'I dare you!': Slacking coworker distracts cleaner from job, cleaner dumps water on him

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jan 14, 2024 8:00 AM EST

No one really cares about an unmotivated coworker who slacks off until they start to disrupt and affect your own work. 

If people want to mentally check out during work hours and save all their responsibilities to the last minute, that is their choice and their risk to take. But having been in a situation where I worked closely with someone like this, I can say that it becomes infuriating the minute that their lack of motivation starts to get in the way of your own process. For instance, if I needed my former coworker to sign off on an email so I could begin compiling information in a time-sensitive situation, this dude simply would not care and would continue to stall for as long as he wanted. Could it have been a total lack of self-awareness? Could it have been a power play? It could have been all of those things, but it didn't take long for his behavior to bite him on the behind. A few months later, he was gone. 

A similar result could occur for this Redditor's troublesome coworker. OP shared their side of the story via this thread on Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit, and let's just say that the coworker had a bit of a wet afternoon. Keep scrolling below for the full play-by-play. For more, check out this post about dramatic quitters.

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  • 01
    0 00 = "Dude, you don't move, [I'll] dump water all over you"
    via Towfiqu Barbhuiya
  • 02
    r/MaliciousCompliance Posted by u/GNU_PTerry 13 hours ago "I Dare You!" Okay, bet. S OC A couple of years ago I was working with a really obnoxious co-worker. He was super lazy, always complaining, extremely unmotivated to do anything actually related to his job, very motivated to mess around at any given opportunity. 8
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 03
    Anyway, this one night I was doing the big closing mop. At my store this meant filling a bucket full of water/floor cleaner, splashing it all over the store, scrubbing over with a hard brush and vacuuming everything with a wet vac. Clean, fast and effective.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 04
    So I get around to the front counter and there he is, just standing in the middle of my path with a-eating grin on his face. I'm like "Bro, can you move?" "Nah." "Seriously. I need to get this done fast." "Yeah, nah."
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 05
    "Dude, you don't move, Imma dump water all over you." "Go on then. I dare you!" Okay. One thing about me is I never make a threat I won't follow through. I immediately pour what's left in my bucket directly into his sneakers. He shrieks and jumps out my way. He spends the next hour complaining that his socks are full of water.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 06
    rlzack 14 hr. ago This is actually excellent advice for the general public - never make a threat that you aren't willing to follow through on. People quickly get the picture that you aren't kidding when you say you will do (whatever). Brilliant!
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 07
    fractal_frog 14 hr. ago Good general parenting advice, as well. Related: never offer a choice you don't want to follow through on.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 08
    ReactsWith Words 14 hr. ago Slacking off is bad. But going out of his way to make your job more difficult just for the lulz? Socks full of water wasn't enough.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 09
    Aduiavas 14 hr. ago This is great, and exactly what he deserved :) And you did warn him ;)
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 10
    Duckhunty 14 hr. ago It is always important to keep your promises. You did nothing wrong.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 11
    khaos43452 14 hr. ago I've always said "I don't make threats I make promises"
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 12
    No_Proposal7628. 14 hr. ago I don't know what else he expected you to do. He refused to move, you had a job to do and you did it. I do no feel sorry that he had waterlogged socks.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 13
    Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss 11 hr. ago What did the co-worker think he was going to accomplish? Did he think he was being funny? Did he take a swing at you after you soaked him?
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 14
    simply_not_edible 7 hr. ago Yeah, he probably thought he was being hilarious. That's precisely the kind of twobnobbler he sounds like.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 15
    Cow-puncher77 · 14 hr. ago You were duly warned.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 16
    Individual_Mango_482 9 hr. ago . This reminded me of when i worked at Quiznos years ago. Me(f) and the girl i was supervising were closing one night and doing dishes and about ready to mop the floor. For some reason we started splashing in the dish water, then grabbing sauce bottles and squirting each other, finally the soup pot (talking the big commercial size) was dipped in the sink and thrown, landing mostly on the floor. We had a good time and it wasn't like it really caused extra work cause
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 17
    Treesqueak 7 hr. ago When I was on the Navy, a sailor kept blowing cigarette smoke in my face. I told him to stop, and if he didn't, I would take the cigarette from him and stick it in his ear. I stuck it in his ear.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 18
    OneSaltyStoat 11 hr. ago Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 19
    Pretend_Day8227 - 6 hr. ago He deserved a mop to the face
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 20
    Geminii27 6 hr. ago "As you wish." .
    via u/GNU_PTerry
  • 21
    globalwarninglabel 1 hr. ago Or as we used to say, "Don't let your mouth write a check your can't cash."
    via u/GNU_PTerry

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace malicious compliance coworkers malicious-compliance-reddit reddit thread Reddit malicious compliance reddit toxic-work-environment
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