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Tiny purchases can reveal huge bureaucracy.

This company proves it with a mouse.

So when an employee requests one, the CFO demands written justification.

The math gets ridiculous fast.

See why the paperwork ended up costing more than the mouse.

Justify the purchase of a mouse

I started in 1995 with a company doing a job that required me to use Photoshop.

The company laptop, IBM Thinkpad, came with a built in touchpad with the little red button sticking up on the keypad and no mouse.

This man requested a mouse.

When I requested one, I was told by the C.F.O. that I needed to write up a justification for the expense.

It was a 25-year-old company with 350 employees.

It had 8 million dollar year.

And I have to justify a $15 purchase.

He spent one hour writing a letter to justify the request.

So I justified it.

I wasted an hour writing a one-page justification explaining how I could get more work done.

They paid me $22 to explain why they needed to spend $15.

At least he ended up getting his mouse!

Let’s find out how others reacted to this story on Reddit.

This person shares an inspiring workplace story.

This person shares another memorable experience.

Here’s another ideal workplace.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a widow who returned to a store to thank employees for their kindness to her late husband.

Finally, this user loves how he wasted their time.

OP spent about an hour writing a full justification for a basic $15 mouse, exactly as the CFO requested.

That hour cost the company roughly $22 in wages, meaning they spent more debating the purchase than the mouse itself.

They saved $15 by spending $22 to think about it.