Office supplies such as pens and printing paper are usually considered basic workplace necessities.
However, one Malaysian recently left netizens baffled after claiming that staff at their previous company had to go through several steps just to get a new pen.
In a Threads post which garnered over 102,000 views at the time of writing, the user described the company as being extremely calculative when it came to stationery.
Had to prove the old pen was finished first
According to the user, employees who wanted a new pen could not simply request one from the office.
Instead, they allegedly had to show proof that their existing pen had completely run out of ink.
After that, they would have to exchange the old pen for a new one.
But even then, the process apparently wasn’t over.
The user claimed employees also had to send an email requesting approval from the CEO just to receive the pen, which they said cost around 80 sen.
You need to email and request approval from the CEO just for an 80 sen pen.”
In the comments, the user added that the approval was not always immediate either.
They claimed employees could sometimes wait up to a week before receiving approval, leaving them without a pen in the meantime.
The user also said one pen was apparently expected to last around three months.
Printing paper was allegedly controlled too
It wasn’t just pens.
The user claimed that printing paper was also tightly controlled at the workplace.
According to them, employees had to approach HR whenever they wanted to print something, and HR would allegedly provide only the exact number of sheets required.
If you want to print two pages, they give you two sheets.”
The user further claimed that bringing your own stationery was not necessarily a solution, as employees could allegedly be told to share their personal supplies with other colleagues.
Other M’sians shared similar experiences
The post quickly drew responses from Malaysians who said they had encountered similarly strict workplace practices.
One commenter recalled working at a company where employees had to write down the date whenever a new pack of A4 paper was opened.
They claimed staff would also be questioned whenever printing paper or toilet tissue ran out faster than expected.
Some netizens, meanwhile, were simply amused by the number of approval levels involved.
One joked about how the CEO must feel approving a request for a single pen, while another suggested buying an entire bundle of pens and showing them off at the office.
The original poster jokingly warned against that idea, saying they might end up becoming the office’s “free stationery supplier”.
