What is malicious compliance?

Malicious compliance occurs when an employee follows company rules to the letter but undermines the intended purpose. In other words, the employee uses the company's own rules and regulations against them. This sneaky workplace behavior may seem like a minor annoyance, but some acts can have serious ramifications for the company.

Disordered Action vs. Maladaptive Compliance

Disorganized work is a similar form of workplace rebellion. This corporate buzzword describes situations where disgruntled or overworked employees offer excessive discounts, generosity, and benefits to customers without concern for the consequences.

Disorganized working is often considered an act of generosity, but it is at the expense of the company and is probably against policy. It is not as dependent on strict adherence to rules as maladjusted compliance.

Quiet abandonment vs. maladaptive compliance

Quitting quietly  is something many disengaged employees do right before they leave their company. They have essentially “aged out” of their role, doing only the bare minimum needed to keep their job, and have little motivation to put in any additional time or effort. While they are still following the rules, it is not as intentionally harmful or overt as malicious compliance.

Examples of maladaptive compliance

It can be difficult to discipline an employee for maladaptive compliance  because they are technically following the rules – they have simply found a way they can take advantage of to show their dissatisfaction. In some cases, this happens when HR or a manager enforces the problematic rule. Here are some examples of maladaptive compliance in the workplace:

Use of old documents

Sam, a newly-promoted IT developer, is entitled to a $600 internet reimbursement as part of his total compensation.   When he asks why his claim was denied at the end of the quarter, HR says employees are only allowed to apply for reimbursement of up to $50 and suggests submitting monthly claims instead. They also recommend that Sam re-read the policy to avoid future mishaps in his new role.

After a thorough review, Sam finds a document error. It says that remote employees get reimbursed up to $600/year for three additional expenses (office supplies, mobile phone, and utility bills), and it appears this is  per item  – not $600 total. So, Sam submits itemized claims each month, stays below the $50 limit for each, and  quadruples their benefits until the company updates the maximum allowable reimbursement rate in their documents a year later. 

Maximizing PTO After an Improper Denial

In September, Leslie submits her PTO request for the holidays   , but discovers she still has two extra days to use. Since everyone at her company is also submitting Q4 time-off requests, no one is available to cover her shifts for those remaining days and the company does not allow regular PTO to be carried forward into the new year.

So, Leslie asks her manager if he can grant her a one-time exemption to the carryover rule or compensate her for those days. Her request is denied.

Between the pay she receives when everyone else is on vacation  and her regular PTO renewal at the beginning of the year  , Leslie realizes she can take six weeks of vacation in January. She waits until December 23 to submit her  vacation request  and have it approved. According to company policy, employees are only required to submit PTO requests one week in advance, so her company struggles to find coverage for her extended vacation time.

Impact of Bad Compliance on Businesses

Malicious compliance affects every business differently and largely depends on the act itself. For example, taking excessive PTO is different than refusing a customer service call at 4:45 PM. Passive retaliation can affect company profits and inconvenience other teams, but it can also have very public consequences if an issue is shared outside the company.

Other potential effects of maladaptive compliance include:

• Productivity Loss
• employee turnover
• Reputation damage
• morale dropped
• missed deadlines
• Customer Complaints
• Union involvement
• fines and penalties
• legal action

Your  company culture  can also be affected. Managers can lose trust in their employees just as quickly as employees lose trust in their employers. Also, if one employee feels his or her actions are justified, others may behave similarly in response to a widespread problem.

Why does malicious compliance occur in companies?

Happy employees usually do not revolt against their employer, especially if a violation is resolved appropriately. It is often the result of a deeper issue, such as  poor leadership  . A disgruntled employee may resort to maladaptive compliance for the following reasons:

• Overly restrictive work policies
• Inappropriate managerial orders
• Dabangg Boss
• toxic work environment
• Strict micromanagement
• Communication Failures
• Lack of employee advocacy
• Overworked teams
• Inadequate  employee recognition

This can also happen when an employer changes policy without considering the consequences. The relationship between leadership and reports or different teams can create an environment where it's easy to exploit the system. Whatever the reason, it's important to be  prepared to deal with the difficult conversations that may arise  .

Best practices for preventing malicious compliance

One of the best things you can do to prevent maladaptive compliance in the workplace is  to listen to your employees  . Maintain constant contact with your teams, collect individual feedback, and use those insights to create a positive workplace.  A constant feedback loop  lets your employees know that you value their time and experience in the workplace and strengthens managerial-employee relationships.

Since malicious compliance policy is based on exploitation, review your employee handbook periodically.   Are the policies your company introduced last year still relevant today? Will any upcoming process changes require additional documentation? When you make changes, don't forget to communicate them to your team and discuss afterward how those updates are working.