Some managers love strict policies — that is, until those same policies inconvenience them in some way.

One employee’s boss drew a hard line about using work computers for personal reasons.

So when the boss suddenly expected her to use her personal phone to take pictures for work, she found a way to turn the tables on her overly strict boss once and for all.

Read on for the full story.

A ten minute favor vs thousand euro bill

Once, at a company where I worked as an architect, I used the company laptop’s Photoshop to make my daughter’s birthday invitation.

It took maybe ten minutes.

But her boss didn’t like this one bit.

My boss saw it in the recent files while we were reviewing a project together and told me the computer was for work only.

I just said “Ok,” because… well, what else was I going to say.

Turns out, he wasn’t so strict when it came to monitoring her own personal devices.

That same week, I traveled to another city to survey a building.

I did everything with the tape measure and laser the company provided.

When I got back, he asked if I had already downloaded the photos, because he wanted to see the inside of the building.

This was her chance to get something she’d been wanting for a long time.

I told him I hadn’t taken any photos, since my phone was personal.

He was furious on the inside, but couldn’t show it, because months earlier I had asked the company for a work phone and they had refused.

The next day, a brand new Samsung appeared on my desk.

And off I went again to the same city, to take the photos, with the company paying for flights, hotel, and all the doubled expenses.

Way to stick it to the man!

What did Reddit think?

This commenter has quite a few thoughts on work phones.

When your boss just won’t listen, maliciously complying usually helps.

This commenter would have been even more blunt.

If a company ever has legal trouble, it’s best for employees to have separate work phones.

And that’s the story of how her boss never bothered her about personal devices again!

Funny how fast a boss changes their tune when the inconvenience lands on their own desk.

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