Star employee threatened with PIP for low 'task count' — ends up outperforming boss in just two days
'Bill points to the 150 tasks on his own tally and the 20 on mine...' the employee begun
A star employee used to handle all complicated tasks at work; in fact, he had such a great reputation that he was offered to lead the team several times. The worker, however, always turned it down because he was just not interested. When he refused, the management offered Bill, his colleague, the same position, and he agreed. But that's when things went downhill.
Bill started micromanaging the worker and threatened him with a PIP. Moreover, he started accusing him of putting in less work than the rest of the team. Frustrated, the employee decided to take matters into his hands and teach Bill a lesson. What happened next is a perfect example of malicious compliance. The worker (u/willemjameshuff) shared his story on March 24.
The employee was a part of a small team at an entertainment software company. He had been working there for many years and had become the go-to person for all complicated tasks. In fact, because of the worker's efficiency, the project manager used to assign him very specific tasks directly. However, other team members, including the lead, used to share a general task bucket of smaller, less complicated assignments.
Now, most tasks in the shared bucket used to take less than an hour to accomplish. However, tasks assigned to the top-performing employee were much more time-consuming and complex. Despite the workload, he never complained because he loved his job. However, things changed when Bill took over as the team lead.
The worker went on a two-week vacation the month Bill was promoted, but he had completed 20 tasks before going. When he returned, Bill called him in for a meeting and accused him of putting in much less work than expected.
"Bill points to the 150 tasks on his own tally and the 20 on mine. He says he understands I've just gotten back from vacation and have only worked on these tasks for a month compared to his month and a half, but I've got to get those numbers up," the worker wrote.
The employee explained to Bill that his tasks were much more time-consuming than the rest, but the team lead insisted that he complete three tasks daily or be prepared to face a PIP (Performance Improvement Plan). Annoyed, the worker took a closer look at Bill's work and found he had been picking only the easiest tasks. So, after the meeting, he also picked up a similar group of easy tasks and solved them using the same method.
"I keep making my way down the list, and by EoD, I've done 95 tasks. The next day is similar, but I hit a cluster that is a little more involved and only manage to finish 65. Still, that's a little better than the 3 per day Bill asked for," the worker recalled.
When the project manager found out, he probably questioned Bill about it. While the worker wasn't sure what happened, he explained that Bill messaged him to go back to doing things the way he was. The head of the department also reached out to the worker, saying he would be managing him instead of Bill.
Since the employee had completed months of work in just two days, the management was truly impressed by him. After the incident, they promoted him and also offered an increased salary.
A poll of 2,000 Americans by Bonusly found that more than half (65%) said they would be motivated to work harder if management acknowledged their contribution. When asked what would make them feel valued and appreciated at work, 22% reported being recognized with praise from management, and 35% said they'd prefer to be appreciated through perks, bonuses, or a recognition program. The reality, however, is far from their expectation.
The same study revealed that close to half (46%) of respondents have quit a job because they felt unappreciated. While 41% complained of favoritism at work, making them feel most unappreciated, 39% cited a lack of communication and recognition from administration.
Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit story, u/electricblush commented, "Bill sounds like he's trying to flex power but doesn't even understand how different the workloads are; like, it isn’t about the number of tasks but the actual impact you’re making. If he can’t handle the big stuff, he should just chill and let you do your thing. But hey, it’s hard for some peeps to grasp that the quality over quantity debate is a real thing." Similarly, u/simon-says69 said, "Bill asked for it. He got it. Maybe not even malicious intent at first, but Bill refused to listen. Hopefully, he'll learn, but it is not OP's problem. Beautiful story."
More on Scoop Upworthy
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Employee works overtime as payback to micromanaging boss and eventually gets him fired
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