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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/weepninnybong on 2024-10-02 18:19:48+00:00.
Happened over a decade ago, before workplace chats were a regular thing.
My boss at the time was an old timer, I’m pretty sure he was past his retirement age. No grudge against that. He was very good at most aspects of his job, just set in his older ways.
Often I would have to call a meeting with our colleagues in Japan with him included. For various reasons, he would get upset if I scheduled these without talking to him first about his schedule even though his calendar showed him as free. He insisted that I have this check in directly with him in his office. The problem is, he wasn’t always there.
So what I would do was just send him an Outlook meeting invite to just him and him alone for the time I proposed to have this meeting. It was convenient because I was already looking at his availability in outlook. He could accept if he works and then I could update the meeting with everyone else needed.
He sees this and hollers at me to go to his office. He’s a pretty big loud dude so everyone in my vicinity hears. He proceeds to ream me out for not doing what he asked. I’m sure he didn’t understand that he was the only one on the invite and he wasn’t appearing to decline the meeting in “front” of anyone. I tried to explain but then proceeds to say under no circumstance should I book a meeting with him without chatting with him in person.
Sure enough a day or two later a very important meeting request comes through for that afternoon with some higher ups and he’s not around for me to talk to as it was later in the day. My manager’s number two who heard the minor fiasco above takes me aside and says “I know what he just yelled at you about but I think you should just book that meeting”. He didnt even need to be there, it was just proper for him to attend. Needless to say, I didn’t, quoting what boss man said and that meeting never happened that day. I vaguely remember him losing a few points for not being able to have this meeting, but nothing nuclear.