18-year-old call center employee told by new supervisor to "just stick to the script" she does exactly as asked leading to her boss changing her mind: 'If you deviate even slightly, you’ll be written up'

Mindless work for a paycheck is something that might appeal to a great many people, but that's before exploring the reality of that situation. The reality is living your working days in a mindless fugue state where there is nothing changing from day to day, there is no growth, nothing learned, and very little to nothing produced that you're proud of.

On the flip side, if you're being challenged by your work and allowed (and allowing yourself) to take new risks and tackle new challenges trying new things when you look back at the course of your work and portfolio, you come to find that there is a breadth of work you're proud of and have learned from sweeping out behind you.

We inherently are more productive and feel better when we have something motivating us and pushing us forward, and autonomy and empowerment—a purpose.

That's why being told by a micromanaging supervisor to just "stick to the script" and closely follow the prohibitive process can be grinding. For those truly looking to switch off and earn a paycheck, perhaps this is a blessing, but for the rest of us, it is stifling.

When this young worker was told by her new supervisor to stick to the script under threat of a write-up, she was sure to follow orders. But, in doing so, she took on a persona that matched the robotic nature of the script she was being forced to read, eventually leading to her boss being forced to backpedal.