Economy & LaborJUL 12, 2023

Teenager Maliciously Complies With Manager’s Request To Come Into Work While Sick, Throws Up

Bad managers worldwide, move over, make way! There’s competition incoming - a boss whose sheer awfulness simply eclipses everything you’ve heard so far.

So, get this - a boss demanded that a 14 y.o. teenager come in to work, while vomiting intermittently, because they have “plenty of trash cans” for the kid to vomit in.

The teenager got their revenge, though, in a totally unexpected way, hopefully preventing future sick calls.

More info: Reddit

Sometimes the only way you can get to a manager is by... hurling on their shoes

Image credits: ready made (not the actual photo)

The poster is a 14-year-old boy, sharing the story of his malicious compliance to his boss calling him into work when sick

Image credits: whateverbro167

Image credits: Titanas (not the actual photo)

He was vomiting often and severely, but the boss told him to come in nonetheless, which the poster decided to get revenge for

Image credits: whateverbro167

When he felt sick again, he ran over to the boss to be sick on his shoes, after which he was let home for the day

The original poster (OP) told his story to the Malicious Compliance community, although it would have been a perfect fit for the petty revenge and especially the antiwork subreddits.

This employee is a 14-year-old teenager and it’s already pretty scummy that he has to work at such an age. Of course, he does it by choice, but legislation decides when people can start working and 14 seems a little early to me, especially in such a fast-paced and strenuous industry as fast food.

From the poster’s own comments we find out that he doesn’t need a work permit or parents’ permission, as teenagers can just apply and soon they’re hired. They can work as many hours as they get and however late, even if it is a school night. That is beyond scummy.

Maybe that’s just me, though.

What’s worse is that the OP was feeling sick at the time, vomiting for several days beforehand, which wasn’t contagious, but rather a diagnosed stomach issue related to digesting food.

And the manager does what? Of course they tell him to come in no matter what. He does come in and gets assigned to making food (the mother of all red flags). Not 30 minutes later, the OP felt sick again, but here comes the malicious part of the compliance - he ran over to that same manager and hurled all over his shoes.

Added bonus because a bunch of the customers saw it happen, almost being audibly sick themselves.

Image credits: vincent desjardins (not the actual photo)

Between managers ordering employees to come in and them being strapped for cash, working while sick is quite a common occurrence. Whether it’s the snuffles or a stomach bug, the corporate wheels have to keep spinning, always at the cost of the workers.

According to various comments, it is actually illegal to come to or be requested to come to work if you are still experiencing symptoms, but what does it matter to a truly bad manager?

There’s even a name for it - presenteeism. It refers to the practice of working while sick or the same culture, requiring workers to do it as a performative measure, despite that the quality and speed of their work plummet and they feel worse and worse.

Coming into work doesn't only affect the person themselves, but also everyone else - you’re liable to infect your coworkers, risking their health as well.

And if managers want their workers to work while “slightly” sick, they’re just risking more people getting sick and productivity taking a huge nosedive, but managers are gonna manager, I guess.

There are things employees can do to improve the situation, though.

A big thing is letting your employees know that they don’t have to come into work and that they really shouldn’t, both for their safety and yours. The more work culture shifts toward the positive, the better things will get in the long run.

And when you’re sick - don’t come into work, don’t check your work chats, just completely disconnect, rest, and your colleagues will follow suit in due time.

The story collected 7.3k upvotes in 10 days, with a total of 362 comments. One commenter said they would have simply blown chunks in the food prep area and “closed” the place for an adequate amount of time. Share your thoughts in the comments below!