rSlash - r/Maliciouscompliance Fire Me? I'll Become Your Boss

Episode Date: April 7, 2023

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Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Gabby here is a meditation instructor who just created her business website. Just need to choose a domain. Hmm, meditativeminds.ca or.com. That Canada goose looks grumpy. Also, why is he here? Well, Gabby, he's here to tell you that 85% of Canadians prefer supporting local business on a.ca over a.com. And.ca it is. Now repeat after me.
Starting point is 00:00:23 Whooooom. We'll workHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH to work for a big global company at one of their many big sites as an operations manager. I love the job, hated the company. I hadn't gone by my legal name in about 12 years at this point. Everyone knew me by another name. I used it everywhere, all my clients used it, and it was even the name on my name badge. I had zero problems, up until the new HR manager arrived. She was a nasty cow, and especially disliked me. At around 8 months working there, I still hadn't received any business cards and I'd put in
Starting point is 00:01:12 many requests for them over that time. I think maybe the new HR thought that she was gonna pull one over on me as she did, indeed, get my business cards printed and delivered. All 300 written with my legal name. I questioned her about this and she told me that it was company policy and that I would need to write my preferred name on each card if I wanted to keep using it. Even though there were several other managers who also didn't use their legal names
Starting point is 00:01:40 and yet had their business cards printed as they wished, I was singled out. She was so frickin' smug about it. legal names and yet had their business cards printed as they wished, I was singled out. She was so frickin' smug about it! And at this point, malicious compliance is really my MO. I'd never worried about changing my name legally, as it had honestly never really been an issue. People will generally call you whatever you introduce yourself as. But well, opportunity came knocking at my door, didn't it?
Starting point is 00:02:05 I spent $160 and a full day at the courts changing my name legally, and hell while I'm there, I'll just change my last name too. I was never attached to it, and my new last name was so much better. I also applied for a new driver's license and spent the rest of the afternoon faxing my new documents off to the many places that would need them. It was a lot of work and it did end up costing me about $200 altogether. But walking into work the next day was the most satisfying day of my time there. I was able to hand over my official change of name certificate and I personally handed the HR manager back all 300 brand new
Starting point is 00:02:47 completely unused business cars with my now previous name. And to top it all off, she had to update all my files in my contract, send everything to head office to be completed, and then come crawling back to my office for me to sign each one with my new name. That probably explains the vindictiveness she displayed later, but I ended up quitting not long after. I doubt head office would have liked having to fork out for another set of business cards either. And sure, I had to spend a bit of time and money doing it, but it was something I should have done a long time ago anyways. I just got a little shove in the right direction and the payout was so satisfying.
Starting point is 00:03:26 Down in the comments someone asked OP what else does HR person did that was vindictive and OP explains. Well the straw that broke the camel's back and made me quit was when she said, I hope you're not one of those modern women liberals. And she said that I should try to fit in more with the other women and insisted that I wear high heels into construction zones. Our next reddit post is from Somail. This happened 20 years ago after I had just turned 18. During my first adult job as a cook at McDonald's.
Starting point is 00:03:56 After working there for six months, I decided that I preferred to work as a bartender. So it was known that I was looking to find some other job in a bar. So I was supposed to clock out at 4pm. As soon as my shift ended, I punched my card. Yeah, we used punch cards back then, and then I was on my way to change clothes so I could leave. As I was leaving the kitchen, a big group of like 10-12 customers walked in the store, so one of the managers demanded me to stay to help.
Starting point is 00:04:23 Note that she didn't ask me if I could help, she demanded that I help. Even though I'd already clocked out, being 18 and nice, I agreed to stay in help. Around 20 minutes later, and I was still in the kitchen with several orders still to do, so I was complaining to the second manager who was also working the kitchen at the time
Starting point is 00:04:43 that I really had to go. For some reason, the first manager, the one who demanded that I stayed to help, overheard my complaint, and starts yelling at me that I'm useless, and that I should be grateful that I have a job, and that I shouldn't say these things because she knows I'm searching for another job, and she could fire me on the spot. Mind you, she wasn't working the kitchen, she just entered the kitchen to grab some stuff. So I told her that I'd already finished my shift. I currently wasn't getting paid for this time
Starting point is 00:05:11 that I was working and I was already late for the plans I had. She yelled at me, if you wanna leave now, you might as well quit. Cue malicious compliance. I followed her instructions to the letter. I told her, yeah, I do want to leave now, so I quit. I took off my shirt and pants because they were company issued and went to back up my
Starting point is 00:05:32 stuff wearing only my underwear. Even after picking up my clothes, I didn't bother to get dressed, just walked out the front door in my underwear. My shoes were also mine, so I wasn't barefoot. I then walked to my car where I put on the rest of my clothes. This happened in full view of the customers because the kitchen is in direct view of the whole store. She was dumbfounded and some customers even clapped and cheered because they heard how nasty she was being with me. Later I found out that she was reprimanded by the owner, probably because everything happened in view of the customers. And I even got a small bonus on my last paycheck.
Starting point is 00:06:09 Within the next couple of weeks, I found a bartending job that I kept for a few years. So in the end, everything was for the best. Opie, when you took off your shirt and pants, it's like, yeah, they're company-issued, I understand why you left them behind. But it's just so fine to think of that, it's just like a power move. To just be like I quit and then proceed to strip naked and charge out of the business bear-assed our next reddit post is from pizza hot Today I was on my way to work and when I got off my subway station
Starting point is 00:06:37 I still had a 10-minute walk away from work then I started receiving a lot of slack Notifications my boss said hey the CEO needs a change on the platform because of her presentation she has today. What change? When does she need it? A couple of style changes, but one of them has an endpoint that has to be modified. You're the only one who has access to the files, and she needs it ASAP. How far away are you?
Starting point is 00:07:01 I'm like a 10 minute walk away, and the change shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. When does she need it for the presentation? No, she needs you here now. She said that you should ask for an Uber with the company account. Okay, 5 minutes later. Where are you? I'm waiting for a car. It's still 5 minutes away, and it says the ride is going to take like 15 minutes to get
Starting point is 00:07:23 to the office. Okay. So I got to the office 25 minutes later due to the traffic. The CEO is visibly pissed. I started up the computer, made the fixes in about 15 minutes, and then they told me the presentation was still like 5 hours away. Our next Reddit post is from Lieutenant Cupcake. Years ago, I taught Sunday school on a voluntary basis at a mega church in my town. There were so many children in this church that classrooms were made available to group
Starting point is 00:07:52 children with Sunday school teachers for every year of their life until middle school and high school, at which point they attended a larger group with similarly aged peers and separate wings of the building. I taught two year olds and I loved every moment of it. My classroom boasted a huge number of children at about 20 to 25 per service. I was supposed to have an adult co-teacher, but all the other adult volunteers
Starting point is 00:08:16 were sent to other classrooms with a higher need. I had two high school age volunteers who were best friends, and who often spent service time playing together. Despite my repeated attempts to ask him to play with the kids instead, one of my volunteers was the director's son, who I couldn't replace because of this, and who clearly did not want to be volunteering. Despite this, and despite inheriting a huge classroom full of several special needs kids, my children played calmly throughout service,
Starting point is 00:08:46 and enjoyed the routine and the simple rules that I set to run the classroom efficiently. Children arrived, played calmly, sang songs, ate snacks, and went home. Even in the face of this obvious evidence that my classroom was running efficiently, I was repeatedly asked by church leaders to adopt certain mannerisms around kids that I found inauthentic and frankly patronizing.
Starting point is 00:09:09 I do not and will not speak in a high-pitched voice to anyone, child or adult. I do not and will not use words like upsy-daisy. These requests from the church were persistent. It was the opinion of the church that I wasn't warm and welcoming enough. They told me again and again that the church would prefer that I was over animated with a huge smile hug. I'm so glad you're here!" kind of greeting. One summer day, over 50 leaders and volunteers were called into a mandatory meeting. You know those meetings where you instantly know they're talking about you? The policies on words like,
Starting point is 00:09:48 Upsi Daisy were now set in writing, and I was shortly asked to step down for not using these phrases. I was not allowed to prepare my kids for the transition to a new Sunday teacher. I was immediately replaced, and I was fairly crushed about the sudden break from the little people that I like spending time with. And furthermore, it made me question my abilities to work with kids, an endeavor that I had already devoted my life to.
Starting point is 00:10:15 Unbeknownst to my church, I had long been working at a career in early childhood intervention, teaching a classroom full of two-year-old child victims of trauma and abuse with a heavy caseload of special needs kits. One Monday, my coworker called me over, asking what I made of this email she had just received concerning a church with an out-of-control, toozroom requesting that someone come consult with her new staff and help implement some new classroom techniques to manage difficult behaviors. Naturally, I agreed to do the consultation in person as soon as possible, and I asked my
Starting point is 00:10:50 co-worker to let them know that I would meet with them on a completely voluntary basis at their next Sunday service. It was absolutely my pleasure to greet my church leaders in France as their special consultant to their confused surprise. I walked them through all sorts of interventions and strategies that I'd previously used to create a calm classroom environment. And I strongly advised against the use of overly excited greetings and phrases like upcy-daisy and place of direct redirective requests. For example, please put your feet back on the floor.
Starting point is 00:11:24 It was my strong written recommendation that the written policies on these strategies be amended, and for staff to be immediately retrained in accordance with actual therapeutic practices. That was my last time stepping foot in that church, and will forever remain my most deliciously cherished memories of vindication. Our next red-appost posted from Northwest Passage. I used to work at a regional airline. The jet that we used for our flight to the nearest big city had six business class seats. The business class service was really good for a two hour flight.
Starting point is 00:11:56 It included a full bar service, a hot meal, warmed bread basket, followed by a trolley with dessert and signature coffee. Ah, the good old days. One of our regular travelers was a local business owner who was just a slimy business man. He had a reputation for making a lot of money from some pretty shady deals over the years. We would roll our eyes when we saw him coming to the check-in counter because he would always name drop and ask for special treatment. He always used the business class check-in line even though he was usually in economy.
Starting point is 00:12:30 He didn't have frequent flyer status, but he was buddies with one of the airline executives, and he always let us know this fact when he checked in by making sure to tell us that he was good friends with Vice President Karen. He would always ask for free upgrades, extra baggage, not charging a change fee, last-minute discounts, etc. If he didn't get what he wanted, he immediately called VP Karen, who would usually then call us and approve whatever it is he wanted. So one day, a slimy businessman checks in for his flight to the big city, and of course, he name drops and
Starting point is 00:13:05 asked for a free upgrade to business class because I'm friends with BP Karen and she said that it would be okay. He was traveling on a discounted ticket that wasn't eligible for upgrade, even if he did have an upgrade coupon, which he didn't. I told him that he wasn't eligible for any upgrade on this ticket and I gave him his boarding pass and sent him on his way. Of course, he flips open his cell phone and immediately calls VP Karen. Within two minutes, the phone at the check-in desk rings, and it's VP Karen authorizing
Starting point is 00:13:37 me to override the policy to upgrade Slimy Businessman to Business Class, with no upgrade coupon required. If there's room. The flight that day wasn't that busy, and there was only one person booked in business class leaving five open seats. I was really irritated, but I begrudgingly put slimy businessman on the upgrade list anyways. He returned to the check-in counter, picked up his standby boarding card and gave me that smug, told you so, look. But then, what VP Karen said, clicked with me. If there's room. The next passenger I checked in was a super nice lady. Big smile, friendly, please
Starting point is 00:14:17 and thank you. Oh, thank you so much for checking my packs to my connecting flight. That's so nice of you. I was taking my time and we were chatting a bit since it wasn't that busy. She was a teacher going on a trip to see your family and it was her first visit with them and over a year and was going to meet her new little nephew for the first time. She was overjoyed just to have the time off to travel. I typed in a few things into the computer to make it look like I was checking something about her connecting flight and then I said, Oh, you've been selected today to receive a free upgrade to business class. She was shocked! I've never flown business class in my life! This is so amazing!
Starting point is 00:14:54 Back then, we were rarely questioned if we upgraded someone without a certificate. Over the next 20 minutes, I found excuses to upgrade for other passengers. One who worked for one of our top corporate accounts, one who was legitimately a frequent flyer. And I can't remember the other two reasons, but by the time I went to board the flight, I had to tell slimy businessmen that I was sorry, but business class was full and I couldn't offer him an upgrade today. The teacher I upgraded profusely thanked me again when she boarded with the rest of the business class passengers.
Starting point is 00:15:29 Little did she know that it actually made my day also. That was our slash malicious compliance, and if you liked this content, be sure to follow my podcast because I put out new Reddit podcast episodes every single day. Bye.

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