Last week everyone got an office-wide email from the folks up top informing us of a new policy coming into effect immediately. Now, I won't share specifics, but this policy was pretty asinine and pretty soon talk was going around the office about it. Nobody could see what the benefit was to this policy other than making it harder for us boots-on-the-ground folks.

Morale was low, but nobody was willing to make a fuss about it, so I decided to be "that guy" and take it up with my manager one day. I asked him what he thought about the policy and he kind of shrugged his shoulders. It was clear to me that he didn't like it but didn't want to say anything bad about it. I decided to let him know that this policy would really make it tough on the rest of us and why. He was cool about it and said he'd take it up with upper management.

Last week my manager CC'd me on an email to our CEO about some of the complaints he'd received about the policy. Well today I got an event invitation to a meeting with the CEO. I honestly didn't know what to expect at first, but I accepted the invite and just a few hours later I was in the CEO's office alone. He started out by thanking me for coming. He explained their rationale for the policy and honestly it made some sense if you looked at it from his position, but it still seemed unnecessary from my perspective. He asked me a few questions about my perspective and I did my best to relay what I'd heard from others and what I thought about it. After that I was free to go, but before I left he stopped me and said, "Thanks for being honest with me, Ben."

Not an hour later another company wide email went out from the CEO basically saying the policy would no longer be in effect starting immediately. As it went around I heard people whispering and celebrating. I felt like a regular corporate hero. I realized something important in that moment. If it had gone any differently I'd probably start looking for a new job right away. Nobody deserves to be in a position where they don't feel heard or respected by the place they commit a large portion of their time and energy to. Whether your complaint is small or large SAY SOMETHING. You might be pleasantly surprised by how your employer responds.