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Boss Demands Employee Complies With Lunch Break Rule, Ends Up Making Them Way Less Efficient
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Boss Demands Employee Complies With Lunch Break Rule, Ends Up Making Them Way Less Efficient

Boss Demands Employee Complies With Lunch Break Rule, Ends Up Making Them Way Less EfficientEmployee Maliciously Complies When Boss Says That Their Lunch Break Should Be 1 Hour ExactlyBoss Wants Precise Lunch Breaks That Last Exactly One Hour, Employee Complies Maliciously“Lunch Is Only An Hour”: Employee Gets Reprimanded By Boss For Using Their Break To Help Colleagues, Maliciously Complies With The New RulesEmployee Is Forced To Be Less Efficient After Boss Tells Them Their Break Is 1 Hour LongBoss Insists Employee Can't Be Late After His Lunch Breaks Even If They Are Doing Company Business, They Maliciously Comply To Be Less EfficientBoss Demands Employee Take Exactly One Hour Lunch Break, They End Up With An Extended Break At Company's ExpenseBoss Insists On Precise Lunch Breaks, Forces Efficient Employee To Maliciously Comply And Spend More Company Time Doing A Simple Task
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No good deed goes unpunished. Or so it seems. Helping out your colleagues and doing someone else’s job for them can land you in some hot water with your superiors. Especially if they’re unwilling to listen to your explanations. However, at the same time, boundaries at work exist for a reason.

Redditor u/The_Golden_Ranger shared how they like to help out their colleagues during their own lunch hour. They’re a nice person and it isn’t a major inconvenience for them. As a result, they end up extending their lunch to make up for the time lost.

However, their boss got angry at them and reiterated that lunch is exactly one hour. As a result, the employee complied maliciously and ended up being far less efficient and cost the company more money. Scroll down for the full story, the mixed reactions to it, and let us know what you personally think, dear Pandas.

Some employees like to help out their coworkers. Some do it during their lunch hour. However, this can lead to some complications down the line

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

One worker explained what happened when their boss stressed the fact that lunch is only an hour and can’t be extended

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The redditor’s post got mixed reactions on the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit. Some internet users pointed out that u/The_Golden_Ranger shouldn’t be doing someone else’s job for them. Especially when it comes to sensitive things like dropping off bank deposits.

If the redditor got into an accident, got robbed, or lost the money during their lunch hour the situation would get complicated very quickly. What’s more, some redditors were confused about why the author of the post kept traveling to make the bank deposits, something that’s done as a courtesy for their coworkers, even after they got told off.

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Meanwhile, others pointed out that things are actually better now that they’re less efficient. Since the employee is now technically working during work hours, they may be eligible for worker’s compensation if, God forbid, anything bad were to happen to them while making the trip to the bank.

What’s more, it’s vital to maintain communication with your superiors. Especially if you want to get ahead in the company. Financial expert Sam Dogen said that employees should learn to ‘manage their managers’ by keeping them informed about their contribution to the company.

“Managing your manager entails keeping him or her abreast of what you are up to. It means highlighting your key wins and reminding them at the end of the year about what you did in the first half of the year,” the founder of Financial Samurai told Bored Panda some time ago.

Workers should also strongly consider keeping a paper trail of the most important interactions and promises.

“It is very important to keep everything in writing. Over time, we tend to forget our interactions. By keeping things in writing, we can better remember situations and better argue for ourselves when it comes to asking for a raise and a promotion,” he said.

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The story got mixed reactions from the members of r/MaliciousCompliance. Here’s the advice they gave the OP

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Jonas Grinevičius

Jonas Grinevičius

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

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Jonas Grinevičius

Jonas Grinevičius

Author, BoredPanda staff

Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

Austėja Akavickaitė

Austėja Akavickaitė

Author, Community member

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Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

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Austėja Akavickaitė

Austėja Akavickaitė

Author, Community member

Austėja is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Photography.

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Beth L
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm surprised a business is this lax with who handles their money. If your job description doesn't involve being in the cashier/cash-handling chain of command, don't handle the cash, period. It isn't worth the risk of being on the hook if the deposit comes up wrong at the bank window, even in a company car on company time. I'm surprised the cashier's lead even started this.

C W
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I literally just wrote some thing similar. If you’re not supposed to be handling the money never ever ever touch the money. If something goes wrong it’s your ass.

Load More Replies...
C W
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If handling the bank deposits isn’t specifically part of your job description then it’s a terrible idea to take it on. If something goes wrong it’s your ass and technically you weren’t supposed to have the money to begin with,

Michael Russel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. If you want to take it on (bad idea to volunteer for handling money) then make sure your boss has given the ok. Otherwise "your not following proper cash handling procedures" And make sure its in an email that he says its ok. Whenever you depart from procedure, especially with money, you leave yourself open to problems. For example, you get injured at work, or have to take a month off for heart surgery, or have a baby or wont lie and say you didn't see your boss grab the interns ass, and now there's a totally legit sounding pretext to fire you. And you left yourself wide open to it. And maybe you didn't even realize that your boss, or that coworker you thought was your friend, was taking careful notes just in case they ever needed something on you.

Load More Replies...
WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Totally agree with the people that are saying that you never should do anything for free that isn't part of your job or your responsibility. As some people pointed out: When things go wrong, the company will be the first to put all the blame, accountability and liability on you. After all, they didn't ask or order you to do it, you have never been approved to do it and it's not a part of your job to do it. So you're going to be screwed.

Julia Purdy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention: what if some day you don't return from "lunch" and the bank never saw the money? What does that make you? You sound like a con artist practicing your routine. Surprised they are even keeping you, but either they can't replace yiu or you are conning them too.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
Beth L
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm surprised a business is this lax with who handles their money. If your job description doesn't involve being in the cashier/cash-handling chain of command, don't handle the cash, period. It isn't worth the risk of being on the hook if the deposit comes up wrong at the bank window, even in a company car on company time. I'm surprised the cashier's lead even started this.

C W
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I literally just wrote some thing similar. If you’re not supposed to be handling the money never ever ever touch the money. If something goes wrong it’s your ass.

Load More Replies...
C W
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If handling the bank deposits isn’t specifically part of your job description then it’s a terrible idea to take it on. If something goes wrong it’s your ass and technically you weren’t supposed to have the money to begin with,

Michael Russel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes. If you want to take it on (bad idea to volunteer for handling money) then make sure your boss has given the ok. Otherwise "your not following proper cash handling procedures" And make sure its in an email that he says its ok. Whenever you depart from procedure, especially with money, you leave yourself open to problems. For example, you get injured at work, or have to take a month off for heart surgery, or have a baby or wont lie and say you didn't see your boss grab the interns ass, and now there's a totally legit sounding pretext to fire you. And you left yourself wide open to it. And maybe you didn't even realize that your boss, or that coworker you thought was your friend, was taking careful notes just in case they ever needed something on you.

Load More Replies...
WilvanderHeijden
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Totally agree with the people that are saying that you never should do anything for free that isn't part of your job or your responsibility. As some people pointed out: When things go wrong, the company will be the first to put all the blame, accountability and liability on you. After all, they didn't ask or order you to do it, you have never been approved to do it and it's not a part of your job to do it. So you're going to be screwed.

Julia Purdy
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention: what if some day you don't return from "lunch" and the bank never saw the money? What does that make you? You sound like a con artist practicing your routine. Surprised they are even keeping you, but either they can't replace yiu or you are conning them too.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
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