It still amazes us how far removed from reality some managers really are. It’s fine to come up with new systems, rules, and regulations, but they have to make sense. And if they don’t, a leader should be willing to either roll back the changes or find some sort of compromise that works for everyone. Alas! Not every boss is willing to listen to their employees when they ring the alarm bells.

Case in point, redditor u/dc1920 recently regaled the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit with a very amusing story about how she taught the managers at her job a lesson they won’t soon forget. The admin staff member usually helped out the other workers in the warehouse. However, when she was given a new uncomfortable “corporate and dressy” uniform to wear, she was told to sit at her desk and not do anything else. So she followed the new regulation to the letter and productivity dropped, massively! Scroll down for the full story.

Dress codes are often a sore topic in many workplaces. Few people enjoy being told what to wear

Image credits: Pressmaster (not the actual photo)

An admin employee shared how she was forced to wear a new, very uncomfortable uniform at work. This small change led to a huge loss for the company

Image credits: Tiger Lily (not the actual photo)

Management realized that they’d a mistake only a few months after the new regulations came into effect

Image credits: dc1920

The woman celebrated a small victory against her superiors

The OP shared how the new uniform made it completely impractical to do any sort of physical labor. Something that she would help out the other workers with whenever they needed an extra hand, due to understaffing issues. Now that she was told to “sit and look pretty instead of doing actual work,” productivity dropped.

However, it took management a few months to finally address what was happening. Redditor u/dc1920 explained to them that she’d raised the issues ages ago, but nobody would listen to her.

“I suggested hiring more warehousing staff to fill in the gaps left by the admin staff who were now chained to their desk by their uniform and unable to ease the pressure of the workload like we used to do,” she wrote. Soon enough, she got her old comfortable uniform back. Though it’s a pity that the understaffing issue still seems to remain unaddressed…

Image credits: CHUTTERSNAP (not the actual photo)

Convincing your boss to solve a particular issue can be a humongous task

Knowing how to address important issues with management is a skill of its own. In short, bosses love problem-solvers, so if you want them to actually listen to you, offer some potential solutions. It also helps to know when to talk to your superiors. For instance, you wouldn’t want to bring up any important questions when they’re extremely frustrated after, say, immediately after they get a report about a drop in net profit. You might want to let them cool down.

Something else to keep in mind is steering clear of topics that act as triggers for your managers. If you know that your boss is very big on cutting costs, try to gently navigate around the idea of spending more money. In other words, be direct but diplomatic. Accusing your boss of being cheap won’t win you any favors. Explaining to them why spending slightly more money in a given area will increase profits, however, might just work.

As often happens, your direct manager might not be able to solve your issue. In that case, it’s best to speak to human resources or go higher up the corporate food chain. Set up a face-to-face meeting with the head of your department or their boss, or their boss’ boss. If it’s a serious issue that negatively affects both you and the company’s bottom line, you shouldn’t be afraid to address it in a professional manner.

And if some good old-fashioned communication won’t work, you can always cue up some malicious compliance to prove to them that you’re in the right and that their new rules don’t make much sense. Sometimes, actions really do speak louder than words.

Image credits: Lukas (not the actual photo)

Dress codes are far more relaxed now than back in the day, but a lot depends on your particular position

Though if it’s come to this, it might be time to consider whether it might be time to jump ship. If management is unwilling to listen to its employees and the workplace environment is far from friendly, you might want to look for another company whose values align with yours more closely. Keep in mind, however, that no job is ever going to be ‘perfect.’ We’re all responsible for the boundaries we set at work and only we can tell when we can still look for compromises and when we need to leave ASAP.

Previously, workplace expert Lynn Taylor, the author of ‘Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant,’ told Bored Panda that the Covid-19 pandemic had shifted priorities for many companies, moving away from enforcing dress codes to focusing on bottom-line productivity.

“Where people sit, work hours and apparel naturally became more trivial. Executives also realized that comfortable clothes worn during the pandemic made them more productive and comfortable, too,” she explained to us during an earlier interview.

“20 years ago, wearing jeans to work was taboo in many larger corporations, except for a ‘casual day,’ largely an unfamiliar term today for most millennials and Gen Z. Now jeans have become more of the corporate uniform,” she said.

“Jeans are often accompanied by proper, presentable shirts and tops. And because of their pervasiveness—more ancillary wardrobe items, such as blazers, accessories (shoes and belts), now assume greater importance in upgrading one’s professional appearance.”

However, what the dress code is like will depend a lot on an employee’s position and how much they interact with clients. “The caveat is that when people congregate in the office or with clients, few companies will have an ‘anything goes,’ policy. While dress codes have become significantly more relaxed at all levels, those who push the limit will likely be admonished. Companies are still enforcing some level of dress code decorum,” workplace expert Taylor said.

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

The internet loved the admin employee’s story, and the author enjoyed responding to the comments

Meanwhile, here’s what some other redditors had to say about the situation

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