“Delete It? OK”: Boss Demands Employee Delete Excel Spreadsheet, Makes A Big Mistake

People say "work smarter, not harder" for a reason, as quite often there is a smart way to alleviate the workload. However, some bosses don’t see it—or don’t want to see it—even if their employees present it on a silver platter.

This redditor found a way to automate monitoring the company’s health, but when certain concerns were raised to her boss, the latter didn’t care for any counter arguments the OP had; cue malicious compliance.

Bored Panda has delved deeper into the topic of employee-boss relationships by discussing the matter with Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at Universidade Católica Portuguesa and Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Maynooth University, Jon Gruda Ph.D., who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. Scroll down to find his thoughts in the text below, where you will also find our interview with the OP herself.

In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the OP revealed that what troubled her the most was the boss denying the approval in the first place and simply saying yes to anything passed her way without critically thinking it through. “If it goes well, [she’ll be] claiming credit and if it goes poorly - denying knowledge,” the redditor said, likely referring to more than just the spreadsheet.

While some might find such sentiments surprising, the OP is far from the only person who loooves Excel spreadsheets. (Personally knowing at least a couple of spreadsheet enthusiasts myself, I must admit, that’s not a feeling we share.) But whether they love it or hate it, office workers reportedly spend nearly 40% of their time using said tool, most of them—66% to be exact—having to open it at least once every hour, based on data from a 2022 survey.

Said survey found that just over one-in-ten people consider themselves beginners in Excel. Out of the rest, 57% would say they are intermediate users, 27% think they are advanced, while 6% would go as far as to say they are true experts. Be that as it may, less than a half (48%) of people using Excel have ever received any formal training in it. (That might be the reason why 12% of people have reportedly seen an Excel mistake cost more than £10,000 or roughly $12,650.)

While in a perfect world, mistakes at work—especially those costing the company tens of thousands of dollars—would not exist, in reality, no one’s immune to making one. But being well-familiarized with certain tools can minimize the chance of that happening or help an employee cross certain tasks off the to-do list faster.

Discussing the role that employees equipped with specific skills play in a company, Dr. Jon Gruda suggested that subordinates who have specialized knowledge of certain aspects can provide valuable insight to their superiors, which leads to better decision-making. “If anyone knows how to do a good job, it's the people that actually do those jobs every day,” he pointed out.

“A team should be able to present ideas and risks to any problem as constructive. If I point out a risk to my leader or a concern, I'm giving them the ability to make the informed choice their position affords them. They are paid to know how to get the right information from the right people to make the hard calls,” the OP told Bored Panda.

That’s why it's crucial for both of said parties to work as a team. According to Dr. Gruda, “Effective teamwork between bosses and subordinates enhances communication, boosts efficiency, improves morale, fosters innovation, and aids in conflict resolution.”

The expert added that excellent communication skills, together with empathy and decisiveness, are the main qualities a good boss should strive to have. “In addition to that, they must be adaptable, maintain high integrity, support their team, and possess visionary thinking to inspire and guide their employees towards common goals,” he told Bored Panda. “After all, that's what leadership is all about.”

Unfortunately, in the OP’s case, it was malicious compliance, not common goals, that communication with her boss led to.