Workplaces thrive on structure, but the wrong kind of leadership can turn rules into roadblocks.

When a by-the-book boss refused to listen to reason, they ended up writing themselves into a corner.

Read on for the full story!

Not my task, not my problem.

At the end of December, my old boss stepped down due to going to school, and our new boss took over.

All of us were nervous, as our old boss was not exactly the greatest, and the replacement was a stickler for the rules.

One employee soon noticed a problem with a job assignment.

I noticed an issue with some of the task assignments in the first week of January.

The new boss had assigned—let’s call them Eric—a task that was impossible for them to do due to their height.

We are required to take photos of equipment gauges for the client, and said gauges were out of Eric’s reach.

They tried to give their boss a heads-up, but she refused to listen.

I called the new boss regarding the issue and informed them that I would gladly make sure the task got done so that the company would not get fined for incomplete tasks.

The boss told me not to do the task and that Eric should be able to handle it.

I said “okay,” put the phone down, and never thought of the issue again.

But it turns out Eric didn’t handle it.

Three days ago, in the app we use to communicate as a team, the boss was furious.

Several tasks had not been completed, and they needed reasons as to why.

If you remember back to the start of January, I had asked my boss if I could take the task off someone else’s hands to ensure it was done.

Ironically, one of those unfinished weekly tasks was the very one I had offered to do.

It turns out, things had become quite a mess.

The others were left incomplete because everyone had been shuffled around due to the termination of a co-worker, and not everyone had been trained on the tasks they were assigned.

Normally, I avoid responding to posts or comments in that app.

I only use it to grab my work schedule and then log out for the rest of the week.

I even have the app’s notifications disabled.

But this time, this employee had something to say.

However, she was blaming the team for not getting the tasks done and looking to scapegoat people.

So, for the first time, I decided to just let go and call out her hypocritical self.

Time to pull out the receipts.

I responded, stating:

“At the beginning of January, I offered to do said task for you. You told me not to. I told you why I should do said task. You still told me not to, and now, because said task is not done, you are in a state of panic. Not my task, not my problem.”

The boss is now maliciously ignoring my calls and avoids eye contact with me completely.

Now the truth is out there for everyone to see.

Everyone, including the client, knows I offered to complete those tasks, and she literally has nothing to say to defend herself.

Perhaps next time, she will listen to what I have to say.

Heaven forbid a leader admit their mistake.

Let’s see what Reddit had to say.

It’s clear this new boss has a lot of learning to do.

There are almost always consequences for leaders who refuse to listen to those below them.

This employee definitely put their manager in her place, but they should still watch their back.

Perhaps there was an easier solution all along?

This hot shot manager should have learned an important lesson from all this: Just because someone’s below you, doesn’t mean they’re beneath you.

Always listen to what your employees have to say!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.