Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

How long would it take for people to notice you hadn’t turned up for work?

164 replies

00100001 · 05/03/2019 08:48

I mean, an unplanned absence. So just say, ex day. You decide “fuck it all, I’m staying in bed”.

And then just don’t tell anyone.

How long would it be until some rings//texts etc?

I reckon about 2hours for me.

OP posts:
mrbob · 05/03/2019 08:50

About 10 minutes! Panic would set in as the night team couldn't go home

Winterfellismyhome · 05/03/2019 08:50

About 10 minutes leway if i was running late but id be called within 30 minutes. I work on the underground and stations cant open if the staff dont turn up, need minimum numbers.

ComtesseDeSpair · 05/03/2019 08:51

Oh, days! Because I’m quite itinerant anyway, often work from home on a whim and don’t really have to check in with anyone.

I jest, I reckon my line manager, our CEO, would probably phone midway through Day Two as he’d be concerned at no word whatsoever.

Justincase87 · 05/03/2019 08:51

15 minutes maybe, I work in care so if I'm not there somebody can't go home!

Redcrayons · 05/03/2019 08:52

People would notice I wasn’t there from 9am. I don’t think anyone would check on me few hours though.

BitchQueen90 · 05/03/2019 08:54

About 10 minutes. There are only 5 of us in the office and I start later than everyone else as I'm the only part timer so they'd notice if I didn't arrive.

theworldistoosmall · 05/03/2019 08:55

Last job from experience about 30 minutes. It wasn't a fuck it I will stay in bed day, it was flu and I had slept through the alarm and all the calls/texts asking where I was.

DollyWilde · 05/03/2019 08:55

I imagine my colleague who I share an office with would drop me a text after half an hour and mention it to our office manager if I wasn’t there after an hour. That said I do have a fair few meetings out of the office so they’d probably check my Outlook calendar first in case I was at an offsite and had forgotten to say.

On Fridays though my colleague works from home, so it might not be until lunchtime that anyone clocked I was missing, if I didn’t have any internal meetings. And even then they’d have to be bothered enough to ask the office manager if I was sick or on holiday. I’m quite tempted to test it Grin

greenelephantscarf · 05/03/2019 08:56

half an hour after morning flexitime ends.

greenelephantscarf · 05/03/2019 08:56

or earlier if I'm expected at a meeting

StealthPolarBear · 05/03/2019 08:58

Unless I had a deadline or meeting it would e days. Though I suspect people would wonder why I wasn't replying to email etc after a day or so.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 05/03/2019 08:58

Immediately as they wouldn’t be able to drop their kids off! (Childminder)

ASqueakingInTheShrubbery · 05/03/2019 08:59

Whenever panicking client thought to make a phonecall. Once I got caught in a massive traffic jam and had forgotten my phone, and when I got home had missed calls from about 9.10. I did eventually get there, find client and apologise massively, and she must have let me off as she booked me again.

Orangehandtowel · 05/03/2019 08:59

I get into work at 8.. I would get a phone call at around 10 but only if my managers in.

I know this because she always forgets when I take mornings off Grin

ChakiraChakra · 05/03/2019 08:59

10 minutes they'd notice, 15-20 they'd phone as they wouldn't be able to open up without me. it's not like I've had experience of it or anything

ceeveebee · 05/03/2019 09:01

If I was supposed to be in a meeting then they’d notice straight away but as I work across two different offices and sometimes from home they wouldn’t wonder where I was until I failed to return a call/answer an email.

JaretsGirlfren · 05/03/2019 09:03

When I was five minutes early instead of ten/fifteen as usual, a colleague said ‘so nice of you to join us - didn’t think you were bothering today’ Hmm

StealthPolarBear · 05/03/2019 09:05

I hopr you put them straight!

notacooldad · 05/03/2019 09:06

Someone would wonder after about 10 mins as they would be waiting to do a handover but wouldn't be unduly bothered. Some people travel up to 15 miles , which I know isn't a lot by some people's commute but most of the team live within 2 miles, so it would be put down to motorway traffic.
After about half an hour we would wonde if they have gone to another build that we work from and would start ringing round.

TrickyKid · 05/03/2019 09:08

About a week. I'm self employed and work alone most of the time 😊

hatgirl · 05/03/2019 09:08

Probably two days, maybe more - social worker so in theory we are supposed to have top notch loneworker policies in case someone kidnaps us but in reality we are so short staffed and our managers so busy that the lone worker stuff often isn't done as robustly as it should be.

That coupled with hot desking, regular working from home, external meetings and visits and it's perfectly possible to go a few days or even weeks without seeing certain colleagues without thinking it's odd.

Plus I'm very reliable and trustworthy and resonably senior so it would be assumed I was busy rather than skiving for quite some time before anyone noticed.

Quite scary really.

ChardonnaysPrettySister · 05/03/2019 09:08

2 minutes. It’s brutal.

Helpmeltb · 05/03/2019 09:08

I'm usually in at 8am, boss would assume traffic until about 8.30am. They wouldn't ring until about 10.30am (you have to be in by 10) unless there was something specific they were expecting me for.

JaretsGirlfren · 05/03/2019 09:09

I gave her a WTF face and went and sat in the staff room and did precisely nothing for my five minutes.

Bigsighall · 05/03/2019 09:14

People would notice I didn’t turn up to meetings I’d scheduled but happily leave after 5 mins thinking they can go get a cuppa instead! Concern wise... probably about a week