I created a fake team-building rule and now it's an official company policy.
By @nicotbh · Work
To get out of an escape room, I invented a 'new policy' that requires an all-hands vote for any activity over $50 per person. Now a manager is citing my fake rule to block a department offsite and HR is codifying it.
The full story
We have this one manager who is obsessed with team-building events, but his ideas are always terrible and expensive. Last quarter it was axe throwing, this quarter he wanted to do a mandatory Saturday escape room. The whole team was complaining in our side-channel chat. During the planning meeting, I got cornered. On the spot, I just panicked and said something like, 'Actually, I think the new Q3 guidelines require a 75% team majority vote for any non-essential spend over the $50 per-head limit.' I made it sound super official. I have no idea where it came from, it just fell out of my mouth. But everyone in the room just sort of nodded, and the manager got flustered and dropped the escape room idea to 'circle back after a poll.' I thought that was the end of it, a small victory. But last week, a different manager was planning an actually cool offsite for her team, and my manager forwarded her the 'policy' I invented. they told her she needed to run a poll first. It escalated all the way to HR, who, instead of asking 'where did this rule come from?' just said 'That's a sensible guardrail' and are now adding it to the official employee handbook. I feel like I've committed a crime that benefited me.
How people voted
- Side A — 40% (12 votes)
- Both — 33% (10 votes)
- Side B — 27% (8 votes)
Readers are split: “Side A” leads with 40% — 30 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@benkinda — Honey, you didn't commit a crime, you accidentally created a good rule. Sometimes things work out for the best!
@mel — A lie is a lie, and now it's affecting other people negatively. You have to tell them.
@zaneforsure — Accidental W.
@sashayy — That's not a crime, it's called malicious compliance and you're a hero for it.
@heyokay — My old boss made us do 'laughter yoga' once and I swear this is the exact level of pettiness I wish I had brought to the table.
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