September 22, 2025 at 10:35 pm

A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldn’t Work Overtime Anymore, So They’d Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

by Matthew Gilligan

man with his feet on his desk

Shutterstock/Reddit

Whatever you say, boss…

Sometimes in a working environment, that’s really all you can say when a boss gives you a direct order…

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with it!

Check out what this worker did when a supervisor told them they weren’t allowed to work overtime anymore.

Overtime is no longer allowed? Okay!

“Owner: Jack

Direct Supervisor: Will

Colleague: Paula

Myself

Backstory:

I began working payroll at 16 years old. I am incredibly good with numbers, as well as dealing with clients. Suffice it to say I am wonderful at what I do.

Many years ago I began working with a very small payroll company with only 4 workers. I really liked the owner, Jack, and honestly still do. He is a decent dude. I also really liked the work and the clients.

But…

However, I was not fond of Paula or Will. Paula missed so much work and I’m pretty sure no one has 5 grandfathers that passed away within 3 years. She doesn’t figure much into this story, other than to showcase that she was not a good employee.

Will was the worst supervisor I have ever had. He took smoke breaks every 30 minutes, he always thought he was right, he was very inappropriate to women and minorities, and boy, he loved to talk.

There were times where he was still talking to a client who had hung up 30 minutes prior (no I am not exaggerating). However, he was the owner’s father in law whose prior business went bankrupt. Basically, he was never going to be fired.

In that work setting I absolutely shined. I was the best employee by a huge margin.

Something had to be done!

The malicious compliance:

Will calls me into his office and lets me know that I am getting too much overtime. This was a small business and I needed to be careful. Now, I never took much overtime.

Overall I usually had around 2 – 5 minutes by the end of the week. Simply because I lived 5 minutes away and clocked in when I got in and settled, even if it was a minute early. I agreed to the new rule with a bit of glee.

From then on if I got in early I would get ready to clock in and then play on my phone or read for one minute before clocking in. This drove Will absolutely crazy.

LOL.

After I did this for a few days he called me back into his office. He told me about the good old days when people would work even without pay in order to excel at life.

I politely reminded him that we were a payroll company so he should be aware that it is illegal to not pay workers for time worked. From that point on he would simply mutter under his breath and glare at me.

The aftermath:

After 3 – 4 weeks the owner, Jack, calls me into his office. Apparently Will had been complaining about me, about how I wasn’t working hard, and was being disrespectful.

Here’s the deal…

I explained the situation to him and pointed out that no clients had ever been unhappy with me, that I showed up to work every day on time, and that I had the most duties with the least problems. Basically, I reminded him I was his only good employee.

Jack was a little shocked/annoyed that my tiny amount of overtime was the reason I was sitting in his office.

He told me that if I needed it I could have up to 30 minutes of overtime without needing it to be approved, and he also gave me a small raise for being such a hard worker.

Finally, he told me that if Will ever gave me another rule that I disagreed with I should go directly to him.

Jack then called Will into his office and I heard quite a bit of yelling. When Will came back out he looked like he had just sucked a lemon.

It is my fondest memory of Will.”

Let’s see what readers had to say about this.

This person had a lot to say.

Screenshot 2025 08 27 at 11.55.01 AM A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldnt Work Overtime Anymore, So Theyd Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

Another individual chimed in.

Screenshot 2025 08 27 at 11.55.26 AM A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldnt Work Overtime Anymore, So Theyd Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

This Reddit user spoke up.

Screenshot 2025 08 27 at 11.55.26 AM A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldnt Work Overtime Anymore, So Theyd Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

Another person shared their thoughts.

Screenshot 2025 08 27 at 11.55.40 AM A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldnt Work Overtime Anymore, So Theyd Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

And this individual weighed in.

Screenshot 2025 08 27 at 11.56.02 AM A Micromanaging Supervisor Told Them They Couldnt Work Overtime Anymore, So Theyd Show Up A Bit Early And Do Nothing Before Their Shift Started

They got an A+ in malicious compliance!

And we love the story.

Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.