Sometimes, when someone is put in charge of other people, they rise to the occasion.

Other times, they fail completely.

What would you do if the assistant manager was put in charge of a major project and he began micromanaging everything you do, resulting in tons of wasted time?

That is the situation the technician in this story was in, so she made sure to get her work done and then sat around until the assistant manager’s boss noticed and she told him exactly what was happening.

“Boss” makes me rush my work, so I have other plans…

I used to work for a holiday company a few years ago, alright company but the management team I was working for left something to be desired.

I worked in entertainment, but in a technical role.

Essentially, I was in charge of lighting and sound for a midsize (up to 2000 people) venue.

Most of the year it was a 1 person job, with a few bits of help from the other entertainment staff, but there was one point in the year that was really challenging.

The company I worked with produced 3 “finale” event weekends, where competitions that were run over the course of the year on the multiple sites would have their grand finals, a big celebration etc and were generally a great excuse for us to have a few drinks after a lot of chaos.

The usual routine was that a few staff from other sites would come to us, help with the prep and run the weekend with us.

This seems like a fun, and fair, arrangement.

I would normally get a couple of people to help me set up the tech that was coming in as the budgets were huge and the demands were ridiculous.

This particular year my manager took a leave of absence and I was left with the assistant manager (AM).

He was, for want of a better phrase, lacking, in the management department and was desperately trying to prove himself to be either the boss or manly.

Some people are weird about this type of thing.

Personally, I think that it was because his job was singing and dancing, he took every chance he could to show he was a man (most dancers I know don’t do this, but he was a special case).

Now my job was the closest thing to manly in the department (think rigging , lifting things, technically heavy etc), so I was a target of his quite a few times.

Anyway just before this all kicks off he tells me that he’s not giving me anyone to help me this year set up.

Not much I can do about this, so I realize I’ve basically got the work of 3 people to do within a week, with no room for error.

She seems like a very efficient worker.

So, I spend about 20 minutes in our shared office working out a schedule for myself, so that I had enough time to do everything.

It meant that was working stupid hours, but it left me with time for food breaks etc and I was young, so I thought who cares!

Now, if you’ve ever done any kind of theatre or events work, you’ll know that one of the toughest things to do is find time to work on stage while people want to rehearse.

I’d even factored this in, but this meant that I was taking breaks while the casts were rehearsing.

This sounds like a smart way to schedule things.

I’d worked out my schedule with the choreographers in mind so that every day bar one I would take my breaks differently to the dancers so I could work on stage when they weren’t there.

That one day I was taking my break at the same time was Wednesday.

So, Wednesday comes and I’m well ahead of schedule.

My AM walks up to me and lets me know that he thinks I’m behind.

I explain that I’m not, in fact I’m far ahead and things were going well.

He “disagrees” and tells me that he needs me to work through my dinner break on stage and that I would get some time later when he and the dancers were rehearsing.

He wanted me to do something about lighting I think, but with the majority of the equipment I had hired not coming to the next day it was pointless me doing anything that break.

I tried to explain that I had plans etc for my break, but it didn’t matter.

He put his foot down and was adamant I worked as long as I could.

When I brought up the whole “not having a break in 6 hours” thing he claimed that he would give me a break when the dancers returned in an hour or so, but until they started rehearsing I was to continue working.

I was young and slightly intimidated so I felt I didn’t have a choice, so reluctantly I agreed.

Bad managers can be so aggravating.

I was mad, tired, and hungry, and had been working my butt off to get this event ready on my own.

I set myself up doing pyro instead as it was a job I was going to do Friday as the last job, and it wasn’t what he asked me to do so it was a little passive aggressive victory for me.

I watched the clock as his and the dancers 1 hour break turned into a 2- & 1/2-hour break.

I’d done my work (it’s amazing how motivated you can be when you’re angry) and was waiting for them to arrive.

I was about to head out for food myself when he saunters in and asks where I’m going.

When I tell him that I’m done with the jobs I can do on stage and I’m getting food he stopped me and demanded that I stay for his rehearsal to operate the music for him.

I was furious, tired, annoyed. And frankly lost for words.

I walked out got some food, took 20 minutes for myself and came back to him yelling at me.

Words cannot describe how useless this guy was.

Anyway, flash forward to the Friday and my act of malicious compliance.

She is ahead of schedule but still makes her come in early?

I completed my work early on Thursday and so was ready to go.

I was already ahead and my extra time on Weds really helped.

He had insisted that I was there at 9AM that day ready to go and I was.

So, I sat in the office for a while, grabbed a snack or two and waited for someone else to come in.

No one else did for another hour.

He’d given the rest of the department an extra sleep in, but not told me.

Fine. Not an issue.

He eventually wanders in, asks what I’m up to and I give him a vague answer.

And here is where the malicious compliance comes in.

He insisted that I stay around all day to get ready for the opening evening.

I wasn’t allowed to leave site and he expected me to be either working on the events or in the office.

In most places, lunch breaks are legally required.

When I asked about when I can have lunch (so I can plan my time) he told me he would tell me when, and if all the work was done.

The head of entertainment and the head of the business were coming around that afternoon, so he wanted to make a good impression.

I didn’t comment but made a plan

After doing my general safety checks and after making sure everything was working as it should be (a grand total of 30 minutes work) I sat in my office chair, grabbed his newspaper and read it.

Over and over.

I purposely sat in my chair doing nothing at all.

He didn’t specify what I was meant to be doing in the office, so I took it as a time to relax and watch a bit of Sky TV.

I hope he can dance, because this guy can’t manage.

He doesn’t notice me for about 3 hours as he’s running around trying to do his job and the bits he forgot, that was until he heard the management team were on their way.

He comes over asking what I’m up to. I tell him that I’m doing as he asked me to stay in the office.

He told me to get the venue ready or be in the office, so that’s what I’m doing.

Starting to panic he told me to go and do something for the events (to essentially look busy).

It went something like this:

Basically she says yes, she has done it all.

“Have you done the lights?…”

“yep”

“what about…”

“I’ve got nothing to do. Really, nothing… I’ve been ahead of schedule all week”

“But how?”

“Remember that evening you told me to work when I didn’t need to? Well the work I was going to do now I did then, so I have nothing to do now.”

“Bob (head of entertainment – not real name) is on their way down now so you need to make sure you’re doing something”

“OK, will do.”

Pretending to be busy is so annoying.

I put his paper down, and started neatening my desk and filling out my timesheet. You know that kind of “busywork” where you look like you’re doing something, but moments later I was back watching TV.

If he wants me to be in the office doing something. I will do… He didn’t specify what.

A few minutes later the head of entertainment walks through the door. Seeing me watching TV he asks me what I’m doing.

I fill him in on the situation with me being ahead of schedule earlier in the week, being ordered by AM to work extra time on the weds and working nearly 10 hours straight by order of the AM without an authorized break.

I fill him in the AM’s antics overall and I tell him that this put me well ahead of schedule, and that today the AM called me in earlier than everyone else and told me to be out there getting things ready or to be in the office.

I wasn’t allowed to leave the office and had nothing left to do so I was waiting for instruction, essentially being on call for the AM if he found me any extra work to do.

Wow, that is a lot of overtime.

I pointed out at that the hours that I’d worked that week and that as I was effectively on call for the AM I was recording each and every one of the hours I was sitting in the office that morning as work (pushing at least 80 predicted hours for that week and rising if he kept me there till the end of that day without a break).

As one of the slightly better paid members of staff there it was costing the company a fair bit just to have me sit there and watch TV.

Bob was annoyed. Really annoyed. Annoyed that the AM had broken various employment laws, forced me to work extra time and had me effectively now being paid to sit in the office and do nothing because the AM couldn’t manage his team right.

He smiled at me and thanked me for my hard work and told me to grab a long lunch while he chatted with the AM.

The AM huffed and puffed and was clearly in a foul mood, but ignored me for the rest of the weekend (thank God!).

Turns out he basically got chewed out about the legality of what he had done, how I could theoretically have grounds to sue the company and how he needed to treat his staff better without costing the company a fortune in hours)

Sounds like everything worked out beautifully.

I must have done something right as a few months later the AM tried to threaten to leave the company if I wasn’t transferred to another site.

He was told to quit.

Meanwhile I got a few cushy jobs and a nice manager afterwards.

Why is it that when people try hard to be good managers like this, they end up doing a terrible job.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say.

Here is another theater worker.

This commenter is on to something.

Yes, truly a happy ending.

This person says the good worker is much more valuable than the manager.

Goodbye to a bad boss.

And good riddance.

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.