Employee stops working hard after manager complains they are taking too long to finish tasks, realizes that's the key to becoming a “good" worker: ‘I'm officially done trying’

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 21, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

What constitutes a good employee? Is it going above and beyond to make your workplace better, or is it dutifully following orders as fast as possible?

Once you have worked for enough managers in enough workplaces, you realize that doing the job properly is not necessarily what they look for in employees. Sure, they might want you to get the job done, but their standards are usually slightly… askew.

When they present you with an assignment that has a deadline, for example, they might not particularly care that the assignment is completed properly; all they care about is that it is finished by the deadline or before. You can tell them that the job can't be done in time if they want it actually done, but they won't care. 

This leads many employees to one important conclusion: they don't need to overwork themselves to actually do a good job. All they need is to follow the orders as plainly as possible and call it a day. Don't work hard; work smart, and you will find yourself awarded "best employee of the year".

The person who posted this story on Reddit was hired as a retail worker two months ago, and for those two months, they did everything to do their best. But one complaint after another, this worker realized that doing their best is not what their managers are looking for. They just want the job to appear done as fast as possible.

So, instead of restocking shelves and organizing everything so it would look good, they just shoved products onto shelves and dumped the rest into the warehouse. The worker stopped caring about old products being expired, they ignored shelves that looked like a disaster, and didn't mind the broken items anymore.

And all of a sudden, their manager started praising them for working faster… It is simply all part of the game. All you gotta do is learn how to play it.

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  • 01
    Worker Organizing Frozen Goods in Supermarket Aisle.
    via SeventyFour

    Worker Organizing Frozen Goods in Supermarket Aisle.

    Subject is a model.

  • 02

    I realized my bosses don’t want me to do a good job, they just want me to fake it. So I did

    I had a massive epiphany at work today, and honestly, I just need to vent. To give you some context: I consider myself a bit of an awkward person.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 03
    I'm not spontaneous, I'm terrible at small talk, and my interests are super niche. On top of that, I have Multiple Sclerosis.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 04
    Because of my MS, I move and talk a bit differently, which gives off an "uncanny valley" vibe to some people.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 05
    As a result, I don't have friends, and frankly, I don't even care to try anymore because it's just too exhausting.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 06
    I've accepted that a lot of people will treat me with indifference or flat- out rudeness. It's my normal.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 07
    Despite all this, I have a very positive, "Disney-like" attitude. I try my best, I'm an absolute try-hard at everything I do, and I constantly worry about not being a burden to others.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 08
    When I got hired as a cashier two months ago, I gave it 110%. I wanted to do my job flawlessly and I was extremely nice to my coworkers.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 09
    Here's the catch: I have 5 different managers above me in this store. Each one of them runs the place differently.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 10
    What one manager tells you to do completely contradicts what another wants. If you follow Manager A's orders, Manager B gets furious at you.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 11
    They are just generally unpleasant people, both for good and bad reasons. Yet I kept trying my best.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 12
    But today, my main manager was exceptionally cruel. She screamed at me, telling me I don't think, that I do things mindlessly, and that I was "carrying heavy loads twice because I wasn't using my brain," all while aggressively tapping her temple with her fingers.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 13
    None of what I did was mindless. Everything had a reason. If I load a cart with merchandise, I have to unload it when I'm done.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 14
    That's a rule I've been following- along with all my coworkers-for the two months I've been here, even under her specific supervision.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 15
    But I guess she was in a bad mood. I immediately wanted to burst into tears.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 16
    Fortunately, I was in the warehouse, so I let it out where nobody could see me.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 17
    By the time I went back down to the floor, I was fine. But then, she screamed at me again.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 18
    Today was brutally hot, the store's AC wasn't on, and the warehouse was a literal oven.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 19
    Sweat was dripping into my eyes and soaking my shirt. The urge to cry hit me a second time, and every time I cried, my brain just started shutting down more and more.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 20
    Two hours before the end of my shift, she screamed at me again. By this point, I had no tears left.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 21
    My brain completely gave up. She was yelling that my coworker and I were taking eight hours just to check four shelves.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 22
    In reality, those eight hours were spent running the cash register, helping endless customers, baking bread, restocking the produce section, and dealing with crises like running out of bags, running out of coins for change, and a trash can literally smoking because someone threw a lit ciga tte in it.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 23
    But I wasn't even trying to argue back in my head anymore. I just wanted to go home and sleep.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 24
    So, I filled the cart with the remaining stock, but this time, I didn't do my job.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 25
    A worker in a big supermarket.
    via Bernard Hermant

    A worker in a big supermarket.

    Subject is a model.

  • 26
    This time, I just glanced at the products, shoved a few things onto the shelves haphazardly, and dumped all the rest back into the warehouse.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 27
    My manager's reward? She looked at me and said: "See? I knew you could move faster." And right then, it hit me.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 28
    That's what I was supposed to be doing all along. Instead of actually doing my job right, I was supposed to pretend to do it at an unrealistically fast. pace just to look good in front of my boss.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 29
    Suddenly, everything made sense. I finally understood why the fresh milk always expires on the shelves (they put the newest bottles at the front to save time).
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 30
    I understood why the back of the shelves is a disaster, with products crushed or falling to the floor (they violently cram the entire box onto the shelf just so they don't have to bring it back to the warehouse, proving how much they "restocked," regardless of whether there's actually room).
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 31
    I understood why there are so many broken items (when you rush that fast, cans, bags, and glass jars constantly drop).
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 32
    Now, I have to go through a process of acceptance that will probably take me a few weeks.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 33
    I know I'm going to cry a lot because I truly love my "rainbow world" where people are kind and things are done right.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 34
    But eventually, I will mourn the of that ideal, and I will accept reality. I'm officially done trying.
    via LauMiauPlays
  • 35
    From now on, I'm just playing the game.
    via LauMiauPlays

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supermarket boss worker workplace-stories employee manager job retail overworked-employees workplace
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