Saying "I start at 9.30"?

[cjt110]

I changed my work hours recently to accommodate my son now going to school. I start at 9.30, have half an hours lunch and finish at 5.30. I also have reduced my days from 5 to 4.

Since I changed my hours, I regularly get into the office at approx 9.15-9.20. Also regularly, I get my boss, and other departmental bosses, ringing/speaking to me as soon as I get in.

This morning, I walked in the door at 9.15, hadn't even put my bags down to my boss saying "I've emailed you X and we need to do Y" followed by a conversation about X and Y. I politely said "Ok, fine. Just let me get in the door first"

No sooner had my boss walked away, another boss came up saying "I know you don't til 9.30 but could you check....."

This is becoming a regular nonoccurence. The odd conversation here or there fine but this is happening almost daily now.

How do I address this? I don't want to be rude but I also want to say "Hang on, it's not 9.30 yet - go away!"

@AssassinatedBeauty nope, read the OP again.

So you arrive at 9.15 - and people want you to work immediately...so, since you are working from when you arrive, why not ask for an increase in hours paid to cover you from 9.15 every day = an extra hour and a quarter a week?

When it happens simply say "Let me get my coat off and get logged in. I'll come and find you in five minutes." Can't see why anyone would have a problem with that. Happens to me a lot because my team are often in and out all day due to offsite meetings. No one has ever had a problem with it. Put that way it's not working to rule, just asking for a bit of courtesy. Sounds like a confidence thing to me.

Get a coffee before you go in, thereby arriving at 9.25 or similar.

In professional jobs, there isn't usually overtime pay or overtime hours - you get your salary (possibly bonuses , but often not) and although you might have contracted hours, you complete the tasks you need to do....and if takes longer than the contracted hours, which it often will, you keep working. With such work, there is often flexibility to sometimes work at home, or to clear off early sometimes if you need to do something.....you're treated like a professional who isn't there to clock watch but to do a professional job. People often take work home and carry on in the evening.

That said, I'm not suggesting OP should work more at all....lots of jobs are very regular hours and people arrive on time and leave the minute the clock hits their end time....that's the expectation of both workers and employees ...and anything not achieved in the time has to wait until tomorrow. OP has reduced her hours and has a late start to fit in with her kids ....fair enough. Perhaps she's not paid enough to feel that wants to work an extra hour a week due to lots of 15 mins adding up, but whilst it would be perfectly reasonable to say you don't start until 9.30 it is difficult when everyone else is already in the flow of work, not fully aware of the exact time and when they see their co-worker, just carries in their working day. It's why if you dont want to get involved in work chat, it's easier to simply not be physically present.

I'd agree that there's no need to make a big point of only starting at 9.30, but a friendly and cheery 'just let me get my coat off and get sorted out' to those who are just too eager, when you're coming in the door, should give you the few minutes to do just that and not feel bombarded.

Sorry but I think your attitude is terrible. A bit of flexibility in your approach would not go amiss and will stand you in good stead when you are late/need something from your employer

I genuinely just think this is a normal part of going to work and having a job. If you don't want to be working that early then don't get there that early.

This would wind me up too but how you handle it is important. You refuse to talk to people or take requests as such but the next time someone asks you something as you walk through the door say ‘no problem I’ll just get a coffee and get on to it first thing when I start’ that way people still feel like you’ve taken the request but you’ve bought yourself the 15 minutes.

Its pretty standard to let someone know information/what needs doing when they see you. You can't expect them to check the time when they see you then not approach you until 9.30.

• you can’t refuse to talk to people

Zig zag it's fairly easy to see if someone has a coat on, if they're up agnd running at their computer or not. That's all the op wants.

But you are at work so you might as well start your day. Not doing do just makes you look lazy like your attitude is I get paid to work from 9:30 to 5:30 as opposed to I get paid to do xyz.

Like @MilkTwoSugarsThanks says ^. Ten minutes isn't really here nor there and i'm sure there will be times when you need a bit of extra flexiblity as a working mum, even if it's just to take phone calls and the like.

I expect all my staff to be in the building before their start to ensure drinks are made, coats off and they are on their seats logged on ready to start at their start time. It's polite not to bombard them before they are ready however so go with what others have said and just politely put people off until you're ready.

Be wary of nit-picking over a couple of minutes here and there though or your boss may well take the same stance with you. Do you wait until 5.30pm to start packing up or are you out the door like a shot? Do you ever check your phone, the internet, have a chat with collegues etc...? People aren't robots and I expect all my staff to do the above from time to time which is why give and take is important both ways.

If you eat lunch at your desk read the news or take a book. Your boss won't necessarily know you're answering work emails.

Her computer is still loading up. She still has her coat on. She's not ready for questions.

I think your boss needs to change their attitude really. Try and find some time where you and they can sit down together for a coffee and you can bring the morning situation up in a chatty way. Manage your manager.

Also if possible I'd check emails and before getting in and just send a holding response "Appreciate the urgency, I'll do this asap after getting in." Just to manage your boss's anxiety and to let them know you are on it, but at the same time, buying you time to have a coffee and get into it.

To be honest what do you expect, some people may not remember.
I work the same hours and sit in my car until its time to start.
Same as lunch time, if I have lunch at my desk people will interrupt so I need to leave the desk/office if I don't want that as I think it comes across as rude to tell people basically don't approach me.

Do you wait until 5.30pm to start packing up or are you out the door like a shot?

She has every right to be out of the door "like a shot" at 5.30pm, as those are her working hours. If the work cannot be done in that time then you need to employ more people. Most people do have to leave on time because of other commitments, getting public transport etc.

This used to happen to me, so now I do my make up in the car outside the office and stroll in 5 minutes before I start work.

I agree with others- don't enter until 09.25 then. I'd probably be that great full they accommodated the working day and reduced the days I worked, that the extra ten minutes wouldn't bother me. If it bothers you. Don't come into the workspace until a time you feel is more appropriate then.

This.....

You sound rather entitled

@actualpuffins .... she's paid to work 9.30 - 5.30. Not start to pack up at 5.20. I'm not suggesting the OP does do this however if you're picky about 10mins one side you have to do the same the other side! Give and take is what it's all about.

Wear headphones as you enter the office and don't take them off until 9.30.
If everyone else starts at 9.00, they will be waiting until for you to get in at ask you something. Therefore when you appear, they ask immediately

I get in a bit later sometimes. I tend to remove coat etc. before walking into the office, and take a travel mug of tea, so I can be up and running immediately on getting in. If you do start later than most people you will lose that few minutes of getting sorted time that people take when they're in before the official starting time.

The flipside is that you get a more relaxed close of the day - might not be long until you are opening conversations with people at 4.50pm when they are trying to get ready to go, because you have another 40 mins to do....

She has every right to be out of the door "like a shot" at 5.30pm, as those are her working hours.

You has every right to stop work, but if you're logged out, coat on ready to be out "like a shot" you've stopped working before your finish time.

People really are dense, aren’t they. It’s not about insisting on only working from 9.30. It’s aout being so rude that you can’t wait for your colleague, who is in 15 mins before their start time, to enable them to be ready to start the day on time, or possibly ahead of time, to take their coat off, switch their computer on and grab a drink.

It’s incredibly narcissistic. Get your heads out of your arses and locate your manners. It’ll backfire on you. I had a manager like this, I was temping and she needed me to extend my contract and I said no, because of crap like this. So she would have been floundering around, understaffed, projects running late, because she lacked this skill.

This is annoying. You have spent the morning dealing with all the needs of your child to get them to school. Then as soon as you are visible at work those bastards are fecking mithering you as well.

They are being twats caught up in their own timescales. Out-twat them. Get to car park/bus stop/outside work, log onto email on your phone, send them all urgent emails asking for stuff then walk in asking 'have you seen my email' to everyone you encounter.