When Micromanagement Backfires: How One Recruiter Schooled Their Nitpicky Boss with Malicious Compliance
Have you ever worked under a boss who just had to have their hands in everything? The type who won’t let a single email escape the office without their blessing? For one Redditor, u/overeasyallie, this was everyday life at a temp agency—until a deliciously petty moment of “malicious compliance” delivered the ultimate workplace karma.
Picture this: a young, eager recruiter, a manager with a grammar deficiency, and an important client who knows their “past” from their “passed.” The result? A masterclass in letting your boss dig their own grave—one typo at a time.
The Tyranny of the Red Pen
We’ve all met a micromanager or two, but u/overeasyallie’s boss took it to Shakespearean heights of tragedy and comedy. Not only did every outgoing email need her painstaking review, but she also demanded to be CCed on every correspondence. Forget trusting your staff; this was a full-on surveillance state, just with Microsoft Outlook instead of wiretaps.
But here’s the kicker: while demanding editorial control, the boss herself was hardly the next Hemingway. The original poster frequently spotted cringe-worthy grammar and punctuation errors in her “approved” messages. Still, they wisely kept quiet—sometimes, it’s best to let the boss think they’re the smartest one in the (virtual) room.
The Credit Hog Strikes Again
The story gets juicier. After a coworker received praise from a client for a well-written email, the manager swooped in to take all the credit, claiming it was her “overseeing” that made it possible. She even declared in a staff meeting that she should be credited for any positive feedback since she proofread everything.
The irony, of course, is that being a self-appointed gatekeeper only works if you actually know what you’re doing. And as the soon-to-be-infamous “passed experience” incident would show, this boss most certainly did not.
The ‘Passed’ Mistake
One day, OP was preparing an important email to a client who specialized in printed literature—a client who, as fate would have it, really knew their stuff when it came to words. The recruiter wrote that a candidate would be a great fit due to their “past experience.” Enter the boss, red pen in hand, insisting it should be “passed experience.” Our hero tried to explain, but the boss doubled down, convinced she knew best.
So, OP did what any underappreciated employee would do: they complied, CC’ed the boss, and sent off the grammatically mangled message.
The Sweet Taste of Public Correction
Cue the client’s response: They gently corrected the recruiter, pointing out that the correct phrase is “past experience,” not “passed.” The moment for malicious compliance had arrived. OP hit “reply all,” thanked the client for the feedback, and made sure to highlight that the manager, who proofread all outgoing emails, had insisted on the phrase.
The fallout? The next day, the boss announced she would no longer be proofreading or demanding to be CCed on external emails. The office, one imagines, was suddenly awash in sweet, liberating silence.
Lessons in Malicious Compliance (and Grammar)
This story isn’t just a satisfying tale of workplace comeuppance—it’s a reminder that micromanagement, especially when paired with incompetence, is a recipe for disaster. When you don’t trust your team, you not only demoralize them, but you also set yourself up for public embarrassment. And if you’re going to insist on controlling everything, you’d better know the difference between “past” and “passed.”
As for the rest of us, the next time your boss insists on a questionable change, remember: sometimes, the best way to prove a point is to comply—with a smile.
Your Turn: Share Your Stories!
Have you ever dealt with a micromanager who didn’t know what they were doing? Or have you served up a slice of malicious compliance yourself? Share your stories in the comments below—because nothing beats a little workplace schadenfreude.
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Original Reddit Post: Boss looked like a fool courtesy of me