Worker Applauded for Teaching New Manager a 'Lesson': 'This Is Satisfying'

In a now-viral post, a worker from the United Kingdom said they were once challenged by a manager who thought he knew the job better than they did, so they decided to teach their manager a "lesson."

Posting in Reddit's "Malicious Compliance" forum under the username u/AdElectrical5354, the worker wrote: "I knew my job but the new manager thought he knew better so I did it his way. Very precisely." The post has garnered over 12,000 upvotes and dozens of comments applauding the worker.

Micromanagers

As it turns out, many workers struggle with their managers.

Roughly half of those surveyed in a 2015 Gallup poll said they previously left a job because of a bad boss, and 23 percent of those surveyed by LinkedIn in 2018 said "dealing with managers" was one of their greatest workplace challenges.

Another recent survey conducted by GoodHire, an employee screening service, revealed that American workers are tired of being micromanaged, and 83 percent feel they can do their jobs effectively without a manager at all.

"Often people equate being a manager with micromanaging people, and I don't think that's the best way to manage," GoodHire CEO Mike Grossman told Fast Company earlier this year. "People do their best work when they're not micromanaged, and in many cases, they don't need to have that much oversight."

'Malicious Compliance'

In their post, u/AdElectrical5354 said they once worked for one of the U.K.'s top delivery companies. Though they didn't do things "by the letter," they said they were "very good" at their job and always got deliveries out on time.

When a new manager arrived at the company, the worker was essentially put under a microscope and eventually asked to change the way they do their job.

"He wanted [things done] by the letter as per company guidelines. I argued very hard against it and said he will really regret it because we won't complete [the deliveries on time] but he insisted I was wrong," u/AdElectrical5354 said. "So after an exasperated 15-minute heated discussion, I did as I was told...[and] it was like a domino effect of carnage."

As u/AdElectrical5354 had guessed, their team didn't hit their deadlines, and everyone was forced to work four hours late. The following day, the Redditor's manager admitted he'd been wrong and asked the worker if they'd show him how to do the job. And eventually, the two became "good friends."

"Communication and a willingness to be wrong will always lead to healthy relationships and progress," u/AdElectrical535 told Newsweek.

Redditors React

Redditors applauded u/AdElectrical5354 for teaching their manager a tough lesson and praised the manager for "swallowing his pride."

"I'm pleased he didn't turn around and blame you somehow or keep insisting for more than one terrible day. Still very satisfying to have his way crumble to ash when you obliged him," u/Annonymouse211 said.

"I think this is an important lesson for anyone in management. Listen to the people doing the job, in many cases, they are the experts at getting the job done well and on time," u/Zathral wrote.

"Very mature kid. Not many would swallow their pride. Kudos to you as well for not holding it against him forever!" u/yellowfinbluefin said.

u/erikswifey added: "This is satisfying."

Other Viral Moments

On Thursday, Redditors applauded a boss who treated his entire team to a $15,000 dinner after their CEO uninvited them from a major company event.

And earlier this month, commenters praised a worker for his "beautiful" response to his manager's "no overtime" policy.