When Malicious Compliance Turns into Clarity: The Overtime Shuffle Saga
Let’s face it: Nothing stirs more workplace confusion than the ever-changing rules around overtime. Will you get paid for that late-night grind, or is it another “surprise!” from management? One Redditor, u/NoAdhesiveness5280, recently found themselves caught in the classic OT tango—until a little malicious compliance finally got the bosses to put their money (and rules) where their mouth is.
If you’ve ever been whiplashed by shifting company policies, you’re going to love this tale of passive-aggressive perseverance, collective wisdom, and, of course, the all-important “Get it in writing!” chorus from the Reddit crowd.
The Overtime Hokey Pokey: You Put Your Hours In, You Take Your Hours Out...
Our protagonist’s workplace had been ping-ponging between “no OT!” and “wait, yes, but only if we say so.” One day it’s absolutely forbidden; the next, it’s a possibility—if a manager grants their mystical blessing. Tired of the ambiguity (and, let’s be honest, wanting to avoid a scolding for working “too much” or “not enough”), u/NoAdhesiveness5280 hatched a plan: leave 20 minutes early one day, so when the inevitable “We need you to stay late!” happened, they’d be able to comply without breaching the sacred no-OT rule.
But as with all good tales of workplace absurdity, this act of cautious compliance backfired. Management noticed the early departure and summoned OP for a stern talking-to: “There was still stuff to do yesterday!” Cue the explanation, and—miracle of miracles—the bosses finally offered a straight answer: Three hours of overtime per week, officially permitted.
As OP put it, “Funny how malicious compliance is needed to get actual answers.”
The Gospel According to Reddit: If It’s Not in Writing, It Never Happened
You might think that with the overtime rules finally clarified, the story would end here. But the r/MaliciousCompliance community knows better. The #1 piece of advice, echoed like a church bell: “Get it in writing.”
Top commenter u/Mdayofearth, with a mighty 750 upvotes, set the tone: “Get it in writing.” To which u/EmphaticallyWrong chimed in, “Yuuuuup. Get it in writing or it doesn’t count.” It seems that in the workplace, a verbal promise has all the durability of a Post-it note in a hurricane. As u/Equivalent-Salary357 put it, “Verbal agreements/rules/contracts aren’t worth the paper they are written on.” (And, in a perfect bit of Reddit snark, u/Troqlodyte corrected: “Arent* written on.”)
The community’s cynicism is justified. One commenter, u/MagnokTheMighty, recounted their own saga: “I had a manager who hated my guts when I said I want everything we discussed in an email. They refused and I started recording the conversations. My state is one party state. I found out very shortly why they did not like me doing this.” (When pressed for details, the comment section buzzed with curiosity.)
Other users gave practical advice for immortalizing those hard-won policy clarifications. u/throwitallawayomg advised not to settle for a paper handout: “Have them email you the part of the rules where it says you can get up to 3 hours OT... If they’ve given you trouble over this in the past, assume it will continue and your word vs theirs will mean nothing.” Pro-tip: Once you’ve got the email, follow u/harrywwc’s advice—print a copy, save it as a text file, and back it up. Because, as u/Conscious-Farmer6953’s wise Gramps once said, “If it’s not written down, it never happened.”
Malicious Compliance: The Secret Weapon for Getting Real Answers
So, what’s the real lesson here? Sometimes the only way to get clarity in the workplace is to stubbornly follow the rules—especially when those rules are fuzzy. As u/avid-learner-bot so poetically put it, “Sometimes you gotta nudge the system just enough to get it to budge.” When managers keep policies opaque, a little well-timed “malicious compliance”—doing exactly what you’re told, to the letter—shines a spotlight on their contradictions.
And it’s not just about overtime. As u/SirEDCaLot (an IT insider) lamented: “The policy is written in ‘whatever whim the manager has this week.’ We can’t code that.” It’s a familiar dance for many: rules change on a dime, but your paycheck is still expected to follow the script.
If you find yourself in similar straits, the community had a playbook ready: After a conversation about new rules, send a confirmation email (“Per our conversation of 1/2/25, this is to confirm we discussed OT policies...”). BCC yourself, print it, store a copy—do whatever you need to make sure the next time someone claims “that’s not what we agreed,” you’ve got receipts.
And for those who prefer a bit of cheek with their compliance, you might appreciate u/Newbosterone’s golden rule of “managing up”: “It’s not a problem until it’s their problem.” If you can find a way to make the ambiguity inconvenient for management, suddenly you’ll find those rules getting much clearer.
The Takeaway: Policy Clarity Is a Team Sport
This Reddit tale is more than just an amusing workplace anecdote—it’s a masterclass in how collective action (and a little strategic stubbornness) can force clarity where there was only confusion. Whether you’re wrangling with overtime, PTO, or coffee breaks, remember: “Get it in writing” isn’t just a meme, it’s a survival strategy.
So next time your boss gives you a wishy-washy answer, channel your inner r/MaliciousCompliance: comply to the letter, document everything, and don’t be afraid to make the ambiguity their problem.
Have your own story of policy confusion or malicious compliance? Drop it in the comments below—because as we’ve learned, sometimes the best solutions come from the hive mind.
What’s your workplace’s weirdest rule? Ever had to get creative to protect yourself? Sound off below and let’s swap some survival strategies!
Original Reddit Post: No OT no problem