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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/Fuzzy_Concept_4606 on 2024-05-10 16:51:29+00:00.

Hi,

Young woman of color who looks like she is in high school but is actually in her mid-20s. I have one major example of malicious compliance as I have been with my current science consulting role at a boutique firm since graduating college. Most of the people at my company have a PhD and/or MS even though this is completely unnecessary for the job. I do not come from a science background, so this does not benefit me either.

It is a bizarre situation as I am given much more responsibility than many people who are older, more educated, and higher in the company than me; management clearly does not want someone who looks like me to be a leader at the company, but they give me the responsibilities of someone higher-up without the title and compensation.

I have been given several reasons as to why I was not being promoted as quickly as others (Side note: I have been promoted several times. My issue is that I am doing more than others in terms of work load and responsibility and am not being compensated for it properly per my current job description. I have just as much/more responsibility than many people above me and am being treated by a different standard.).

Before my most recent promotion which took 2 years to get, my previous supervisor (also a WOC, but older and with a PhD) told me that I was being treated differently by higher ups at my company based on my age, gender, and lack of education. Although my work product was “perfect,” she said that I was being judged on how I “appeared at first” and “interacted with coworkers” (even though I have friendly relationships with all colleagues, she likely meant that I was too outgoing). She said she wanted to perform an “experiment” with me. She said that maybe I would be promoted if I started putting more effort into my appearance (side note: I am a confident, charismatic person who [respectfully] does not need to put any more effort into her appearance. And even if I did, it is not her, or anyone’s, f*cking business). She said I should wear “tighter” clothing.

So I maliciously complied out of spite. I went from business casual attire that was the standard at my office to full-on business attire. I also never wore makeup to work and wore a full face of makeup everyday for months. While others wore athletic t-shirts, sneakers, and hoodies, I wore dress shirts / dress pants and pantsuits. My pastel-colored pantsuit REALLY caught peoples’ attention, and people would continually ask, “Are you going somewhere with a client?” I would always reply, “No. I received feedback that I need to put more effort into my appearance.” That shut everybody up real quick.

My former supervisor apologized after a week and said she shouldn’t have said that. I kept up the act out of malice for a few weeks after. And I got the promotion a few months later.

P.S. I know this is a massive HR violation (among many others not discussed above). I do not have an in-house HR rep and my company contracts a third-party. I am afraid of retaliation and I do not want to report anything because it will make my job worse than it already is. I know my worth and have been job searching for over a year since this occurred. I am approaching the final stages of interviews for several positions.