'I gave them process... and panic': IT employee has it with the inefficient demands of his manager, maliciously complies and gets his way

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Oct 22, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Have you ever worked under a manager that literally has no idea how things actually work in the company?

 

Funny enough, that happens quite often. You can find countless rants online of employees having to teach their own manager how to do things efficiently. The best case scenario with this, is you get a manager who is willing to learn from you or perhaps you're given a promotion! The worst is when the incompetent manager doubles down and continues to just makes things more difficult for all of the employees. Luckily, for this IT employee, he was able to show his micromanaging manager the way via malicious compliance. It took one unhappy CFO for his manager to change his tune. 

Advertisement

  • "IT wanted process over results. I gave them process... and panic."

    IT employee maliciously complies to incompetent manager, ends up getting his way
    via Unsplash+ (and Kübra Arslaner)

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

  • A couple of years ago, I got shuffled out of the business side and into IT during a re-org.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • The official reason was "better alignment with software delivery." The real reason? I'm expensive, I don't do sales, and IT has a bigger budget.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Also, and this is educated speculation, I kept not approving IT's builds for not meeting specs - which, apparently, makes me "difficult" and not "solution oriented." So now I report to the executive I had previously challenged over the quality of his team's work.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Since joining IT, everything has to be a ticket. Doesn't matter if it's a question, a clarification, or divine revelation no ticket, no work.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • PMs handle ticket creation and prioritization, which sounds fine in theory, except my actual job is to consult with business analysts and developers.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • I know more about the rules, regulations, and use cases of our software than anyone in the company and my work doesn't easily fall into a ticket as it's more of a problem solving role for existing tickets.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Still, no ticket = no work. Bureaucracy over brains. Clients ― especially senior ones - tend to reach out to me directly because I can actually answer their questions.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Normally, I'd just respond and, if needed, make a ticket afterward for tracking. But management didn't like that.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • After one particularly "spirited discussion," over delays to close low priority tickets in leu of responding to high priority client emails, my boss told me to stop responding to client emails altogether.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • I was to forward them to PMs, who would create, prioritize, and assign tickets. I explained, patiently, that these emails often come from executives and need quick turnaround.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Boss's response? "Follow the process or we won't know how overworked you are." Okay then, boss.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Let's follow the process. A week later, I get an email from the CFO of one of our biggest clients asking for details about a customized build.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • IT employee maliciously complies to incompetent manager, ends up getting his way
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

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

  • It is very frustrating as a hard working employee when you have figured out an efficient way to do your job properly, and your manager just wants you to do it another, less-efficient way simply because they are power hunger and want you do to what they ask without question. Like, it's 2025. Get over yourself. 

  • Normally I'd get an estimate out in a couple of hours. Instead, I cc'd my boss and PM, confirmed I'd received the request, and politely asked them to create and assign a ticket.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • A few days later, the CFO followed up: "We need this by Friday." I replied again - cc'ing everyone - apologizing for the delay and asking that the assigned resource take note of the urgency.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • (Knowing full well no one had assigned the ticket.) Behind the scenes, I had already done the estimate and informed the client what was happening.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Spoiler: nothing. Suddenly, my boss is frantically pinging me: "Why haven't you gotten back to the CFO?!" I calmly reminded him that: 1.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • He told me to only work on assigned tickets. 2. He was cc'd on every email.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • 3. He'd have to ask the PM for a status update. There was a long, delicious silence before he finally replied: "Okay... you don't need a ticket for everything.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • In the future, if it's from an executive, just respond and make a ticket afterward." Sure thing, boss.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Glad we cleared that up. I sent the estimate, everyone was happy, and peace was restored.
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • And better yet, management now puts results over process. Well the first part anyway, but peace and results?
    via AlienAnimaReleased
  • Well, that's a malicious compliance story for another day.
    via AlienAnimaReleased

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

management salary boss employee hourly manager job work coworkers upper management co-workers IT employee employees what goes around comes around entitled people karma pay back career supervisor justice served workplace entitled r-entitled Reddit company business karma entitled people
Scroll Down For The Next Article