dumb, what if something happens to the guy bad things happen... Also stinky your process if your can, don't simplify the manual. Never simplify the manual.
Glad I'm not the only one that wondered at a lack of 'written down' processes, though as it isn't technically his job maybe thst exists in some form in the 'proper' IT department. Can only hope!!
Load More Replies...
I don't understand why everyone complaing about the OP. They HAVE a tech support. It's just they have to wait until THEY are available to do it which may takes a few days if they are not available. The OP can do it as well but was told by his boss to make a manual so the new staff (who sucks at technology) can make their own accounts which is complicated as hell. So....the OP wasn't wrong. He made a manual, it's just who going to spend hours reading a manual that's like a different language to them when someone can do it in a few minutes? Read people !
That's the problem, no one wants to read. A lot of people just read the TLDR and assume they know the whole story.
Load More Replies...
I feel like OP was acting as if this was a bad task to be given when it wasn't. "Write a document so that others can perform the duty as well when you are needed elsewhere." Is a perfectly understandable task to be given. Sure in this case he very well may not have been needed elsewhere at that time, but making the document intentionally obtuse seems more like petty revenge at being told to do something he didn't want to than it does seem like malicious compliance. (To be clear where I am getting the 'intentionally obtuse', "wasn't the intention, but my boss told me to write down everything so I did.")
It's not his duty to be tech support. He was just asked by his AD to be tech support for 4 hours so he can complete the task and pop back to his normal work after
Load More Replies...
I'm not an IT, but have worked with many suffering databases, most over-engineeres to their own fault, causing extreme complications and frustration for many users, leaving logistics engineers like myself to manipulate shortcuts and methods to make our data entry and retrieval tolerable and efficient. However, word of warning, when your ineffective, oppressive and micro-managing manager attempts to simplify your job and tries to get you to provide instructions to do your job, they are probably trying to get rid of a threat. Start your new job search and have a look around, because behind your back and to upper management that snake is preparing to terminate you. First it will be disguised as a PIP, stated as non-punitive, then the punative action will come shortly after that within and before the duration of the PIP is complete, stating that you are not meeting the conditions of the PIP. You are being targeted and will most likely not win.
All I can say is while u may have won the battle did u win the war? Good on you by getting revenge on your manager which obviously u enjoy otherwise u wouldn't be letting the whole world know...but what have you accomplished. Is this a win win situation? No it's not I dont think. But u one upped your boss...so u must feel vindicated. We had a situation like this @ work recently. The employee felt he did the right thing and he did if he wanted to extend the battle but now he will have a target on his back. Not right perhaps but we r dealing with humans in a work environment.. enjoy your victory
I'm not techy so in thinking how awful it would be to have a 34 page manual not a person. I love the malicious compliance though!!
Read this out to my husband who has worked closely with android developers and apple.. thought he was going to split something from the laughter at the thought of it being easier with apple. He hated apple; the company, the staff and their ethos with quite a fervour due to the enormous difficulties of working with them and their systems, but that was on a multinational level for a major telecommunications company and pretty complicated. Always found android easier with a collaborative approach and apple the absolute opposite, plus the licensing fees apple charge are horrendous. Still, gave me a chuckle to see him so animated!
I'm techy and the OP doesn't understand things. He should've already had the manual written. Why? So if he goes on vacation for an extended period of time people aren't calling him. Oh also he should've had a colleague this it. Though everyone else is just a dumb, what if something happens to the guy bad things happen... Also stinky your process if your can, don't simplify the manual. Never simplify the manual.
Glad I'm not the only one that wondered at a lack of 'written down' processes, though as it isn't technically his job maybe thst exists in some form in the 'proper' IT department. Can only hope!!
Load More Replies... I don't understand why everyone complaing about the OP. They HAVE a tech support. It's just they have to wait until THEY are available to do it which may takes a few days if they are not available. The OP can do it as well but was told by his boss to make a manual so the new staff (who sucks at technology) can make their own accounts which is complicated as hell. So....the OP wasn't wrong. He made a manual, it's just who going to spend hours reading a manual that's like a different language to them when someone can do it in a few minutes? Read people !
That's the problem, no one wants to read. A lot of people just read the TLDR and assume they know the whole story.
Load More Replies... I feel like OP was acting as if this was a bad task to be given when it wasn't. "Write a document so that others can perform the duty as well when you are needed elsewhere." Is a perfectly understandable task to be given. Sure in this case he very well may not have been needed elsewhere at that time, but making the document intentionally obtuse seems more like petty revenge at being told to do something he didn't want to than it does seem like malicious compliance. (To be clear where I am getting the 'intentionally obtuse', "wasn't the intention, but my boss told me to write down everything so I did.")
It's not his duty to be tech support. He was just asked by his AD to be tech support for 4 hours so he can complete the task and pop back to his normal work after
Load More Replies... I'm not an IT, but have worked with many suffering databases, most over-engineeres to their own fault, causing extreme complications and frustration for many users, leaving logistics engineers like myself to manipulate shortcuts and methods to make our data entry and retrieval tolerable and efficient. However, word of warning, when your ineffective, oppressive and micro-managing manager attempts to simplify your job and tries to get you to provide instructions to do your job, they are probably trying to get rid of a threat. Start your new job search and have a look around, because behind your back and to upper management that snake is preparing to terminate you. First it will be disguised as a PIP, stated as non-punitive, then the punative action will come shortly after that within and before the duration of the PIP is complete, stating that you are not meeting the conditions of the PIP. You are being targeted and will most likely not win.
All I can say is while u may have won the battle did u win the war? Good on you by getting revenge on your manager which obviously u enjoy otherwise u wouldn't be letting the whole world know...but what have you accomplished. Is this a win win situation? No it's not I dont think. But u one upped your boss...so u must feel vindicated. We had a situation like this @ work recently. The employee felt he did the right thing and he did if he wanted to extend the battle but now he will have a target on his back. Not right perhaps but we r dealing with humans in a work environment.. enjoy your victory
I'm not techy so in thinking how awful it would be to have a 34 page manual not a person. I love the malicious compliance though!!
35
12