Some people view a contract as toilet paper, thinking they can wipe their butts with it and flush it down the toilet whenever they like.

Reddit user and web developer No_Concept_9848 had clients who were exactly like that.

They signed a document, agreeing that he would build them a website and they would pay in three installments.

However, one completed project later, they had only wired a third of the sum and refused to transfer the rest saying they had decided to go with another developer.

So No_Concept_9848 decided that he too doesn’t need to play by the rules and took revenge. When everything was said and done, he made a post on r/MaliciousCompliance detailing how it all went down. Here’s what he wrote.

This web developer completed his side of the deal but got only a third of the payment

Image credits: cottonbro (not the actual photo)

So he decided to take revenge on the people who hired and ghosted him

Image credits: Lukas (not the actual photo)

Image credits: u/No_Concept_9848

As the role of technology has grown, so too has the role of precarious employment in the economy. Statistics on exact numbers vary depending on who compiled the numbers, but according to one 2017 estimate by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, temporary agency work, on-call work, contracted work or freelancing is the main source of income for more than 10% of US workers.

Generally speaking, examples like the one you just read aren’t that common. According to the 2021 Global Survey on Freelancing, self-employed people are busy, engaged, and optimistic. Over 60% of freelancers have enough or too much work, report satisfying relationships with clients, say they’ll meet their financial goals, and remain committed to being their own bosses.

These findings fit well with demand trends: over 90% of companies depend on freelancers and plan to increase their use. Markets and professional specialties vary — some regions and industries are more mature than others – but, overall, freelancing is a strong industry.

However, without full-time jobs to rely upon, workers in insecure employment face a raft of pressures from which their more formally employed colleagues are better protected during times of high economic uncertainty.

Chia-Huei Wu, professor of organizational behavior at Leeds University Business School, UK, believes that a lack of financial stability can create a huge psychological toll for the self-employed. His 2020 research of 1,046 employees in Australia showed those who experienced chronic job insecurity, which he defines as four years or more of higher job insecurity, were more likely to undergo personality changes that affected their mental health.

“The experience of chronic job insecurity can affect individual wellbeing by undermining a person’s social and professional life,” he explained. “Over time, these workers became more depressed and neurotic, and less agreeable and conscientious.”

Clients like this couple aren’t making things easier.

The developer provided more context as his story went viral

And people were glad that the couple got what they deserved

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