Mural Is Ruined After Manager Defiantly Demands Workers to Paint During Rainfall, Leading Them to Quit

We understand that art isn’t for everyone. Not everyone is required to be artistic, and that is perfectly fine.

However, everyone must recognize that art can be a necessity in people’s lives, whether on an individual level or on a larger scale that manifests in societies and cultures.

A Redditor, who identified himself as a muralist, shared a story on the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit about how a managerial change at their firm led to everything falling apart due to the new manager's misguided attempts to enhance the business. It was entirely the result of the new manager’s miscalculations.

According to the story, the OP had been working for a mural company for three years at that point. The supervisor they had until then was excellent, knowledgeable about the trade, and generous, making him not only helpful but also well-versed in the subtleties of the job.

However, when the boss decided to retire, he passed the venture on to a business partner. This partner had a completely different approach—one that prioritized speed and cost-cutting, forcing everyone to endure the boss’s attitude.

The team was hired to paint a mural on a five-story building, which was an incredible feat in itself.

One Redditor shared a malicious compliance story explaining how a change in management ruined the company

R.Miller (not the actual image)

Despite the team’s estimates and requests, the new manager insisted on completing the project in three weeks instead of five, which meant that the design itself had to be simplified and fast-tracked. On top of working extra hours for meager bonuses (which were even lower than under the previous management), everyone was already short-staffed and demotivated from the previous project.

Scroll down to read the entire story, which unfortunately resulted in the company losing the project and continuing to decline.

Working as a muralist

u/sagganuts18

He never offered incentives

u/sagganuts18

We did explain

u/sagganuts18

You're paid to finish jobs

u/sagganuts18

The final straw came

u/sagganuts18

I simplified the design

u/sagganuts18

The weather got bad

u/sagganuts18

On the third week

u/sagganuts18

Get back to work

u/sagganuts18

The malicious compliance

u/sagganuts18

We kept painting

u/sagganuts18

Boss demands muralists to work, and the rain destroys it all

Thomas Vandenberghe (not the actual image)

You said so

u/sagganuts18

His face turned red

u/sagganuts18

We've decided to quit

u/sagganuts18

We just ignored him

u/sagganuts18

The Reddit community praised OP and his team for fighting back, especially in such a malicious compliance manner. The OP waited a couple of months before the company completely shut down.

How it all panned out...

u/sagganuts18

The company is floundering

u/sagganuts18

More importantly

u/sagganuts18

My coworkers still keep in touch

u/sagganuts18

Now this is some malicious compliance

John Greenfield (not the actual image)

Some Redditors pointed out that stories like this occur all too frequently, and it seems that bosses never learn, sharing their own experiences to prove their point. Others expressed their understanding of the nuances of being a muralist or painter and how most people don’t realize how much work goes into making it all happen.

The post received 4,800 upvotes, hundreds of comments, and a few Reddit awards.

So fast...

zippymk13

He really doesn't

ragingsarcastic

These new bosses' stories

wdjm

A job well done

Azenogoth

Too bad, and it's his loss

Elegant_Habit_9269

Starting their own co-op

Zoreb1

A similar story

BeautifulBus912

Artists in solidarity

GrimTiki

Just get it done

Formanderson

Top-notch indeed

ballerina_wannabe

Art, like Rome, cannot be built in a day; it must be born, developed, and transcended from the mind to the body. This includes dealing with all external factors, such as rain.

However, all of this can be destroyed in the blink of an eye if management is left in the hands of an inept manager who completely misunderstands business tactics.