When “By the Book” Backfires: The Hilarious Tale of an Overzealous Approval Rule
Have you ever worked under a manager who obsesses over rules so much, they end up sabotaging their own team? If not, buckle up—because this Reddit tale from r/MaliciousCompliance is a masterclass in what happens when you take a bad rule and follow it to the letter. Spoiler alert: it’s as entertaining as it is educational.
Picture this: a mid-sized company, humming along with routine tasks and client coordination, until one fateful day when a new manager rides in with an iron grip and a love for control. His first decree? No action—no matter how trivial—could be taken without written approval. Not just big decisions or sensitive moves. Literally. Every. Single. Thing.
When "Paper Trail" Meets Paper Jam
Let’s set the scene: After a minor mistake by a team member, the manager calls an all-hands meeting and unveils his magnum opus—every action, no matter how small, needs a paper trail. Email only. No quick chats, no friendly “go aheads,” and definitely no assumptions. His words: “I want a paper trail for everything, so nobody can claim they were misunderstood.” You can almost see him adjusting his tie, basking in the glory of what he thinks is a foolproof plan.
Enter u/silentBicycle07, the post’s author and the undisputed hero of this story. Instead of rolling their eyes and grumbling in the break room, they decide, “If it’s rules you want, it’s rules you’ll get.” The next day, the manager’s inbox becomes a flood zone. Need to send a file? Email. Reply to a client? Email. Update an internal doc? You guessed it—email. Even the most routine tasks require explicit, written approval.
The Dominoes Start to Fall
At first, the manager tries to keep up. He valiantly responds to the barrage, likely convinced that discipline is just a few more approvals away. But soon, reality sets in: he’s drowning in a sea of requests, unable to keep up. Important tasks stall, deadlines slip, and clients start asking awkward questions about why everything is moving at the pace of a dial-up modem.
Our protagonist, ever the model employee, tells the truth: “We’re waiting on internal confirmation.” And honestly, what better way to highlight the absurdity of bureaucracy than to simply follow it exactly as instructed?
The Ultimate Showdown: Department Review
The situation comes to a head at a department review meeting. Upper management is mystified: why has productivity nosedived? The manager blames his team for being inefficient. But when u/silentBicycle07 is asked directly, they provide the receipts—literally. Over forty unanswered approval requests, each one a monument to the folly of micromanagement.
Cue the awkward silence.
A higher-up finally asks the million-dollar question: “Why do we need approvals for routine actions?” The answer, of course, is that they don’t. The rule is quietly scrapped the same day, common sense is restored, and the manager learns an important lesson—never create a rule you wouldn’t want thrown back at you with a thousand emails.
Lessons in Leadership (and Malicious Compliance)
So, what does this saga teach us, besides the fact that revenge is best served via Outlook? Here are a few key takeaways:
- Micromanagement is a productivity killer. Leaders who obsess over control often end up grinding progress to a halt.
- Rules should serve a purpose, not just the ego. If a process doesn’t make the team more efficient or secure, it’s probably just adding red tape.
- Malicious compliance is a powerful tool. Sometimes, the best way to expose a ridiculous policy is to follow it so literally, its flaws become impossible to ignore.
And for those of us who’ve faced similar situations, there’s a certain satisfaction in knowing that sometimes, the best way to fight fire is with a mountain of perfectly polite, utterly pointless requests.
The Aftermath
The manager, probably still haunted by the ghost of unread emails, never mentions the approval rule again. Our protagonist wisely keeps all those emails—because you never know when you’ll need a paper trail of your own.
Final Thoughts: Have You Ever Been a Malicious Complier?
Ever found yourself in a situation where “just following orders” exposed a ridiculous policy? Or maybe you’ve been the one issuing orders that backfired spectacularly? Share your stories in the comments! Let’s swap tales of bureaucracy gone wild and celebrate the unsung heroes who wield compliance like a sword.
Because sometimes, the best way to fix a broken system… is to break it on purpose.
What’s your best story of malicious compliance? Drop it below and let’s commiserate!
Original Reddit Post: I was told I needed written approval for every single step, so I did exactly that