Whatever you say, boss…

Sometimes, that’s the only thing you can say to your supervisor when you’re up against the ropes.

A salaried employee posted a story on Reddit’s “Malicious Compliance” page that should serve as a roadmap to folks who feel like they’re being pushed around at work.

“Your working hours are 9 am to 6 pm”.

“This took place in Europe. I was a salaried employee (40hr/week).

I left that job about 10 months after the “event” took place. I didn’t get into trouble and nobody tried to fire me. My probation period was over and we have employment laws regarding constructive dismissal, so I knew their hands were tied.

It all started with a new job.

About four years back, I started a new banking job. All was well, just that the management was pretty strict with timekeeping, which was weird as we were back office (my experience was in a similar field at another bank, and we had flexible schedules and received time in lieu). But rules are rules, so I followed them. I learnt my tasks and got to know the wider team.

And they realized someone wasn’t a big fan of theirs.

Anyway, about four months in, I started to realise my senior manager didn’t like me. I’m pretty assertive as a person, and I do know how to stand up for myself. He didn’t like it. I would speak up during the meetings, ask questions, give suggestions, and so on, while the team would stay quiet.

The week everything went south, I was working overtime, which was (obviously) unpaid.

On Thursday, I did nearly two hours of overtime.

On Friday, I thought I’ll leave a few minutes early as I was done for the week.

My manager was off. I left 10 minutes early.

Uh oh. It was time for a conversation with the boss.

On Monday, I come to work, and I got called into a meeting straight away.

There were three of us in the room: myself, my manager, and my senior manager.

Our conversation went as follows:

My manager (MM): I heard you left work early on Friday

Me: I did. I left 10 minutes early.

MM: did you ask for permission to leave early?

Me: it was 10 minutes. You know I did about 4 hours of overtime last week. Why are we having this conversation?

Senior Manager (SM): because you left early without asking for permission. As a senior, you should be setting an example for the rest of the team.

Me: Is this a joke?

SM: Your working hours are 9 am to 6 pm, not 9 am to 5:50 pm. You shouldn’t leave early without asking for your manager or my permission first. Is that clear?

Me: Got it. It’s perfectly clear.

No problem!

So it was time to adhere to strict working hours.

I listened and started coming into the office at 9 am and leaving at 6 pm on the dot. At first, they didn’t realise what was happening, but the week after the meeting was the last week of the month. And let’s say the last week of the month was… intense. Especially the final day.

The reports had to be completed, signed off, and submitted before the month’s end. We covered multiple jurisdictions and would deal with Southeast Asia in the morning and the Americas in the evening. Our team was “expected” to work overtime due to this.

Here comes Friday, the last day of the month. Showtime!

It was time to prove their point.

I’m at my desk at 9 am sharp. Most of the team have already been at the office for at least an hour. I, of course, have a cup of coffee from the cafeteria because I was a bit early. My manager looks at me and raises his eyebrow, but he doesn’t say anything.

Work work work. Break time (we had two 20 minute paid breaks and 1-hour unpaid lunch). I’m the only person to go on my break.

Lunchtime. Everyone was eating at their desks, while I go to meet my friends for lunch. On the second break, I once again leave my workplace and go for a short stroll around.

And then it was time to teach the boss a lesson!

Back to work. About a quarter to 6 pm, I get a call from one of the senior managers in the US. She needs the report amended. There were 4 of us on that call. I’m doing the amendments as we speak and closely monitoring the time. I see it’s two minutes to 6 pm… One minute… 6 pm.

SM2: *rambling about the report

Me: apologies, but I have to stop you right here

SM2: yes?

Me: It’s 6 pm here. My day is over.

SM2: Huh?

Me: As per my management, my working hours are 9 am to 6 pm, so I must leave now. Have a great weekend, and we’ll catch up on Monday!

See ya later!

I logged off, got my coat, wished everyone a great weekend, and left. It was 6:04 pm. Both my manager and my senior manager were dumbfounded by what has happened. Looking pale, and stare at me in disbelief. It was a glorious sight.

I wanted to apologise to my senior manager that I wasn’t able to leave at 6 pm on the dot, but I thought that would have been way too passive-aggressive, so I just left.

And a new precedent was set!

I relaxed the rule a bit after a few months. Yet, I never did more than 30 minutes of overtime. Ironically, once my stakeholders understood that I will not be available for 10+ hours, they started collaborating earlier in the month. I would have most of my reports done and submitted by the last day of the month.”

Here’s what people had to say.

This person said they can get behind these actions.

One reader talked about an old manager they had.

This Reddit user said this malicious compliance was DELICIOUS.

And one person was very impressed by this.

Over and out!

This was pretty impressive!