Some people don’t realize what they’re asking for until they get it.

So, what would you do if your manager told you to stop chatting with your coworkers even though everyone else in the office did it?

Would you nod along and quietly comply?

Or would you make sure they understood exactly what their new rule would look like?

In the following story, one employee finds herself in this exact situation and takes her manager’s feedback very literally.

Here’s how it all went down.

Chatterbox

Years ago, I was working in an office.

I had developed a close friendship with my coworker, and we were literally facing each other due to a gap in the cubicle, and we would chat most of the day.

Everyone chatted with coworkers; it was a friendly space.

We mostly stayed within our “pod,” but because of this gap in the wall, me and this other chick became close and chatted more.

The person next to me didn’t like that at all.

She complained to the manager, who pulled us both in and said that we were talking too much and that it was annoying people.

The complainer soon learned they had made a mistake.

So we went into radio silence.

A few days later, the complainer tried striking up a conversation with me.

I simply said, “Sorry, I can’t talk at work because I’m too annoying,” loud enough for the manager to hear.

I said that every time someone tried to talk to me from then on out.

A few days later, I was called back into the manager’s office and told I’d proved my point and could return to how things were.

Too funny! The neighbor couldn’t have seen that coming.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit relate to this situation.

This person did a similar thing.

Here’s someone who had issues with tea stains.

According to this person, they’d have gone a step further.

The story is inspiring for this reader.

This was so well-played!

Next time, the manager will choose his battles more wisely.

If you liked this post, check out this story about an employee who got revenge on a co-worker who kept grading their work suspiciously low.