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Malicious compliance is one of those wonderful ways you can make someone or something realize the error of their ways
Image credits:Brett Neilson / flickr (not the actual photo)
A man decided to personally call his phone company over a four cent bill
Image credits:Mikhail Nilov / pexels (not the actual photo)
The man added a few more details
Image source:Impossible_Mine2065
Many employees could benefit from learning how get away with malicious compliance
Image credits:Christina Morillo / pexels (not the actual photo)
Bored Pandagot in touch with the person who shared the story and he was kind enough to answer some of our questions. Firstly, as a malicious compliance connoisseur, we wanted to hear his opinion on why folks love these kinds of stories. “Most people wish to be heard and possibly, to have a say in decisions. When employees, for example, feel like their opinion is valued, they gain self-worth and confidence. It causes a great boost in morale and promotes an enjoyable workplace. But when other people, such as bosses, look down on someone and dismiss them, the powerless person feels frustrated. It is maddening to know the right answer or the right direction, only to have rank pulled on you and told that you just need to do what you are told. Cue malicious compliance.”
“That’s where you say, “Okay, boss. Can you send that to me in writing?” Because you know the boss is going to blame your actions (which they insisted) and try to hold you liable when their instructions blow up on them. So you need to cover your butt with written instructions from your boss. You would think that bosses would learn that being asked to put that in an email is a warning sign. Sometimes the only way for a company to learn is from it’s own mistakes”
People love these stories for a reason
Image credits:Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo)
This is where malicious compliance shines, as many people, unfortunately, don’t tend to see their own mistakes until the results are staring them in the face. Using this story as an example, it seems likely that calling the phone company and explaining that they are losing money on stamps is a lot less effective than the somewhat hairbrained scheme this person’s wife created.
Some commenters questioned the fact that this man was willing to spend so much of his own time just on hold, but at the end of the day, he did still need to handle this bill. Paying it the regular way would still involve mailing a check, which might not be that much faster and is similarly more “expensive,” although we are only talking about cents here.
Malicious compliance can even have some positive social effects
Image credits:Sora Shimazaki / pexels (not the actual photo)
While it might seem a tad trivial, some experts have deemed it a form of “uncivil obedience”. After all, malicious compliance does involve doing exactly as one is told, knowing that the results will be “negative.” This has the double effect of exposing a poor management decision while also shielding the person from responsibility. Not paying a bill, no matter how small, will probably get you in some form of trouble. Similarly, a bone-headed manager can pass a new policy that will cause all sorts of issues. One can protest, but ultimately, it’s easier to keep your job if you let events play out.
Even if you are not part of a business, malicious compliance can, paradoxically, help them understand the error of theirways. After all, not only would mailing a check be “more” expensive for the man, it was also technically losing the company some money. This was a minor example, but there are significantly moreexpensiveexamples out there.
Many netizens thought his approach was hilarious
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Funny
