A workplace ruled by toxic bosses can quickly become unbearable, even turning routine tasks like leaving work into frustrating ordeals. Sadly, some managers take micromanagement to extreme levels, insisting on needless and arbitrary rules.
One employee recently went viral on Reddit after brilliantly turning the tables on her manager, who demanded she seek permission before clocking out—even though no one else in the store ever followed such a requirement.
She shared her experience at her retail job selling kitchen supplies. According to her Reddit post, she recalled: "I was helping a long line at cash and had already been there for 10 hours and assumed they had someone to cover me. I wasn’t allowed to use the walkies to ask to be covered to go home, so I quickly found my manager and told her my shift was done."
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Instead of just letting her clock out, her manager expressed irritation and oddly insisted on new rules. The employee recounted:
"My manager got annoyed and said, 'Could you really not stay a few more minutes?' I tried to tell her, 'I thought you had someone to cover me, I can stay if you want.' She then replied, 'No, no just go, but next time you need to wait for a manager to let you go home'"
Confused, the employee asked her coworkers and soon discovered the manager had completely made up this "rule."
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So she decided it was the perfect opportunity for some malicious compliance—and made sure her manager learned a costly lesson.
During her next shift, instead of asking permission to clock out, she stayed deliberately late, casually rearranging shelves near her manager.
"After about 2 and a half hours, she said, 'You're still here, why haven't you gone home?' I replied, 'You said I need to wait to be told to go home.' My manager looked at me as though she was mentally kicking herself and said, 'Just go,'" she explained. "I clocked out and that's how I got paid an extra $30 for doing literally nothing."
When Redditors questioned why she willingly stayed late, she responded: "The way I see it, I got paid while barely helping the company, so I don’t care."
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Her Reddit post quickly blew up, gathering widespread applause from users who loved her clever response.
One commenter noted humorously:
"She still hasn't specifically told you that you don't have to follow this rule. Malicious Compliance is still in effect."
The employee later confirmed to Bored Panda that the company quietly scrapped the bizarre rule:
“The rule was dropped and I pretty much went back to asking to go home," she shared.
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Another Reddit user insightfully pointed out:
"The thing is, if she had had a real conversation with you the first thing, you probably wouldn't have even thought of it again. It always pays off to treat your employees like people and with respect... although sometimes you don't see the things like this that don't happen."
Others shared their own humorous stories of workplace rebellion. One commenter described an incident at Jimmy John's:
"Our Jimmy John's put up a note saying 'temporarily closed due to labor shortage.' Another poster beside it, by former employees, read, 'The owners of this restaurant treated their employees like dogs... The past few months of crappy business have been the result of lazy, careless ownership.'"
The moral of the story for bosses is simple: treat your employees with respect, or they might find a genius way to make you pay for it—literally.
This article originally appeared earlier this year.
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21 products that are gaslighting us into thinking they’re essential when they’re not
Some things in life are actually necessary—clean water, decent healthcare, basic human decency. But then there are the things that feel like they’re gaslighting us. The things we’re told we can’t live without, even though we survived just fine before they existed. Things like "smart" fridges, lawn fertilizer services, and yes—whole body deodorant.
Recently, our sister-site Upworthy asked their Facebook audience the question: What's a product or service that feels like it's gaslighting all of us into thinking it's necessary? More than 8,000 responses poured in. The answers were passionate, funny, and surprisingly unified.
Here are 21 products, services, and systems people called out for pretending to be essential—when they might actually be optional, overpriced, or flat-out invented.
1. Whole body deodorant
"Take a shower," said Shannon H.
“How did we ever manage all those years without it!! 😂😵💫” added Karen R.
Others noted it may help people with medical conditions—but for the average person, it's definitely a marketing creation.
2. Health insurance
It topped the list. Erica L. explained: “My doctor prescribes, the pharmacist issues meds, nurses care for people, surgeons do surgery—Health Insurance stands between health care and patients and says no, exclusively on whether they think it’s financially effective to treat you.”
Important note: Health insurance can provide life-saving access for many—but what people are frustrated by here is the profit-first system, not care itself.
3. The wedding industry
Multiple people slammed the high cost of modern weddings.
JoElla B. put it plainly: “We spend too much time and money planning one day, and not enough thought on how to blend two lives in a mutually beneficial one.”
Others called out expensive dresses, venues, and pressure to perform for social media.
4. Bottled water
Carole D. said: “Water in plastic bottles! Get a cup!”
While bottled water has value in emergencies, it’s often just filtered tap water—sold for profit in plastic.
5. Baby product overload
“Most baby products,” wrote Kelli O. “They really aren’t as needy and complicated as companies want us to think.”
6. Fabric softener
“It’s bad for clothes, bad for the Earth, bad for the wallet, and totally unnecessary,” said Gail H.
Some experts agree—many softeners contain chemicals that can reduce fabric lifespan and irritate skin.
7. Smart appliances
“Adding ‘phone controls’ to every appliance instead of making them last as long as they used to,” wrote Sherry S.
When your fridge needs a software update, something’s gone off the rails.
8. Makeup and anti-aging products
“Anything anti-aging,” said Melissa T., “Please just let me age into the gargoyle I was meant to become.”
Others questioned products designed to “fix” eyelashes, eyebrows, pores, and graying hair.
April S. added, “Products that women are convinced they MUST have in order to be ‘beautiful’ and therefore ‘loved.’”
9. Cosmetic surgery
Ron P. called out the industry as a whole. And while body autonomy matters, many commenters questioned whether insecurities are being commodified and sold back to us.
10. Ticketmaster and “convenience fees”
“Let’s go back to waiting in line at a record store,” wrote Nicole C.
Zaida B. added: “Convenience fee for online purchases—then charging $10 more at the actual event.”
11. Engagement rings
James P. didn’t mince words: “Engagement rings.”
The diamond industry has long been criticized for manufactured scarcity and marketing-fueled necessity.
12. Lawn chemicals and services
“Plant native grasses and you don’t have the pests or need for constant watering,” wrote Jamie B.
Environmental groups have raised similar concerns over runoff and unnecessary pesticide use.
13. AI and generative tech
“This stuff squeezes the lifeblood and individuality out of the human experience,” said Teresa L.
Saskia D. and others echoed skepticism about its necessity, even as many of us are being pushed to use it.
14. Funeral services
Amy W. shared: “My parents both have already paid to have themselves cremated and are very adamant that they do not want anything big done for them. In their words, ‘I won’t care, I’m dead.’”
Of course, some families find comfort in tradition—but the cost and pressure can feel overwhelming and predatory.
15. Rinse and repeat
Amy D. nailed it: “It’s just to sell more. Not even sure you need it at all.”
16. Credit Card Surcharges
Shawn S. took aim at the extra fees popping up at checkout: “That is the cost of doing business and shouldn’t be the burden of the purchaser.”
Many questioned why customers are increasingly being asked to pay extra simply for the convenience of using a card.
17. Constant phone upgrades
“Apple are notorious for releasing the same shit every year,” said Steph S.
Diana H. added, “Needing to upgrade our phones so frequently.”
Built-in obsolescence and marketing cycles drive most of the demand.
18. Vitamins and supplements
“If I took every supplement they say I NEED I wouldn’t need food. Nor could I afford it,” said Tausha L.
19. Fake pockets on women’s pants
Jessica W. said, “I have to buy men’s pants for work because women’s pants would just get torn up too fast!”
Form over function, and then they charge more for it.
20. Disposable everything
“The ‘convenience’ of disposable everything,” said Rick R.
It’s killing the planet—and draining wallets.
21. Tipping
“I’m sick of supplementing for corporations that refuse to pay a living wage,” wrote Susan V.
Tipping culture has evolved into something far removed from its original intent, and for many, it now feels like a burden shifted onto the customer.
The bigger picture
People aren’t saying all these things should vanish tomorrow. But when we start seeing convenience sold as necessity, and insecurity turned into billion-dollar markets, it's worth asking: who benefits from all of this?
And more importantly—who pays?
This article originally appeared earlier this year.