Let’s discuss strange cases of extreme obstinance at work — times when someone just dug in their heels and refused to do a thing, and what happened as a result. Here are some notable examples:

  • A couple of coworkers pitched a huge fit when one employer updated the dress code at a call center. The change? No pajamas. The dress code was already very relaxed, but employees were literally coming to work in nightclothes. Some of the worst offenders went on to harangue management over it, arguing “it was never a problem before” and “we’re not face to face with customers so why does it matter.” People would show up in defiance wearing PJs and argue when told to go home and change.

  • A coworker at a customer-facing work-study job in college refused to learn a new software system when the office switched from a Unix-based program to something more modern. He simply decided he wasn’t going to learn it, so he sat in the back and read his Bible for his entire shift, every shift — refusing even to process voicemails because they needed to be logged in the new system. He was eventually not renewed the following year, but not before spending four months doing absolutely nothing while getting paid for it.

  • At an office attached to a warehouse, management had to formally address the fact that workers must stop taking entire boxes of ice cream bars home from the company freezer. One coworker took such offense to the policy that he made it his mission to eat as much ice cream as possible while on site — seven bars in a single thirty-minute lunch break. He would proudly boast about making himself sick on free food just to ensure he got his “fair share.”

  • At a Scout camp where staff received two shirts each summer — a polo for Mondays and an area shirt for Wednesdays — management switched the schedule so campers could see who worked where at the start of the week and staff would look polished for family visiting day. The result was a minor uprising, with yelling arguments and flat refusal to cooperate. For years afterward, staff would claim ignorance of the change and wear the wrong shirt. Some even carried both shirts all day so they could swap to the “correct” one when management was nearby and swap back when no one was looking. A core group of retired volunteers, who were too valuable to discipline over minor shirt disobedience, kept the torch burning for their preferred rotation for a literal decade after the change.

Share your own stories of extreme workplace obstinance in the comments.