Boss demands IT send "detailed daily reports" for everything little task they do on the job, IT sends an 87-page novel in response: ‘8:02 AM: Logged into system’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 1, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Some jobs only get done behind the scenes, so that nobody else knows what the people who work these jobs actually do all day. IT workers are a great example of that kind of job. Everyone knows that IT is a crucial job for any company; everyone knows that work will not get done without them. But if you ask any employee at the company what IT actually does during the workday, they might not be able to find an answer.

That line of thought is probably what led the boss below to demand IT for detailed daily reports. He wanted to know exactly what his employee does all day, and what better way is there than to force the employee to spend valuable time on reports showing precisely that?

"From now on, I want a detailed daily report from everyone. Every single task you did, no matter how small."

You got it, boss!

That demand is what led the IT employee to send the boss an 87-page novel documenting every single thing they did during the workday. It wasn't a surprise that the boss was not excited to read the report he asked for…

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10547277824
    via Dean Drobot

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    Boss Demanded ‘Detailed Daily Reports’? Sure. Enjoy Your 87-Page Novel.

    I work in IT at a mid-sized company. My job involves a lot of small but critical tasks ―most of which are invisible when everything is running smoothly.
    via Olastun_bee
  • 03
    Our new manager came in and decided we were "not doing enough." His brilliant idea?
    via Olastun_bee
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    "From now on, I want a detailed daily report from everyone. Every single task you did, no matter how small."
    via Olastun_bee
  • 05
    Okay, sure. You want detailed? You got it. I spent the next week tracking everything:
    via Olastun_bee
  • 06
    "8:02 AM - Logged into system" "8:04 AM - Responded to ticket #4829 (password reset)"
    via Olastun_bee
  • 07
    "8:07 AM - Adjusted printer queue on floor 3" ...all the way through every mouse click, every reboot, every 'quick fix' nobody usually writes down.
    via Olastun_bee
  • 08
    By Friday, my "daily report" was 87 pages long. Times New Roman, size 11, single- spaced. I attached it as a PDF and CC'd everyone he had put on the distribution list.
    via Olastun_bee
  • 09
    Monday morning, he storms into my office: Him: "What the hol is this?!"
    via Olastun_bee
  • 10
    Me: "My detailed daily report, per your request. Did you want more screenshots?" Funny thing... later that day, a new policy email went out:
    via Olastun_bee
  • 11
    "Starting immediately: Weekly summaries are sufficient. Bullet points encouraged." Guess we're not "not doing enough" anymore.
    via Olastun_bee
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    Businesswoman Working with Stack of Papers
    via Elnur

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    SporadicTendancies I would have included a 1-2 minute log for each job to be logged in the report... Then another log logging the log.
    via SporadicTendancies
  • 14
    vatp46a You missed a golden opportunity to log the activity of logging each task - you'd have twice as many entries for a 174-page report. Add in a daily review of the log and a weekly QA step and you're approaching 180.
    via vatp46a
  • 15
    123cong123 I don't work in IT, but I have friends. When you don't know what others do, it's easy to not know what others do and think they don't do much. You gave
    via 123cong123
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    him exactly what he needed, an understanding of what you do and a realization of what your day is like. Your efforts helped you, your co-workers, and your whole profession. Good job!
    via 123cong123
  • 17
    PN_Guin I would have been tempted to use a speech to text software and just keep talking all day about my tasks. Potentially with in depth explanations.
    via PN_Guin
  • 18
    desmojeff Ah, small but critical things that don't get the attention from management they deserve. Or the respect.
    via desmojeff

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job malicious compliance tales-from-the-workplace it overworked-employees workplace company report funny
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