Boss’s contradictory “think for yourself and act” demand goes viral — 5ch: “Never seen anyone who says this actually succeed”

Written by

in

From our other sites

A post about a boss who says “Act without being told — think for yourself!” but then scolds “Don’t do things on your own without permission!” the moment you actually act, struck a chord on 5ch.

The thread kicked off with someone pointing out “Isn’t that just contradictory?” and spiraled into a heated debate over how to interpret instructions at work and the generational gap behind it.

1Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:07:20.55ID:ID:BsEmC954a
Boss: "Don't do things on your own without permission!"
Isn't that messed up?
6Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:10:22.18ID:qAa77KPg0
Never seen anyone who says this actually make it big.
75Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:36:58.40ID:0+4ku18n0
>>6
This. Any normal working adult can tell the difference.
9Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:12:29.79ID:tlo7XgXp0
As if an idiot could ever grasp what that phrase actually means.
What you should really tell them is "You don't need to come in tomorrow."
43Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:22:50.45ID:q1zzFV01d
>>9
That's a case you'd lose 100% at the labor standards office.
13Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:14:02.28ID:v9OqpaLr0
Anyone who just does exactly what they're told is useless.
19Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:15:37.15ID:BsEmC954a
>>13
Do exactly what you're told → get told to do more.
Do more than you're told → get told not to do things nobody asked for.
So what am I supposed to do?
18Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:15:30.48ID:sRX2S6M5d
Think for yourself, then get permission before you act. That's what a job is.
22Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:16:23.72ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>18
That era is over…
24Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:16:54.00ID:nrwWmtZc0
If someone's about to eat sashimi and asks you to pass the soy sauce, what would OP do?
28Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:18:08.80ID:BsEmC954a
>>24
I'd just hand them the soy sauce.
36Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:21:21.25ID:4AWhG1Vn0
>>24
I'd go buy soy sauce together with them.
27Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:17:51.68ID:sRX2S6M5d
>>22
It's not over — that's exactly why bosses like the one in the thread title still exist.
31Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:18:29.81ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>27
You're just getting left behind.
32Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:19:14.39ID:nrwWmtZc0
>>28
The boss is saying OP's job is to pour the soy sauce into the little dish for them, not just hand it over.
42Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:22:42.02ID:BsEmC954a
>>32
Then just say so! And you know full well that the moment you pour it, they'll turn around and say "don't just pour soy sauce without asking."
33Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:19:23.90ID:sRX2S6M5d
>>31
So what? Accommodating your boss is just how a company works.
37Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:21:30.33ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>33
You're changing the subject lol
39Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:22:19.37ID:NHqRzjI90
How old is OP? If you're in your early 20s, fine, I get it — but if you're in your 30s or older saying this, you're definitely bad at your job.
45Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:24:02.62ID:BsEmC954a
>>39
I'm 34, for the record.
49Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:26:49.33ID:DasI2BAk0
This is literally this guy lol


55Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:29:31.41ID:Qofv7iAS0
>>49
I'm starting to feel bad for this store manager.
58Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:30:26.25ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>49
This is an exaggerated, fictional example, but it happens because the instructions were too vague. It's on the boss for slacking off and never explaining that "greeting customers" was part of the job.
61Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:31:30.04ID:DNPTcGv60
>>49
This part-timer is definitely bad at their job, right?
65Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:32:39.28ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>59
What exactly did I get wrong here lol
69Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:34:44.00ID:sRX2S6M5d
>>65
The moment you start bringing up "the times have changed," you're blowing this single one-off exchange way out of proportion.
78Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:38:02.69ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>69
That's exactly what you're not getting. That logic used to fly back in the day. But it just doesn't work on kids today anymore. The education they grew up with is 180 degrees different from the Showa/Heisei era. So we have to update ourselves too.
85Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:41:42.10ID:sRX2S6M5d
>>78
There you go drifting back to the "times have changed" thing again — which is exactly why people have to accommodate you just to have a conversation.
72Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:35:29.19ID:ZHJ05L1Q0
The result of thinking for yourself and taking action lmaooooo



81Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:40:21.85ID:Bf1zfDQB0
>>72
Getting fired seems well deserved given the huge damages lol
Though the manager who wasn't there at opening AND didn't answer the phone probably got grilled hard by head office afterward too.
79Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:38:55.16ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>74
And now you switch to a strawman argument lol How cowardly can you get lol
82Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:40:30.34ID:APSdGsI80
>>79
Huh? So you want to get paid without ever gaining any work experience?
87Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:42:21.53ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>82
Let's lay this out first, shall we? You used a strawman argument, didn't you? YES or NO.
95Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:47:00.05ID:APSdGsI80
>>87
NO.
Because your labor is no different from when you were first hired, right? So why should your pay go up? That's my question. Answer it.
100Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:51:06.75ID:APSdGsI80
>>87
One more question. Companies pay the cost of providing training and experience — in other words, they're investing to increase your value. But you're denying that any value increase happens. So explain to me the logic behind why pay should still go up. And spare me the socialist logic, okay?
107Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:54:58.82ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>100
That's a lot of questions lol Maybe start by reconsidering your "attitude when asking questions." Is that really how someone asking a question should behave?
109Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:56:05.60ID:APSdGsI80
>>107
So you're admitting you can't even understand something that simple?
114Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:58:20.32ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>109
Maybe you should learn how to actually have a back-and-forth conversation lol
119Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 12:59:45.69ID:xBZmjxqx0
"Don't wait to be told" = figure out the next step yourself to achieve the goal.
"Don't do things on your own" = don't make decisions alone that go beyond your authority.
In other words, it comes down to this:
"Think for yourself — but also figure out for yourself where the line is that needs checking first."
It's actually not contradictory at all, but the line is fuzzy, which is genuinely hard for people with developmental disorders (ADHD/ASD-type traits) to grasp.
123Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 13:00:39.96ID:ceTJCdjr0
>>119
Have you actually interacted with kids these days?
124Anonymous2026/08/27(木) 13:01:23.34ID:7toPeDOHF
>>119
People probably tell you you're really good at articulating things, huh?

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “Boss: “You’re supposed to act without being told! Think for yourself and act!” Me: “Got it”“.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *