'You do what I say!': Obstructive coworker demands overtime for her mismanaged project, everyone abandons her

You find out a lot about someone when they attain a petty position of power, do they take up the mantle reluctantly? Or do they wield their tiny shred of power with impunity? Sometimes you might be surprised to discover how someone reacts, but more often than not the latter category is easy to spot from a mile away.

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  • This coworker was unfortunately appointed to lead their team's project; although she had no real authority to wield over the rest of the team, apart from this appointment, she gleefully took to the task, devising a range of pointless rules that obstructed workflow that ultimately derailed the project. As the deadline loomed and overtime bloomed due to the mismanagement of the project, the CFO of the company stepped in and set a strict restriction on the amount of overtime the team could work. As the project entered its twilight hours, the frazzled coworker demanded that the team stay and work overtime and help her finish the project, impotently wielding her undeserved authority for the final time as it slipped through her fingers as she watched the team, who had already reached their overtime limit, depart.

  • 01
    Posted by u/Godnessy4 6 hours ago Colleague thinks she's the big boss - But actual boss said no overtime no matter what! LOC This happened a few years ago, I was working for a company doing special projects that had to do with building certain products. One Friday evening I get a call from the CFO (this guy never called me before I didn't even know he had my number) who liked playing at project management sometimes.
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 02
    He tells me there has been a huge in a project, I asked him if it was a project I was involved in? no no it had nothing to do with me and they desperately needed people to come in on Saturday and Sunday and work because this project needs to be delivered to the customer on Monday morning and would I be able to go?
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 03
    I say sure! (In this company any work on Saturday and Sunday was overtime from the first minute and the overtime rate was very good), He told me I would be joined by 5 of my colleagues - Almost all of them a delight to work with and one more person that is also a colleague but has all the information regarding this project so she would "lead" it and tell us what's needed to be done - lets call her genius boss lady or gbl in short.
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 04
    Everybody working on this project has at least 3 years experience in the company, some have more than 10 so there wasn't any need for a baby sitter, this fact matters for the rest of the story. Saturday morning rolls around and I get to location, we all meet and have some coffee and home made cookies that my wife made for us. Gbl comes in, asks us to gather around and explains that this project was done wrong from the get go, the company spent hundreds of man hours on it and it was all done wron
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 05
    have to in 2 days work not only disassemble everything that was done but re do it from scratch in the correct manner, which not only involved putting it back together but also re fabricating parts that were done wrong. Then she goes on to say in these exact words: "I'm the boss, you do what I say, I have all the schematics in my head if you don't know something ask me and I'll tell you how to do it".
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 06
    We all look at each other with a puzzled look but just shrug our shoulders, then she quickly and i mean QUICKLY lay down some rules that she wants us to follow, stupid things that just interfere with our jobs but no one actually caught all of them. So we start working, like I said we are all experienced, we work in another facility that the company owns and were brought especially to fix this facility's
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 07
    All through the job gbl does NOTHING, except get in our way, asking stupid questions,drinking coffee, taking smoking breaks, treating people badly and making up stupid rules as she goes, at some point the CFO comes in and starts talking to me and in the conversation he says these words "No matter what, no one works overtime - no more than 12 hours a day NO MATTER WHAT" (Because its a Saturday the rules allows us to work up to 12 hours but more than that and the company can get fined), gbl promis
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 08
    Saturday's work is done after 12 hours we all say goodbye and leave coming back the next day, we get to work again with her making the atmosphere worse and worse by the minute, not trusting us when we say were gonna do something, hovering over us and generally being a nuisance. As the day goes we can see that we are not going to make it on time, we try to tell her that but she is adamant that this will be done on time, I tried to
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 09
    explain to her a few times that seeing how much work there is and her INSISTING we do not use automated tools - its not possible to finish this in the 5 or 6 hours we have left. There was a lot more that she pulled but I won't name all of it to save time on this already long story and maybe try to keep a bit of anonymity just in case someone recognizes this story.
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 10
    She won't hear it, she says the job will be done. I'm like whatever dude I'm just gonna do what I can since you won't listen. 1 hour before end of day comes around, we have all been working for 11 hours - gbl finally realizes this isn't going to work, she calls a real project manager - her friend and starts talking to him, I hear her talking on the phone and she is blaming us for not working fast enough or whatever and tells him she promised the CFO to have this done (I'm assuming she was bettin
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 11
    After a few minutes of conversation she comes back in all guns blazing telling us to round up again so she can talk to us, with fire in her eyes she goes "Ok, you (points at a guy) don't leave until this (points at one part of the project) isn't done, you (points at me) don't leave until that (another part) is done, and continues doing this until she counted off everybody" and then she walks off, I'm assuming for a coffee or smoke break or whatever.
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 12
    Cue malicious compliance - Exactly 12 hours after arriving we all put down our tools and start heading out the door - she is SHOCKED asking us "where are you going???" we all say "Were going home, we have been here for 12 hours". She says: "I told you that none of you leave until your parts are finished and tested" To which we reply: "No more than 12 hours no matter what!" and we leave.
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 13
    Later on I found out that she stayed by herself until 04:00 in the morning to finish it all by herself, she couldn't do it and had to go home as well, her Project manager friend came in on Morning to help her finish the job, the project was late, customer came in to pick it up and wasn't happy to see it still not packaged and ready to go.
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 14
    Just as a side note - with the exception of gbl, Iv known each of the people working on this project for a few years, all of them would have GLADLY stayed longer to help finish the project, they have done so many times in the past when called upon - if she didn't treat us so badly, we made sure to make management aware of this and she was NEVER given another opportunity to manage anything.
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 15
    covigt 4 hr. ago The real hero, OP's wife that made cookies! Vote Reply Share ...
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  • 16
    Tkdakat. 6 hr. ago So called genius boss lady, pulls in a backup team that could do the job but put's them all in straight jacket's (stupid condition's) and tells them to get it done ! Vote Reply Share fiddlerisshit 5 hr. ago You can either tell me the outcome you want or you can tell me how to do it. Pick one. Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 17
    CoderJoe1 6 hr. ago With no experience, skill or talent, new manglers always try to put their own stink on projects so they can claim all the credit. Glad you didn't enable this one. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 18
    WhoSc3w3dDaP00ch 5 hr. ago Even "experienced" manglers can exhibit extraordinary feats of incompetence. The only effective thing they've done, is make others wonder how they achieved such a level of responsibility in the first place... Seen it firsthand, is stressful when you think your career is at the company, it's more fun after you've given notice and know, "Soon, this will no longer be my problem." Reply Share Vote
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 19
    code13 dontask · 5 hr. ago I still smile when I think about the new manager, with no experience in a stockroom for a public water department that wants a tour his first week on the job. He starts questioning an employee that has run this stockroom for over 20 years and knows the quantity of stock on hand without ever using a computer. The manager asks about certain larger pieces and
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 20
    they are covered in dust and since they have been here that long just get rid of them. The employee says fine and when it happens that we need this part it takes 6 months to replace it at a much inflated price from the year this one was purchased. He also added that you can talk to the media about why the water will be off for months. The new manager never visited the stockroom again. ✩ Vote Reply Share
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 21
    NotATroll1234 · 6 hr. ago When the CFO came in, I would have asked to speak privately, then let him know what GBL was doing and that progress would go faster if she actually DID something. All told, you did your best with what you were given, and you complied. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 22
    GreyAzazel 5 hr. ago It seems like if you were all left alone to do your jobs rather than being micromanaged you would have finished Sunday lunchtime if not earlier. She directly contributed to her own failure. Reply Share Vote ●●●
    via u/Godnessy4
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  • 23
    Geminii27 4 hr. ago "I told you that -" "No-one gives a you're not the one paying us." Reply Share Vote what you said,
    via u/Godnessy4
  • 24
    HouseNumb3rs. 4 hr. ago So she can do the job with the team... but chose not to contribute anything for that first emergency 24 hours ... so all the project time prior to this ... she's milking the job? Vote Reply Share ●●●
    via u/Godnessy4

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