Economy & LaborOCT 12, 2023

Boss Thinks Worker Is Just Sulking, Learns They Quit A Month Ago In Malicious Compliance

It is absolutely vital that you take the time to rest from work. Not only do proper breaks boost morale and improve your performance, but they can also prevent you from making costly mistakes that might endanger others. However, some coworkers get iffy if others get time off when they don’t, so they try to ruin things for everyone.

Case in point, redditor u/NOCnurse58 shared how he decided to quit after his colleague tried to get him to work during his already approved vacation, threatening to fire him otherwise. You’ll find the full story, as well as what the r/MaliciousCompliance online community had to say, as you scroll down.

Bored Panda got in touch with the author of the story, redditor u/NOCnurse58, and he was kind enough to answer our questions. You’ll find our full interview with the OP, including what working on a drilling rig was actually like and how he quickly rose the ranks at the job, as you read on.

Time off and proper rest are essential when working dangerous jobs

Image credits: imagesourcecurated (not the actual photo)

One man shared how his coworker, a driller, threatened to fire him if he didn't work during his vacation, which was already approved

Image credits: seventyfourimages (not the actual photo)

Image source: NOCnurse58

The driller was unwilling to let anyone get time off if he was forced to work himself

The author pointed out that the story they recounted on Reddit took place back in around 1980. Naturally, some work processes at drilling rigs might have changed over the years. According to u/NOCnurse58, the driller was in charge of pretty much everything: he hired, fired, and ran the crew.

“If I wanted a day off and could find someone willing and able to replace me it was generally approved by the driller. He could say ‘no’ and the most common reason would be he did not want to work with the replacement because they were lazy, incompetent, or had a personal history. I do not recall there being paid time off (PTO) or vacation time. If someone wanted extended time off they could ask for it and it would be unpaid or just quit and find a new job once they were ready to work again,” the author explained to Bored Panda.

The context for the story is that the OP had already lined up “the best people from other shifts” to work in his palace. “Getting the time off was important and I did not want to give him any easy reason to reject it. I approached my driller just before our 2 days off because that was when I got confirmation from the last guy I had set up as a replacement,” he walked us through what happened.

“I had agreed to work a couple of days for my replacements. One had a son’s birthday coming up and was very happy to work for me in December if I’d worked for him on his son’s birthday in October,” u/NOCnurse58 said, adding that no matter what happened with his manager later, the OP still covered for his other coworker because it wasn’t his fault the deal fell through. There seemed to be genuine camaraderie among most of the employees.

Everything took a turn for the worse when the driller wasn’t able to get time off and then said that he wasn’t going to work with a crew of replacement workers. “Granted, a few of the people the rest of the crew found would probably not meet requirements anyway. However, the driller would have allowed it if he could have found a replacement for himself,” the OP told us.

“I think he rescinded his approval because he was not able to get the time off as well. His words were roughly, ‘If I can’t get off then none of you will get off.’ I reminded him that he had already approved my time off and he said the deal was off. I felt betrayed and lied to. I knew I could easily get another job but also I didn’t have to shoot myself in the foot by quitting immediately,” u/NOCnurse58 said.

“Also, I wanted it to be clear to him why I was leaving. That is why I put in my notice and made my last day the one he said I must work. He lost a good employee for a day of work.”

The author found better prospects elsewhere, but his manager thought he was bluffing

After being threatened with being fired, the OP called his colleague’s bluff and gave his three-month notice. The irony is that the redditor’s manager had already approved his vacation and only tried to shift things around when he himself couldn’t get extra time off.

Instead of sucking it up and being happy about the fact that some of his coworkers would enjoy their Christmas with their families, the manager decided to be petty and lash out. Well, that backfired immensely.

The OP quickly found another job and enjoyed a relaxing vacation with his family. However, his (now former) manager didn’t actually think that he’d quit and still expected him back at work for over a month after his last official work day.

In the United States, there is no guaranteed paid time off and the situation varies greatly from sector to sector, industry to industry, and company to company. However, Forbes notes that the average American worker gets 11 days of paid vacation per year.

Private sector employees tend to have more paid time off, and this average number rises the more work experience the person has. Meanwhile, workers in the US also get around 8 days of sick leave each year.

Even though paid time off is optional, federal employees have 11 annual paid holidays per year, which can give them a welcome break from their daily grind.

Many working Americans don't actually use all of their paid time off

While some Americans embrace the importance of time off, others prefer to work more. It depends a lot on the individual.

Forbes points out that in 2018, more than a quarter of employees’ vacation time ended up being unused. That same year, 55% of respondents in the US revealed that they still hadn’t used all of their paid time off. Despite this, around a third of employees highly value the importance of mandatory paid time off.

Meanwhile, CNBC reports that from 1976 to 2000, the average American worker took more than 20 days off a year. However, things have changed quite a bit. Fast forward to 2015 and workers in the US took just 16 days off, on average.

The Harvard Business Review reveals that in 2018, a jaw-dropping 768 million paid days off were left unused in the US. A third of that was forfeited completely. Taking into account how stressed, burned out, and demotivated many employees are, it only makes sense to use them fully.

Proper rest isn’t just good for our bodies, but also our minds. If we’re overworked, we can have difficulty concentrating, might feel forgetful, and have a harder time solving various problems. If you work at an office, this might mean making errors in reports. However, when working on a drilling rig, these mistakes can have far more serious consequences. Which is why vacations are so essential.

Empathy, integrity, and honesty are key to being a quality manager

We were interested in getting the author’s thoughts on how superiors can motivate their staff better and what he personally values the most in managers. According to the author, employees value work hours and time off, while managers should do their best to be as empathetic and trustworthy as possible.

“If business conditions require a change then explain the situation to the employee and see what kind of compromise can be found. Keeping your word is a vital component of having integrity. People appreciate honesty and lose respect for managers who lie or gaslight them. Managers might be able to bully some employees but good employees are confident in their ability to find another job and will only put up with so much before they leave.”

The redditor opened up to Bored Panda that he worked for around three years on the oil patch. “During that time, I rose in the ranks quickly due to hard work, learning everything I could, and some lucky opportunities. I started in worm’s corner, a basic floor hand who was often called the worm. I got the dirtiest part of every job and had to help anyone who asked me. Basically, the rest of the crew was my boss,” he shared. However, through perseverance, he rapidly advanced up the hierarchy.

“After about 3 months, I had learned the next job up the rung, chain hand. There were more responsibilities and I had learned how to place and throw a chain to spin the drill pipe. It was dangerous and had been replaced by hydraulic spinners a few years after I left the field. A few months later, I moved to motor man. I already knew what he did on the drilling floor and only had to learn about checking the large diesel engines and doing maintenance work on them. About a year into my experience I had an opportunity to learn and start working as a Derrick hand.”

The OP explained that moving up the ranks this quickly was quite unusual. However, the night shift staff had lost their Derrick hand, so the driller needed a replacement. “He said he would give me a chance and I promised to do my best. A Derrick hand maintains the mud (drilling fluid), mud pumps, and works in the Derrick 90 feet [27.4 meters] above the drilling floor when the pipe is tripped out of the hole or back in again.”

After suffering an injury, the author decided to pursue further education and switch careers

Redditor u/NOCnurse58 told Bored Panda that he worked during “wild times” when someone “with zero experience” could simply mosey on up to a rig and start working over in worm’s corner. However, that came at a steep price.

“Injuries were fairly common. I’m pretty sure there are schools now to learn about the job before ever setting foot on a location,” he advised anyone of thinking about a career on a drilling rig to speak to someone who’s already working in the business.

“As for me, after I split my thumb open, I decided to go back to school and earned a degree in engineering. I felt it was better to earn a living with my mind than my body. I entered semiconductors at a boom time. Later, after getting caught in a few layoffs, I sought a stable profession and became a nurse,” he said.

“As a nurse, I have had good managers and bad ones. The best ones treat their employees the way they would want to be treated. The best one I ever had retired. However, if she came back to work I would quit my current job just to work for her again.”