'Just do as you're told': Boss tells employee to stop asking questions at work and they comply, leading to boss making costly mistake

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jan 31, 2024 11:00 AM EST

One of the most important qualities of a good boss is their ability to give informational answers to their employee's questions. If they can't, or won't, help the people who work for them so they can become better at what they do, what is even the point in hiring employees? They can go ahead and just do all the work themselves.

I hope the boss in this Malicious Compliance Reddit story would learn that she needs her employees just as much as they need her. An employee shared that after she questioned some of the boss's orders, she was basically told to 'shut up and do what you're told'. After that, OP watched while the boss made a major error, but said nothing since that was what she was ordered to do. This mistake cost a lot of money to the boss, but who knows if that will ever get her to change her ways…

Scroll down for the full and detailed story. Once you are done, click here for a tale of a woman who had to refuse her brother when he asked for a loan, but for very good reasons.

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  • 01
    "Just do as you're told"
    via Canva
  • 02
    Want me to quit arguing with your orders cause you know better, fine.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 03
    So I work in a print shop and my boss is a huge control freak and also a know it all. She got tired of me questioning her orders one day and told me I was no longer allowed to question what she
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 04
    tells me, and to "just shut up and do what I'm told" A couple hours later comes an invitation from the non-profit group that shes a member of.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 05
    And in the customers email, the location of the event was spelled correctly. But she thought it was wrong and rather than googling it she just made me change it to what she thought it was supposed to be.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 06
    So with having been told to shut up and do what was told, I did, and we printed 150 invitations with the wrong event venue name on them and delivered them to the organization. The organization that she was a part of.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 07
    Next day they call upset because they sent me the correct information and got cards with the wrong info. Boss lady asked me what happened and I simply
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 08
    said "You told me change it so I didn't question it and did what you told me." And the funny thing is she was donating the job so now it cost her twice as much.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 09
    AngelaMotorman - 12 hr. ago Did the organization ever hear what happened?
    via u/AngelaMotorman
  • 10
    Affectionate_Fact109 OP 12 hr. ago Nope boss just apologized and had them redone and delivered later that day.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 11
    autochthonous · 12 hr. ago She threw you under the bus.
    via u/autochthonous
  • 12
    Affectionate_Fact109 OP 11 hr. ago I have no doubt in my mind she did! I've worked for this woman off and on for over 20 years and she's a firm believer that a good boss never admits when they are wrong about something.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 13
    In fact part of why I'm working on my exit plan right now is because I've recently caught her lying about me to other people to justify her treating me worse than she does everybody else.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 14
    SidratFlush 10 hr. ago You are aware that you're in a toxic relationship even if it on and off again.
    via u/SidratFlush
  • 15
    Zoreb1-9 hr. ago Exit just when she needs you the most.
    via u/Zoreb1
  • 16
    Affectionate_Fact109 OP. 8 hr. ago My exit speech is already planned. She's been promising to retire and leave me and the other manager to run things for a couple years.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 17
    And when I get things lined and ready to leave I'm up gonna make sure she knows that I love the job, but it's no longer beneficial to my mental health to keep working for her. She will have to either retire or find somebody capable of doing I do. everything
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 18
    Kit-Kat-22 11 hr. ago And that is why a proof should always be sent to the client for approval before going ahead with the whole batch.
    via u/Kit-Kat-22
  • 19
    Affectionate_Fact109 OP 11 hr. ago Oh that's the kicker. I sent the customer the proof. Boss changed it after that and told me "we have to quit making mistakes on proofs" which makes it even worse for changing it after proof approval.
    via u/Affectionate_Fact109
  • 20
    Sismal_Dystem 4 hr. ago Should've printed one card explaining the error, and placed it in the back of the pile....
    via u/Sismal_Dystem
  • 21
    freedmeister 9 hr. ago Why has it taken you 20 years to act on your knowledge of your bosses level of horribleness? You knew a long time ago.
    via u/freedmeister

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Tags

boss workplace-stories employee job malicious compliance retail tales-from-the-workplace retail worker reddit story workplace Horrible Bosses Reddit funny entitled people
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