Worker Takes Boss's 'No Phones During Work Hours' Rule Literally By Ignoring His Calls During An Emergency
As the saying goes, play silly games, win silly prizes.
insta_photos | Shutterstock Most of us at one time or another have worked for a boss who loved to issue sweeping, draconian rules that served no real purpose besides allowing them to go on a power trip. And in these situations, malicious compliance is often the most effective way to push back and give a boss a taste of their own medicine.
A worker fought back against a strict 'no phones' rule by applying it to their boss.
"Malicious compliance" refers to following a rule to the absolute letter in a way that makes the rule infuriating to the person who made it. It's a perfect way to exact revenge, and a Redditor's story about one of their workplace rules is a perfect example.
The worker said that it's standard to keep their phones on their desks most of the day. "We've always been allowed to have our phones at our desks, sometimes family emergencies happen, doctors call back, whatever," they wrote in their Reddit post. "As long as we weren't scrolling social media all day, nobody cared."
insta_photos | Shutterstock
The problem began when the manager saw another employee checking a text during work hours. Soon enough, an all-staff email full of all-caps arrived: "'EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY: No personal phones during work hours. They must be left in your car or locker. This means 9-5, NO EXCEPTIONS. Anyone caught with a phone will be written up.'"
This worker said, "okay boss" and immediately set about proving to the new manager that he'd made a grave mistake. Boss works from home three days a week, and when he does, guess how he contacts his staff? He pings their cellphones. Oops.
The worker began ignoring his boss's calls and texts.
As you might guess, it wasn't long before this backed up on him. On a Friday just before 5, a major emergency issue came up. "I see it, could fix it in 10 minutes," they wrote, "but my phone is in my car as per policy."
When they got to their car, they saw 17 missed calls about a server crash, which had been down for 30 minutes. The worker called their boss and said, "hey, just got to my car and saw your calls. What's up?" Naturally, their boss demanded to know why they hadn't answered the phone. "I remind him about the no phones policy," they wrote. "He says that's different, this was an emergency."
Ah, but that's not what the rule said, was it? "I point out his email said 'NO EXCEPTIONS and I was just following policy to avoid a write-up," the worker wrote. By Monday morning, the "no phones" policy had been rescinded.
There are myriad reasons this rule was dumb in the first place, but chief among them is that when you treat hardworking grown men and women like children, they get the picture very quickly that you don't trust them or respect them. That inevitably makes them want to find a new workplace.
HR experts say that the cost of replacing a lost employee often comes to a staggering FOUR TIMES their yearly salary, and that's per employee!
All that money down the drain just because you want to act like a tyrant and make dumb rules? It used to be when a boss wasted money like that, they got fired. Maybe we should go back to the old-fashioned business style.
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
