Small company gets bought out, new CEO demands employees to look busy, cue malicious compliance: 'We're basically creating a public perception of busy without actually doing too much'

It's a tale as old as time. You have the perfect job at a small company, everybody manages their workload well, and things are going smoothly. Then, the company finally gets bought out by a larger one, and a new CEO enters the picture. What follows is a seismic cultural shift with new expectations, responsibilities, and rules.

This thread was posted to Reddit by RevolutionFriendly56, who shared their side of the story after their new CEO decided to lecture everyone about loyalty and staying busy. The original poster (OP) then turned to their coworkers, and they embarked on a mission to enact some well-deserved malicious compliance. As a sign of loyalty, they decided to schedule extra meetings and have long, endless business conversations with plenty of discussion about the future of the company but very little execution. The result? Everyone certainly looked busy, and since the minutes were filled with empty praise for the CEO, he didn't seem to take any issue with this.

Keep scrolling below for the full story and for the subsequent consequences. For more, check out this post about a boss's frank confrontation with their employee.