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Factory Workers Refuse To Work For Free, Tank Company’s Cost-Saving Initiative Completely
Factory worker wearing safety gear operating heavy machinery, illustrating penny-pinching consequences on worker effort.

Factory Workers Refuse To Work For Free, Tank Company’s Cost-Saving Initiative Completely

Interview With Expert

It’s funny how companies make millions yet act like misers when it comes to paying the employees. No, actually, when you think about it, it’s not funny, because they are literally robbing these folks of what they deserve. Of course, people will retaliate.

Even this toxic company came up with a brilliant plan to save money by cutting down the work hours. However, they underestimated their employees, especially the original poster (OP), who complied maliciously and made them regret everything. Let’s see what happened and how the company was smartly taught a lesson!

More info: Reddit

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    Companies can act quite viciously towards employees when they want to save their millions

    Image credits: dusanpetkovic / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    When the poster worked at a factory, they had a shift overlap to inform the next shift about what was up with the machines

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    Image credits:

    Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    The company, however, decided to cut the work hours to save money, so the poster decided to comply maliciously, by strictly following the work hours

    Image credits:

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    Image credits: coffeekai / Freepik (not the actual photo)

    Everyone started doing this, and the machines were shut down between shifts instead of functioning continuously

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    Image credits:

    The production levels dropped, and the frustrated company had to change back the work hours

    In today’s story, Reddit user KJWeb8 tells us how he smartly clapped back when one of the factories where he worked started a cost-cutting initiative. They had an overlapping hour between shifts to give people of the next shift information about the ongoing of the machines. Management, being management, felt that this was just a waste of money and cut the hour short.

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    Of course, it also reduced the pay since OP and his coworkers now worked for 7.5 hours instead of 8.5 hours. Guess what the smart protagonist of the story did? They decided to strictly follow the hours, without coming in early. Naturally, the machines were shut between the shifts because of this, and OP refused to come early and work for free.

    His tactic also rubbed off on other employees, who started doing the same. Lo and behold, the machines were not running continuously now, and the factory production levels obviously dropped. Management found out that it was our guy who started the rebellion, but they couldn’t do anything about it. After all, why should anyone work for free?

    Naturally, they had no other option but to change back the hours. This must have been a relief for all the employees, as now they were again getting the previous salary for 8.5 hours. Well, I am no expert at judging what goes on with such companies and their management. Bored Panda got in touch with HR specialist Nicola Dias to get deeper insights about the matter at hand.

    Image credits: usertrmk / Freepik (not the actual photo)

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    She explained that cost-cutting initiatives might look great on a spreadsheet, but in the real world, they are often a bad idea. Speaking about this story, she said that when management decides to slice off that ‘unnecessary’ half-hour of shift overlap, they might save a few bucks, but they also end up saving on productivity, morale, and trust, because nobody wants to work for free.

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    Nicola believes that when companies are making changes to schedules, it’s very important to communicate with the workers and discuss it rather than just enforce it on them. She stressed that these are the folks who know the day-to-day operations better than anyone. As per her, they see what works, what doesn’t, and where small changes can have a big impact. 

    “Leaving them out of the conversation is like trying to fix a machine without asking the person who uses it every day. Plus, when people feel heard and included, they’re way more likely to support new ideas and roll with changes.”

    “It builds trust, boosts morale, and helps everyone move in the same direction. At the end of the day, good communication with the team isn’t just nice, it’s smart business,” Nicola noted. I can’t agree with her more! If the factory management had indeed conversed with the workers about this so-called cost-cutting initiative, they might have realized sooner that it would hamper productivity.

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    People online were all too delighted to hear how the poster wittily tackled the situation. Many also shared their similar experiences, which just showed how many companies carry out such money-saving plans and badly fail at them. Have you experienced it before? We would definitely love to hear your stories, so don’t forget to leave them in the comments!

    People online instantly opened up about similar experiences, shedding light on how ridiculous these “money-saving” initiatives really are

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    Rutuja Dumbre

    Rutuja Dumbre

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    Hey, am Rutuja! A storyteller at heart and a writer at Bored Panda. I have a strange love for words, and I mostly survive on coffee which is the driving force behind my writing. I enjoy working on articles that purely entertain our readers. When am not writing or trekking, you can find me staying up late and watching all the matches of Football Club Barcelona!

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    Rutuja Dumbre

    Rutuja Dumbre

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Hey, am Rutuja! A storyteller at heart and a writer at Bored Panda. I have a strange love for words, and I mostly survive on coffee which is the driving force behind my writing. I enjoy working on articles that purely entertain our readers. When am not writing or trekking, you can find me staying up late and watching all the matches of Football Club Barcelona!

    Monika Pašukonytė

    Monika Pašukonytė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

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    I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.

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    Monika Pašukonytė

    Monika Pašukonytė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.

    What do you think ?
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    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love these stories, especially since the bean counters apparently didn't think ahead to imagine what *could* happen if the workers weren't getting paid for their work. Well done, OP! 👍

    Tabitha
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And the suits NEVER go down to the floor and talk to the people who would actually be affected by their “bright” ideas. If they did, and they had half a brain, they would never present those ideas to the bigger suits.

    Load More Replies...
    KrazyChiMama
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I worked at an extremely busy cardiology practice for almost 20 years. Every time they hired a new manager they’d always try to make changes to our schedules. Many thought we could fit more testing patients in our schedule. If you only look at it from the scheduling module it you see there are gaps in all our schedules. Those were there for a reason, and because the managers were not the ones doing the procedures they did not understand why the gaps were there. They are there for emergencies!One manager decided to take it upon themselves to add patients on to my schedule and eliminate my gaps. It took exactly one day 1/2 of a shift for her to realize the mistake she made. My second patient of the day developed chest pains during his stress test and needed extended monitoring until one of the doctors could break away from the hospital to come back to the office to see him. This pushed back my schedule by nearly two hours. After the chaos I walked into her office and before I could say anything she was already apologizing. The next day my gaps were put back in place. If it isn’t broke don’t try and fix it!

    Janine Randall
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I managed Dr's offices. Whenever I was hired to "fix" things (usually lack of income), I made sure I knew, and worked, as many of the jobs as I could. Not clinical, not why I was hired. Everyone would worry I'd come in and change stuff. Never understood why people would go in and change things without knowing how it effected the whole practice.

    Load More Replies...
    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My first redundancy was caused by them employing a time and motion person at a cost of £28000. In theory they saved £8000 in salaries (this was 1984, 2 of us on 4k each); but my responsibilities moved to another department, which was more highly paid (computing rather than statistics), I got an internal transfer and ended up being paid 50% more than I had been in the original job, so they actually only saved £6000.

    Load More Comments
    Janelle Collard
    Community Member
    Premium
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I love these stories, especially since the bean counters apparently didn't think ahead to imagine what *could* happen if the workers weren't getting paid for their work. Well done, OP! 👍

    Tabitha
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    And the suits NEVER go down to the floor and talk to the people who would actually be affected by their “bright” ideas. If they did, and they had half a brain, they would never present those ideas to the bigger suits.

    Load More Replies...
    KrazyChiMama
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I worked at an extremely busy cardiology practice for almost 20 years. Every time they hired a new manager they’d always try to make changes to our schedules. Many thought we could fit more testing patients in our schedule. If you only look at it from the scheduling module it you see there are gaps in all our schedules. Those were there for a reason, and because the managers were not the ones doing the procedures they did not understand why the gaps were there. They are there for emergencies!One manager decided to take it upon themselves to add patients on to my schedule and eliminate my gaps. It took exactly one day 1/2 of a shift for her to realize the mistake she made. My second patient of the day developed chest pains during his stress test and needed extended monitoring until one of the doctors could break away from the hospital to come back to the office to see him. This pushed back my schedule by nearly two hours. After the chaos I walked into her office and before I could say anything she was already apologizing. The next day my gaps were put back in place. If it isn’t broke don’t try and fix it!

    Janine Randall
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I managed Dr's offices. Whenever I was hired to "fix" things (usually lack of income), I made sure I knew, and worked, as many of the jobs as I could. Not clinical, not why I was hired. Everyone would worry I'd come in and change stuff. Never understood why people would go in and change things without knowing how it effected the whole practice.

    Load More Replies...
    Apatheist Account2
    Community Member
    3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    My first redundancy was caused by them employing a time and motion person at a cost of £28000. In theory they saved £8000 in salaries (this was 1984, 2 of us on 4k each); but my responsibilities moved to another department, which was more highly paid (computing rather than statistics), I got an internal transfer and ended up being paid 50% more than I had been in the original job, so they actually only saved £6000.

    Load More Comments
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