It goes without saying that taking frequent breaks is a must if you’re working a job that is physically or mentally demanding (or both). But breaks are a must, otherwise work’s gonna suck for everyone.

Don’t believe me? Consider this little story right here.

One person used to work for a manager who kept refusing them breaks, because the profit margin seems more important than someone’s physical and mental well-being, so they in turn refused to let the boss leave on time.

Yep, that’s very much possible, especially if malicious compliance is involved.

More Info: Reddit

Even heroes need to rest, so expecting an employee to hustle without a break is, if anything, inhumane

Image credits: mschwirzke (not the actual photo)

So, Reddit user u/Immediate-Bend7974 recently shared a story on the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit about how they turned the tables on their boss’ inability to provide even the most basic of things in the workplace.

The story goes that OP used to work in a cafeteria on their university’s campus. It was the perfect job as they could take shifts around lectures without losing time on traveling to lectures.

And the perks didn’t stop there: the manager mostly kept to herself by working in her office (sorry, “sitting” in her office), talking on the phone, and would sometimes disappear altogether; the other coworkers were nice; and best of all, OP volunteered to do closing shifts as the owner let them take home any leftover food—free feast for them and their roommates.

But there are still managers who keep up the “lets see how long they can work without a breather” game until they get maliciously complied with

Image credits:u/Immediate-Bend7974

The problem, however, arose with the breaks. You see, whenever OP worked a 5-hour (or longer) shift, they were entitled to a 30-minute break. They would ask the manager if they could take a breather, but she’d always come back with “later, we’re too busy.” OP would, in turn, end up working the whole 5 hours and not sweat it.

Until they realized they were supposed to be paid for their work, i.e. all 5 hours of it, whereas they were actually paid for 4.5 hours, meaning that they never got a break, nor did they benefit from working without it.

Incidentally, malicious compliance ended up being not only satisfying, but also managed to expose a little bit of wage theft

Image credits:u/Immediate-Bend7974

Image credits: EahJoseph (not the actual photo)

One confrontation later, the manager simply shrugged it off as “if you don’t take your breaks, that’s your problem.” But OP decided not to let corporate dictatorship take the helm and decided to play the game by maliciously complying with the contradicting rules and orders.

Here comes OP’s next shift—5 hours of work, divided into 4.5 of work during opening hours, and then 30 minutes after closing to clean up. Everyone else bolted as soon as the clock hit 7PM, but OP stayed back. This was the 4.5-hour mark at this point—and you know what that means!

Folks online loved the story and slammed the manager, all the while leaving nearly 22K upvotes on the post

Throughout the entire shift, OP made sure to ask the manager for a break, which they were promptly denied because work is king and rest is for the weak. So, at 7PM, with 30 minutes left and nowhere left to push off that break they were entitled to, they took off their apron and went on their break.

They didn’t go far for their break, though, as they just sat in the cafeteria and watched the manager clean the whole place, which would have been 30 minutes for OP, but, since the manager spent her days talking on the phone, she didn’t have the cleaning process perfected yet, so it took her well over an hour.

Needless to say, the break schedule was officially created and up the next day. You can call that an absolute win.

Image credits: Emilio Labrador (not the actual photo)

Now, if you’re wondering about the specifics of rest time and if it’s paid or not, the Code of Federal Regulations says that rest periods, which last between 5 to 20 minutes, are considered a part of work, but it’s only customary for the employer to pay for them. This is in contrast to meal periods, which last at least 30 minutes and are not paid for, but during which workers are not by any means required to perform any duties during that time. Unless they are required to eat at the desk, in which case that time should be considered work and paid for.

In OP’s case, quite likely the 30-minute break was a meal period, and as per (probably) local regulation, it was mandatory to take the break. Hence, their malicious compliance came into fruition in the best way possible.

And folks online were quick to judge the manager, mostly because of how they were very likely performing wage theft within that 30 minutes that never got used for breaks. And how it needed to be reported.

Others shared similar stories, with varying degrees of toxicity coming from the boss. You can bet work there never lasted long. Yet others cheered OP on, “hoping” the boss “didn’t break a sweat” with all that cleaning she needed to get done. Especially after how long she kept getting away with denying a break.

The story was short, but upvotage did not disappoint as the post got nearly 22,000 upvotes (96% of which were sending good vibes) and another 4 Reddit awards as of this article. You can check out the post in context here.

But don’t go just yet as we have another surprise for you, and that is the comment section below that awaits your input on this bit of malicious compliance.

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