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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/AeonFinance on 2025-10-12 14:02:58+00:00.
Ok I will get this right this time.
10 y ago. I worked under a manager who could best be described as old-school old-battleaxe. It was an hr office (I do not work in hr anymore and this is probably why) . I was an intern starting a white collar hr corporate job after 10 y of blue collar work. I was excited to be in a climate controlled office. I dreamed for years for this and put myself through university by my bootstrap. I would do anything for air conditioned office. I just broke my back a year prior and had a difficult time finishing my final year.
She was known across the office for being impossible to please and for running through staff faster than the copier toner. Nobody lasted more than a year, I was told.
From my first day, I was on her radar. I make occasional typing mistakes because of medication I was on that affects short-term memory. I always ran spellcheck and proofed my work carefully, but she treated every minor error like a personal failure.
She would scold me for the smallest things. Once she gave me an hour-long lecture about professionalism because I wore a blue shirt instead of a white one. I wore a sweater to a client meeting because their thermostat was broken and it was -20c outside. I got shouted at by my supervisor for wearing the sweater harder than I did on any work site. Every day felt like inhaling glass shards.
Then came the instruction that broke the camel’s back.
She told me I needed to deliver a daily oral report on every client file I managed.
These weren’t short updates.
She expected me to know every number, every email, every call from memory. Word for word what was said. If i even got one word out of the transcript off.. i was not fit to be there.
She said,
“From the moment the sun rises on this office to the moment it sets, you are to report everything that happens in these reports” She knew I had a memory-related disability from a past concussion. She knew it would overwhelm me.
So I decided to take her words literally.
That night, I opened Excel and began logging everything. Every keystroke. I wrote it all down. I even practiced my delivery so I could recite it perfectly.
The next morning, when she called me into her office, I began:
“Walked from my car to the building. Opened the office door with my right hand, moderate pressure. Entered the building. Greeted the receptionist. Made a coffe in the keurig for 25 seconds. Sat at my desk. Adjusted my chair. Started computer. Open excel. Began typing reports, ensuring keyboard sound remained within acceptable volume to avoid disturbing senior management arriving 45 minutes after 9am...."
I continued like that for almost the entire hour interrupted. She tried to interrupt, but I reminded her gently that I was “reporting everything that happens..."
When it was over, she just stared at me.
A week later, HR called me in (yes hr does have its own hr) I explained the situation exactly as it happened, that I was following her directive word for word. I had detailed documentation (by this time I wrote down EVERYTHING that happened in that office). They agreed it wasn’t sustainable. Within a month, I was transferred to a new department. I was laid off 3 m later because that boss quit but I got a good reference.