Shared by u/WitchyWolf94 to the popular Reddit forum “Malicious Compliance,” the post amassed nearly 20,000 votes since it was published on Sunday.
She explained that while working at a local hospital, her coworker, who worked the opposite shift from her, would give her the stroke or trauma pager before she was officially clocked in and tried to leave early. When the issue wasn’t resolved with a supervisor, u/WitchyWolf94 took matters into her own hands and decided to come to work at the last possible minute.
Dealing With Difficult Coworkers
According to the Cleveland Clinic, working with a “toxic” coworker can lead to anxiety, depression and low self-esteem.
Chivonna Childs told the organization that an individual can choose to distance themselves and avoid a problematic coworker if it is possible.
Additionally, the Cleveland Clinic recommended employees document incidents and escalate the matter when needed.
“Speak up for yourself and advocate for yourself,” Childs told the organization.
Malicious Compliance
In her post, u/WitchyWolf94 wrote that she worked as a phlebotomist at the hospital and worked from about 3 a.m. until 3 p.m. She typically came into work about 15 minutes early to prepare what she needed for the day and organize her phlebotomist tray.
“Well one woman who came in to work a few months after I started and I had issues,” she said. “I found her lazy and rude.”
Her coworker, said u/WitchyWolf94, snapped at people who tried to help her, read on the floor during her shift and tried to clock out at early as possible.
“When it was time to start the morning rush, she’d get mad if someone took the stack of labs she wanted and she’d go demanding them,” u/WitchyWolf94 said.
When u/WitchyWolf94 went into work to set up her supplies for her shift, she said her coworker would try to pass off the stroke or trauma pager before she was officially on the clock, though she tried to refuse to take it.
“So, she just left it on my cart a few times without telling me, which [led] to it going off for a call to the ER and I had to clock in early and when I saw her in the lab again, I told her to never do that again, the conversation got heated, which [led] to a meeting with me, the coworker and our supervisor,” u/WitchyWolf94 said.
She said her supervisor took her coworker’s side and told u/WitchyWolf94 that she should take the pager and her hours would be adjusted.
“So I said fine. I set my alarm for later in the mornings and I started coming in the last minute I could to clock in at 2:59 a.m.,” u/WitchyWolf94 said. “Yes, it made me start my rush a little later, but the look on my coworker’s face when she saw me later as she was trying to hand me a pager I wasn’t scheduled to have and I already had the one I was supposed to, was priceless.”
Upset, u/WitchyWolf94’s coworker tried to pass off her pager to another employee despite still having time left on her shift.
u/WitchyWolf94 wrote to Newsweek that the coworker continued to pass the pager off to other employees following the incident, but she did not know if she was ever fully disciplined.
“I do know she was fired a year or so after I left that job,” u/WitchyWolf94 said.
Redditors React
Fellow Redditors shared their thoughts on the matter and expressed their praise in the comments section.
“It always blows my mind people like this don’t get told to get f**ked more often,” a top comment read.
Some criticized those in charge of managing employees, saying that difficult employees will prompt good employees to leave their jobs.
“I’d be super disappointed in your supervisor for trying to placate her just because she is likely emotionally draining to manage,” one Redditor commented.
“Good for you standing up for yourself,” another Reddit user said. “Most managers only want to avoid drama and they end up caving to the problem employees.”
Newsweek reached out to u/WitchyWolf94 for further comment.
Other Reddit users have taken their stories to Malicious Compliance.
An employee who was forbidden to work overtime abided by the rules, which resulted in the company losing thousands of dollars.
One couple was applauded for their “revenge” on their neighbor who reported their shed for a code violation.
Another post detailed how a woman who insisted that everyone in a group pay for their own food and drinks was left with a bill about six times more than everyone else’s.
