Had a similar moment, but refused to work on the basis of safety, and don't regret it one bit. Installing speakers on poles for a rooftop bar 20 stories up, and we needed 6-foot ladders to reach the mount. Boss said do the thing, I said you can fuck all the way off until I'm in a harness. Boss didn't want to wait for the harness that was already on its way, and did it himself.

He knew he'd be turbofucked if it took longer than his boss thought it would take because he didn't think to bring a harness in the first place, and even more turbofucked if it came to light that he requested we work without it, so he just did it himself to save his own ass. It doesn't matter if he survived, he was a stupid idiot for stepping one rung up on that ladder without a harness.

For reference, this is the same dude who said that driving 17 hours in a van to a job site was just the same as sitting on the couch at home, so we should feel lucky that we're getting paid for it. He was not a smart man.