There are strict bosses who make no exceptions to their rules and then there are toxic ones who bend them every chance they get only to exploit their workers.

Recently, Reddit user Gloglibologna submitted a post to the platform’s ‘Malicious Compliance‘ community, telling a story about a manager in their company that falls into the latter category.

The man demanded the employees stay at the office until the very end of their work hours, no matter whether or not they could actually do anything, but at the same time expected them to put in extra effort during their free time as well.

As you might guess, it didn’t take long before everyone grew sick and tired of these double standards. Continue scrolling to learn how Gloglibologna and their colleagues responded.

This boss refused to allow his employees to leave the office even a couple of minutes early

Image credits: Ono Kosuki (not the actual photo)

So they devised a plan to give him a taste of his own medicine

It drove the boss nuts

Image credits: Nicola Barts (not the actual photo)

But there really wasn’t anything he could do about it

Image credits: Gloglibologna

If we take a look at the 12 traits the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) thinks bad bosses have in common, we would notice multiple features that, at least from what we see in this post, fit the VP at Gloglibologna’s office.

The invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs aged 40 and younger, believes that a one-size-fits-all approach to management, lack of empathy, and being focused on blame, rather than solutions and support (among other things) are the defining characteristics of lousy leaders.

And people do, in fact, often leave bosses, not companies. Even before they clear out their desk.

While much has been written about the Great Resignation, a new term has emerged to describe an increasingly common alternative to resigning, called quiet quitting. Driven by many of the same underlying causes as actual resignations, this concept refers to opting out of tasks beyond one’s assigned duties and/or becoming less psychologically invested in work.

To put it simply, quiet quitters continue to fulfill their primary responsibilities, but they’re less willing to engage in activities known as citizenship behaviors: no more staying late, showing up early, or attending non-mandatory meetings.

Gallup found that quiet quitters make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce, and probably even more.

During the second quarter of 2022, the proportion of engaged workers stood at 32% but the proportion of actively disengaged increased to 18%. The ratio of these two groups is now 1.8 to 1, the lowest in almost a decade.

The overall decline is thought to be especially related to clarity of expectations, opportunities to learn and grow, feeling cared about, and a connection to the organization’s mission or purpose, signaling a growing disconnect between employees and their employers.

So no wonder there were so many people who related to Gloglibologna in the comment section below their post.

Adrian Marsh, a career coach and regional director at Personal Career Management, which is recognized as the UK’s leading provider of bespoke career management and outplacement services for both organizations and individuals, told Bored Panda that, “a desire to work somewhere where they feel truly valued and appreciated is often listed as an important driver by [our] clients who are looking to change roles and on the other side of the coin, feeling unappreciated is often cited as a reason by clients who for leaving their last role,” Marsh said.

“Our sense of being valued as an employee can be diminished in multiple ways – e.g. a lack of appreciation or positive feedback about our work from managers, a feeling of being ‘taken for granted’, expected to consistently work beyond our contracted hours, being passed over for promotion without clarity as to why this is the case, unfairness, being expected to make sacrifices which affect our personal lives without this being acknowledged or compensated, not being awarded a payrise when perhaps others we perceive as less deserving have been given one.”

Marsh also pointed out that sometimes there can be a disconnect between what we see as being important in the way the role is conducted and what is measured and therefore noticed by the organization. “‘Burnout’ can also be a factor affecting people who may previously have loved their jobs and see them as vital, if the workload has become unsustainable such that work is taking a toll on their physical or mental wellbeing,” he added.

According to the career coach, if employees end up disappointed with their job, they should start looking at their predicament from an analytical point of view instead of simply hoping that everything will go back to normal.

“The first step and one we can start on at any time is to develop a clear understanding of what really matters to us about work and build on these factors to develop some clear career goals,” Marsh explained. “Our careers belong to us … and we are the only ones who experience [them], so we should not expect, or want, anyone else to do this for us.”

“To improve matters within a current role, make sure that your job description and objectives are clear, that you know what is expected of you, and how success will be measured,” he continued. “It’s also important that your job description, objectives and success metrics are realistic and accurately reflect the situation on the ground. If not, it’s good to have a discussion with your manager about refining the goals and objectives or gaining extra support.”

Another good way to improve job satisfaction is what Marsh calls job-crafting. “Employees often underestimate the scope that exists for adjusting their current role,” he highlighted. “The tasks it encompasses could be adjusted, there could be scope for creating more interaction with different teams, or you might want to try rethinking the purpose of the role – something that can be very powerful. The key to success with job-crafting is finding a win-win – identifying a gain for the organization as well as yourself. That gain would likely be the starting point for any discussion with your manager.”

Once you have a clearer picture of what you want from your career, how your current role fits within that picture, and how you’d like to see it evolve, you’re in a great place to have a career conversation with your manager. “This may take place as part of an annual review – even better if it can take place outside of discussions about pay and performance, thinking more specifically about your career ambitions and development aims,” Marsh said.

Thinking slightly longer term, “it’s important to recognize that achieving your goals will not just follow automatically from performing your job well. The image that our peers, colleagues, managers, and customers have of us, and ensuring that the folks whose opinions or impressions can affect our job prospects know about all the good stuff we have done are arguably (and some might say unfortunately) even more important factors and recognizing when change may be needed is also important.”

Extreme cases aside, quitting your job isn’t something you want to do on the spot. Sometimes, even a little bit of malicious compliance can be enough.

As the story went viral, people expressed their support for the original poster (OP), and some said they also had similar experiences

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