"You didn’t return my greeting, so I didn’t greet you either?" New Employee Hits Back at Boss Who Ignored Greetings [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News] An online story about a new employee who delivered a satisfying, pointed verbal takedown to a section chief who routinely ignored greetings from subordinates because of their lower rank has sparked discussion online.

On the 9th, a post titled, in essence, “New employee lands a blow on section chief who doesn’t return greetings,” was published on an online workplace community.
According to the author, identified as A, section chief B at the company is young but is well known internally for rarely returning greetings. B was reportedly so authoritarian that even employees about 10 years older than B received no response if they held a lower rank.
The incident occurred in the office during the morning commute. A new employee saw section chief B arriving at work but did not greet B, merely staring silently. When B showed displeasure, an assistant manager who had been watching nervously pointed out to the new employee, "Aren’t you going to say hello?"
The new employee smiled and shot back, "Oh, I thought you couldn’t hear greetings because you never return them," then went straight back to their desk.
A described the tense atmosphere at the scene, saying, "The company is running smoothly from the very start of the morning."

The story drew strong reactions from online users. Most praised the new employee’s bold response, saying, "If you want kind words in return, you should speak kindly first. It felt like a decade-old frustration had finally been relieved," "It was an appropriate response to a boss who lacks even basic manners," and "This is a scene that bosses who think ignoring greetings is a display of power should definitely see."
Others expressed more practical concerns, saying, "Even if the boss was clearly in the wrong, confronting them like that at work could ultimately damage the employee’s reputation," and "It may feel satisfying, but I’m worried life at the company won’t be smooth from here on out."
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