'NO ONE can access their emails': Boss orders IT worker to cut off everyone's access over the weekend to avoid paying OT, worker maliciously complies

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Sep 11, 2023 2:00 PM EDT

Sometimes, the best way to inform your boss that their newly implemented policy is flawed is by showing not telling. Lots of workplace practices are put into place in such a way that seems smart and productive in theory… until it's not. Of course, the people who are enforcing said policies often want them to work and refuse to hear any criticism from the people who actually have an understanding of how their workflow looks. 

 

This boss was running into some legal trouble and couldn't pay for any more OT, so he implemented a new policy whereby all employees had to have their remote access to their emails cut off over the weekend so that they weren't able to do any extra work. Seems mutually beneficial, but like most policies, there was a downside that manifested itself very quickly. As soon as this Redditor, who basically ran the IT department, followed the rules and removed everyone's weekend email access, there was a problem. Her boss's boss lost his email access as well. He called OP on a Saturday, furious, but it was, in fact, his own policy that made this happen. Furthermore, it's not like OP could do anything about it over the weekend since she too no longer had access to her work email.

 

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions in the comments section. When you're finished, feel free to take a look at these wild HR work stories.

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  • 01
    Product - Jews Mail 2 E NE
    via Brett Jordan
  • 02
    Font - Boss wants to cut off ALL employees and workers from their email access over the weekend but doesn't understand the consequences L OC Hello everyone, this is my first post here and wanted to share my greatest work story. My native language isn't English, so please excuse when my grammar is a bit simple.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 03
    Font - The story starts with me and my company, I'm a 30-year-old businesswoman who works in an IT service in a bank space. I'm the girl for everything basically, but I'm a specialist for first level support, administration and backup, sometimes even networking.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 04
    Font - Even when I'm not head of my it department, I'm basically had all the responsibilities of them, but unfortunately my pay grade doesn't reflect that at all. I think of my Boss of my IT department as kinda lazy if not incompetent, he even brags about getting so much money for basically doing nothing.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 05
    Font - I have a 40-hour week, but since the whole IT department is my responsibility I need to keep track of the servers and maybe problems that can occur 24/7, this is mostly done via emails. When the server status gives out a warning or a failure, I will get notified, and then I'm fixing the problem over remote desktop or going to the company itself (even in my free time). I wouldn't mind this, but I'm not getting paid for this, but on the other hand, I'm getting punished when something is goi
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 06
    Font - My Bosses Boss wasn't that much better. Since it was a fancy Bank, everyone should be in a suit the whole time, to let it look professional, best with a skirt and high heels. Only problem is when you work in the first level support you need to do a lot of "behind the scenes" work, like slipping under the desk to do or repair cable management, doing work on the server rack and doing lots of other activities that makes you dirty. You can imagine that this worn out my business clothes really
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 07
    Font - So this, so much for the introduction. Someday, my Bosses Boss (head of the whole company) called me. He had a plan. He wanted to create "quiet hours", means he didn't want his employees working on weekends to let them rest properly. (At first glance, you could say: Hey, that's a nice idea. Yeah.... no, he just didn't like to pay them for overwork, because he got in some legal trouble with overwork paying in general. Not only that, some employees have strict deadlines and need the extra t
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 08
    Font - To actively ensure nobody can't work over the weekend, he wanted the following: "Please make sure NO ONE can access their emails and remote desktop over the weekend, no exceptions!" Since we had a ticket system and be able to attach emails to tickets, I ask him to write and official work task. (this has two reasons. First, I like everything documented. Second, I have a something to protect and secure myself if the task I was giving is incorrect. And it's exactly this that saved me)
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 09
    Font - So I was in my office desk again, thinking how to get the task done and what implication it will have and then... it was clear to me what it meant! The email came from my Boss with the Task and indeed he wrote : "for EVERYONE, NO EXCEPTIONS". I was thinking to myself: Should I write them, the implications it would have? After thinking, I thought of how I am treated as a worker and I... decided against it.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 10
    Font - I was working immediately at this task and made an automated process to block every access to emails after Friday 6PM to Monday 6AM.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 11
    Font - Weekend came, and it was Saturday, and I was calm relaxed because if you have not noticed by now, by cutting down EVERYONE's emails, means of course... that I don't receive any updates on the Servers. I can't possibly work on it because my remote access is also cut, of course. (IF you think : You could forward your work email address to your private address, no I can't because we have a very strict data protection. Nothing is allowed to go out.) I'm happy!
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 12
    Font - It's still Saturday, middle of the day, I'm cooking myself and my husband a nice meal and my telephone rings, it's my Bosses Boss! He talks with a stressed voice and told me that he can't access his emails. I needed a second to process this, but I responded: "That doesn't surprise me at all, since you ordered me to cut EVERYONE's email access, without exceptions". He was angry, very angry, and told me that this obviously doesn't count for him. I told him that he specifically told me that
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 13
    Font - He then argued that this wasn't how he phrased it, so I reread him his own email. After that, he was silent for a moment. He noticed his flaw in his logic. I broke the silence and ask him : "Sir, if you still want access to your emails on the weekend, that's no problem, please send me a request per email and I work on first thing on Monday." A bit angry again, he replied that he wants to have it done immediately, and I calmly explained to him that I can't do this, since my remote access i
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 14
    Font - 10 minutes later, he calls me again. He asks me calmly if I can fix the problem right now when he pays me for my overwork. He also wants me to be available at any time (means I should receive my emails and be able to remote work) and that this will raise my pay grade by a lot. I thought that this is the perfect opportunity. I agree to that condition and pay raise, but only when my coworkers and I finally get work clothes. He agreed. Since then my work situation drastically improved and mo
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 15
    Font - Edit: Thank you so much for all your comments and love, I'm glad you liked it! Edit2: I want to add something here to the 4 types of comments. - To the people with positive comments and their own stories: Thank you so much, I had no idea this would blow up this much. To the people who complain about my English: Yes, I'm German, not a native speaker. I'm giving my best here and I'm trying to improve on it every day, that's all I can do.
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 16
    Font - - To the people with comments : If you don't like it, that's totally fine, but there's no need of sharing insults, really. In my honest opinion, it was a valuable lesson for my boss to let them have a well though concept before giving the official task. - To the people who don't believe and say it's bulls. I'm not here to convince you, if I can reach even one person to empower them to improve their work condition then that's a complete win in my eyes
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 17
    Font - Lord_Kuruk You're the workplace hero: elevated yours and everyone's conditions with work clothes, nicely taught your boss some humility, and got a well-deserved promotion! Congrats btw. 6.1k Reply Share
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 18
    Font - 834 -Sir-Bruno-. This right here. You, ma'am, you're a hero! Well done! 1.1k Reply Share Lucyiha OP. Thank you so much, I'm glad that I did it even when I had full knowledge about the consequences. Most important for me was to do nothing illegal or inappropriate. 1.2k Reply Share
    via u/Lucyiha
  • 19
    Font - mizinamo. It's not a problem until it's his problem! ↑ ↓ 1.9k Reply Share Lucyiha OP. I thought a lot before I complied because I was completely aware what the consequences are. 810 Reply Share
    via u/Lucyiha

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