There’s a page on Reddit called “Malicious Compliance” where people share their very interesting stories and we’re here to check out another one today.
It has to do with work and a boss who seems like a real pain in…well, you know.
Let’s check out the story and what folks on Reddit had to say about it.
Start now!
Only Take Breaks When I Tell You to. Sure, No Problem.
“I used to work at a call center where we would get flooded with calls constantly.
This is a story of how a busy bodyboss thought they understood everything since they were in charge. At the work we were given two 15 minute breaks and one 45 minute lunch break. The breaks were scheduled into our day so you could see when they would be, but this would change day by day.
My role was a bit different than the normal agents as I was specifically dealing with the higher issue calls. These calls could take up to 1 hour to complete and the caller would need to stay on the line, unless they were fine with a call back later but this was rarely the case.
Since I never knew when I would be getting these calls, my break times were a shot in the dark if I would or wouldn’t be on a call. I would just take them as soon as the call was done if they ever intersected, which they did 99% of the time.
Enter my boss. During a performance review I hit all the marks except for “Attendance”. I asked about this as I know I missed a few days but always with a reasonable update for time frame and never had a no show day (where there is no warning that I’m not coming in).
My boss stated that attendance also applies to break and lunch times and since I rarely took them at the requested time, I was getting written up. I explained my role, that they hired me for, and the challenges involved. They did not care and stated I needed to take breaks when I was told to. I asked for them to send me an email so that I could print it out, put it on my desk and never forget again.
My boss smiled ear to ear, probably because they thought i was groveling at that point, and sure enough they did stating in the email “You must take the your breaks only when the schedule tells you to, no time else. There is no excuse.” I saved it, printed it out, sent a copy to my own email and followed it to the letter. Next call that happened that same day of course, had the long call crossing over with a break issue.
I asked the customer if it would be ok for a call back, they said no, I stated that unfortunately I cannot stay on the line as I am required to take my break. They became enraged and demanded to speak with my boss. I told my boss, they said that I need to apologize and finish the call. I showed them the email they just sent to me and said “you told me to take my break at this time no matter what. I’m just doing what you told me to do. I’m taking my break, would you like the customer transferred over? Or should I just hang up?”
They took the call over and from that day on I never had a missed attendance mark. God busybody bosses are the worse.”
Very interesting…and here’s how Reddit users responded.
This person said that the boss probably did this on purpose…but it backfired, now didn’t it?
Photo Credit: Reddit
Another Reddit user made a very good point: if you’re not well-fed, you’re not gonna be a very productive worker, so this was a bone-headed tactic in the first place.
Photo Credit: Reddit
This reader said regulations are in place to try to enforce win-win situations for everyone: workers and the company. Come on, people!
Photo Credit: Reddit
And this person offered up a similar anecdote about when they had a nosy boss and how pointless their rules were. These things end up being such time-wasters!
Photo Credit: Reddit
Did you ever have to deal with a nosy boss who made work a nightmare?
Tell us your stories in the comments.
We can’t wait to hear from you! Thanks!
