Boss' strict dress code backfires when employees find genius loophole to outsmart her

Companies enforce dress codes to discipline their employees and also to maintain their brand values. But, many times, in the process of doing so, they begin to expect way too much from their workers, going for impractical and not-very-comfortable choices. Similarly, a bank employee was upset over their manager’s diktat to dress according to her preference and somehow found a way out of it. They shared their story on Reddit (as u/mouse_g_23) and discussed how unbearable the office attire had become, especially at times when they needed to do some heavy lifting. In a widely circulating post, the worker boasted about how they outsmarted their persisting manager by maliciously complying with the workplace’s policy.

“You want us to dress in business attire when all other departments get to wear blue jeans?” the employee asked, showing their resentment against their manager online. “You got it!” they explained before narrating what went down at one of the “top US banking institution(s)” many years ago. The employee claimed that all the departments in their building were allowed to wear blue jeans on Fridays, except theirs. Their manager insisted that they must maintain the typical business attire just before the weekends.

The bank employee shared that they were not required to face customers, and their department mostly processed check deposits from ATMs. Notably, these submissions came straight from the armored couriers in dirty mesh bags. “They were usually quite filthy and were frequently wet in bad weather,” they added. “So, when our manager told us that we couldn't wear blue jeans on Fridays like every other department, the entire team was upset,” the employee explained. Instead of saying no or finding excuses, the employee weaponized obedience. And when Friday came, they went to the office in the “most mismatched” formal outfit put together.

“We are talking pastel floral print shirt with pants with bold-colored stripes. I put it on and proudly walked into the office,” the employee remarked, elaborating on their dressing choice. However, it turned out that their manager, who was criticized for her micromanagement, was on leave, and no one in the office bothered about the employee’s “ridiculously” mismatched outfit. The employee didn’t stop their malicious compliance, and the next Friday, they succeeded in inviting their manager’s attention. “Imagine my surprise when I walked in and everyone on my team had on hideous combinations of clothing,” they quipped.

The employee further explained that when their boss walked in, the look on her face was priceless! “All 15 of us in hideous outfits, but all met the business attire dress code. She pulled us all into a meeting and told us that our attire was entirely inappropriate for a business environment and that she would have to write each and every one of us up.” However, when the employee pointed out in the company handbook that they were not at fault, she had no choice but to agree. “I asked her where in the guidelines it says anything about whether the outfits ‘matched’ or not,” the employee rebuked.

“She couldn't find anything and said she would have to contact HR to discuss with them what her options were to write us up,” the employee continued. Although their boss didn’t escalate the matter, she did, however, press on maintaining the dress code. Soon after, word quickly spread to other departments about the manager forcing her juniors to wear business attire. The following week, two departments around them maliciously complied with her orders and came dressed up in hideously mismatched clothing.

“The managers of those departments quickly got in touch with our manager and put pressure on her as they didn't like how their employees were dressing. Our manager called us into a meeting and told us we could wear blue jeans on Fridays going forward. Malicious compliance wins!” the employee concluded, inviting reactions from the online community. “Management and leadership are important, but you need a motivated crew who wants to work for that person. You need workers more than they need you,” u/Thankyouhappy emphasized. “I have never understood why people feel the need to thrust their perceived power into everyone's faces,” u/narcissistssuck echoed similar sentiments.