'I enjoy what I do but I don't do it for free': Construction worker stands up to boss after getting docked 15 minutes for being one minute late

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 1, 2024 4:00 PM EST

This dude created a wave of malicious compliance seemingly by accident! He was standing up to his boss after getting his time docked fifteen minutes for being just one minute late. This new policy proved to be ridiculous, and so the Redditor decided he wouldn't work for free during those fifteen minutes, knowing that it's fully illegal to require workers to do so. When his coworkers saw this tactic work, they all followed suit and it was only a matter of time before their horrible boss was called out by his boss for enforcing a policy that led to decreased productivity.

This thread, which was shared to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit, is a mostly positive tale of worker solidarity… that is until the original poster revealed that his boss got his own revenge not much later. Thankfully, according to his responses in the comments section below, he found a better job at a competing company afterward. For more stories like this, take a look at this one about "age awareness" training at work.

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  • 01
    Rectangle - "I accidentally triggered a wave of malicious compliance in my coworkers and the boss got chewed out over it." 383
    via Josh Olalde
  • 02
    Font - Boss says "If you're 1 minute late I'm docking 15 minutes from your time" gets mad when I don't work the 15 minutes I was docked for free. M OC Posted this in another sub and got told to try it here too. This happened about 4 years ago. I do construction and we start fairly early. Boss got tired of people walking in at 6:05 or 6:03 when we start at 6:00 (even though he was a few minutes late more consistently than any one of us were), so he said "If you aren't standing in front of me at 6
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 03
    Font - The next day I accidentally forgot my tape measure in my car and had to walk back across the jobsite to grab it, made it inside at 6:0. Boss chewed me out and told me he was serious yesterday and docked me 15 minutes. So I took all my tools off right there and sat down on a bucket. He asked why I wasn't getting to work and I said "I'm not getting paid until 6:15 so I'm not doing any work until 6:15. I enjoy what I do but I don't do it for free."
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 04
    Font - He tried to argue with me about it until I said "If you're telling me to work without paying me then that's against the law. You really wanna open the company and yourself up to that kind of risk? Maybe I'm the kind to sue, maybe I'm not, but if you keep on telling me to work after you docked my time then we're gonna find out one way or the other."
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 05
    Font - He shut up pretty quickly after that and everyone else saw me do it and him cave, so now they weren't gonna take his either. Over the next few days guys that would have been 1 or 2 minutes late just texted the boss "Hey, sorry boss. Would have been there at 6:02 and gotten docked, so I'll see you at 6:15 and I'll get to work then." and then sat in their cars until 6:15 and came in when their time started.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 06
    Font - So between people doing what I did or just staying in their cars instead, he lost a TON of productivity and morale because he decided that losing 15 minutes of productivity per person and feeling like a Big Man was better than losing literally 1 or 2 minutes of productivity. Even though everyone stands around BS-ing and getting material together for the day until about 6:10 anyway.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 07
    Font - After a few weeks of that he got chewed out by his boss over the loss of productivity and how bad the docked time sheets were looking and reflecting poorly on him as a leader because we were missing deadlines over it and it "Showed that he doesnt know how to manage his people.", and then suddenly his little self implemented policy was gone and we all worked like we were supposed to and caught back up fairly quickly.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 08
    Font - Worker solidarity for the win. Not one person took his and worked that time for free after he tried to swing his weight around on them. But obviously I was a target after that and only made it two more months before he had stacked up enough BS reasons to get away with firing me when I called in a few days in a row after my mom fell and I took off work to take care of her and monitor her for a while during the day.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 09
    Font - TL;DR- Boss told me because I was 1 minute late he was taking 15 minutes off of my time, so I didn't work for 15 minutes. People saw me and I accidentally triggered a wave of malicious compliance in my coworkers and the boss got chewed out over it.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 10
    Psychoticrider 59 min. ago +2. I started a new job, we started at 8 AM so I got there about 10 minutes before. My boss told me I had to be there by 7:30. Not wanting to rock the boat I started showing up a half hour early. Then every morning we would sit there until 8:05 and listen to all the boss's bragging. All his fishing, drinking and stories, I guess we were supposed to be impressed. Then at 8:05 he would leap up and bark out orders for the day. Same thing over and over again.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 11
    Font - I said screw this and started coming in 7:50 and got chewed out for not being there early. I told him if I am required to be here at 7:30, then pay me! He pushed back, I continued to come in at 7:50. He went to the owner and bi 1. I over heard the conversation. The owner said that I was correct, he had to pay me.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 12
    Font - Righthandedranger OP. 48 min. ago Yup. Had a (62 yr old) boss at a different company when I first started construction that had us show up at the shop in the mornings and he expected everyone to get there early and load the work trucks up so we could leave right when our time started. Argued with him about it and he went on a tangent about how my (millenial) generation didn't know how to do what's best for the company and how we don't wanna work.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 13
    Font - So I just stopped showing up early. I'd walk in 2 minutes before time started and he knew he couldn't chew me out because I wasn't late. He also expected us to unload the truck after we got back, but had us clock out when the left the job site, not when we got back to the shop and were done unloading. So I didn't do that either.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 14
    Font - That's when I started seriously looking into labor laws and regulations in my area to see what my rights were and what was and wasn't legal that they were doing. Didn't last long there either. Apparently I'm considered something of an instigator/organizer at a lot of my old companies because I tell/told coworkers what their rights are as workers when they're getting screwed over.
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 15
    Facial expression - RaistlinWar48. 1 hr. ago Now THAT is what they mean by "Workers of the world, Unite"!
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 16
    Font - quicktojudgemyself 57 min. ago When I was a teen I worked on a site that had a super like this. 100% reflection of him. I now own a construction company. We treat our workers right. Handshake, need some coffee, here's what we need to accomplish today. Simple
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 17
    Font - o Anthony9824 41 min. ago My job had the same policy, you didn't get paid until the next 15 minutes increment so obviously what did everyone do? Clock in and then sit in the break room until the next :15. Management never said anything probably because they knew you can't have people work and not pay them. Unintended consequence? People would end up staying the break room LATER than the next :15 so now the company had people sitting around waiting for the next :15, and then they were payi
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 18
    Font - Upvoter_NeverDie 44 min. ago +2. Awesome job, OP. Good job standing up for yourself. It's really trashy what they did to you, though, afterwards. Did you ever sue them for that by chance?
    via u/Righthandedranger
  • 19
    Font - Righthandedranger OP. 36 min. ago No, I never did. I got hired on a few days later at a competing company for $4/hr more and way less bosses and worked there for a few years until they had mass layoffs. In my state they're not super worker-friendly so it likely wouldn't have gone in my favor in court because of all the kissing judges that rely on lobbying money from big companies like the one I got fired from.
    via u/Righthandedranger

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Tags

toxic-workplace malicious compliance construction toxic-boss Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit construction workers toxic-work-environment
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