Sometimes following orders works in your favor!

Imagine working for a horrible micromanaging boss who doesn’t trust you to do your job and wants to approve everything you do before you send it to a client. Would you try to explain why your boss’s logic is illogical, or would you follow orders and let her find out for herself?

This woman shares how she did exactly what her manager asked her to do and taught the manager a valuable lesson!

Check out the full story!

You want to review every client interaction? Perfect, your Inbox is about to blow up

I’ve been working at this small marketing agency for just over a year now.

It’s my first “real” job after college, and I’ve been thrilled to have actual clients and responsibilities.

Well, I was thrilled until we got a new account manager, Debbie (not her real name, obviously).

This is where it gets bad…

Debbie came from one of those corporate mega-agencies where apparently they micromanage the living daylights out of everyone.

From day one, she had “concerns” about my communication style with clients.

Mind you, I’d been praised by these same clients for being responsive and helpful.

Last month, after I sent what I thought was a perfectly normal email to our biggest client about a small scheduling change, Debbie called an emergency meeting.

She was being unreasonable…

“From now on, I need to approve ALL client communications before they go out,” she announced with that fake smile managers use when they’re being unreasonable but pretending they’re helping you. “Everything. Emails, phone call notes, text messages, meeting agendas. Send them to me first for review.”

When I pointed out that this would slow down our response times, she just waved her hand dismissively. “It’s about quality control. Better to be right than fast.”

Fine. You want ALL communications? You got it.

I started that very afternoon. Every. Single. Thing.

She knew she had to follow orders…

If a client asked what time a call was scheduled, I drafted an email response and sent it to Debbie. “Awaiting your approval on this time confirmation.”

If a client texted asking for a quick file, I’d screenshot it and email Debbie. “Please approve my response to this text message.”

I even created a special folder in my drafts called “Awaiting Debbie’s Approval” and set up an automated counter.

By the end of day one, I had sent her 17 approval requests.

By the end of week one, it was over 100.

The best part?

Debbie was unable to keep a check of everything!

I stopped answering my phone when clients called. Instead, I’d let it go to voicemail, then email Debbie: “Client X called about Y. My proposed response is attached. Please approve.”

After about two weeks, Debbie was drowning. She’d fallen behind on approving my communications, which meant clients weren’t getting responses.

They started escalating to her directly, which doubled her workload.

The breaking point came when our biggest client emailed both of us complaining about delays.

I responded to the client with: “I’ve forwarded your concerns to Debbie for approval of my response. Once approved, I’ll get back to you promptly.”

UH OH…

The next morning, Debbie stopped by my desk looking exhausted.

“I think we need to adjust our approval process,” she said, trying to maintain her corporate dignity. “Moving forward, just use your judgment for routine communications. Only send me things that involve project scope, timeline changes, or budget discussions.”

“Are you sure?” I asked innocently. “I have about 30 draft responses waiting for your review right now.”

She visibly cringed. “That won’t be necessary anymore.”

The icing on top!

I’ve been happily sending emails without approval for two weeks now.

Debbie barely makes eye contact in the hallway, and honestly, that’s fine by me.

The best part?

My quarterly review is coming up, and all those approval emails are documented proof that I’ve been trying my absolute best to follow company protocol.

Sometimes malicious compliance is the best teacher.

YIKES! That was fun!

Debbie had no idea how much work she was putting on her plate!

Let’s find out what folks on Reddit think about this one.

This user is trying to understand the mindset of some managers…

This user appreciates the way this woman handled the situation…

This user knows how to deal with such situations…

That’s a funny one!

That’s right! This user knows the manager learned a valuable lesson.

Micromanagers are the worst!

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.