The workplace is a delicate balance between structure and flexibility, but when a manager becomes overly obsessed with rules, the balance can tip in a hurry.

What started as a minor misstep quickly became an all-out war against outdated handbook regulations in an amusing show of malicious compliance!

You’ll want to read on for this one!

Boss said to follow the rulebook to the letter? Okay, enjoy the chaos.

I work in a medium-sized office with a very… let’s say, meticulous manager.

We have a company handbook that’s easily 300 pages, and nobody has probably ever read it cover to cover.

Employees never really took the handbook seriously.

It has a lot of old and outdated rules, which we all ignore in favor of common sense.

Last week, someone made a minor mistake that was against one of the obscure rules.

Instead of addressing the specific issue, our boss decided to have a meeting.

The boss decided from that point on, this handbook was law.

He proudly announced that from now on, we would follow the handbook rules to the absolute letter, no exceptions.

Cue malicious compliance.

1. Break Time Overload: Our handbook says we’re entitled to a 10-minute break for every hour worked. Instead of the usual one-hour lunch and two 15-minute breaks, we all started taking eight separate 10-minute breaks throughout the day. Productivity plummeted.
2. Dress Code Chaos: Apparently, there was a rule saying ties were mandatory, but it didn’t specify for whom. The women in the office started wearing the most outrageous ties they could find—neon, sequined, ties with cats on them—you name it.
3. Printer Madness: The rulebook states every document should be printed in triplicate. The printers were constantly jamming and running out of paper. The office looked like a paper factory explosion.
4. Email Explosion: There’s a clause about CC’ing supervisors on every email. Our boss’s inbox was flooded to the point of crashing.
5. Over-Communication: A rule mentioned that any change, however minor, should be communicated to the entire team. Got a new pen? Sent an announcement. Moved your chair? Announcement. The constant pinging of email notifications became a hilarious office song.

After all of this, the manager began to come to his senses.

By the third day, our manager was at his wit’s end.

The entire office was barely functioning, and he knew he was the cause.

On Friday, he called another meeting to announce that maybe we should use our best judgment and not rely solely on the handbook.

The handbook is currently under revision.

Play dumb games, win dumb prizes!

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s an inspiring story of coworkers banding together against injustice!

There is something to be said for a leader who recognizes their mistakes.

This storytelling definitely painted a picture!

These employees are all about rules now!

The handbook may have been revised, but the office’s sense of humor was left very much intact.

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.