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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Agyaani_ on 2025-02-02 18:59:41+00:00.
Alright, Reddit, gather 'round for a story of petty revenge and malicious compliance that left my boss red-faced and my coworkers cheering.
I work in IT support for a mid-sized company. My job is to fix tech issues, set up systems, and generally keep everything running smoothly. I’m also the go-to person when my coworkers have questions or need help with something tech-related. It’s not technically in my job description, but I don’t mind helping out—it keeps things running smoothly, and people appreciate it.
Enter Boss. Boss is the kind of manager who loves metrics and hates anything that doesn’t directly contribute to them. One day, Boss calls me into their office and says, “I’ve noticed you’re spending a lot of time helping other people. That’s not your job. Your job is to focus on your assigned tasks and nothing else. Stop wasting time helping coworkers.”
I tried to explain that helping others actually prevents bigger issues down the line, but Boss wasn’t having it. “No. Your performance is based on how many tickets you close. If it’s not a ticket, it’s not your problem. Understood?”
“Understood,” I said, smiling sweetly.
The Malicious Compliance Begins:
From that day forward, I followed Boss’s instructions to the letter. If it wasn’t a ticket, it wasn’t my problem. Here’s how it played out:
- Coworker Asks for Help? “Sorry, I can’t help you unless you submit a ticket. Boss’s orders.” The ticket system quickly became flooded with minor requests that I used to handle in seconds. Boss started getting complaints about response times.
- Boss Asks Me to Fix Their Printer? “Sure thing! Just submit a ticket, and I’ll get to it as soon as possible.” Boss was furious but couldn’t say anything without contradicting their own rule.
- The CEO’s Laptop Won’t Connect to the Projector Before a Big Meeting? CEO: “Can you fix this real quick?” Me: “I’d love to, but I need a ticket first. Boss’s policy.” CEO: stares at Boss “Is this true?” Boss: sweating “Uh, well, we’re trying to streamline processes…” CEO: “Fix it. Now.”
The Fallout:
The ticket system became so overwhelmed that IT response times plummeted. Departments started missing deadlines because they couldn’t get the tech support they needed. Boss was getting heat from all sides but couldn’t backtrack without looking incompetent.
Finally, Boss called me into their office again. “Okay, you’ve made your point. You can go back to helping people without a ticket.”
I smiled and said, “Just to clarify, you’re officially rescinding the ‘no helping without a ticket’ rule?” Boss sighed. “Yes. Consider it rescinded.”
As I walked back to my desk, a few coworkers shot me knowing grins and subtle thumbs-ups. Word had gotten around, and everyone was quietly enjoying the fact that Boss’s ridiculous policy had backfired spectacularly. One of them even slid a coffee onto my desk with a note that said, “Thanks for taking one for the team.”
TL;DR: Boss told me to stop helping coworkers unless they submitted a ticket. I complied, flooding the system and causing chaos. Boss eventually caved, and I got to enjoy the sweet taste of malicious compliance.