'I suspect workers are sabotaging equipment just to meet the quota': Bizzare safety procedures at work cause cobra effect, corporate bit by malicious compliance

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 8, 2023 8:00 PM EDT

Malicious compliance is often used when the employees feel like they have no other choice than to obey the ridiculous rules management creates on the different whims they have. And boy does management have whims… they don't always necessarily make a lot of sense. In this case, industrial workers began to literally break safety equipment, and fix it, just to write a safety violation report. A new employee who was not informed of this was absolutely flabbergasted.

The same mantra had apparently been going around his office: keep your eyes open, and the violations will appear. In his own words, 'I was the last one to use this ladder the day before, and it was perfectly fine, which lead me to my conclusion that this man was purposely SABOTAGING company equipment just so he can fix it and then write a safety violation report. I feel like I'm in an episode of The Office'.

Scroll down to read the full detailed account of… well, hilarious events. For more stories like this, here is another employee who activated malicious compliance mode, costing the company $6,000.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/artificernine 19 hours ago bizzare safety procedures at work cause a hilarious cobra effect MOC TL;DR at the bottom
    via u/artificernine
  • 02
    Font - I'm a senior electrical engineer in the industrial sector. I started work at a huge firm a few weeks ago, and right off my superior detailed what was expected of me every quarter. Among the requirements were one safety violation report a month. I thought OK, I could keep myself from fung up more than once a month.
    via u/artificernine
  • 03
    Font - This is a large factory with everything from spinning grinders to steaming corrosives so obviously OSHA is a big issue here but this isn't my first rodeo so to speak, I generally know what I'm doing. So my first month goes by and I keep everything nice and safe, end of month one-on-one rolls around - boss makes it clear, to my
    via u/artificernine
  • 04
    Font - surprise, that the requirement is for me to file AT LEAST one safety violation a month. Obviously I inquired how one could go about controlling safety violations as they are inherently accidents, and if I had any way to influence their appearance I would prevent them in the first place, but he just said I need to keep my eyes open, the violations will appear.
    via u/artificernine
  • 05
    Font - Fine, I kept my eyes open, but honestly everything seems perfectly in order. Everyone else in my department were ticking off safety violations one after another and I was nearing the end of month 2 with nothing. I would go on walks looking for safety infringements instead of working. Something
    via u/artificernine
  • 06
    Font - seemed off, so I looked into the safety violations report excel and I was just stupefied. This was a list of the most unbelievably inane infractions I've ever set my eyes upon. Ill give you some examples:
    via u/artificernine
  • 07
    Font - infraction - cabinet door was left open in room. someone could hit their head. immediate mitigation - cabinet door closed. future mitigation - add magnets to cabinet doors.
    via u/artificernine
  • 08
    Font - There were countless other esoteric reports like 'unexplained puddle next to electrical cabinet' or 'stack of cables on floor'. I couldn't believe it. These well educated grown men and women just writing nonsensical safety violatons on absolutely anything. I tried approaching one of the guys about it but he just said to keep my eyes open, the violations
    via u/artificernine
  • 09
    Font - will appear. They keep repeating it like its a mantra then change the subject. I thought this was ridiculous enough but then one day a report came in about a ladder missing one of the plastic caps on its legs. immediate mitigation - plastic cap found elsewhere and secured in its place. Now I was the
    via u/artificernine
  • 10
    Font - last one to use this ladder the day before and it was perfectly fine, which lead me to my conclusion that this man was purposely SABOTAGING company equipment just so he can fix it and then write a safety violation report. I feel like I'm in an episode of The Office.
    via u/artificernine
  • 11
    Font - Everyone I approach about this just brushes it off, maybe It's because I'm the new guy? Anyway I couldn't show up to my second monthly evaluation sans safety report, so I went to a random grounding cable, slightly unfastened the bolt, took a picture, and then fastened it back in place. I wrote a report about it and
    via u/artificernine
  • 12
    Font - me in the OSHA guy commended person about my vigilance. Is this a department wide grift? Are the managers unaware of this farce or are they playing along? Usually this would be a huge red flag but everyone is otherwise really nice and the pay is great. Anyway, ideas as to what I should sabotage next month are welcome.
    via u/artificernine
  • 13
    Font - TL;DR - company dept. requires we file a MINIMUM of one safety violation a month. I suspect workers are sabotaging equipment and facilities just to meet the quota.
    via u/artificernine
  • 14
    Rectangle - cabird78 +3 • 19 hr. ago Boss: "Keep your eyes open, the violations will appear." AKA "Let the problem magically create itself!" They're not just safety violations, they're job security enhancements.
    via u/cabird78
  • 15
    Font - big_sugi +3.15 hr. ago Boss: "Keep your eyes open, the violations will appear." Write-up: "failure to maintain proper lubrication for eye balls."
    via u/big_sugi
  • 16
    Font - 18 hr. ago Secondary container labels is usually a super easy catch. Ambitious_Misgivings Is it an unlabeled container with something in it? If it's not in the immediate control of the person who filled it, violation.
    via u/Ambitious_Misgivings
  • 17
    Font - Was the same unlabeled container used for more than a single shift? Violation. Are they illegible and need to be reprinted? Violation. If you have any type of material that gets poured from a manufacturers container into another container, it applies.
    via u/Ambitious_Misgivings
  • 18
    Rectangle - Have fun. ↑ ve Vote B artificernine OP 18 hr. ago Wow that's gold. I'm set for this quarter Reply Share Vote Reply Share
    via u/artificernine
  • 19
    Font - 12-> 5 landinsight 19 hr. ago This is very common in heavy industry these days. It is aggravating to be sure. The corporate mind set is that by pushing safety write ups, the big, real problems are eliminated/resolved. That leaves the most trivial items left.
    via u/landinsight
  • 20
    Font - By requiring a quota, it makes everyone hyper aware and hopefully real safety problems will be caught immediately before a major incident happens. I hate it, but I can see the value in this philosophy. As someone who works in many different industrial plants, the difference between philosophies is very apparent.
    via u/landinsight
  • 21
    Font - 010 stumblewiggins · 18 hr. ago I'd start getting more aggressively activist in my reports: "Infraction: employee yawned, indicating tiredness. could lead to mistakes. Immediate mitigation: employee told to take a nap. Future mitigation: employee schedules need to be revised, shorter shifts, no change in pay"
    via u/stumblewiggins

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FAILS company-equipment toxic-workplace-stories toxic-workplace malicious compliance coworkers petty revenge safety equipment industrial-company Horrible Bosses funny worker-payback
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