'Go complain about your boss [...] on me': Boss sends passive aggressive email about punctuality, employees retaliate, boss apologies with free lunch

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 10, 2023 2:00 PM EDT

Let's be honest: showing up six minutes late every once in a while is not going to make or break anything no matter what your line of work is. As long as work generally gets done in a timely and thorough manner, employers and employees should just accept the fact that things happen. People get stuck in traffic. Folks need their grande iced coffee with oat milk. Sometimes you don't even have an excuse and you just needed those six extra minutes of sleep in order to power through the rest of the day. The alternative scenario, in which workers feel pressure and shame with regard to punctuality, is far more toxic.

 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/charlie_gibb, who recounted the tale of when his boss sent a passive aggressive email to the entire staff about everyone needing to be seated at their desk and working by 8:30 on the dot. Well, you're probably unsurprised to hear that this message backfired in a major way, especially since so many of this dude's employees worked late, skipped breaks, and worked through lunch. So what did those employees do? They decided to show their boss the other side of extreme punctuality. This meant taking the full hour for lunch breaks and never staying a minute late. It didn't take long for the boss to realize that he messed up. His reward and apology was a two-hour free lunch. Now that's what I call justice.

 

For more stories like this, here's one about ten workers who quit their jobs at once.

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  • 01
    Property - "You expect us to be punctual? Okay, we got it"
    via Domenico Loia
  • 02
    Font - You expect us to be punctual? Okay, we got it M OC He was irritated to come out to a secretary's desk and find she wasn't yet seated. She was in the lounge putting away her coat and then fixed herself a cup of coffee, and she sat down at 8:36 - - instead of 8:30.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 03
    Font - It happened to be a morning of extreme stress and he really needed all hands on deck that morning. Got it, but he was very short-sighted. The 6 minutes didn't change the course of the day, but his Memo to Staff certainly did. He circulated a memo to all staff which said something to the effect of:
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 04
    Font - "The day begins at 8:30. Not 8:36, or 8:40, or when you found a parking space, or when the coffee was ready. If you need more time, plan your day accordingly and make your cup of coffee, and find your spot, and hang up your coat, earlier than normal. 8:30 means in your seat, at your desk, ready for the day's work to begin. Not coming through the door."
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 05
    Font - Okay - we got it. Well, I was a paralegal at the time, and I put in SO many more hours than the 40 hours I was paid for. I arrived early, left late, frequently delayed lunch, often didn't take breaks on busy days preparing for trial.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 06
    Font - Every single employee was grumbling, not just the secretary. As it happened, I was the most affected (in a positive way, actually) by this policy memo because I was the staff member who had the MOST lost-time from working beyond my schedule. I was never late, so he didn't have a problem with me, but he also abused my time more than anyone else. There were months where I never took so much as a coffee break. Often ate lunch at my desk while working. Seldom left at closing time. Often came
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 07
    Font - He didn't appreciate that, so we responded as a group of 16 employees with total solidarity. We were AT our desks at 8:30 a.m. We LEFT our desks promptly at 5:30. We took our breaks and our lunch hours exactly on time. It was a disaster.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 08
    Font - I was the first to respond. "Sorry, I can't help right now. My lunch is 12 to 1, and I have to stand up at 12, and sit back down at 1, so this copy project would make my lunch "12 ish to 1 ish." I'll start on this at exactly 1:01 p.m., when I'm back at my desk."
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 09
    Font - I also left at exactly 5:30 p.m. I stood up, put the cover on my typewriter, and cleared my desk. He said "Can you just--" and some paperwork in his hands. "No, I'm sorry. My day begins promptly at 8:30 and ends exactly at 5:30. I'll help with that tomorrow." I left.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 10
    Font - Everyone did the same. All week. "No I'm sorry, I'm required to take a 10 minute break in this hour." "No, I'm sorry, my lunch begins in 15 minutes at 12:00, and that's 30 minutes of dictation you want transcribed. I'll begin exactly at 1:00 when I'm IN MY SEAT and AT MY DESK."
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 11
    Font - He realized the petty nature of his Memo to Staff within 2 business days, and sent around an apology memo within a week of disastrous results. He then sent us all out for an extended lunch of 2 hours - on the house. He didn't come. His memo said "Go complain about your boss over a 2 hour lunch. on me.". -
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 12
    Font - da_kink +1.9 hr. ago you know what, that actually sounds like an OK boss. He up, found out and fixed it. I've had way worse :)
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 13
    Font - Darth-Vader64 - 8 hr. ago Lesson learned - your boss saw the errors of his way and fixed it. I've worked for too many bosses who refused to take responsibility or see their mistakes
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 14
    Rectangle - Competitive-Push-715. 8 hr. ago I love your boss' apology. That's a self reflective person. Nice to see
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 15
    Font - iamerwin 8 hr. ago "Go complain about your boss over a 2 hour lunch on me." Sounds like a cool boss to me. Screwing up, realizing it and then making things right again.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 16
    Font - MsSpicy0 8 hr. ago Why would you work for free? "More than the 40 hours I am paid for" That's crazy. Do not sell yourself short.
    via u/charlie_gibb
  • 17
    Font - . 8 hr. ago Honestly, it sounds like he had a stressful morning - took it out on the secretary (unrightfully, obviously) and almost immediately after realising how badly his actions backfired, instead of doing nothing, retracted his statement and TrOddie apologised - as well as offered a very self aware comment. Not too bad all things considered.
    via u/charlie_gibb

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