New coworker demands that things are done "by the book" forcing the manager to remove flexible working agreements with the staff and making everything worse for everyone: 'Rules are Rules and they are there for a reason'

We're all so used to getting one pulled over on us all the time that we almost come to expect it. Some of us have adjusted to this by learning to object to everything, and finding everything objectionable is almost intoxicating in its own right, leading us down the pathway of contrarianism to our own folly. 

But sometimes you just need to recognize when you're getting a good deal, even if that deal isn't technically by the book. And it can be a shock for those coming from a corporate environment to a small office. Some people, especially those coming from a large corporation, are so used to railing against authority and the inert mass of the large corporate bureaucracy that they don't even realize that everyone in their new workplace is shocked by their constant outrage.

The very phrase "quid pro quo" has negative connotations for obvious reasons, but it's not always a bad thing to have things work this way. This manager had a quid pro quo arrangement with their staff, where their staff were able to take longer lunch breaks in exchange for dropping something off at the post office or at the bank on their way to wherever they were having lunch out of the office. This worked well; the 15 minutes extra the staff got for lunch far exceeded the time it took for them to complete the task, so this was effectively an extension of their lunch break. However, when a new staff member joined and challenged the practice, it led to a race to the bottom in which everything needed to be done "by the book," and things were worse for everyone.

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