Imagine having a job that requires specialized training you can only get at that job. If you were creating a training manual for this job, would you make it as short as possible or as thorough as possible?

In this story, one employee is in this situation and goes for the second option. The problem is that the supervisor thinks it’s way too long. Let’s read all about it.

Supervisor: the manual is too long

Trainer for a desk job with tons of technical components. (Well, I was. I got promoted.) You can’t walk off the street and do the job. You have to have specialized training, that I created.

The phone rings. It’s the day shift supervisor for the department I used to train for.

“96 pages?!!!!” She screeches. “That’s way too long! There’s no way to condense that?!!”

Still. Screeching.

OP was really upset.

And like a freaking moron, I start to explain.

“But 96 pages?! No wonder people keep leaving!”

Here is where I see red and I somehow manage to get off the phone without losing my mind.

The manual is not the problem.

And y’all get to hear what I wanted to say:

No, you dumb bint. There’s no way to shorten it. This is a niche field, with programs no one has heard of outside the industry, used in a way no one outside the department would know. It can’t be shortened.

First of all, this is the first time you’ve ever looked at the training manual for your department? It’s been completed for TWO FREAKING YEARS. The time for giving me feedback on the thing ended TWO YEARS AGO. But this explains a lot. Like why you were useless when reporting we had hired a dud. Why you kept making excuses that they were neeeeeeeeeew.

Second of all, my manual is emphatically NOT why we have high turnover. My manual lowered turnover, shortened drastically training time, decreased errors, and got you a more knowledgeable workforce.

OP was trying to be helpful.

Turnover is still higher than goal because the pay is bad, and you’re an unprofessional, tantrum-prone, favorites-playing, petty WITCH.

I didn’t even have to update it. I did it because I’m the only technical writer in the company, and it needed updating. Her department’s training is far superior to any other in the company.

Ungrateful cow.

Guess I’ll be taking my manager’s advice to simply dump the nonsense in my replacements’ lap, and focus on my new duties. I wanted to make sure the transition went smoothly, I really did.

OP was being thorough, but the supervisor found it overwhelming.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

One person doesn’t think the manual sounds too long.

Here’s a funny idea!

This person has a hope for the future.

Another person shares how long their training manual is.

Some people would rather complain than read.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about an employee who tried to warn their bosses they couldn’t meet a delivery deadline, but they refused to listen.