To leave work on time?!!

[skyblueeee]

I find working full time (9-5:30) quite hard, I feel tired and restricted, which is why I can't wait for the clock to strike 5:30 and I can walk out the office, drive home, eat dinner and relax....

But the problem is, no one ever leaves at 5:30 I look around and everyone is still working while I walk out the door, I even get a few judgemental looks from colleagues. I'm usually the first one out, if not I'm one of the first.

Does it look bad to leave work on time? Obviously if I had something urgent to do I would finish it, but I don't want to stay just to look good. I already get home about 6:20pm depending on traffic and not keen to have an even longer day....

To me, things like booting up and shutting down a computer are work tasks to be done in work time.

Years ago I worked in a kitchen in an old people’s home. My start time was 9am and my first task, to clean up the breakfast things. I wasn’t expected to turn up at 8:55 so I could have a sink full of soapy water to enable me to start washing up at 9am on the dot! Why should work related tasks be done in an employees own time?

5 minutes extra at the start and end of each day is nearly an hour a week, in a year that’s over a week of extra time being given to the employer, for what?

I have a good reputation in my current role, I work freelance in my sector and have people regularly asking me to go and work with them. They look at the quality of my work. Not my start and finish times.

Winner of the worst management stayle ever is CalF123!!

You would be free to leave without divulging any information, but your contract would also be terminated on the spot. I don't know of many companies that allow staff to leave without senior management authorisation

I've never worked anywhere where this WOULD be the case, you've had a rough work life clearly.

I leave bang on time every day, and i work in management, of course if there was something urgent, i'd have to stay but that's very rare. I also make sure the team leave on time too. People can take their lunch break when they want to, as long as somebody on the team knows when they are going.

Flexibility ensures commitment and loyalty on the whole, far more than regimented micro management ever would.

*style

I suspect advanced search has been getting a lot of use as a result of this thread.

Thinking about this too much now. How long is the unpaid break?

I would make it clear that you need to leave on time for but that you make sure you get all your work done during your paid hours and if, for any reason, you don't, you will make that up at another time. But basically, I think we all contribute to this ridiculous culture of staying longer by, well, staying longer, when all the research shows that we are more productive if we don't. So I would just leave.

YANBU I hate this attitude of martyrdom that many have in the UK!! My place used to be like this. Now we have a boss that actively encourages people to leave on time.

I have seen Cal post about working conditions before I'm sure and it was much the same story. Worryingly I think there maybe a grain of truth in it.

Safe to say Cal would do their nut working for my company. I don't even have core hours I have to be in the office. The only requirements are that I am 'reasonably contactable' during 'office hours' (barring driving), work gets done and deadlines get hit and minimum hours hit.

If we have personal appointments during the day where we may not be contactable then we just have to let people know. It's not a request though.

Fundamentally most people are in the office 10-4 ish as you do need to chat to colleagues, have meetings and more importantly drink free coffee.

It's not a creative industry either, but an engineering consultancy. This approach really helps defeat the presenteeism culture that can exist in the industry. If people are pretty much coming and going as they please no one is clock watching or commenting.

No issue with missed deadlines or upset clients as a) people recognise they are employed to do a job b) staff reward that level of flexibility from an employer by reciprocating c) staff often work outside 'office hours' and therefore don't mind picking up a phonecall or email from a client at odd hours. Clients therefore feel they are getting quicker responses and a better service.

Treat people like adults and they respond in kind.

There is a push for unlimited leave... But judging by the eyebrow raising at board level there might be someway to go for that...

I have absolutely no problem with people leaving on time. Or early. But people who leave bang on time every day even if shits on fire and manure has hit the rotary ventilation system because they have done 'their work' will definitely be mentioned.

I do wonder how insecure certain people in management positions are when they constantly have to refer to themselves not just as a manager but a 'senior' manager.

@CalF123 - you have a LOCKED door to stop people leaving early? What kind of awful workplace is that? Does someone have to request to be let out? That's totally fucked up.

I TRUST my staff to work hard and if they need to leave early, so be it. We have a very productive, collaborative workplace where people cheerily bid each other farewell when they have finished their working days (whatever time that may be). I leave the office when I have finished my work each day and bid farewell to the directors/owners and everyone else on the way out. I'm c-level and my flexible approach to work hasn't damaged my career at all because I work efficiently and effectively.

Captainbrickbeard I completely agree with you!
I would work over if needed or come in early when needed and even pop in for a couple of hours on a weekend when needed BECAUSE I get treated like an adult. I can come in a little late if waiting for a delivery or pop out early if I have an appointment. I keep an eye on my emails outside or working hours. It's give and take and I work much harder when I'm treated with respect.

@theressomethingaboutmarie

Yep, there is a clear process for staff to be allowed out. All they have to do is submit a request through the internal system to a member of senior management with details of the reason and how long they're requesting out. There is always at least one member of senior management on site, so we will respond to the request and then open the door if the request for access is approved.

Request for access? To the outside world?

It's an open prison. Isn't it.

YANBU. I cannot stand this attitude that people who leave work on time are not committed to their job.

People who regularly work far more than their paid and contracted hours need to wise up. You are simply making more money for unscrupulous employers who are paying you to do the job of one person while expecting you to do the job of one and a half people. And they are getting away with it because not only are many employees being brainwashed into believing this is reasonable, but they are in turn creating a culture where other employees feel uncomfortable about getting up and going home at their assigned time.

People need a family life, a social life, a life in their community, good friendships if they are going to be happy and fulfilled. Sitting in an office until all hours and constantly checking emails and work phones when you're at home is a sad way to live and employers should not be allowed to force this lifestyle on their employees.

So CalF and other managers at the same company is employed to sit and watch the staff carefully for the final 10-15 minutes of every day to ensure they aren't packing away too early? It'd be cheaper to let some lower paid staff just start tidying up 2 it 3 minutes early than paying more expensive staff to stare at them ensuring they don't!! Doesn't make financial sense at all.

I also can't believe some people would be so petty as to frown at someone getting up at 5.25 to rinse their cup, log off etc.

@CalF123 How can you spend the day on MN if you are in such a volatile work place.

@Raven88

I don't work full-time.

@Aragog

We're not employed solely to monitor staff- it's part of our role and we tend to do it on a rota basis. Two of the senior management will usually do the 'morning shift' i.e. checking all staff are at their desks and working for 9am and then securing the door, 2 more will wander down at around 11.45am to check staff are working in the run up to lunchtime and it's a similar process after lunch.

Four of us do tend to do the afternoon slot- we'll head down to the main office and start circulating around 4.30pm and stay there until all the staff have left after 5pm.

Today 11:40 CalF123

*@Raven888

I don't work full-time.

I suspect that you do not work at all tbh

Calf probably lives in the basement at their mum's house.

I haven't read the full thread so apologies if I'm repeating previous points.

The office I used to manage was very much time sensitive where the majority of tasks had to be completed in a day. It was very noticeable if members of staff completed their own tasks and left as it was a team unit and if you'd finished you should check what everyone else had left so we could all go home. To be fair that usually happened and we didn't have many people who would try and avoid helping out, or if they did help, did it with a bad grace.

We're not employed solely to monitor staff- it's part of our role and we tend to do it on a rota basis. Two of the senior management will usually do the 'morning shift' i.e. checking all staff are at their desks and working for 9am and then securing the door, 2 more will wander down at around 11.45am to check staff are working in the run up to lunchtime and it's a similar process after lunch.

Four of us do tend to do the afternoon slot- we'll head down to the main office and start circulating around 4.30pm and stay there until all the staff have left after 5pm.

So that's an awful lot of time and money being used for the purpose of ensuring other lower paid staff don't leave a couple of minutes early!

4 x 30m x 5 days a week = 10 hours for the afternoon
Then 2 x 15 min each morning (30min x 5 =2.5) and around 15 min each before and after after lunch (another 5 hours)

So 17.5 hours of management time per week x 52 weeks a year = 910 man hour is used on checking lower paid staff don't skip out a couple of minutes early.

Also that then doesn't take into account that those hours could be used to do proper management type work. The type most of companies use their management staff for.

There is no way on earth that makes any financial sense whatsoever!!! What a shocking waste of money and resources!

^*We're not employed solely to monitor staff- it's part of our role and we tend to do it on a rota basis. Two of the senior management will usually do the 'morning shift' i.e. checking all staff are at their desks and working for 9am and then securing the door, 2 more will wander down at around 11.45am to check staff are working in the run up to lunchtime and it's a similar process after lunch.

Four of us do tend to do the afternoon slot- we'll head down to the main office and start circulating around 4.30pm and stay there until all the staff have left after 5pm.*^

So that's an awful lot of time and money being used for the purpose of ensuring other lower paid staff don't leave a couple of minutes early!

4 x 30m x 5 days a week = 10 hours for the afternoon
Then 2 x 15 min each morning (30min x 5 =2.5) and around 15 min each before and after after lunch (another 5 hours)

So 17.5 hours of management time per week x 52 weeks a year = 910 man hour is used on checking lower paid staff don't skip out a couple of minutes early.

Also that then doesn't take into account that those hours could be used to do proper management type work. The type most of companies use their management staff for.

There is no way on earth that makes any financial sense whatsoever!!! What a shocking waste of money and resources!