'No report, sorry!': Employee refuses to do any work before 9am after getting shamed for leaving before 5, boss caves

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 5, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

This is what happens when you have a boss who cares way too much about 'optics.' Most employees know this story all too well. Employee wakes up early for pre-9am meetings, boss becomes overly reliant on said employee's notes for those meetings because she doesn't attend them herself, employee leaves work early one day because they got in so early, boss shames employee for doing so, and employee gets back at boss with some glorious malicious compliance. 

 

This thread, which was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/lawdiscord, is only further proof of the fact that bosses who are so concerned with optics have the totally incorrect priorities in mind. It's the classic "if the work gets done, what's the issue?" situation. And before anyone says anything about office morale, let's all remind ourselves that bosses tend to rarely show up to everything anyway, and that can't be good for morale either. In fact, we know that in this particular instance, the boss didn't attend those pre-9am meetings herself, so if she wants to talk about going the extra mile, she has to lead by example. The best part of the story is that after the employee proved their point, not only did the boss cave and give in, but also she had to explain the situation to her manager. That's what she gets for choosing to hop on a high horse rather than recognizing how valuable her employee's work was and how necessary their routine was in order for that work to get done properly.

 

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions in the comments section. For more stories like this, check out this post about a CEO's villain streak.

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  • 01
    Motor vehicle - "You want me to work 9-5? Got it."
    via Scott Graham
  • 02
    Font - r/r/MaliciousCompliance . Posted by u/lawdiscord 5 hours ago You want me to work 9-5? Got it. SOC I work on a case with people from many different areas. Most of the people on the case work in a time zone that's three hours ahead of mine. This means that I am often on meetings or depositions that start at around 7:00 am or earlier.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 03
    Font - A couple of weeks ago, I attended several days of a deposition, starting at 5:30 (for me) each day. Those days, I left the office at around 3:00. My manager then called me into her office, and demanded to know why I was "leaving early" every day. I told her about the situation, but she did not care. She said, "This is a 9-5 job. It doesn't matter if you're in earlier, you leave at 5:00. Otherwise people will think it's okay to come in and leave whenever they want."
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 04
    Font - Well, 9-5 it is! I started arriving in the office promptly at 9. This unfortunately led to me skipping several meetings, but alas, it cannot be helped. One meeting I skipped, scheduled for 6:00 am, is an important biweekly one that my manager is also supposed to attend. She has never attended and always relies on me preparing her a report on the meeting, so she can present it to her boss. When she asked for the report, I informed her that I was unable to attend the meeting, since I work a
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 05
    Font - As I left promptly at 5, I peeked through the window to her office and got a great view of her trying to explain herself to her boss. Today, she called me and dejectedly informed me that I can leave the office whenever I want from now on.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 06
    Font - exiledfromreality +2.4 hr. ago I just don't understand why there are so many bosses and managers who chose 'control' over common sense.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 07
    Font - Good job, OP. I would rather work a few hours before everyone gets in and leave 'early' myself.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 08
    Font - I used to schedule my home care cases as early as possible...I loved the days when I completed 4 before lunch (5 was my goal for the day and anything more than that would mean an easier day later in the week!)
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 09
    Font - Now I teach, and I would rather get in at 6 to plan and set up for the day than stay after school when I am tired and try to think about what I want to do tomorrow (and then the next day have to remember everything that I set up.)
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 10
    Font - Mybaresoul 4 hr. ago i joined my current office in December last year at 8 hours - Monday to Friday. Then, they pressured me to work for 8.5 hours. They also wanted me to work on Saturdays with some extra pay (which I didn't accept). It's June...and now they want me to work for 9 hours every day because that's what everyone else is doing. And my leaving early by half an hour is impacting their morale. I am a content writer. I can easily work from home. I am at my wit's end with this place
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 11
    Font - Original_Charity_817. 3 hr. ago 'No thanks boss, I've kind of grown accustomed to normal working hours!'
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 12
    Font - Laney20 4 hr. ago Lol. She was so focused on the 'til 5 and just expected you to keep coming in early anyway. Well done!
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 13
    Font - OutrageousYak5868 2 hr. ago Bosses are complaining about "perception", but is it really too hard to say, "s/he started working at 5 this morning. When you start doing that, you can go home early too." I can almost guarantee that would put a stop to complaints.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 14
    Gesture - Fast_Cranberry_9602. 4 hr. ago Must explain why I was never 'Manager' material.
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 15
    Rectangle - fist4j 3 hr. ago So did you decline and make her go to the 6am meetings that are actually her job?
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 16
    Font - TheLostonline. 3 hr. ago Today, she called me and dejectedly informed me that I can leave the office whenever I want from now on. Decision time, was the 9-5 experience better in any way?
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 17
    Font - Bielzabutt 3 hr. ago GET IT IN WRITING ALWAYS
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 18
    Font - harrywwc 2 hr. ago Today, she called me and dejectedly informed me that I can leave the office whenever I want from now on. nah - actually, I'm good. I like this "nine- to-five" thing. it means I get to sleep in. thanks for the tip :)
    via u/lawdiscord
  • 19
    Font - author 57 min. ago . I had a similar situation; however, instead of working only 9-5, I went in for the early morning meetings but stayed until 5 each day accumulating 3 to 4 hours of overtime each day. Needless to say when HR & the managers saw that they were livid! It only took a few weeks for them to say I could leave early or take a day off so I wouldn't have overtime. Nothing works better than hitting them in their pocketbooks!
    via u/lawdiscord

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace manager job malicious compliance toxic-boss Office workplace reddit thread Reddit toxic-work-environment
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