Imagine working in construction, and one problem after another happens. If the foreman on the project tried to blame you for all of the problems, would you accept it, prove him wrong, or change the narrative to blame him for the problems?

In this story, one tradesman is in this exact situation, and he is determined to prove that he is not the problem.

Keep reading for all the details.

Construction Malicious Compliance

First, a bit of backstory: I work as a tradesman all across the city I live near.

For those unfamiliar with the construction industry in the US, a general contractor bids a job; then subcontracts it out to different companies to fulfill the needs of the job. ie electricians, mechanical, plumber, etc I am a 3rd tier sub – meaning a sub of a sub of a sub.

As the saying goes, it flows downhill. When a job goes poorly due to any issue, the blame usually falls on the people who do all the work.

One job had a lot of problems.

Lets set the stage: I was working on a massive project as the foreman for my company.

Everything that could go wrong with this job did. Delayed materials, delayed schedules, drawings were wrong, so on so forth.

When jobs go this wrong, everyone starts looking for a scape goat. Unfortunately, I started getting into the sights of the 1st tier sub.

It got really bad!

I would get consistent harassment from the foreman of their company. Phone calls at all hours of the day became commonplace.

This dude had it out for me so hard that I would constantly get forwarded emails from my boss where the 1st tier sub foreman would be trashing me, specifically me, to the entire construction management team; claiming I was the sole reason this job was behind: despite the fact that nearly every trade was behind despite the job being open 24 hours.

It all came to a head when the 1st tier foreman laid into me one day, screaming at me to ‘do my freaking job’ and demanded that I go to the progress meeting the next day. You know, the meeting where everyone is in suits. The meeting where they crucify their scapegoats.

I called my boss, who basically said to just lay down and accepted the coming storm

He decided to prove he wasn’t the problem.

Now, I am an easy going dude. Be civil to me, I’m civil to you. Even when people are mean, I always stayed professional. But this tipped me over the edge.

Cue the malicious compliance.

I went into a rage and red bull induced spree of working for nearly 24 hours straight and “did my freaking job”. I got every component in the job (with the help of my crew) to where I was waiting on specifically the 1st tier sub. I even did some of the 2nd tier subs work just so it was waiting on the 1st tier sub.

Cut to the meeting next day where every big whig is sitting down.

The foreman kept trying to point blame at OP.

The meeting begins with the super asking about 1st tier subs progress, to which he gives a smile and lays it down.

Foreman: “I’m waiting on (me) for x!”

Rooms looks at me. I politely say,

Me: ” Actually foreman, I’m waiting on you to finish installation of x.”

Look of annoyance from foreman “Well I’m also waiting on y”

” oh no sir, their must be confusion. That’s done. I’m actually waiting on you for z”

The foreman had nobody to blame.

This went on hours.

The foreman got so sheepish and meek that the super had to start asking about the status of the project. All of which were waiting on said foreman to do work.

By the end of it, this rather heavyset jerk was in full retreat. Shoulders slouched, face red, and showing a complete display of shame.

He had to have the last word!

I had taken a backseat after a while, but chimed in right at the very end when asked if there were any further comments about the state of the job.

To which I looked at the foreman and said, “Maybe the foreman should focus on his own work, and do his job”

He was not happy.

But he never talked to me again. I was able to complete most of the project in peace following the formal chain of command. It went rather smoothly after that.

He did a good job proving that he wasn’t actually the problem. His malicious compliance seemed quite effective.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person loved the malicious compliance.

Another person applauds a job well done.

A construction worker weighs in.

Here’s another construction worker’s perspective.

Playing the blame game can backfire.

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.