'Her system absolutely backfired': Student finds loophole in summer job's payment policy, gets paid full day's work for 30 minutes of labor, collects all the money

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Oct 31, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

They say you're supposed to work hard for the money, but there is a special satisfaction that comes with not working hard for as much money as possible. Now, personally speaking, I am not slick enough to pull off something like this. I have too much "rule follower" energy in me to be able to create a plan that pays me as much as possible for doing as little work as possible. Blame it on how I behaved as a student in school or blame it on millennial anxiety! Regardless, I just don't have the audacity to go for it like this student did.

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  • 01
    Purple - "Change the salary system after [my] start date? More than happy to comply!" IZRIZSTZT AYNA KEH
    via Hanny Naibaho

  • This student got a summer job working for a local music festival. When they got hired, they gave a specific rate that they assumed was honored since they got the job. Unfortunately, just after they started working, the festival decided to suddenly change its payment structure, assuming that workers were getting swamped with tasks for full eight-hour days. Because of this, the festival ultimately opted for a day rate rather than an hourly one. So what did the student do now that their promised payment structure was not honored? Well, they opted for some good old-fashioned malicious compliance and subsequently posted about it on Reddit.

    Keep scrolling below to see how they got away with doing the bare minimum while collecting money for a full day's work. For more content like this, check out this post about a student who stood up to their Karen principal.

  • 02
    Font - Change the salary system after start date? More than happy to comply! S OC Here a little story about a summer job I did a while ago, that y'all might enjoy:
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 03
    Font - This happened a few years back, it was during summer break and I was back home from university, looking for something to do to keep me busy and to earn some cash. I stumbled upon an ad for a local music festival needing help managing their concerts (mostly checking in visitors and also working as a driver).
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 04
    Font - I reached out, said I would be interested and tell them my hourly fee (which I earned from my last job). They answered back rather quickly and told me to start asap. Since they didn't argue with me about my proposed hourly rate I gathered that they've accepted it.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 05
    Font - Well a few days after I started working for them one of the bosses approached me and said they don't exactly do the hourly rate but rather pay a fixed price for a day you worked for them...
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 06
    Font - At first I was annoyed since it would have been MUCH less than I initially thought I would earn but then I realised, I can just use their own system AGAINST them. Want me to go around and hand out flyers to people for 30 min? Yep this will be noted as a whole day.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 07
    Font - Want me to go collect additional chairs and bring them to the venue for 20 minutes? Yep, another day added. (you get my system by now).
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 08
    Font - Ah that sweet sweet moment, when after the whole gig I handed my registered days calculation to the boss. She looked at it, her eyes turned wide and you could see her thought process on her face calculating. I simply grinned while she realised that her system absolutely backfired with me and they played themselves. I ended up earning more than they would have paid me with the hourly system I proposed. One week later I had the money in my back account, weirdly enough I never heard back, wo
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 09
    Font - CoderJoe1 17 hr. ago I'm surprised they paid you the full amount. Nicely done.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 10
    Font - Different Scholar548 OP - 17 hr. ago . I was a bit surprised too, guess they weren't too eager on a big discussion and just wanted to get it over with
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 11
    Font - StrykerC13. 16 hr. ago Probably also didn't want to find out if you'd get the labor board or some other government agency involved because they'd probably like to know quite a bit about such a nonsense system.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 12
    Font - Dropthetenors 17 hr. ago I'm sorry. Can you explain again? It sounds like you counted each task as a full day? Or were these tasks only 20-30 min on different days? Regardless always happy to see people beat the system!
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 13
    Font - Mdayofearth 17 hr. ago . OP worked for 30 mins handing out flyers one day, and got paid for one day of work. OP was not asked to do anything else that day.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 14
    Font - Urb4nNord 15 hr. ago . I have no idea how this was supposed to work compared to how you describe it, but if you got a win, congrats.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 15
    Font - Different Scholar548 OP • 14 hr. ago I'm pretty certain they gambled on the fact that the workers (like me) only did very intense days = long hours and then they would have gotten the most work force out of it for very little pay. Plus they most certainly hoped that I wouldn't count in days I only did little work out of courtesy that)
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 16
    Font - Dear-Ad9314 16 hr. ago Good job. Heartily approve.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 17
    Font - flatvaaskaas 17 hr. ago. edited 7 hr. ago I don't get it. You got a 30 minute* job, but wrote 8 hours of work? Edit: Thanks to all the comments below, I learned something!
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 18
    Font - Different Scholar548 OP 17 hr. ago I suggested that I note down every single hour worked and they pay me for those hours worked, so that compensation would be more fair to both parties. Since then they would only pay a "little amount" when its only few hours a day and obviously a "bigger amount"
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 19
    Font - when its more hours. They said they don't pay by the hours but rather by the days you did work for them. There were days where I lost out on their system big time because there was a lot to do and i worked much more for their set daily amount so to equal it out i calculated days where i only did minimal work as full days too.
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 20
    Organism - nevaehenimatek 13 hr. ago How is it possible people start working without employment contracts? This seems incredulous
    via u/Different_Scholar548
  • 21
    Human body - cfherrman 2 hr. ago The one who first mentions a number in a negotiation loses the negotiation.
    via u/Different_Scholar548

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workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job malicious compliance work malicious-compliance-reddit reddit thread Reddit company job interview interview toxic-work-environment
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