To leave my 9-5 job at 2pm if I finish my final meeting of the day early

[lindoee]

I've never given this much thought. I've got a decent job. I earn 36k a year. I often have to attend meetings. I never have to stay at work later than 15 mins past 5 but usually you are expected not to leave the building any earlier than 5.

I have two meetings a week that have an estimated end time of 5pm. One usually finishes around 4pm and I head home after that (by the time I got back to the office it would already be 5 anyway).

The other can finish any time from 2-4pm. I have always understood that after the final meeting of the day, I can finish for the day. Everyone else does and it seems to be the norm around here. We are pretty much flexible workers but I am wondering if the expectation is to work the final hours from home.

I live just with my son so I have never discussed this with anyone before but I told my parents today and they were shocked I left at 2pm. A full 3 hours earlier than I am paid for. I don't work from home after the meeting.

AIBU to not return to my office after this meeting? This particular meeting is a 5 minute walk away from my office. The meeting that finishes around 4pm is almost an hour drive away from the office.

So you are taking one afternoon off a week? That's 10% of your working week and I agree it's an absolute piss take.

Meeting finishing at 4 is perfectly acceptable to go home if you can't make back to office before 5. However meeting finishing at 2 then u would be back to the office by 3 and ready to work 2 more hours

That's three and a half weeks you're having off, over the course of a year!

No one knows when my meeting actually finishes

Presumably the other people at the meeting know, as does anyone else who works in the same office? At some point it is going to get back to your managers that you are regularly taking afternoons off whilst pretending to be at meetings, and it is potentially grounds for gross misconduct action. It won't help you that you work hard at other times or that you get in early: if you want to leave work early, you need permission. Your employers are entitled to say that it is more important to them and their clients that you are available in the afternoon during normal working hours than that you are available 15 minutes early occasionally.

You clearly think you're being reasonable, so I don't know why you asked AIBU. I don't get why people do posts like this when they are clearly of one opinion. Just don't post? Anyway yes I think I'd feel guilty about this and I have a very flexible job. And if I feel bad about it, it was probably wrong I think. If it was an hour away or closer to where i live, I would work from home after. But not for something 5 mins away.

I also think you're taking the piss.
A 4pm finish when you're an hour from the office then it makes sense to go straight home.
2pm and you're 5 minutes from work is really unprofessional.

Would you be happy standing in a meeting with your boss and other senior people and explaining why you need to take 3 hours pay for not working? Why havent you told them you'll go straight home at 2pm, do you think it will be accepted? Do you think they'd accept 'but I come in just before 9am' as a professional reason? I'm guessing not.

People taking the piss like that means managers show less flexibility to others.

No one knows when my meeting actually finishes. The meeting has a four hour time frame booked in as very occasionally it does go on until 5pm. No one, not even my manager is informed what time it actually does finish on a day to day basis.

Your manager not knowing the finishing time is no justification for you going home 3 hours early. Your update at 16:34 about how hard you work, It’s a professional job, they get their money’s worth- again is no justification for you effectively sneaking off early.

If you think it is so ok, tell your manager, ask your manager if they feel it is ok for you to do this rather than MN. If they say it is ok -FANTASTIC!

3 hours a week is 152 hours a year which is 19 and a half working days you are doing your employer out of. I really don't think you should be doing this.

Now see, I agree with you all. BUT. I am retired now, but worked in a 'professional role' until last year.
I worked office hours, but needed to be in London, maybe 3 times per month? Travelling from the north east, this meant a 5:30 departure from home, getting back at 9:30 ish at night. I also did training sessions and workshops in various locations around the UK.
I was expected to do this and was always back in the office bright eyed and bushy tailed at 8 am the following morning.
If anyone had taken exception to me finishing at lunchtime occasionally, they would have been given their arse in a basket.

Give and take goes both ways, but it seems these days that people are expected to just suck it up at work. Good employers breed good employees.

To a pp - not all senior roles pay a fortune - I earn under £30k and have a lot of responsibility and reports. It depends on your industry.

I think the 2pm thing is wrong - I'd do this but I would log on and work from home.

I wouldn't do this as a one off let alone once a week!

But Pennine your example is nothing like the OP. You have to factor in your significant travelling time. OP's meeting is 5 minutes from the office. There's no comparison.

3 hours per week is 140ish hours per year so you're getting paid for 3 1/2 weeks per year which you don't work.

but usually you are expected not to leave the building any earlier than 5.

So if your contracted hours finish at 5pm then why would you expect to leave the building before 5pm?

So, would you stroll out of your own office and go home at 2pm if an onsite meeting finished early? Or just generally?

If no, why not?

You're paid to work hard. That's sort of the point of being an employee. Doesn't mean you get to award yourself additional annual leave.

OP "AIBU?"

Everyone Else "Yes!"

OP "No I'm not. I work very hard!"

Tbh, getting there 20 mins early and not messing around is just the norm isn't it? Like not beating your wife doesn't make you husband of the year in isolation. Leaving 3 hrs early on a regular basis however is taking the piss.

I say that as someone who would also go straight home I expect, but would do so knowing I was being a bit cheeky. In my previous professional roles give and take was expected...but not just take.

The 2pm finish is unreasonable. The meeting an hour away at 4pm is fine.

If you're on top of everything, it would be completely fine where I work. I could take whole days off and noone would care. I hated working in places where they monitored such things. As a matter of fact these places had a rather low productivity level.

I think you’re taking the piss as well. At 2pm and 5 minutes from the office I’d be very annoyed indeed if I was your manager. I’m pretty flexible but that is taking things too far.

If one of my staff had a meeting 5 minutes away from the office and finished at 2pm, I also wouldn't be happy with them heading home to WFH when their base is usually at the office. Even that would seem like they were taking the piss a bit when the meeting was literally 5 mins away!

Op I'd be interested to know how you would justify this to your boss if they asked? The 8.40am 'start' wouldn't cut it with me as that is your choice and not agreed flexi time. It's not your place to decide if and when you can adjust your hours. Especially when you've even stated you don't work much beyond your 5pm contracted finish at the best of times.

You are taking the complete and utter piss.

Are you regularly working weekends or staying at work until 6 or 7pm to meet deadlines? If yes then leaving this meeting at 2pm is ok because it balances out the hours you've worked on other occasions.

If you usually leave at 5pm i.e. just work your contracted hours, then yabu and could get into trouble if you get caught.

onekey if someone is on top of the work so well that they can regularly work fewer hours per week than their contract states then they need to be careful that the company doesn't actually look at reducing the contracted hours permanently to a part time role, as clearly there isn't enough work!

It's a piss take to leave at 2. If I was your manager I'd be having words!

I'm a hard worker. I don't take long lunches or sit chatting all day. I work hard when in work
But thats what you should do anyway
YABU and you know it. Its not a one off where you have a wee bit of a skive. Its not payback by coming in early either or you would be upfront about what time it finishes.