Corporate greed. Sounds like a swear word, doesn’t it? Couple that with a jerk boss and you know nothing good is going to happen.

Just a few days ago, Reddit user Nmcade submitted a story to the popular ‘Malicious Compliance’ community about this toxic cocktail. The good thing for him, though, is that the guy wasn’t the one who had to drink it.

Nmcade is part of a ground crew for one of the major airlines—he’s the leader of the handler team. However, there was a time when management wanted to save $10 on staff, and asked him to clock in as a regular employee but carry out his usual duties. Needless to say, the worker refused.

So instead of saving a few bucks, the company paid thousands for stalling a plane and everyone on it.

There are cheap bosses and then there’s this one

Image credits: Darwis Alwan (not the actual photo)

In an attempt to save his company $10, he cost it thousands of dollars instead. Talk about the risk/reward ratio!

“Of course, I felt bad for the flight crew but blame must be placed on the billion-dollar company for refusing the $10 expense and not the paycheck-to-paycheck bottom-level guy who needs that money for his family,” Nmcade said in the comments after his story went viral.

“Not to mention if something had gone wrong when I brought that flight in, they could have fired me for doing lead work while not [technically working as] a lead and it would have been within their rights and that’s probably exactly what they would have done,” the Redditor added.

Such stunts can also cost the company valuable employees. In a survey of 1,000 Americans, Michelle McQuaid found that just 36% of workers are happy at their jobs, and more (65%) would choose a new boss over a pay raise (35%) because their current one is making them feel unappreciated, uninspired, and just downright miserable.

And it’s not just the US. A national representative survey of Australian employees focused on employment conditions revealed that companies that fail to keep up with expectations around issues like work-life balance and inclusive workplaces, run a risk of lower productivity and higher turnover.

The researchers discovered that employees with caring managers reported greater work-life satisfaction, greater access to flexibility, and positive work-life culture. Furthermore, 83% of respondents agreed their manager has unrealistic expectations of their performance.

However, before we judge the individual, we should first look at the system that ‘produces’ them. Zahira Jaser, who is an Assistant Professor at the University of Sussex Business School, highlights that the role of a middle manager is a challenging one.

“It requires being both a proactive leader to direct reports and an engaged follower to the top management, all at the same time. Current ideas of leadership and training fail to capture this complex double act,” Jaser says. “For example, executive development programs focus on teaching leadership skills so managers can influence direct reports, largely ignoring the development of their upward influence skills. But it is directly through these double upward and downward influence activities that connecting leaders can shrink hierarchical distance and bring multiple levels of an organization together.”

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So maybe if the airline cared more about the qualifications of its employees, they could’ve avoided this ordeal altogether?

People thought he handled the situation beautifully

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