Workplace organization can make a huge difference in efficiency, but not everyone sees it that way.

When an employee tried to clean up the chaos around the office, their boss saw it as a threat rather than a solution.

But eventually, this boss found himself on the losing end of his own disarray.

Read on for the full story.

Boss got mad at me for “wasting time” organizing. How I realized my job wastes more money than I make:

Spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for pens, important keys, and work essentials yesterday. In fact, that’s every day for the last year.

Spent the last 15 minutes of work yesterday organizing our two main (only) drawers that were cramped with things from over the year and making sure daily essentials were easily accessible.

This conscientious employee wanted to make the most of their time, even when they weren’t busy.

Came into work today, typical day, things got super slow, so I continued my organizing efforts.

Found hundreds of dollars in equipment that had been forgotten over the years, but mostly trash I discarded.

Took about an hour in between pausing to take care of immediate things.

But surprisingly, their boss wasn’t happy with this at all.

I was almost finished when Boss comes over and starts haphazardly “organizing” things, basically complaining I’m being too thorough and that we weren’t going to be using this precious time to organize.

I asked if everything was okay and got snapped at as Boss swept what was left to organize back into the drawer.

So they did exactly what their boss asked, even though it was much less productive.

I then spent the next 20 minutes doing nothing, expecting the theatrics to be followed by what was supposedly so much more important.

Twenty. Minutes.

It would’ve taken me less than ten to finish organizing while not having any further instruction.

Then the employee see something in the mess that the boss would probably want to know about.

I open the drawer, messy once more, and see Boss’s phone. I closed the drawer.

I mean, this is the level of organization we aspire for, right?

Who am I to waste time questioning this?

But they decided to just not say anything.

Boss eventually gives me a sheet to check inventories with. I haven’t been trained on this particular task, I make that clear, but I’m barked at about how simple it is.

The sheet doesn’t make any sense, so eventually, Boss comes over and starts trying to storm through it.

Oh? Wrong sheet?

Man, if only we were organized.

Soon other consequences of the boss’ mismanagement became clear.

Eventually, we get to the end, and we’re missing hundreds of dollars in inventory.

Boss had been “helping,” so I clearly state that I had approached my task carefully, one by one, in order, with double-checks, and I knew I hadn’t messed up.

Then he started looking for his phone.

Eventually, Boss asks if I’ve seen their phone. I say yes.

Where?

You organized it. Don’t you remember?

Boss barks at me with the same question.

I say they swept it into the drawer with everything else.

Why should the employee bother helping them find it?

Boss says they don’t remember that, and I say nothing as Boss returns to their office.

Why didn’t I say anything? It was all on camera anyway, in the perfect spot actually.

I’m quitting this job shortly, so I didn’t feel the need to make it a big deal.

Some people will do just about anything to avoid admitting they were wrong!

What did Reddit think?

Some companies’ priorities are all sorts of out of wack.

It seems like this boss is about as short-sided as he is hot-headed.

Refusing to evolve and get better is the downfall of many companies.

In the end, the only thing more disorganized than the office was the boss’s approach to managing it.

But the employee’s quiet rebellion proved that sometimes it’s the little details that make all the difference.

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.