Interview Question: "Have You Ever Complied With a Bad Work Policy?"

Interviews can help an employer assess whether a candidate understands a company's protocols and can fit into its overall culture. Interviewers often ask questions about your response to a challenging policy so they can gain critical insight into your personality, work habits and value system. When preparing for an interview, it may be helpful to review some common questions about challenging policies so you can feel more confident when answering them. In this article, we discuss why employers ask questions about workplace policies that contradict your perspective and provide example answers to use as a reference. Related: Interview Question: "What Is Your Biggest Failure?"

Why do employers ask questions about bad policies?

Employers ask these questions to learn how you approach stressful or unexpected situations in the workplace, including instances where your perspective contrasts with a policy's value system. They may also try to gauge your primary characteristics and how you handle any conflicts in workplace relationships. Hiring managers often appreciate a candidate who can both display loyalty to an organization and dedication to their job responsibilities. If you can demonstrate an ability to use critical thinking and identify nuance in a complex situation, you may increase your chances of receiving a job offer. Related: Preparing for an Interview: Interview Questions Psychology

How to answer the "Have you ever complied with a bad policy at the workplace?" interview question

Here are some steps you can follow when preparing for this interview question:

1. Identify a specific policy

Review your past work experiences to determine an instance where you disagreed with a policy decision, then either complied with the rule to fulfill the expectations of your position or approached a supervisor to offer constructive suggestions for improvement. Choosing a specific instance can help you develop a specific answer and or stay focused on this anecdote when giving your response. This approach may also ease pressure during the interview process, allowing you to curate a well-informed response that best answers the question and emphasizes your professional strengths.

2. Explain yourself clearly

When answering questions about company policies at your previous jobs, be sure to use concise language so you can explain your workplace anecdote effectively. To prepare this response beforehand, consider outlining different points you wish to address during the interview. If you prefer to improvise a response, it may be helpful to take several seconds to best prepare a response. As a result, you can better address all portions of an interviewer's question and describe the reasons for your actions more thoroughly.

3. Keep it positive

Maintain a confident tone throughout your response, especially when explaining the circumstances of a complex workplace situation. It's important to focus on your own perspective and thought process while handling this event. Interviewers are often more interested in learning specific information about your response to an employer's actions, rather than another company's work standards and practices.

4. Emphasize what you learned from an experience

It's important to emphasize the lessons you received from handling a policy issue at work and how you might apply these ideas to future situations. This helps you show an ability to grow professionally after experiencing a complex situation, plus allows you to better maintain a positive tone. For example, if your response involves helping a company improve an overtime policy, you might elaborate on how you learned critical collaboration skills and the importance of rest to increase workplace productivity. Related: Interview Techniques to Ace Your Next Interview

Example answers for "Have you ever complied with a bad company policy at work?"

Here are some ways you can answer questions about past job experiences:

Example 1

"I've complied with a policy that I didn't agree with at my previous job. I was working as a sales representative for a medical supplies company. After two years in my position, a new manager instated a policy requiring all sales representatives to fill out a form after each correspondence with a client. I and my fellow sales reps discovered this task was very time-consuming, as we already took detailed notes using our company-wide management software. The policy change resulted in our lowest numbers of the quarter, which had never happened during my time in the position. After a month of slow progress, my colleagues and I met with our manager and proposed working for two weeks without the additional forms, which resulted in our numbers increasing again. Our manager agreed to change the form policy to one form per week, and the sales department went back to producing some of the highest profits for the company. I learned a lot about communicating and negotiating with management from this experience, and our new manager subsequently checked in with all employees before making any major policy changes." Related: Practicing for a Job Interview

Example 2

"I worked as a retail associate at a chain store called Sunnyside Clothing. During my time in this position, there was one instance where my perspective on a policy differed from my store manager. She wanted to change the way we folded and stacked garments to improve efficiency. This decision actually slowed down our stocking abilities, as we had to re-train this task and experienced obstacles when incorporating this change into the procedure. After a month, we adjusted to the new policy and eventually became just as fast with the new folding sequence as we were beforehand. From reviewing the situation, I can acknowledge that it was a helpful change despite the challenging adjustment period in the first few weeks. We all complied with the change because we trusted our manager and she was confident that the new methods gave the store a more upscale aesthetic, which I felt was correct. I learned to trust my experienced supervisors' decisions, which I've followed at all subsequent jobs."

Example 3

"While working as an ICU nurse at St. Lucia Children's Hospital, I encountered a situation where I adhered to a company policy, despite knowing it was an inefficient way to handle my duties. Our supervisor changed the format of our schedules, which changed our rotating shifts to a set weekly schedule. This resulted in some nurses working several overnight shifts in a row, whereas our previous format spread them out equally. I and my fellow nurses went along with this update even though we became increasingly overworked during the next two months. After I realized my lack of rest affected the quality of care I gave to my patients, I decided to approach my supervisor about the situation. They weren't aware the ICU nurses felt overworked, as none of us had discussed policy change to remain compliant with our employer. Our supervisor apologized and immediately changed the schedule back, emphasizing the importance of challenging ineffective workplace policies and providing high-quality patient care."

Example 4

"After graduating with my P.h.D., I found a position at a small psychology practice in my college town where I encountered an unfavorable company policy. The owner of the practice was an incredibly experienced and respected psychologist who I learned a great deal from during my three years at the office. In my sixth month at the position, she decided to schedule 45-minute long appointments rather than our traditional hour-long slots to accept more new patients. I agreed with this goal but knew our current patients benefited from the additional 15 minutes during sessions. After seeing a significant increase in patients during the next month, I decided to comply with the policy. The 45-minute long sessions still allowed us to address our patients' major concerns and provide them with expert counseling advice. Our patients also expressed satisfaction with the change, as the shorter appointments were more convenient for their schedules. This experience taught me the importance of trusting your supervisors and using your expertise to help as many people as possible."

Example 5

"I worked as a customer service representative for a cell phone carrier called Unwired for six years. There were several changes in management during my time at this company, including a supervisor who instated a strict policy to not use cellphones during work hours. At first, my colleagues and I found this rule unnecessary, as having our phones beside us didn't seem to interfere with our ability to meet corporate quotas. Despite this, we adhered to the new policy and stored our cellphones in the break room's lockers. After just two weeks of the no phones rule, it surprised me and my fellow customer service reps how much higher our numbers increased. We learned that having our phones at our stations throughout the day extended our breaks between calls and caused us to focus more on different types of duties, such as emails and live chats with customers. Since that job, I now keep my cellphone in my purse throughout the workday and only check it during official breaks. I find I'm much more productive this way and produce higher quality work."