'His inbox soon overflowed with 20 to 30 pointless emails daily': Micromanager regrets insisting on being copied on everything following malicious compliance

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 11, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Employers should learn to be careful what they wish for more than anyone else. 

This old adage is something we tend to teach our kids in preschool. We've heard it over and over again on television, in nursery rhymes, and in countless mediocre school productions of Into the Woods. Yet still, it seems that our managers and bosses have forgotten what things might look like if their wishes come true and the ridiculous demands they put upon their employees are met. 

This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by an employee who was tired of being micromanaged by a boss who insisted on being copied on every single email. Well, we all know how this one ends. Clearly, the boss did not actually mean every single email, but that's what they asked for! You get what you get and you can't get upset, am I right? 

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the best reactions from folks in the comments section. For more content like this, take a look at this post about another employee who spammed their boss's email account.

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  • 01
    ews "Every 2 Single Email, You Say?" Mail B NE
    via Brett Jordan
  • 02
    You want to be included in EVERY SINGLE EMAIL? M A little over a year ago, I found myself stepping into the role of Senior Project Manager for a long-standing client I had been managing for quite some time. The transition into this new position seemed promising until I began to realize the management style of my new boss, someone with whom I had never interacted during my previous role. It quickly became apparent that he had a penchant for micromanagement.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 03
    One instance that stands out vividly is when he questioned me via Slack (we work from home full-time), about why he hadn't been invited to an internal team call. I explained my reasoning, assuring him that I had everything under control and his input wasn't necessary for that particular discussion.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 04
    However, his micromanagement tendencies didn't end there. He began requesting updates on my lunch breaks, expecting notifications when I stepped away and returned, despite my Slack status indicating my availability. Furthermore, he insisted on being informed of my daily log-in and log-out times, regardless of his own online status. He even wanted me to outline my daily tasks within my Outlook calendar, hour by hour!
    via baconflavoured******
  • 05
    The situation escalated when he expressed discontent over not being included in client communication emails, despite receiving comprehensive updates during our weekly catch-up meetings. Despite my efforts to keep him informed through detailed reports and follow-up emails, he insisted that he be included in every single correspondence, citing transparency as his primary concern. I started to feel that I wasn't trusted and started to doubt my ability within my role. I battled with myself and wonde
    via baconflavoured******
  • 06
    EVERY SINGLE EMAIL YOU SAY? I began including him in every email, whether it was directly relevant to our projects or not. From routine communications with colleagues to mundane requests for IT support or office supplies, his inbox soon overflowed with 20 to 30 pointless emails daily.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 07
    Remarkably, not a single complaint about transparency surfaced thereafter, only complaints about too many emails. It seems inundating him with every conceivable email served as the perfect solution to his insatiable desire for oversight.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 08
    Any_Rest_9977 • 4h ago Malicious compliance is the best compliance.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 09
    PN_Guin 4h ago A good manager is supposed to help his people do their jobs, not bother them to feel important. Well this one isn't.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 10
    skaffen37 3h ago 20-30 Mails? Lightweight...
    via baconflavoured******
  • 11
    e 9lobaldude 4h ago Micro management, the bane of insecure and mediocre managers
    via baconflavoured******
  • 12
    The Dragon Doji • 3h ago Giving them exactly what they asked for is always glorious Malicious Compliance.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 13
    shophopper · 3h ago OP is a senior project manager under the supervision of the senior micromanager.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 14
    3am GreenCoffee • 1h ago We had a special projects manager who insisted on being copied on everything. Then she couldn't keep up with the deluge, kept missing things and had no idea what was going on with her projects. She would send us angry emails accusing us of not copying her on everything as instructed. We would forward the relevant email we already copied her on, with a cc to her. own manager. Then she would go silent. No apology for the accusations. Personally, if I ☐ up, I own it. With h
    via baconflavoured******
  • 15
    JustSomeGuy_56 • 37m ago I was setting up email for a client. My manager demanded he be copied on every email to or from any of our team. I told him that was a bad idea but he insisted. When we added another department to the system, that manager wanted to be copied on all his troops' eMail. (If my manager had it, he had to have it as well). Pretty soon their manager decided that she should be copied on all the eMails. As we rolled it out across the company, every manager decided they needed to
    via baconflavoured******
  • 16
    JGCii • 2h ago Nice... The Outlook calendar thing I can see, and have no issues with. That's what it's there for. But the rest... Dude's a real piece of work...and it's not pretty.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 17
    attgig • 2h ago Hour by hour status. He just doesn't have enough to do. Start giving him tasks to do for the project. He seems bored.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 18
    MistraloysiusMithrax • 3h ago The best response to a micromanager! Overwhelmingly comply until they drown in the consequences of their poorly thought out requests
    via baconflavoured******
  • 19
    Ring_Peace 1h ago I had a manager request to be in on every email I sent out, we had a tense relationship with the FD appointing me against her wishes. I dutifully added her in on all my emails that were project related but that wasn't good enough, a delve onto the internet have me what I was looking for. Google found a clever chap that had a VB script that would add someone to bcc, it lasted a week before adding her became unnecessary.
    via baconflavoured******
  • 20
    WeatherKat32621 • 37m ago My husband went through something like this a few years ago. He too got the "every e-mail" like OP. And he did the same thing, except he also included said supervisor about when he need to go drop a deuce, get rid of some coffee, you get the idea. After about two weeks of this, manager backed off and wished to resume just checking his Availability Status. Tee hee.
    via baconflavoured******

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