Catering Worker Is Told That Overtime Is Canceled, So They Comply Maliciously And Leave As Soon As Their Shift Is Over
What is the most important thing when you are appointed to a new, higher position? There are many answers, but they are all wrong. The only correct answer is that when you are promoted, it doesn’t matter if you become a president or just a usual manager, something definitely must be changed.
And it is not so important that the mechanism worked properly before your appointment, like an old Swiss watch. It doesn’t matter that the consequences of your decision may affect many employees – and you as well. After all, you are not changing for this, but simply to realize that you can do it, that you now have power to do it. That you are actually entitled to do so.
For example, a similar situation happened many years ago with one of the colleagues of the author of this post in the Reddit Malicious Compliance community. User u/scifielder’s post has become quite popular, with about 20.4K upvotes and almost 500 different comments as of today. So, let’s try to figure out what caused such popularity of the original post.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post worked at a catering company many years ago
Image credits: Clemens v. Vogelsang (not the actual image)
The case, as we have already written, was many years ago, and the author of the original post then worked in a cafeteria/catering company. Catering was more profitable, so between mealtimes, the employees were involved in various catering projects. As a result, they often had to work overtime after finishing their shifts.
Image credits: u/scifielder
When one of the employees was promoted, he immediately decided to eliminate overtime work for all the staff
Everything was perfectly fine and calm, until one of the team members was promoted. And the first decision of the newly minted manager was the elimination of any overtime work. Yes, probably in this way, the manager wanted to save the company’s money, but in any case, he made it clear to all employees – now, immediately after the end of the shift, they needed to clock out.
Image credits: u/scifielder
Moreover, the manager approached the author of this post and asked for support. The original poster was a supervisor, so the new boss wanted them to “set the right example”. Okay, no problem. Just waiting for the right opportunity…
Image credits: skillsresearch (not the actual image)
The author of the post finished their work shift, swept their card and just left, though there were lots of unfinished projects left
This right opportunity presented itself a few days later, when the entire staff was literally inundated with lots of catering projects. There came a point where our hero’s shift was over, so they just put everything down, walked to the clock and swiped their card.
Image credits: u/scifielder
When the manager saw this, he was indignant and stated that the original poster still had a lot of work left. This was followed by the answer that the manager himself forbade working overtime, and the shift was over, so now, in full accordance with the order of the higher-ups, they were going home. Setting, among other things, that very “right example” to all of their colleagues.
Image credits: u/scifielder
The very next day, the manager canceled his own order and allowed overtime work if necessary
The very next day, the manager issued a new order – now overtime work was again allowed if it was necessary to complete any projects. Apparently, the original poster notes, all the other employees of the company did the same, so the manager – the only one of them who was on salary – had to deal with projects literally alone until late.
Image credits: David Joyce (not the actual image)
People in the comments claim that when someone is promoted, it’s reasonable not to change anything for at least one month
Commenters, of course, admired the brilliant solution to this problem. By the way, according to many people in the comments, when someone is appointed a manager, it is reasonable not to change anything about the department or company’s work for at least a whole month, until one understands how things do or don’t work.
In any case, even if a person has worked in the same position for a long time, they perceive the work mechanism from the same angle, based on their current position. A managerial position, however, has a completely different viewing angle, so things may well be completely different there. Be that as it may, this is a wonderful life lesson, which, alas, is not learned by many people on the first try…
As for life lessons, we can suggest that you also read this post of ours about how a guy tried to “re-educate” his chronically late friend. And, as always, we look forward to your comments on this particular tale.
And that is how a supervisor supports their staff by leading by example.
The owner of the company I work for made over $6000000 during the pandemic. Most staff here never get enough hours nor any benefits (Canada). I will not work one second for free.
Decisions should be made based on reality, not desire. First step should always be to gather information. Observe the processes, find out why they are done that way. Time and motion them. Canvass ideas from people working the process. And find out how employees feel about the overtime. If money saving is your objective, if some want to do overtime, you may save more money by accomodating that than by hiring a new employee. A 2hr job doesn't turn into a 1hr job because you will it so. Efficiency is also not a simple thing. Coming in with pre-established ideology does not help anyone.
And that is how a supervisor supports their staff by leading by example.
The owner of the company I work for made over $6000000 during the pandemic. Most staff here never get enough hours nor any benefits (Canada). I will not work one second for free.
Decisions should be made based on reality, not desire. First step should always be to gather information. Observe the processes, find out why they are done that way. Time and motion them. Canvass ideas from people working the process. And find out how employees feel about the overtime. If money saving is your objective, if some want to do overtime, you may save more money by accomodating that than by hiring a new employee. A 2hr job doesn't turn into a 1hr job because you will it so. Efficiency is also not a simple thing. Coming in with pre-established ideology does not help anyone.
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