'I don't need your input. Just do what I say': New manager flexes his muscles with warehouse temperature policy, employee tries to warn him, malicious compliance ensues

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
May 24, 2024 2:00 PM EDT

Don't you just love it when the new manager makes things exponentially worse for everyone else? It's a common mistake that these horrible bosses tend to make. They come in and immediately feel like they know a better solution to the current system. Without properly hearing out all the employees' voices, they decide it would be more impressive to flex their muscles and insist that their solution is the proper one. 

Well, time and time again when this happens, the new manager stumbles. Either the policy simply doesn't work or there was a massive oversight that could have been easily avoided if folks at the ground level were given any real voice or authority in the matter. Here, we have a new warehouse manager whose idea to help maintain a cooler temperature in the space backfired almost immediately. Like all these stories, this debacle could have been avoided if the people who actually understand the warehouse environment were listened to before the policy was enforced. 

Keep scrolling below for the fallout. For more stories like this, take a look at this post about an employee who kept a running list of problematic quotes from management.

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  • 01
    "You want me to do it wrong? OK. It all pays the same to me..."
    via CHUTTERSNAP
  • 02
    So, my wife is having some issues at her work with multiple people of different levels of management telling her different things to do depending on who's the manager on duty at the moment. I said she should do what the acting manager told her to do and when another manager came on duty
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 03
    complaining about what she was doing to relay what the previous manager had told her and to let them work it out. I also said that she should document everything so that she could relate it to HR if it became necessary to do so. I then explained to her about 'malicious compliance' and what it meant.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 04
    This started me thinking about an incident at my old job at a manufacturing plant about 12 years ago. The building had two areas: A production/packaging area, and an attached shipping/receiving warehouse.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 05
    The production area was air- conditioned/heated. The warehouse was heated, but only had roof exhaust fans and no AC, so it got pretty hot in the summer, but was bearable (we just moved slower). On end of Friday we closed all the dock doors and shut off the exhaust fans and close the overhead door that separated the warehouse from the production areas
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 06
    (during the week the overhead was open but had those plastic flap strips you could drive a forklift through to keep the cool air in production). One Friday the newish manager, who spent little actual time in that building, told us that we should keep the fans on and the separation overhead door open during the weekend to keep the temperature cooler in the warehouse. Why he cared I really can't fathom. We tried to explain to him that with the dock
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 07
    doors closed the roof fans would simply all of the cold air out of the production area, but he blew us off with the standard, "You will do as I instruct you to do". So... cue MC. Monday comes that morning in July and it was hot as in the production area.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 08
    The warehouse was the same temperature as always, and the coils on the production AC units had frozen and we had to have people to come out and service them.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 09
    All the manager had to say was, "Keep that separation overhead door closed at all times!"
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 10
    erichwanh 2 hr. ago This started me thinking about an incident at my old job at a manufacturing plant about 12 years ago. Aw, I was hoping to hear how your wife got one over her higher ups.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 11
    Academic_Nectarine94. 2 hr. ago Keep us updated on if she does any MC. I feel bad for her. I had managers like that that pulled me from my department, then I'd get an unofficial talking to for not being in my department. I didn't mind helping others, but getting a line of people angry because they weren't helped fast and being told I needed to somehow not be found by managers and stay in my department was very frustrating.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 12
    grimes407 1 hr. ago I mean it was kind of silly/shortsighted of your boss, but I kind of sounds like he was just trying to make the warehouse cooler.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 13
    CthulhusSon · 40 min. ago When dealing with idiot managers always get it in writing.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 14
    • SnooCapers9313 · 24 min. ago A former big boss was amazing and I've always tried to follow his principle. He had managers for a reason. If he didn't like their decision he'd talk to then not blame the person doing what they were told to do. But I also had a boss who put lives in jeopardy because when we questioned him he just said I'm boss.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 15
    hymie0 20 min. ago The last words my ex-boss said to me -- "What is it going to take for you to shut up and do your job" -- were the last words he spoke to me.
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 16
    ManchesterLady 14 min. ago Options A. You walked out B. You just never acknowledged him again C. You hired a homan
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261
  • 17
    PdxPhoenixActual 2 min. ago Take it as an opportunity to embrace the nihilism of it. Nothing matters. "You want me to do it wrong? OK. It all pays the same to me..."
    via u/Illustrious_Log3261

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