Most of us know what it’s like to be a part of a workplace that could use a little help with its culture.
Constant gossiping and backstabbing colleagues, frequent burnout and impossible goals, tension, a fear of speaking candidly, and stuck-up bosses that won’t miss a chance to throw a comment or two towards your persona – all of these are typical “symptoms” of a toxic work environment.
Speaking strictly about people in higher positions, the majority of us expect them to be unapproachable and, quite frankly, mean – and while some might argue that most people go to work to do their job and not to socialize and/or build personal relationships, a little sympathy has never hurt anyone.
Some superiors will continue making your life a living hell until you decide to depart, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no place for a happy ending.
More info: Reddit | Allison Task
Change is uncomfortable, especially if that “change” comes in a form of a new manager who thinks that they know better
Image source: Epic Fireworks (not the actual photo)
“I knew my job but the new manager thought he knew better so I did it his way. Very precisely” – this netizen turned to one of Reddit’s well-liked communities to reminisce about a time his malicious compliance taught his new manager a valuable lesson. The post has managed to receive nearly 16K upvotes and 314 comments discussing the situation.
Delivery driver praised for teaching new manager a lesson
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The man began his post by revealing that 15 years ago, he used to work for one of the top delivery companies in the UK. He was great at his job and frequently undertook different tasks.
One day, a new manager arrived, and according to the OP, it was “the cliché that you dread.” With a loose suit and a trainee moustache – apparently, we’ve all met this type of guy at some point in our life – the new workplace member had just finished university and was ready to tackle the company with his business degree.
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The thing is that every office of this company was run differently, and the new manager came in expecting every employee to do things to the letter, whereas everything was usually done in good will, since the staff members were allowed to head home once they’d completed their deliveries for the day.
On the third day, the higher-up approached the author of the post and asked him why he was doing things in a particular order. He told him that his delivery route was complex and required being done a specific way to ensure that the timed deliveries would get to their destination before 1 p.m. Moreover, he was also responsible for “feeding” the staff their delivery materials, and that had to be done within certain timeframes to ensure optimal delivery speeds and minimal delays.
The man uttered “No, it doesn’t work like that,” and although the OP argued very hard against it and told the manager that he’d regret it, he still demanded things be done according to company guidelines.
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After a 15-minute discussion, the OP decided to maliciously comply, and later on, it was like a “domino effect of carnage.”
At 12:30 p.m. everybody rang in the office to report the failed timed deliveries and the higher-up got a little concerned. Things went downhill, leaving 15-20% of each walk unfinished, which the newest team member then had to finish himself, along with the timed ones.
He also had to fill out reports for those timed deliveries and walk failures and call up managers from other offices, which caused them all to finish much later. However, the next day the manager approached the OP and asked him to run through the mechanics of the delivery route in detail as he didn’t expect all of that to happen.
Kudos to the poor guy, as it seems that he did learn his lesson, and according to the author, he never questioned him ever again.
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Since welcoming a new leader can be a pretty nerve-racking process, Bored Panda decided to reach out to a career coach to get some tips on how to handle it correctly. We got hold of Allison Task, who’s been a career and life coach for almost 20 years and has worked with thousands of clients and conducted many workshops for different organizations.
The first, and probably the most important thing that we asked was how to cope with a management change, to which Allison said: “As a leader — take 100 days to LISTEN. See what you see, write down ideas, but mostly be a very curious observer. Figure out your top priority projects from there. The best way to build relationships is to take time with people and LISTEN.”
“As someone who is finding themself with a new leader, the advice isn’t that different. Observe. And be honest. Speak up when asked and be honest. Learn the new leader’s background, see if you can find out who has worked with them before to learn about their approach. It’s a funny little dance, and you know more about the organization than they do at this point. Try to determine why they were hired, why people thought they’d be a good fit.”
Image source: jacob george (not the actual photo)
We also wondered if there was a piece of advice that Allison would like to offer to those who are currently dealing with a new boss: “Take a breath. Imagine the worst-case scenario. Imagine the best-case scenario. The future is in the middle. Don’t let your worries get the best of you. This will take at least 6 months to show itself. You will have to see if this new hire’s approach benefits the company and benefits you (not always the same). It might be a very positive change. It is definitely a change and change is uncomfortable. So prepare for mild to moderate discomfort, and realize that whether you stay with new management or depart, this will be an opportunity for growth. So get in shape for it.”
Have you ever dealt with a management change? And did you get along with them?
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