AIBU to get to not get up an hour early for the sake of 5 minutes?

[Makemeaname]

Starting a new job next week, reliant on public transport for now. My hours are 9-5, have found a reasonable route which I would have to go out at half 7 and would get there at 8.48.

Just had an email through requesting me to be there at 8.45 for my first day, for a 9am start. There will be others starting the same day. WIBU to still get the bus I was aiming for, rather than having to leave the house at half 6 and hang around like a lemon for 55 minutes?

I'd not be worried about an early start. My jobs have always had late or very late finishes despite contract saying 5.30pm!

what's the job? it obviously makes a difference if you're late if you're taking calls or on a production line vs answering emails etc. whether you can make up the time on the odd occasion you're late.

suggest you mention to to your boss towards the end of the day that you're gonna give the 8.48 bus a go, does anyone else take it? is it reliable? that you'll try it but obviously if it doesn't get you there in good time you'll get the earlier one.

and tbh asking your dad to take you is a big ask. I hope you appreciate it. always ready for him and give him generous petrol money, massive favour.

Also the public transport where I work is awful timing wise so people who use it often start at 8 and finish at 4 to accommodate their bus times.

Like I said initially be there for 8.45 on day one, try and get a read on the place and discuss it with your boss. The worst they can say is no that’s not possible and so you say fine and carry on until you get your car.

You can’t be late on your first day, can’t believe you are even considering it. As for working 9-5, that means you start work at 9, so you need to be in and ready to actually start working at that time, not arriving at that time. IMO you can’t get the later bus in any day.

Goodness me there's some bad advice on this thread. I've done quite a lot of recruitment and managing teams and I would not be impressed with a new starter turning up late on day one. To go further than that for the first three months at least I would advise you to get in at least 15 mins early as well as being positive, keen and engaged. In a large corporate I worked in previously several of those on the graduate scheme were not offered ft work at the end of their 2 year phase due to working to rule i.e standing up at 5pm on the dot suggesting they've been clock watching desperate to leave. Different if you have kids you have to pick up yes but these graduates didn't have that problem, they were just turning up to get their pay check. I know we all are to a certain extent but if you want to get on then you need to show enthusiasm. After 3 months, when your manager has indicated they're really happy with your work THEN you can get the later bus.

Have you actually travelled to the job by the route you want to go.Or are you getting up Monday morning hoping for the best.

I think i would get the bus either today or tomorrow,and see how long it takes you to get there

Worth looking into lift sharing websites too OP just in case someone going the same way. Good luck on your first day. Id go in early as it is your first day.

Why would you have to go to bed at 7 to be up at 6? 6 is a perfectly normal time to get up when you're working.

Where I live buses have a habit of running late,
go for the early one, at least until you have your feet under the table and can explain your predicament.

ballygowanwater you said originally that the employer would be fine about her starting late, on what basis ? I notice you've backtracked a bit now, personally I've never had a job where you could turn up late every day and I'm willing other that neither have the majority of health workers, teachers, retail workers, bus drivers,shift workers and loads of other occupations

I've never had a job where you could turn up late every day

Where I work, they are very willing to vary work hours slightly if it makes things easier for staff. My start time is 8.30 rather than 9, so I don't have to come in early to get a parking space, a colleague doesn't start till 9.30, so he can drop his kids at school first, and another starts at 9,30 simply because it halves his journey time.

My new boss is so relaxed about it that, for the first time in my life, she's commented on my "excellent timekeeping". I've been working for 47 years and no-one's ever mentioned it before. I've always been the one cutting it fine and dashing through the door at the last minute.

IT’’S YOUR FIRST DAY FFS! You absolutely MUST use a mode of transport that virtually guarantees (barring an act of Gd) you will. S there no later than 5 minutes before your start time, which today is 8:45.. So what? Your whole “I live in a world where 9 am means 9 am” attitude is woefully misguided. Your transportation is not your employer’s problem.. Of course your job may end up having some informal flexibility but you need to build up some goodwill before that applies to you. If you get there after 8:40 you will already have made a negative first impression, and that’s hard to shake.

Millennials, amirite? I’ve never said that before as I’ve always found it patronizing and unfair. But this OP is a textbook example of the attitude often attributed to people in her age cohort.

Glad you decided to do the earlier but OP but I find your initial attitude bizarre. Who would risk being late on their first day?!? When I started my current job I think I was half an hour early and just wandered around like a lemon until I was “only” 15 mins early.

Now I wander in at any point between 8-10 and no one cares as long as I don’t have a meeting and do my hours over the course of the week; but that’s now, when I manage my own workload.

In your first couple of weeks, a lot of time and effort will be spent by your managers having to direct the new intake, doing inductions, paperwork etc. Don’t piss all over that by actively planning to be late on your first day .

I don’t agree with the attitude of always working extra because it’s “expected” but arriving 15 mins early on your first day is not a massive ask.

(Side note - may be worth checking out shower facilities and bike storage - 18 miles is cycle-able if you build up to it and will save you having to buy a car!)

Secondly, get the earlier bus.

She is

Thirdly, buy a cheap car as soon as you can

She is.

🙄

Lots of judging here. Oh how much fun it is to pick on young people heading out into the world of work, pointing out how feckless and lazy they are. 🙄

Good luck OP. I hope the new job is one you enjoy. Ignore all the sniping and the “but you absolutely must be there an hour early to say hello, take your coat off and turn on the computer”

The world of work is changing. We’re not in the 50s any more. Thankfully the days of big boss, watching his team arrive, on the clock, niggling about a minute are long gone. The companies who remain like this are dwindling out, as archaic things tend to do.

You’ll get a better idea of the kind of organisation you’re working for after your first week. Hopefully you love it. But if it’s watch tappy, I’d find a more modern organisation to work for.

As others have said, you definitely need to be turning up early your first week until you get the lay of the land. It's so important to make a good first impression. I expect getting the later bus might be fine moving forwards, but you can't just assume.

Also, I would caution against any chat when you're there along the lines of "I had to get up sooooo early, I'm not used to it etc", even in jest. It really doesn't look good. Six am isn't unreasonably early and if you ended up next to me this morning (up all night with a teething toddler, up at six as usual and a massive load of work to get through before nursery pick up) I'd take a very dim view of you.

Work is a big adjustment and you'll probably be exhausted by the end of your first week, but I promise you will get used to it! Good luck!

(Meant to add that obviously cycling is only an option as long as the roads are half decent, not if there’s a motorway in between! )

Why would you have to go to bed at 7 to be up at 6?  6 is a perfectly normal time to get up when you're working.

She clearly wasn't being literal.

Yes it's a normal time, she was exaggerating the point that switching from uni wake ups to 6am wake ups will be a struggle for a little while

If your hours are 9 to 5 then I would expect to ready with coat and bag off and put away extra and ready to start work at 9 not be walking through the door at 9.

2 more pieces of advice from an old lady who has been in the world of work for 35 years, as an employee, manager, and employer (at different times.)

1. 6 am is not considered an especially early wake time for grownups with jobs. You will get used to it. If you need 11 hours sleep you should go to the GP immediately.

1. Do not cut it fine with public transport! Delays are a regular thing and not usually considered a good excuse for lateness. you need to build time into your commute to make sure you are there on time, doubly so for you because you need to switch buses.

It goes without saying that you are not relying on bus schedules or Google maps when you say you would get there at 8:48, right?

I hope you don’t live near me. The bus service is an absolute shambles. The bus I need to get to tiger to work (with 20 mins to spare) is regularly 30-40 mins late, the one after that gets me in with 2 mins to spare.

I’d also have a quick look to see if there’s any feedback about the bus company and it’s time keeping.

I now have to drive to work in order to guarantee being on time.

Getting in ear;y to a workplace is pretty standard in most environments I have worked in.

I have a real thing about lateness, and would rather get in early .

An early start allows you to have a coffee, chat to colleages, check on emails, sort yourself out, so when actual work time starts you are straight in.

Bosses do notice these things, and in my experience are more likely to give you flexibility when you do need it if you show a good work attitude.

A lot of replies are suggesting the OP was complaining about an early rise. I interpreted her dilemma as being arriving almost an hour early with nowhere to linger as the workplace is on an industrial estate and wondering if it was okay to go in at 0830 (ie 15 mins earlier than requested)?

There's a big difference between having a chat and explaining the travel situation and 'complaining of having to get up sooo early'. I think the op has been given a hard time.

Get a taxi, after the first bus, on the first day.