An experienced, skilled employee is like a Swiss army knife, able to perform all sorts of functions and keep the whole operation running. But an inexperienced manager is an exact inverse, as they can be perfectly capable of wasting their potential, everyone’s time, and the company’s money simultaneously.

An internet user described the time they maliciously complied with a new manager who really wanted to save a dime on skip disposal. As usual, it ended up costing a dollar, as the employee, who had over five years of experience, was ordered to make cutting polystyrene into small squares his “top priority.”
More info: Reddit

Managers sometimes get “great” ideas that ultimately don’t work, waste time, and can sink a profitable business

Image credits: bilanol (not the actual photo)

An experienced employee described the time their new boss thought saving a little on trash disposal was a “top priority”

Image credits: westend61 (not the actual photo)

Image credits: p4ttl1992

Bad managers are often ignorant of the vital skills and knowledge that each employee possesses

The internet is full of incompetent, stubborn manager stories, but there is another major mistake Martin made. In the introduction, OP mentioned wearing a lot of hats at his job, coupled with half a decade of experience. This is clearly an employee with the experience and knowledge to solve most edge case issues, an employee that could pass on a wealth of knowledge to new workers (or managers, if they cared to learn). Instead, this extra value was thrown away in the trash alongside a mountain of polystyrene squares. This was a manager who just did not understand the strengths of those he managed and traded efficiency across the entire operation for slightly reducing waste disposal costs.

More savvy managers would recognize that OP possesses a significant amount of what is sometimes called “institutional knowledge,” which is a fancy, managerial way of saying they know a lot about their job and the company in general. Business analysts believe that knowledgeable specialists are almost always more expensive to replace than retain, so companies should do their utmost to keep these employees. This manager somehow managed to commit a double foul, as he squandered OP’s abilities on polystyrene and simultaneously did not even replace him with someone “cheaper.” To play the devil’s advocate, perhaps the manager was just ignorant, instead of truly incompetent (a fine line exists between the two) but his behavior after it became clear that the order was causing problems indicates an ego disproportionate to his ability.

Image credits: Alexander Isreb (not the actual photo)

Business research shows that experienced employees benefit companies disproportionately more than it might look on paper

Researchers have found that, increasingly, companies are struggling to keep up with expertise, a process called the decay of knowledge. In the information age, technology moves so quickly that, for example, the knowledge gained through obtaining an engineering degree is out of date or forgotten roughly two years after graduation. Simultaneously, employees are moving around more than ever, with the average tenure at a position being, coincidentally, two years. Without good retention strategies or high-quality workforce training programs, companies risk losing out on efficiency and productivity as the few, long-term (which OP would qualify as in 2023) employees leave or retire. A manager misusing such an employee is akin to selling off a logistics company’s trucks in order to create more parking space at HQ.

The knowledge of how a company operates is often quite distinct from theoretical, formal education. Similarly, unlike formal education, most companies don’t publish textbooks and other materials. Operational knowledge is often oral and passed down by the more experienced to less-experienced workers. The downside of this method is pretty straightforward, people are forgetful. Some research suggests that we forget 90% of new information within a month. If this information isn’t written down and an older worker retires, it might be simply lost. This just underscores the importance of correctly utilizing a worker like OP and, more importantly, having them do their real job, not some hair-brained waste efficiency scheme.

Image credits: Tiger Lily (not the actual photo)

OP answered some reader’s questions and detailed the manager’s incompetence

Readers expressed their mirth at just how block-headed this manager was

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