We are all aware that toxic conditions continue to exist in workplaces; however, there is one leadership strategy that is simply menacing, and that’s micromanagement.
The tactic, to this day, continues to be one of the most ineffective, harmful, and demoralizing methods of managing people.
Technically speaking, the higher-up’s job is to guide and support their staff members — to offer a safe environment that will empower folks to achieve the highest standards possible while being confident and sure in their positions. Yet, chances are that at least one of your bosses do the exact opposite.
Demands for frequent updates, irritable behavior when decisions are made without their input, an unhealthy focus on unimportant details, a habit of re-doing the work of employees after it has been finished, and constant snooping around — all of these traits are examples of a basic micromanager.
Although it could be argued that this practice comes from a good place, most of the time, it’s a blatant sign of mistrust. And while enduring such behavior is not always easy — it is pretty doable. However, what should one do if their supervisor starts contradicting themselves?
More info: Reddit
The leader’s job is to lead and protect, not to micromanage
Image credits: Seika (not the actual photo)
“Boss says I have to scan packages before I load them, then gets mad when I refuse to load unscanned packages” — this package handler took to one of Reddit’s favorite communities to tell its members a satisfying malicious compliance tale. The post has managed to receive over 11K upvotes, as well as 228 comments discussing the audacity of some micromanagers.
Package handler is told to disregard a rule that could get him fired, and sweet malicious compliance ensues
Image credits: MrSatterday45
The man began his post by revealing that he loads residential delivery trucks at a well-known shipping company.
The packages come with barcodes and unique labels that allow employees to see the address and determine which vehicle they should go in.
To make it all run smoothly, they also use scanners to ensure that they don’t put the goods in the wrong places — moreover, the trucks have sensors, meaning that if you walk in with the wrong package, the scanner makes a noise.
The man’s supervisor had a special group chat where he would update his staff with start times and compare their work speeds via scanning count
Image credits: MrSatterday45
Now, on to the “main antagonist” of the story: the guy’s formal supervisor. According to the author of the post, the higher-up is a micromanager of the highest degree. He always snooped around and even had a tendency of hopping into a worker’s truck to move packages around and make it his way.
“Alen” had a special group chat where he would update his staff with start times and compare their work speeds via scanning count.
At one point, the number of packages they “misloaded” had increased, resulting in the supervisor urging the staff to scan every item
Image credits: IAEA 3 (not the actual photo)
Image credits: MrSatterday45
At one point, the number of packages that they “misloaded” had increased, and Alen had been on his workers’ backs urging them to scan every item ever since.
One day, the man’s scanner decided to act up. He went to fetch Alen and requested that he either fix or replace it, but was instead instructed to continue loading the trucks without the scanner. This isn’t allowed, so the employee decided to stack the goods in front of the vehicle so he could scan them once he’d received a new scanner. However, Alen noticed and told him to load them normally.
Suddenly the man’s scanner decided to act up; however, instead of replacing it, the supervisor told the man to keep loading
Image credits: MrSatterday45
Later in the evening, Alen sent a message in the group chat and broke down everyone’s speed, with the author of the post at the bottom.
He once again vented about the importance of scanning and even went and had a chat with the man the next day concerning his “misloads.” Naturally, the guy was furious, as Alen was the one who told him to quit stacking and continue loading — however, back then he wasn’t as confident and didn’t feel comfortable arguing with the supervisor, so he simply made a mental note to always scan the parcels, no matter what.
Since it was against their policy, the man decided to stack the packages up so he could scan them later, but “Alen” noticed and told him to load them
Image credits: Atomic Taco (not the actual photo)
Image credits: MrSatterday45
A few months went by, and Alen was now leaving for real estate and was training one of the employees to be his replacement.
Needless to say, by that time the man was already fed up with all the micromanaging and couldn’t wait for the higher-up to be gone.
It was the supervisor’s final week, and the author of the post was working on the belt when his scanner broke again. He approached Alen and asked for a replacement — yet once again, was told to keep loading the vehicles. And as the man had already learned his lesson, he decided to stick to the stacking method while waiting for the new scanner to arrive.
After having a chat about the number of the man’s “misloads”, the same thing happened again. The man decided to obey the policy and stack his packages until his scanner arrived
Image credits: MrSatterday45
Minutes after, Alen came back with the trainee. He wondered why the package handler was stacking the goods when he was told to keep loading, but this time the man didn’t hold back and said that he wouldn’t load until he got his scanner.
The trainee attempted to resolve the situation by telling the man to keep stacking because both the supervisor and the author of the post were pretty agitated, but Alen interrupted and demanded the guy to keep loading.
After a minute of this back-and-forth malarkey, the man told his boss to get it to him in writing because he didn’t want to get fired for disregarding the rule. For some reason, this infuriated the supervisor even more.
When the man refused to load the truck knowing that it would get him in trouble, the supervisor threatened him with a higher-up – however, after this argument he disappeared
Image credits: MrSatterday45
Alen pulled out his supervisor card and even threatened the guy with a higher-up. The author of the post told him to go ahead and get him – however, a couple of minutes later, the trainee arrived with a scanner in his hand, and the soon-to-be replacement apologized and told the guy to get back to work.
The man didn’t see Alen for the rest of the day, and if his memory serves him right, he didn’t see him for the rest of his final week either.