Because most people work for someone, they have to do what they say as the higher-ups have the right to make decisions. They must obey even if they think the order doesn’t make sense and won’t bring anything beneficial.
In some cases, it might be that the boss doesn’t really know what they’re doing, but sometimes, it could be that the employee doesn’t see the bigger picture and simply doesn’t know how a seemingly useless task may affect the company as a whole.
One such employee came to a realization five years later that a report they put a lot of effort into, which later was ignored, actually had meaning and malicious compliance was involved.
More info: Imgur
5 years after leaving the company, it dawns on this accountant that his boss used him to maliciously comply with the owner’s wishes
About half a decade ago, the Original Poster (OP) was working at a small lumber mill as the office guy, a.k.a. the accountant. His direct supervisor was the general manager, but the owner was also quite involved in the business despite being 90 years old.
The OP described the owner as a smart guy who had more than 60 years of experience, so when he started questioning why the mill wasn’t generating enough profit, the accountant believed that the owner was right about it having more potential.
To find out what they were doing wrong that prevented them from earning more, the owner decided to hire an outside consultant. The consultant was also an experienced mill owner, but his only suggestion was to work longer hours because he believed it would increase productivity but wouldn’t cause losing money.
This theory needed to be tested theoretically, so the general manager asked the accountant guy to calculate the profit if the mill ran overtime. The OP put sincere effort into the report that took him several hours because he wanted to make sure he was getting it right.
The OP worked for a lumber mill that wasn’t doing as well as it could have, according to the owner, so he decided to hire a consultant
Image credits: u/deleted
Turns out, the analysis showed that running the mill overtime would end up costing more money than earning it, but to OP’s surprise, his boss announced that they would follow the consultant’s advice.
The accountant guy’s prediction came true and at the end of the two-week period, he prepared the financial statements and they showed the new strategy didn’t pay off and actually, the business had suffered quite a big loss.
The consultant was convinced that running the mill overtime would fix the problem, so OP’s direct supervisor asked him to make a report on it
Image credits: u/deleted
The thing that bothered the OP was that he already knew the outcome, he warned his supervisor about it, but his work was disregarded as well as the time he put in working on the data disrespected.
In the comments, the Redditor said that his input was actually quite valued and taken into consideration in the past when making very important decisions, so he resented his boss for a long time for not trusting him that time.
The report showed the mill would lose money, but the owner wanted to try it out despite the unfavorable report
Image credits: u/deleted
Image credits: Rex Roof (not the actual image)
This could have been a story of an employee venting about how his boss didn’t value him and wasted his time giving pointless tasks. And it was, until recently, when the employee was retelling the story to someone and it clicked as he now has more experience and the advantage of time perspective.
He now realizes that the situation probably was not as he saw it then. He now believes that the general manager was bothered by the consultant’s suggestion as he didn’t believe it would lead to more money, but he had to listen to him as it was the owner’s idea to hire him.
Time proved the accountant to be right but he didn’t understand why his data wasn’t taken into consideration, which made him feel undervalued
Image credits: u/deleted
So the general manager decided to go with the owner’s wishes, but before that, he asked the OP for a report to make sure the loss wouldn’t end the business.
The OP feels bad for resenting his boss and feels like he should have asked him for an explanation or he should have realized what his supervisor was trying to do then.
On the other hand, many people in the comments believed that the boss should have let OP in on his thought process, because it brings down morale and may make an employee feel less valued and motivated to do good in the future.
In hindsight, the OP realizes that his supervisor probably couldn't convince the owner not to take the risk so he maliciously complied
Image credits: u/deleted
In the comments, the accountant speculated that the owner wanted to listen to the consultant because this strategy worked for him and he respected the former competitor who was successful at his business.
The only outcome that the OP is aware of is that the owner didn’t use the consultant’s services anymore. Also, he explained what was the real reason the mill wasn’t generating the expected profits: “We had too many people replicating the same task on the line. We had to space people out more to use them more efficiently. We also had some older equipment that prevented us from being comparable to most modern mills.”
But just in case, he asked the accountant for a report to make sure the loss wouldn’t be detrimental to the mill
Image credits: u/deleted
Image credits: kate (not the actual image)
The message most people took away after reading this story was that your boss probably has a boss who has the final say and they might have their own reasons that they don’t necessarily need to disclose.
Others were really surprised that the general manager decided to stay silent about their real reasons, but as the OP explained, “it was probably safer for deniability purposes if he didn't go telling everyone involved that he knew going into it that we were about to lose money.”
What are your thoughts about this situation? Has it made you rethink your own experiences? Let us know in the comments!
People in the comments believed that the OP should have been informed about the intention because of how it affects an employee’s morale
