You have to wonder what is the thought process and context for deciding to mess with an IT guy—already a very dangerous step to make because of their notorious ingenuity—let alone a veteran IT guy with over 2 decades of presence under his belt and the only IT guy on board. Can there be an even more dangerous recipe for corporate disaster?

There can. Add a sprinkle of malicious compliance and you got yourself one of the most devious outcomes out there, sending a message not to just one company but to all companies that you never mess with your (entire) IT department.

More Info: Reddit

Messing with the guy responsible for the tools that make your business work is like enraging a hornets’ nest—darn right it’s gonna sting

Image credits: Khairil Yusof (not the actual photo)

And if you think a sting is a lot, malicious compliance is what kills it, garnering 6 months of continuous vacation all because someone didn’t honor the deal

Image credits: Icy-Maintenance7041

Image credits: plenty.r. (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Icy-Maintenance7041

In the end, the IT guy not only got his 6 months off, but also got a pay rise and some well earned peace at his job after 2 dedicated decades of hard work

Image credits: SunCon Photos (not the actual photo)

A Redditor by the nickname of u/Icy-Maintenance7041 recently shared a story of malicious compliance that taught his company (and sent a message to all other companies) about respecting agreements with the only guy you have available to fix your computer problems.

The story goes that OP has been the IT guy at this one company for over two decades now. And being a veteran of this particular company means a number of things, including a sweet boost to the total annual vacation time. OP has always been a team player, working overtime, adjusting to circumstances and taking time off during the company’s version of off season.

Well, one time when he did want to take time off, it turned out that the company needed him during the time he planned to take time off. No big deal, thought OP, as he struck a deal to postpone his regularly scheduled vacation without losing a portion of it due to company policy (or so it seemed) and so things were calm in IT town.

Long story short, some time later OP found out that the whole vacation deal he had worked out with his boss wasn’t actually approved. And a quick double-check with the appropriate parties confirmed this. So OP was now essentially looking forward to nothing when it was supposed to be his time off. The boss-people hadn’t honored the agreement.

Image credits: plenty.r. (not the actual photo)

Well, if that’s the game they’re playing, hey, two can play at it. OP also chose not to honor their agreement and so the next day he talked to some people and figured out how much vacation time and overtime he had accumulated over the years and decided now was the best time to cash those in. You know, because the vacation time would be gone if unused this year… as per company policy.

Without getting too complicated, OP essentially divided up his vacation time and overtime into alternating segments to form a continuous string of I’ll see you in 6 months, don’t let the water cooler get lonely. To add insult to injury, he put in his resignation as the cherry on top, i.e. the day following the end of his semi-sabbatical.

Not 30 minutes later, the boss-man popped up at his desk and said “What the heck, man?” A quick back and forth later, the superior understood that, because of the way he dishonored the vacation agreement, the IT was forced to look for bigger and better things. And then OP went home, officially starting his vacation.

The next morning, OP gets a call. It’s the boss. Asks him to come in, but no can do, vacation time is sacred, you see. But, hey, a lovely chat over some coffee at OP’s place is an option. It’s on. The two talk it out, turns out corporate bullpies were afoot and the boss wanted to make things right. How right? Well…

It started off with the fact that OP still had his 6 months of leave approved and he also got a 15% pay rise to compete with what the other companies’ offers. Besides that, no more overtime, no more mandatory computer and phone at home, and vacation time preferences are now in the hands of OP. Not too shabby, right?

Image credits: Dziana Hasanbekava (not the actual photo)

OP had to add an update to his post, supplementing it with some personal commentary as well as providing an explanation on how the whole hours thing works. Long story short, OP works 35 hours a week, and so vacation time is calculated by the hour too. Overtime too. Due to company policy of not being able to take 6 consecutive weeks of vacation time, OP had to divide it up into alternating amounts of vacation time-overtime-vacation time-overtime-etc., creating a continuous string of 6 months time off.

And folks in the comment section approved. All of it. And appreciated the finer nuances in the story, like the part where the boss was invited to OP’s house for a coffee and the absence of drama for a malicious compliance story.

Others were surprised by the whole situation of there essentially being no onsite backup for OP. It’s a disaster waiting to hap… oh… yeah, right, right.

Another commenter pointed out the boss’ approach was very corporate, quoting the commenter: “So, I wasn’t worth the extra money until I threatened to leave? And even then, the best you can do is maybe match as long as it’s not more than you want to pay me?” And another commenter added to this that they are out the door once they learn how management really feels about them.

OP responded to this by saying that he doesn’t care how folks feel about him—as long as he can do his job in peace and the pay is there, then their view of OP doesn’t matter. Though, he did note that he’ll definitely keep his back covered.

The post managed to rack up nearly 5,000 upvotes (97% positive), gaining a small handful of Reddit awards at the time of this article. You can check out the post here. But before you go, do let us know your thoughts about anything and everything that you’ve read today in the comment section below

Folks loved the story, throwing nearly 5K upvotes and some Reddit awards at the hero along the way

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