A workplace ruled by toxic bosses can quickly become unbearable, even turning routine tasks like leaving work into frustrating ordeals. Sadly, some managers take micromanagement to extreme levels, insisting on needless and arbitrary rules.
One employee recently went viral on Reddit after brilliantly turning the tables on her manager, who demanded she seek permission before clocking out—even though no one else in the store ever followed such a requirement.
She shared her experience at her retail job selling kitchen supplies. According to her Reddit post, she recalled:
"I was helping a long line at cash and had already been there for 10 hours and assumed they had someone to cover me. I wasn’t allowed to use the walkies to ask to be covered to go home, so I quickly found my manager and told her my shift was done."
Instead of just letting her clock out, her manager expressed irritation and oddly insisted on new rules:
"My manager got annoyed and said, 'Could you really not stay a few more minutes?' I tried to tell her, 'I thought you had someone to cover me, I can stay if you want.' She then replied, 'No, no just go, but next time you need to wait for a manager to let you go home,'" the employee recounted.
Confused, the employee asked her coworkers and soon discovered the manager had completely made up this "rule."
So she decided it was the perfect opportunity for some malicious compliance—and made sure her manager learned a costly lesson.
During her next shift, instead of asking permission to clock out, she stayed deliberately late, casually rearranging shelves near her manager.
"After about 2 and a half hours, she said, 'You're still here, why haven't you gone home?' I replied, 'You said I need to wait to be told to go home.' My manager looked at me as though she was mentally kicking herself and said, 'Just go,'" she explained. "I clocked out and that's how I got paid an extra $30 for doing literally nothing."
When Redditors questioned why she willingly stayed late, she responded:
"The way I see it, I got paid while barely helping the company, so I don’t care."
Her Reddit post quickly blew up, gathering widespread applause from users who loved her clever response.
One commenter noted humorously:
"She still hasn't specifically told you that you don't have to follow this rule. Malicious Compliance is still in effect."
The employee later confirmed to Bored Panda that the company quietly scrapped the bizarre rule:
“The rule was dropped and I pretty much went back to asking to go home," she shared.
Another Reddit user insightfully pointed out:
"The thing is, if she had had a real conversation with you the first thing, you probably wouldn't have even thought of it again. It always pays off to treat your employees like people and with respect... although sometimes you don't see the things like this that don't happen."
Others shared their own humorous stories of workplace rebellion. One commenter described an incident at Jimmy John's:
"Our Jimmy John's put up a note saying 'temporarily closed due to labor shortage.' Another poster beside it, by former employees, read, 'The owners of this restaurant treated their employees like dogs... The past few months of crappy business have been the result of lazy, careless ownership.'"
This viral incident serves as a powerful reminder to bosses everywhere: Treat your employees with respect—or face the amusing consequences.
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Brett Sayles
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Mikhail Nilov
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko
