‘Malicious compliance at its finest’: Man’s employers tell him he’s not allowed to work from home anymore, so he does just that

For many, working from home has been a real lifesaver – not only has it led to increased productivity, but it’s also made life more convenient as it cuts out time spent getting ready and commuting to work. 

When you really think about it, WFH just makes more sense and if an employer can implement it then they should. However, not everyone agrees, some would like to see workers return to the office even if it’s a waste of the employees time. One individual by the name of Chris shared a video on TikTok explaining that his boss had demanded they start coming into work despite the fact that he can do everything remotely.

Who actually thinks working in an office is better?

Let’s face it, some bosses just suck. It’s a pretty frustrating situation considering the prior arrangement benefited everyone and now Chris has to sacrifice extra time every day just to get ready and get into work. And then when he’s done, he still has to get home from work. Why would an employer want to make their employee’s life harder for no reason? It just seems petty and controlling, but don’t worry, Chris is capable of being just as petty as they have come up with a plan to annoy his boss by doing exactly what was asked.

If the boss says no working from home, then that means no working from home, right? It’s a perfect example of something we like to call “malicious compliance,” Chris has taken the words of his boss literally, by refusing to answer any calls from work when at home. Sounds fair enough in my opinion, if that’s the game the employer wants to play then so be it. As the old saying goes: you can’t have your cake and eat it too, either Chris does all his work from home or none of it. 

The comments were filled with support for the little rebellion with many sharing similar stories about how they had faced similar situations and reacted the same way as Chris. Although for some the plan didn’t work out with one commenter revealing that they had been fired for the malicious compliance, let’s hope that doesn’t happen here.

Statistics don’t lie

Perhaps you’re one of the ones who believe that remote working is a bad thing, but recent studies say otherwise. I’ve already mentioned the benefits to employees, but just in case you don’t believe me an article from Apollo Technical looked at the statistics, according to research results 70% of remote workers polled said virtual meetings were less stressful. That said, sometimes virtual meetings from home can be even more stressful. However, it benefits the employer too with 77% of those who worked from home at least a few times a month showing increased productivity.

That’s not to say that being in the office doesn’t have some benefits, for some who find it hard to motivate themselves, physically being in work can help. However, it’s hard to deny the trend is heading towards remote working over office work which is why it’s so baffling that Chris’s employer would make him come into the office after being WFH. We can only hope his malicious compliance gets the message across.